Adjunct Faculty Improvement Grant Guidelines

The IFO/Minnesota State Master Agreement offers funding opportunities for adjunct faculty members to engage in professional improvement activities (Article 19, Section A). At SCSU, the funds made available from the Minnesota State system office will be disbursed as adjunct faculty development grants through a competitive process.

Application deadlines are in Fall and Spring.

Purpose and Professional Development Activity Criteria

The purpose of an adjunct faculty improvement grant is professional development in the discipline in which the applicant teaches for St. Cloud State University. Any activity or purchase must meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. It furthers the applicant’s professional development and engagement with the discipline. This includes conference attendance and presentations, original research or creative projects, continuing education, or broadening perspectives and skill sets.
2. The activity prepares faculty for current or new teaching assignments, furthers a research agenda, and/or contributes to adjunct faculty member’s professional development.
3. It could be training, participation in a professional development opportunity, or purchase of appropriate materials. (See Article 19, Section B, for a representative list and description—for a searchable and downloadable PDF, see SCSU's Union Information. 
4. Per the IFO/Minnesota State Master Agreement, projects or plans focused on advancement of equity and inclusion and/or elimination of education equity gaps shall be prioritized. Education equity gaps refers to low success rates in graduation and retention experienced by students of color, first generation and/or low-income students relative to their peers.

Application Instructions

• Be specific about the title, location, exact dates of the activities or events, total days not including travel days, and your proposed travel dates for the activity in which you will participate.
• For materials purchases, be specific regarding description and intended use of the items.
• Grant applications must be submitted by the published deadline to be deemed complete and considered for the funding during the current round.

• Project narrative is completed online, and all required questions must be answered to save and submit.
• The narrative should be understandable to an educated, but non-expert, audience. Avoid jargon.
• Applicants must click the submit button within their Application Intake page; an application is not submitted for consideration until the green "Submit" button is clicked.
• Once you click the green Submit button above the submission will no longer be editable. The Submit button will be greyed out.
• Applicants will receive an email confirmation that your application was successfully submitted.

• Project Description:
  • Describe the project or activity, stating how you will use the funds. Explain how and why the project is important, and how it will meet the criteria explained above.
• Contribution to Department:
  • What is the benefit of the proposal to the department or instructional program?
  • If you have received funding in the past for a similar activity, explain how this application provides benefits to your professional development and/or to your department beyond what was provided by the previous activity.
• Contribution to SCSU:
  • Explain how this proposal provides benefits to the university.
• History at SCSU:
  • Describe your activities at SCSU, especially how many years you have been an adjunct or served in other campus roles. Include courses you have taught, departments in which you have worked, and a brief history of your relationship to the University community.
• Budget Justification:
  • Provide a short summary of your budget, including detailed cost estimates. Include any pertinent information related to the cost of your activity and/or travel. Also include details for any expenses in the OTHER category on the Expense Summary. Budget items that are not justified may not be funded.

1. Download the Estimated Project Budget spreadsheet and complete following the directions provided within the Excel file, the worksheet is setup to calculate automatically for applicants.
2. Complete budget justification fields within online application.
   1. Provide a short summary of your budget, explaining where you obtained the figures for your budget.
   2. Clearly explain the budget items requested and how the costs are calculated.
   3. Include any pertinent information related to the cost of your workshop and/or travel.
   4. Also include details for any expenses in the OTHER category on the Expense Summary. Budget items that are not justified may not be funded.
3. Once complete, upload the completed spreadsheet in the Estimated Project Budget field in the Attachment section.
4. Update additional budget documentation
   1. Attach a copy of information, if available, such as a brochure, website, email, etc. that describes the proposed activity or purchase.
   2. For a creative or research project, attach a complete description of the project and its relevance to your professional development.
   3. Attach supporting evidence (including travel agent/travel website verifications) of airfare, registration fee(s), hotel rates, shuttle fares, etc. to the Expense Summary form. The committee expects that the applicant will attempt to secure the lowest reasonable travel costs, (ex. economy class airfare).
   4. If the activity for which the grant application is submitted bundles some or all of these expenses together in inclusive program fees, please note what items are covered in those fees.
   5. Circle or highlight all costs and any brochure information important to your application.
   6. If a creative or research project requires the purchase of services or tangible items, please list them in detail with estimated costs.
   7. Provide English translation(s) if documents are in a different language.
5. Once complete, upload the completed spreadsheet in the Estimated Project Budget field in the Attachment section.

Hints for Writing a Successful Grant Application

• Use the criteria and evaluation form as a guide when writing the grant application.
• The group evaluating your proposal includes faculty from other disciplines. Describe your proposal so that a general academic audience can understand it, including why the topic is particularly important to your field of study. Make no assumptions.
• Write the proposal so it is clear, specific, and jargon-free. Clarifying which elements of your work will be enhanced will go a long way in making your proposal stand out from of the rest.
• Avoid making general statements such as “teaching will improve” or “students will benefit.”
• Specify the courses you teach/will teach that will benefit from the activity.
• Specify which components of the course(s) will be revised/enhanced because of the activity.
• Indicate what specific topics/components of the activity or purchase will be useful in your professional development and engagement with your discipline.
• If the activity is unstructured (for example, where a group of experts meet to discuss latest issues), identify and describe what some of the “thorny issues” in your field are.
• If you plan to attend a software training workshop, explain (1) what that software is, (2) what is so special about it, (3) What software you are currently using or not using, (4) how this has negatively affected the efficiency or effectiveness with which you have been able to carry out your tasks, and (5) how the workshop/new software will improve your teaching or course design.
• Avoid using jargon and technical terms. Define discipline specific terms and explain relevance of your proposal to your development in the discipline.
• Proofread the grant proposal carefully to be sure your ideas are clearly communicated.
• Ask a colleague or FA Executive Committee member (preferably not in your discipline) to read a draft copy before submitting the final version.
• If you have any questions about the application or would like clarification of any item, contact a member of the Adjunct Professional Development Evaluation Group by emailing facassoc@stcloudstate.edu with your request.
• It is advisable to plan ahead and submit online early.

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