Application Guidelines for Teaching Innovation Grants

The Faculty Development Committee invites applications for teaching innovation grants. The aim of these grants is to encourage the development and sharing of new instructional strategies among faculty. Grants may be awarded to any part-time or full-time faculty member with at least one semester of service at SUNY Cortland who is scheduled to teach during the Summer of the application year, or in at least one of the two following semesters. Faculty are expected to pilot their projects during at least one of these semesters. Each grant carries a stipend of $500. A total of five grants may be awarded this year. Proposals may be submitted for projects that focus on any type of course enhancement in an applicant's area of specialization.

DUE DATE : March 1

Applications should be no longer than three pages and should answer the following questions:

  • What is the problem to be addressed and why is it significant?
  • What is the current instructional method and how will this proposal change it?
  • What effects are expected from this change?
  • How will the change be implemented?
  • How can the effects of implementing this change be evaluated?
  • Describe any previous experience in course innovation.
Each application should be accompanied by at least one letter of support from one's own department chair and from chairs of other departments as appropriate to the proposal. An important component of all funded projects will be the dissemination of results to faculty colleagues, so that they can consider incorporating the same or similar methods into their own courses. Grant activities, therefore, will be carried out in two phases. During Phase I, the grant recipient will be expected to pilot the proposed change in one or more courses for a minimum of one semester during the 2006-2007 academic year and obtain student feedback. In Phase II, the grant recipient will provide a written report on the project to the Faculty Development Committee and disseminate the results of the study to the faculty by making a presentation at a Sandwich Seminar, Scholar's Day, or other public forum. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of creativity, effective use of existing institutional resources, and the potential to improve educational efforts at Cortland. Additional consideration may be given to the evidence that the grant many serve as seed money for external funding and to the potential for publication/presentation beyond campus. Applications can be sent to the Faculty Development Center, Memorial Library. Questions may be e-mailed to the FDC or call ext. 2008.