Quality of Instruction Council

DEPARTMENTAL INITIATIVE GRANTS

(I) CURRICULAR & PEDAGOGICAL GRANTS

(II) ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY GRANTS
 

(I) CURRICULAR & PEDAGOGICAL GRANTS

Purpose
Departmental Initiative Grants provide up to $5,000 in support of group initiatives designed to strengthen teaching and assessment in degree-credit curricula. Generally no more than seven awards will be made annually. Any department or program can only receive one departmental initiative in the same cycle. Because academic departments (or colleges where no departments exist) exercise primary responsibility for curricular and pedagogical quality, this program is designed to help departments fulfill that responsibility by offering a supplementary source of funds explicitly directed to the improvement of instruction.

Distinguishing features of this program are that

• it focuses on collaborative activities at the departmental level and across departments, and
• it directly supports institutional efforts to improve curriculum and instruction.

Because of the substantial size of the awards, there is a strong expectation that competitive applications will demonstrate the relation of their work to university efforts and initiatives, for example, university-wide general education revision, college-based curriculum reform, university strategic planning, multicultural projects, and assessment of student learning. Applications should also demonstrate efforts to coordinate offerings and projects across units where possible and explore linkages with other units offering compatible curricula, including inter-college efforts. It is appropriate to use this program as a first step in the process of seeking outside funding for curricular or instructional projects.

Eligible academic units may request up to $5,000 each to underwrite the costs of projects that will involve a significant proportion of the unit's full-time faculty in curricular reform or activities designed to improve teaching. Part-time faculty should be included whenever appropriate. Creativity and experimentation are encouraged, but the Quality of Instruction Council (QIC)  also welcomes departmental use of techniques proven effective elsewhere.

Possible uses of Departmental Initiative Grant funds include:

• developing assessment tools;
• instructional workshops or seminars;
• team attendance at pedagogical and assessment conferences;
• teaching and assessment handbooks or other pedagogical materials;
• teaching consultants;
• mentoring programs for faculty;
• videotaping of teaching;
• faculty orientation activities;
• instructional evaluation and assessment programs;
• content-specific faculty development programs;
• internship or experiential learning activities;

Deadlines
The program deadlines are 5 pm, October 15 and March 15. Projects will normally be completed in 18 months, but additional time may be requested. Late applications will not be accepted.

Eligibility
All programs, departments, colleges or schools, and centers or institutes may submit an application. This program may also be used to support planning activities for academic units that do not yet exist. Grant recipients, who have overspent their grants, will not be eligible until the overage is resolved.

Eligible Expenses
Applicants are referred to the General Guidelines - Eligible Expenses for a complete list of eligible and ineligible expenses. Food cannot be more than 50 percent of the department initiatives total expenses.

Final Report
A narrative final report will be due to the Chair of the Quality of Instruction Council within one month after the expiration the grant. The report should address the project activities and achievement of the planned outcomes. Failure to do so will result in faculty being ineligible for future funding from the councils.

Institutional Compliance:  Management Standards Training
Completion of the Financial Affairs internal grants training workshop is mandatory for internal grant recipients and satisfies the annual Management Standards Training requirement for budget managers at DePaul.  No grant funds will be released until the recipient has completed budget manager training.  Workshop participants receive a resource guide that includes quick reference materials and a current Management Standards Handbook.  Topics include understanding chartfields, use of web authorization, use of SAHR delegation, finding and reading Mobius reports, correcting transactions, requesting budget changes, review of key compliance standards, overview of travel guidelines and eProcurement procedures, and overview of payroll guidelines. 

A complete online application will include:

1. Budget page (Click here to download the budget form.)
2. An abstract of the project, not more than 10 lines long. This should be a summary of, rather than an introduction to, your project.  Failure to include will delay consideration of the proposal. 
3. The following information, in not more than 5 double-spaced pages, in no less than 11 point font:
          (a) a statement of objectives
          (b) a description of proposed activities
          (c) curricular significance
          (d) the extent of faculty involvement
          (e) a description of provisions for assessing student achievement. See the AAHE's "Principles of Good Practice" for further guidance.
4. A detailed budget narrative;
5. Endorsement from the appropriate chair(s) or dean(s) - (click here for instructions).
6. Attach a complete curriculum vitae. This will not be circulated to the Council, but the chair will retain it for reference.

Proposals will be reviewed competitively by the Council. Up to seven awards will be made annually.
Submit an online application to the Chair of the Quality of Instruction Council by 5 pm, October 15 or March 15.

back to top

Purpose
Academic Technology Grants provide up to $7,500 in support of group initiatives designed to strengthen teaching and advance faculty research.  Because academic departments (or colleges where no departments exist) exercise primary responsibility for supporting the faculty use of technology in both teaching and research, this program is designed to help departments fulfill that responsibility by offering a supplementary source of funds explicitly directed to enhancing technology support.  Generally no more than ten awards will be made annually. Any department or program can receive only one technology initiative in the same year.

Proposals that focus on furthering the goals of the University’s Strategic Plan as related to technology are given preference.  To support the evolution of an online curricular continuum from distance learning to podcasting of instructional materials, faculty members will require specialized software and multi-media equipment.  Faculty also require research software that is related to their specific discipline.  While the university provides quantitative software for data analysis such as SPSS, it does not provide software for qualitative research.   All proposals will be reviewed by the Quality of Instruction Council and administered through the Office of Academic Affairs. 

Deadlines
Program deadlines are October 15 and March 15. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. on the due date.  If a due date falls on a weekend, the due date will be the following Monday at 9 a.m.  Late applications cannot be accepted. Funding is for 18 months after the Council approves the grant. 

Eligibility
All programs, departments, colleges or schools may submit an application. Grant recipients, who have overspent their grants, will not be eligible until the overage is resolved. Applicants are strongly urged to consult with Faculty Development staff before applying for assistance with budget planning.  Submission of preliminary applications two week in advance is strongly encouraged.

Eligible Expenses
Eligible expenses include small scale equipment, specialized software for data analysis, and related supplies.  Compensation to participating faculty or their replacement is not an eligible expense.  All equipment and software purchased through the Academic Technology Initiative programs will be the property of the department. 

Review Criteria
The primary evaluation criteria will be the department’s overall plan to benefit instruction in a significant way and/or benefit a sizeable number of faculty. All projects will undergo a technical and academic review.  All grants must be driven by the need for technology to enhance curriculum/instruction or to enhance faculty research process.  In general proposals must include a rationale for the use of technology, including a statement of the pedagogical or research process problem and a discussion of how technology will alleviate that problem. The academic review will focus on the following as appropriate:

• rationale
  
• applicability to disciplinary research conducted by faculty
• quality of the revision of instructional strategies based on the availability of the additional tools
  
• number of courses or faculty that will be positively impacted

The technical review will focus on: 

• cost efficient planning
• innovative incorporation of technology into the teaching and/or research process
• indication of how and where equipment and software will be accessible to faculty

Outline of Proposal
Submission of preliminary applications to the Director of Faculty Support is required. All proposals must be in an editable text format.  Only the CV may be submitted in PDF format. 
Applicants should review the General Guidelines.

A complete online application will include:

1. Budget page (Click here to download the budget form.)
2. An abstract of the project, not more than 10 lines long, summarizing the project.
3. The following information, in not more than 5 double-spaced pages, in no less than 11 point font:

(a) a statement of need
(b) a comprehensive plan that outlines the current deployment of software and relevant technological tools, followed by the proposed enhancements to software and hardware;
(c) the specific courses affected and extent of faculty involved;

4. A detailed budget narrative;
5. Endorsement from the appropriate chair(s) or dean(s).

back to top