2019-2020 Call for Proposals
Proposal Deadline: Friday, October 25, 2019
The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) and Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of South Carolina (UofSC) are pleased to announce teaching grants to support the development of diversity and inclusion curricula. The intent of this investment is to support the development of new courses and the modification of existing courses that expand undergraduate and graduate students’ opportunities in the areas of diversity and inclusion for intellectual and social engagement and academic rigor.
Examples of such developments include but are not limited to:
- Integrating diversity and inclusion content into existing undergraduate or graduate course(s) (e.g., prepare students for diverse experiences, provide opportunities for students to actively engage in diverse cultural settings).
- Develop learning module(s) on diversity and inclusion that could be integrated into current offerings of courses with multiple sections (e.g., first year seminar or other similar programs/courses, with endorsement of program director(s)).
- Propose a new academic course(s) on diversity and inclusion that addresses a gap in the current curriculum with the goal for students to gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for purposeful involvement in a diverse society.
- Develop a self-learning module that includes diversity and inclusion concepts that could be used by students in preparation for e.g. service learning; collaborative learning environments; encourage critical and positive conversations about diversity and inclusions issues among students and faculty; and/or promote and demonstrate intercultural knowledge and competency in relations to a diverse and inclusive learning environment.
Eligible participants include all full-time faculty, regardless of rank or track, who have successfully completed the Teaching Towards Inclusive Excellence (TTIE) Certificate of Completion prior to submitting a grant application.
All applications must be submitted through the Online Application by Friday, October25, 2019. Notices of award will be announced by Friday, November 1, 2019. Funded projects should begin upon receipt of notice.
Proposals are eligible for awards of $500. CTE Instructional Designers will provide pedagogical support to faculty for the development of instructional content, supplementing the award. Funds are to be disbursed to awardees after the project kickoff session and must be expended by all parties before the end of fiscal year 2020 (by June 30, 2020).
The number of awards will be contingent upon availability of resources, the number and quality of funded applications received and approved.
When completing the Online Application you will be required to enter information pertaining to your unit budget manager and PeopleSoft A-fund budget number. Please speak with your unit’s budget manager and request the PeopleSoft A-fund budget number.
If your proposal is selected, it is important that you communicate with your unit’s budget manager and make them aware that you have been awarded a spending grant. This will help to transfer awards in a timely manner.
To apply, please complete the Online Application including submission of Supporting and Signed Documents by Friday, October 25, 2019. The Online Application includes fields for Proposal Narrative and Objectives, Project Strategy and Plan Narrative and Deliverables. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please see Review Criteria section for details regarding proposal evaluation.
Proposal Narrative and Objectives
The proposal narrative should be 350 – 1000 words and satisfy the following guidelines.
- Identify project objectives.
- Discuss how you plan to integrate diversity and inclusion into the curriculum.
- Discuss what instructional materials, active learning strategies and/or other activities you will incorporate into the course.
- If this is an existing course, describe how your proposal will impact and complement, connect, replace or augment the existing curriculum.
Project Strategy and Plan Narrative
Briefly explain your strategy, approach, or plan to address the curricula revision that you describe above. How will you complete the project? Will you collaborate with anyone, and what is your proposed timeline? The project timeline should reflect the scope and duration of the project.
Deliverables:
List and briefly describe the deliverable products you will create. Some examples may include artifacts such as a final syllabus, course outline, assignments, grading rubrics, discussion prompts, lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, bibliographies, lesson plans or reading lists.
Budget and Justification Narrative
This is a spending grant. No funds may be taken as salary or as support for time spent.
Provide a Budget and Justification Narrative [docx] explaining how you plan to use the funds which outlines costs and is consistent with university policies. The costs outlined should be considered necessary, reasonable, allocable, and allowable under the program solicitation. Please review the Budget Justification Checklist [pdf] for narrative guidance.
Supporting and Signed Documents
When completing the Online Application, you will be required to submit the following documents:
- CV or resume of project lead faculty
- Draft Syllabus
- Budget and Justification Narrative [docx]
- Signed Department Support Form [pdf]
- Consult with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and/or their respective Council of Academic Diversity Officers (CADO) for their respective college/school throughout the curriculum development process.
- Create content within agreed upon timeframe. Examples: 3-months for short module(s);
6-months for several modules; 6-12 months for 3-hour academic course.
- Begin content development December 2019.
- Develop content and integrate into applicable courses by May 2020.
- If applicable, and pending necessary approvals, academic courses developed or revised as part of this project should be taught within 2 years of award notice, by fall 2021.
- Share results of the project outcomes, learning experiences, student-learning outcomes, etc. in a CTE panel presentation, through coordinated events with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion or similar events during or after the course/content is taught.
- Agree to share created instructional materials/content with colleagues and provide “instructor notes” (if necessary) within the UofSC community.
- Attend a project kickoff session in December 2019, and a mid-project progress session.
- Turn in final project report by December 4, 2020, and a course outcomes summary once the course is taught (if course is taught after this date).
Applications that are complete and responsive to this announcement will be evaluated for merit. Proposals should be written to be understood by committee members who are not necessarily experts in the applicant’s field of study. Applicants should limit their use of jargon and acronyms whenever possible.
Proposals will be evaluated by the following criteria:
- Completeness of application
- Nature of proposal: clear statement of objectives; realistic plan of activities; sound explanation of proposal; fit of diversity and inclusion content with broader course objectives
- Feasibility of completing the project in the time proposed
- Likely reach (i.e., number of students, number of courses/sections), impact (i.e., scholarly activity, impact on USC community, build collaboration among units) and sustainability (i.e., likelihood of future offering) of the proposed course(s) and/or learning modules
- Agreement by applicants to share learning content with colleagues across the UofSC community
Teaching Toward Inclusive Excellence Curriculum Development Grant Online Application
Department Support Form [pdf]
Budget and Justification Narrative [docx]
This opportunity is sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Office
of Diversity and Inclusion. For more information, contact the Center for Teaching Excellence at CTE@mailbox.sc.edu.