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Miami University

Department/Program Grants for the Significant Improvement of Instruction

description:	These funds help a department or program take a collaborative approach to designing and implementing significant long-term teaching and learning benefits for the entire program.
amount:	The maximum for each grant is $5,000. The funding pool varies each year.
eligibility:	Departments, interdisciplinary programs, centers, regional campus programs, etc., may receive this grant only once every three years. Projects may address undergraduate, graduate, or teaching assistant instruction.
selection:	CELTUA selects grant recipients.
submission:	Please send an electronic copy of your proposal to CELTUA <celt@muohio.edu> and a hard copy original with signatures via campus mail to CELTUA.
due date:	Applications are due by October 15 or May 17. Awards are announced in mid-December and mid-June.

Purpose and Description

This grant aids a department or program in making a significant long-term impact on the improvement of instruction. It should also foster teaching collaboration and enthusiasm within the program.

A program may be an interdisciplinary unit, such as Women’s Studies; a center or an institute, like the Institute of Environmental Sciences; or a collection of disciplines with a joint project on a regional campus, for example, the Departments of Business Technology, Engineering Technology, and Computer Science and Systems Analysis on the Hamilton Campus.

Projects may involve undergraduate or graduate education or a joint effort. The timeline for a project may extend beyond a year.

Here is an example illustrating how this grant might be used:

The Theatre Department used their grant over a two-year period to set up a pilot program designed to enhance multiculturalism within the department and to have an impact on the cultural environment of the University and on the community at large. The central objective was to excite and engage faculty through one-on-one contact with artists from different cultures and, by bringing the artists into classrooms, to have a long-range impact on the content and methodology used by faculty. The plan established a particular cultural focus each year, the first year being Eastern European, the second African American, the third Latin American. As a starting point, the department explored how this concept would work and what kind of impact it would have on the quality of teaching. Grant money was used to pay part of the honoraria and travel expenses of the five visiting artists. The assessment process consisted of an evaluation form that was circulated to all students, faculty, and staff. Two formal meetings were held to evaluate the festival, the first with students and employees of the festival, the second with the Theatre faculty and staff. The second phase of the project took place during Black History Month.

Eligibility

A department or program is eligible to receive this grant once every three years. This interpretation is flexible; for example, one year a department might participate in an interdisciplinary effort involving several departments, and the next year the same department could share a grant for a completely different effort involving other departments.

Faculty members receiving funding as part of this grant must be teaching full time at Miami, hold the rank of senior instructor or higher, and not be CELTUA members.

Application Procedure

The application for this grant is made by the department chair or program director, who should consult with CELTUA staff about the project and use of the grant. The application materials include the cover sheet, which you can download from the CELTUA website; the proposal, which is described below; and the chair’s letter, which should indicate his or her commitment to the project. Please send an electronic copy of your proposal to CELTUA <celt@muohio.edu> and a hard copy original with signatures via campus mail to CELTUA, by October 15 (fall round), or May 17 (summer round).

The Proposal

The proposal may not exceed four pages (double- or single-spaced), be not less than 12-point font, and should follow this format and include this information:

Problem/Need. Describe the problem your project addresses and why it is a problem. Include sufficient background information to define the problem for a general university audience. Give the history, need, brief overview, and significance of your project.
Context. Cite the literature on this problem. Discuss whether solutions have been tried at other universities and with what result.
Proposed solution. Describe the exact work to be undertaken and how it aims to solve the problem. Include specific details on courses, faculty, equipment, facilities, coordination, and implementation.
Anticipated impact. Discuss the impact of the project on faculty, students, the curriculum, instruction, and student learning. Predict the impact on the department/program and the University. Indicate how this impact will be measured.
Evaluation. Tell how the success of the solution to the problem will be determined and how the degree of its impact will be measured.
Assessment of student learning. Indicate how you plan to assess student learning related to the project. Historically, this has been the weakest section of most proposals. We encourage you to contact the Office of Assessment for assistance with this part of your proposal. Beverley Taylor, Coordinator of Assessment, (9-3239 or taylorba@muohio.edu) will be happy help you.
Progress and timeline. Outline any initial work accomplished to date. Give a timeline indicating projected dates for events and completion of phases of the project.
Extent. Indicate the extent to which this project goes beyond a department’s usual duties.
Use of funds. Prepare a line-item budget. The maximum available for each grant is $5,000. Include fringe benefit dollars in the $5,000 total if Miami salary is part of your request. Be as specific and detailed as possible; some line items may not be funded.
Long-range planning. Include, as an appendix, your department’s most recent program review and/or long-range planning documents, with pertinent sections noted. If these documents are voluminous, include just one set, with copies of a one-page summary of pertinent references.

Selection Criteria

CELTUA will evaluate the proposals with respect to problem/need, appropriateness of the project’s proposed solution to the problem, context, significance, impact, planned evaluation of the project, assessment of student learning, clarity, evidence of broad collaboration and support across the program, extent, and support of the department chair.

Selection Procedure

At least one week prior to the first evaluation meeting, each CELTUA member will receive the applications. At the first meeting, each application will be discussed. CELTUA members must be present for the discussions at this first meeting in order to vote in the selection process. CELTUA may direct its chair to obtain additional information about some proposals.

Follow-up

On September 12 in each of the first two years following the academic year in which the grant occurs, the department/program chair shall submit a concise report of the project to the Provost, with copies to the director of CELTUA, the chair of CELTUA, and, when applicable, the regional campus executive director. The report should address to what degree the problem cited in the project has been solved; how individual faculty development has occurred; and the impact of the grant on instruction, the curriculum, student learning, etc., in the department/program and at Miami University. Also, include an itemization of funds expended in relation to the original budget.

Recent Recipients

Department of Computer Science and Systems Analysis. "Curriculum and Course Development for a New Major in Software Engineering." Douglas Troy - $5000
Department of Zoology and Department of Spanish and Portuguese. "Development of a Global Initiative Studey Abroad Program Integrating Culture and Environment." Paul Schaeffer and Kerry Hegarty - $5000
Department of Art. "Revision of Art Education Major." Jean Langan - $5000
Department of Art. "Revision of Art History Major." Catherine Karkov - $5,000
Department of Educational Psychology & Department of Teacher Education. "2007 Collaborative Summer School." Leah Wasburn-Moses & Ann MacKenzie- $3,505
Department of English/Composition Program. "Curriculum Development & Instructor Preparation for Teaching Writing in the 21st-Century." Karen Heidi McKee - $5,000
Department of International Studies. "Support for Development of an Online ITS Best Teaching Practices Manual." Mark Allen Peterson - $2,808
Department of Women's Studies. "Faculty Workshops to Create Curricular Coherence Among Women's Studies Undergraduate Core Courses." Ann Fuehrer - $3,100

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