The Human Community at James Madison University
GENERAL EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT GRANT GUIDELINES
Summer 2008
Get Entire Grant Packet (with Forms) in Acrobat
Due Dates:
- Fall 2007—Discuss proposal with appropriate Cluster Coordinator(s)
- January 11, 2008 (noon)—Proposals due to appropriate Cluster Coordinator(s) for review
- January 18, 2008 (noon)—Cluster Coordinators submit reviewed proposals to the University Studies Office
- March 7, 2008—Grant Review Committee announces results
The primary purposes for the awarding of General Education Grants are to strengthen the teaching in the General Education program and to encourage collaboration among faculty in developing new courses for clusters, in revising existing courses, in developing assessment methods for a cluster, or in other projects relevant to the program.
Grant proposals may be submitted in one of two categories:
Professional Development grants are for the purpose of addressing the quality of teaching in the General Education program and how it can be improved. These grants may include, but are not restricted to:
- exploring different teaching methodologies
- bringing together faculty who teach the same course to discuss their teaching for the purpose of establishing some goals for the next academic year
- bringing in a consultant to speak on successful teaching strategies
Curriculum Development grants are for the purpose of addressing specific curricular needs of the General Education program. Curriculum Development grants may include, but are not restricted to:
- significant revising of existing program courses or developing new program courses
- designing a learning community for incoming freshmen
- developing appropriate assessment strategies for a cluster
Grants that address issues that have the potential to affect several clusters are welcome. Such grants would entail the collaboration of faculty from these clusters and may be either Professional or Curriculum Development grants.
Each proposal will be evaluated by the Grant Review Committee. The committee is chaired by Herb Amato, and members are representatives from each college. Only complete proposal submissions will be reviewed by the committee. The quality of the proposal will be evaluated on criteria established by the Grant Review Committee, included the following:
- How well does the stated purpose of the proposal describe its relevance to the General Education program?
- How well does the proposal fit the activities outlined in the Grant Guidelines?
- Is the proposal appropriate for the General Education program?
- To what degree does the proposal strengthen the General Education program?
- To what extent does the proposal encourage and support collaboration among faculty?
- How well does the proposal describe the various activities/products planned during the course of the grant work?
- Is the budget appropriate?
- The Grant Proposal Format (see Attachment A) and Budget (see Attachment B) must be followed for all submissions.
- Prior approval from the appropriate Cluster Coordinator(s) (see Attachment C or Attachment D) is required before the grant proposal is submitted. Please note that grant proposers must meet with the appropriate Cluster Coordinator(s) and submit the proposal to the Coordinator(s) by Monday, January 11th for his/her/their review. Faculty members are strongly encouraged to discuss ideas for grant proposals with the appropriate Cluster Coordinator/s during the Fall semester to determine feasibility and need of potential grant work.
- Funding may be applied to stipends, software, travel to a conference or workshop, books, outside consultants, and minimal amounts for supplies and refreshments.
- Money for stipends will be allocated at the rate of $150 per day per person for a full day’s work related to the grant activity. It is expected that some projects will involve multiple participants usually from multiple academic units.
- 12-month employees are not eligible to receive a stipend, but they are welcome to apply for and participate in grant opportunities.
- Only in exceptional cases will funding be awarded for computer hardware. A clear explanation of the necessity of this equipment must be included in the proposal.
- Additional funding should be sought from other university sources or other funding agencies.
- The Grant Review Committee reserves the right to contact the grant director(s) for additional information and/or clarification.
- Grant reports must be submitted to the Office of General Education by Friday, October 24, 2008. These reports should include the following:
- a review of activities supported by the grant;
- an accounting of the disbursement of funds; and,
- if appropriate, products such as course proposals, curriculum guides, or other items related to the work of the participants.
- Examples of previously funded grant proposals are available upon request.
- 12 noon, Friday, January 11, 2008 (to Cluster Coordinator/s)
- 12 noon, Friday, January 18, 2008 (to the General Education Office)
- The Grant Review Committee will announce decisions by Friday, March 7, 2008.
- Title. Give a brief title.
- Director(s)/Participants. Include names of the individual/s submitting the grant proposal and who will be responsible for its implementation (the Director/s) and those other individuals who will have involvement in the grant activity (the Participants). If the specific individuals who will be participants are unknown at the time of the grant submission, then provide the number of individuals that will be expected to participate and those academic units involved.
- Type of Grant. Identify whether the proposal is a Professional Development
- Purpose. Give a brief statement concerning the purpose of the proposal and its relevance and contribution to the General Education program. Describe how this proposal benefits students and faculty. If appropriate, describe and how the grant will affect what is currently in place.
- Activity/Product. If the proposal entails primarily activities, describe the activities to be funded and, if appropriate, give proposed dates for summer workshops/projects. Clearly identify the intended outcomes of the activities. If the proposal is to be used for developing products such as syllabi or teaching modules, then give a detailed explanation of how these will be created. It is strongly recommended that faculty who are developing a new course spend some time interacting with the other faculty teaching in the cluster for the purpose of maintaining coherency within the shared content and/or concepts of that cluster. Cite any relevant sources.
- Timeline. Give dates of relevant activities related to the grant work undertaken and the date of submission of the grant report. The deadline for the submission of grant reports is October 24, 2008.
Should you have any questions, please contact Herb Amato, Associate Dean of University Studies, at x83576 or via e-mail at amatohk@jmu.edu. The original of the grant proposal and 7 copies must be submitted to the Office of General Education, MSC 1104, 104 Maury Hall. Electronic submissions of the grant proposal that follow the proposal format given on Attachments A and B will be acceptable. These should be sent to Herb Amato at the above email address. However, hard copies of the endorsement forms (Attachments C and D or E) must be submitted to the Office of General Education. Please note: All proposals that require the approval of the Cluster 3 Coordinator MUST be sent to Kit Murphy electronically by the January 11, 2008, deadline. Dr. Murphy will email his endorsement directly to Dr. Amato. Anyone needing to meet with the Cluster Three Coordinator about a GenEd grant proposal must do so before the end of finals week for Fall 2007.
The deadlines for submissions this year are as follows:
Proposals for General Education Professional Development and Curriculum Development Grants must include the following:
I. Information Sheet (one page)
II. Narrative (no more than four double-spaced word-processed pages)
III. Budget (Attachment B)
IV. Endorsement Forms (Attachments C, D, and E)
The grant proposal must include a completed Endorsements Form (see Attachment C) and a Cluster Coordinator Endorsement Form (see Attachment D) or Cluster Coordinator Endorsement Form for Multiple Clusters (see Attachment E). Signatures of the grant director(s) and the appropriate Cluster Coordinators, Department Heads/School Directors, and Deans are required.
Consideration will be given only to those proposals that conform to the above detailed format.
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For more information about the General Education Program at JMU, contact Elaine Harlow
Page Last Updated: Monday, April 28, 2008 9:27
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