Short-Term Faculty Improvement Grant Guidelines

Research and Sponsored Programs

Short-Term Faculty Improvement Grant Guidelines

Funding is provided through the IFO/Minnesota State contract agreement (Article 19, subdivision A).

Application deadlines:

Round 1 - October 15
Round 2 - March 15

If the 15th falls on a weekend, applications are due by close of business the following working day. View published deadlines.

Purpose and Activity Criteria

The purpose of a short-term faculty improvement grant is to improve professional competence (Article 19, subd. 1 of the IFO Master Agreement with Minnesota State). The Master Agreement further specifies that the “... procedures and criteria [for evaluating grant applications] shall include a priority for professional improvement funds focused on equity and inclusion and/or the elimination of education equity gaps.” (Article 19.A Subd.5). The professional improvement opportunity (often a workshop or a short course) must meet the following criteria:

The workshop/course prepares faculty for current or new teaching assignments and/or aligns with faculty member’s professional development plan.
It must be interactive, hands-on training focused on a single topic and demand active participation.
It must be a non-credit workshop or non-credit course of 1-14 days in length.
Professional development engagements (workshops/short courses) that would improve faculty member’s competence in teaching, pedagogy, and/or research to close academic/educational equity gaps (understood as low success rates of first generation, and low-income students, and students of color relative to their peers) shall be prioritized.

Grant Details

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant

All faculty with bargaining unit status: tenured or tenure-track, non-tenure track or qualifying fixed term faculty – at the time of application and during grant activity are eligible to apply.
Each applicant may submit no more than one short-term grant application in any application round.
Short-term grants were designed for individual, rather than collaborative, projects.

Activity

Proposed activities must occur within the current fiscal year. Note, if a faculty member already attended a workshop that occurred after a previous application deadline, they may apply for a short-term grant to cover the cost of attendance of that workshop during the next available funding round for an activity within the current fiscal year.
Short-term faculty improvement grant (FIG) recipients may receive a FIG Research grant at the same time.

Budgetary Guidelines

The committee may award up to $5,000 per application.

Allowable Costs

Cost of attendance of a workshop offered within an academic conference will only be supported as follows:
Registration shall be funded for the workshop only.
- Travel expenses such as airfare, automobile mileage, taxis, etc.
  - Domestic travel: up to a maximum of $1,000
  - International travel: up to a maximum of $2,000
- Living expenses/per diems shall be funded for the workshop days only.
Faculty planning to attend workshops/courses in overseas locations must include strong justification for the university to support such professional improvement efforts.
The value to the university may decrease when numerous individuals apply to attend the same workshop. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to explain specifically how their participation will add value to the university, OR, justify the value of multiple faculty members attending the same workshop.

Unallowable Costs

Attendance of, including travel to, annual meetings or professional conferences
Travel expenses shall not be funded if the grant recipient attends the conference before or after the workshop
Paper presentation/keynote address at an event
Workshops/training longer than 14 days
Credit-bearing courses/workshops

Travel Conditions

A travel authorization form is required by the University for all out-of-state and international travel. All travel also requires a Spend Authorization in Workday with an estimate of the total costs anticipated.
A Spend Authorization – Special Expense form in Workday required for registration or conference fees over $1,000. However, please do not include this form in the short-term grant application packet.
Funding travel requires that the travel is approved by SCSU Administration. In such instances when the travel is not approved, (in instances such as when a travel advisory issued by the U.S.Dept. of State), these award allocations shall be cancelled.
Employee business expenses must be submitted for reimbursement within 60 days after incurring the expense. If not submitted within 60 days, the reimbursement becomes taxable. If this situation is applicable to an applicant, please contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs prior to submission.

Selection Process

The Professional Development Committee uses the Evaluation Form to judge how well you will use these funds to improve your teaching (or equivalent activity in case of faculty who do not have teaching responsibilities), and how you would contribute to your department, and to the university.
Applications are scored by each committee member.
A scoring rubric of 36 possible points is used. Applicants need a minimum of 21.6 points to be considered for an award.
The committee will determine a cut-off point based on funds available for the round.
Given proposals of comparable worth, greater consideration is given to applicants who have not received a recent grant, which allows the grant monies to be spread more evenly among faculty.
The committee strives to be as equitable as possible in distributing funds across colleges.
The committee submits grant award recommendations to Faculty Senate for initial approval, and to the University President or designee for awarding.
Applicants should expect to receive results of the selection process in six to eight weeks from the application deadline.

Application Instructions

Applicants are encouraged to REVIEW THE EVALUATION RUBRIC WHEN COMPOSING THE NARRATIVE.

Preparing the Narrative

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.

Responding to the Narrative

Project Description: Describe your project and state how the applicant will use the funds. Explain in detail how and why the project is important, and how it will meet the criteria:
1. The workshop/course prepares faculty for current or new teaching assignments and/or aligns with faculty member’s professional development plan.
2. It must be interactive, hands-on training focused on a single topic and demand active participation.
3. It must be a non-credit workshop or non-credit course of 1-14 days in length.
4. Professional development engagements (workshops/short courses) that would improve faculty member’s competence in teaching, pedagogy, and/or research to close academic/educational equity gaps (understood as low success rates of first generation, and low-income students, and students of color relative to their peers) shall be prioritized.
Contribution to Department:
- What is the benefit of the proposal to the department or instructional program?
- Specifically, how will the project contribute to reducing the academic/educational equity gaps, or contribute to your competence in equity and inclusion?
- How do you plan to disseminate expertise gained from the workshop/course?
- If you have received funding in the past for a similar workshop, explain how this application contributes to your professional improvement and/or to your department beyond what was provided by the previous workshop(s)/courses.
Contribution to SCSU:
- Explain how this application provides benefits to the university, especially in areas relating to reducing academic/educational equity gaps and/or improving equity and inclusion in the university.
- If you have received funding in the past for a similar workshop, explain how this application provides benefits to the university beyond what was provided by the previous project(s).

Preparing the Budget

Budgets include the Estimated Project Budget spreadsheet and budget justification.

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.
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.
Once complete, upload the completed spreadsheet in the Estimated Project Budget field in the Attachment section.
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. 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).
3. 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.
4. Circle or highlight all costs and any brochure information important to your application.
5. If a creative or research project requires the purchase of services or tangible items, please list them in detail with estimated costs.
6. Provide English translation(s) if documents are in a different language.

Hints for Writing a Successful Grant Application

Use the criteria and evaluation form as a guide when writing the grant application.
The committee evaluating your proposal includes faculty representing disciplines that are different from your own. Describe your proposed workshop/course so that a general academic audience can understand it, including why the topic is particularly important to your field of study.
Write the proposal with clarity, specificity, and in a jargon-free manner. Clarifying which specific part(s) of your job that will be enhanced will go a long way in making your proposal stand out from the rest.
Avoid making general statements such as “teaching will improve” or “students will benefit.” If you expect this professional improvement effort to result in improving teaching outcomes that would help reduce academic/educational gaps, then also include a list of measurable outcomes and a statement of how you will assess your efforts.
Specify the courses you teach/will teach that will benefit from the workshop.
Specify which components of the course will be revised/enhanced because of the workshop.
Indicate what specific topics/components of the workshop/course will be useful to you and the outcomes/improvements you seek.
If the workshop is unstructured (for example, where a group of experts meet to discuss latest issues), identify and describe what are some of the issues that will be likely discussed.
If teaching is not your primary responsibility and 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 so (5) how the workshop/new software will make it better.
Avoid using jargon and technical terms. For example, “attending a workshop that will familiarize me with the resource-based theory of competitive advantage” could appear to be rather broad and unclear to a reviewer who is not in strategic management. Therefore, explain (1) what is so problematic about competitive advantage, (2) what are the important theories that are being used in the strategic management field, (3) what is the emphasis in “resource-based theory,” (4)what is the complexity in the theory that reading articles and books would not help, (5) which specific courses the resource- based theory will be included in.
Proofread the grant proposal carefully to be sure your ideas are clearly communicated.
Ask a colleague or committee member 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 Professional Development Committee.
It is advisable to plan ahead and submit online early.

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