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Proposal Guidelines
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The University Teaching Fund Committee (UTFC) is a standing committee of the University Faculty Council. The Chair is elected by the members of the committee and serves as an ex-officio member of the Faculty Council. There are nine members of the committee. Members are nominated by any interested party to the Chair of the Committee and members of the committee are approved by the Faculty Council. Members are selected from among the regular full-time faculty of the University with an attempt to assure diversity among units and disciplinary areas. Terms are staggered so that three members rotate off each year. Members are eligible to serve no more than two consecutive terms. The committee's charge is to administer the University Teaching Fund (UTF) established by the Provost in cooperation with the Office of the Provost. Its responsibilities include:
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This
committee is no longer receiving applications, effective with the
2006-07 academic year. |
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The University Teaching Fund provides
intramural support for teaching and is administered by the University
Teaching Fund Committee (UTFC), which is a standing committee of the University
Senate/ Faculty Council. The University Teaching Fund is
intended to support teaching improvement and innovation in ways that fall
outside the normal role played by departments and schools: funds for the
development of new and nontraditional courses and curricula; for interdisciplinary
and extracurricular courses and programs; and for inter-school teaching
initiatives. Any full time member of the Emory
faculty who participates in the instruction of students, provided that
the faculty member expects to be at Emory at least through the following
academic year, is eligible to apply individually or as a member of a group
of qualified faculty. In a group application at least one member of the
group must be qualified. Support for salary and release time are available
only to qualified faculty. Awards are available for individual faculty members (or small, 2-4 member teams) and to larger groups of faculty or formal entities within the university. Generally, we anticipate proposals in the $1,000-$25,000 range. The UTFC is especially interested
in receiving highly innovative, group proposals that might be expected
to have significant impact on teaching across multiple academic programs
or schools/divisions. 1. Direct teaching support. Funds are awarded for direct support such as equipment, books, supplies, funding for seminars and symposia, and travel. 2. Salary support (The different financial and accounting arrangements of the schools and colleges may determine the most appropriate form of salary awards. UTF salary awards are subject to fringe deduction and taxes.) The terms of any release time are to be determined by the Applicant, the Applicant's Departmental Chair, and the Dean. Signatures on application indicate that approval for the requested course reduction has been given by the appropriate administrative official(s). Flexible support, as appropriate, is available to fund proposals made by groups of faculty. Departments, centers, divisions, schools and other administrative entities, as well as self-formed groups of faculty may submit proposals in this category. Examples of such proposals might include: the development of teacher-training programs for new or junior faculty, a series of seminars or colloquia on educational theory, studies of various teaching or examination skills, or other subjects related to teaching improvement or innovation. The budget request should outline what is needed, the purpose for which it is needed, and which member of the faculty will be responsible for the administration of a grant if awarded. The UTFC recognizes that major innovations or large scale change often comes only from ambitious projects that require substantial funding; accordingly, funding requests may be for any reasonable amount. Proposals for large awards will be evaluated under the general criteria listed below. Proposals which address some aspect of teaching and that have the potential to add significantly to learning at Emory University will be evaluated against the following criteria:
Proposals should contain the following items: Cover Sheet(s):
Proposal Description (2 to 4 pages) Narrative describing as specifically as possible: (a) what is proposed, (b) the perceived need to be addressed by the proposal, (c) how the proposal satisfies each of the criteria listed above. If the proposal is one for course development it should include a statement of the pedagogic rationale. (Proposals are generally not assigned to reviewers from the same discipline. Therefore, proposals should be written for a general audience.) This
committee is no longer receiving applications, effective with the
The UTFC will select proposals for funding based on the above criteria, and on available funds. Proposals made outside of the regular
funding cycle may be considered by the UTFC on a funds-available basis
only in extraordinary circumstances and only upon showing that the proposal
could not have been made during the regular cycle. Any such proposals
should be accompanied by a one-page cover letter justifying the request
for special consideration. At least two members of the University
Teaching Fund Committee will evaluate each proposal; the UTFC may also
request reviews from other Emory faculty under special circumstances.
Deans or department heads may be consulted regarding the relationship
of the proposal to others from the same unit, or to existing and planned
curricular directions within the unit. Award recommendations will be made
at a full meeting of the UTFC, following discussion of the proposal's
merits, reviews, and ranking among all submissions. At the conclusion of the
project a written report of the project is to be provided to the UTFC.
In addition, each successful applicant must agree to participate in follow-up
discussions and evaluations with the UTFC as well as other members/groups
of the Emory community. The UTFC will consider the failure to timely submit
reports or participate in follow-up discussions and evaluations when reviewing
subsequent proposals for funding from the same school or division. |
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Annual Report to University Senate & Faculty Council April 11, 2000
UTF Awards during 1999-2000 The University Teaching Fund provides intramural support for teaching and is administered by the University Teaching Fund Committee (UTFC), which is a standing committee of the University Senate Faculty Council. This report details the activities of the UTFC from September, 1999 through April, 2000. The University Teaching Fund has an annual allocation of $250,000 to be awarded subsequent to internal competition for grants to support teaching improvement and innovation. During this reporting period, one funding cycle has been completed and the second funding cycle is in progress. During the first funding cycle in fall of 1999, 28 proposals were submitted requesting approximately $492,000. After careful review, the committee voted to fund 9 proposals for a total amount of approximately $48,000. The proposals selected for funding were submitted by faculty from the following schools/departments: Anthropology and Geology; Biology and Chemistry; Classics; English and Economics; General Institute of Liberal Arts; Medicine; Physics, Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures; and, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. For the second funding cycle, the proposal submission date was April 10, 2000 and the total number of proposals and amount of requested funding is not available at the time of preparation of this report. The committee will meet during the month of May to determine funding of these proposals. University Teaching Fund Committee Membership The University Teaching Fund was established as a standing committee of the University Senate Faculty Council in September 1996. Members were originally drawn from the ad-hoc committee that was the precursor to the UTFC. Members are now inducted through nominations and recommendations. The Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs is an ex-officio member of the UTFC. The current membership of the committee includes representation from every school in the University. The current membership of the committee is as follows: William Branch, School of Medicine Kenneth Carter, Oxford College Arri Eisen, College Harriet King, Vice-Provost (ex-officio) Benn Konsynski, School of Business Steve Kraftchick, School of Theology Deborah McFarland, School of Public Health Gary Smith, School of Law Vaidy Sunderam, College Tanya Sudia-Robinson, School of Nursing (Chair) On going UTC Operation It is anticipated that the UTFC will continue to solicit proposals twice per academic year, with submission deadlines in October and March, allowing faculty to seek funding for projects to be completed during the summer months or during the academic year. The budget allocation of $250,000 per year has been sufficient to fund small proposals, however, the committee remains unable to fund large projects at this time. New Membership Several current committee members will rotate off the committee at the completion of this academic year (Kenneth Carter, Tanya Sudia-Robinson, Vaidy Sunderam). These committee members are currently working with Harriet King to identify appropriate faculty to serve during the 2000-2001 academic year. The new members will be invited to participate in the next meeting of the committee to assist with the transition of membership. The committee has elected Arri Eisen to serve as the next chair of the committee. Respectfully submitted, Tanya Sudia-Robinson,
UTFC Chair 1998-2000 Top of Page The University Teaching Fund provides intramural support for teaching and is administered by the University Teaching Fund Committee (UTFC), which is a standing committee of the University Senate Faculty Council. This report details the activities of the UTFC from Spring 1997 until March 1998. The University Teaching Fund has an annual allocation of $250,000 to be awarded subsequent to internal competition, for grants to support teaching improvement and innovation. During this reporting period, three proposal processing cycles were conducted. In the first, 34 proposals requesting $411,149 were received of which 12 proposals totaling $67,717 were funded. In the second round, 22 proposals with requests totaling $231,457 were received. A total amount of $144,888 among 15 projects was awarded in that round. These two rounds comprised UTFC funding for 1997-98. Of 56 proposals requesting $642,606, the UTFC awarded $212,605 among 27 proposals. As of April 1998, most of these proposals range in status from "ongoing" to "planned for summer or fall 1998". In March 1998, the UTFC completed selection of awards for Fall 1998 from 1998-99 funds. Twenty-two proposals requesting $339,081 were received, of which the UTFC approved 12 projects, totaling $139,654. The list of funded proposals for two cycles in 1997-98 and one cycle in the upcoming 1998-99 funding period is attached in Appendix A. University Teaching Fund Committee and Membership The UTFC was established as a standing committee of the University Senate / Faculty Council in September 1996. Members were originally drawn from the ad-hoc committee that was the precursor to the UTC. Members are now inducted through nominations and recommendations. The Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs is an ex-officio member of the UTFC. Representation from every school in the University has been attained in the current membership; it is recommended that this be maintained in the future, as far as possible. When three members rotate off each year, recommendations and nominations are received by the UTFC for replacements and proposed to the Senate Faculty Council for approval. The UTFC hereby requests approval for the following two changes in membership to take place effective the next funding cycle of the UTFC. 1) Prof. Steve Kraftchick (CST) to replace Prof. Charles Foster (CST) 2) Prof. Gary Smith (LAW) to replace Prof. Cynthia Baker (LAW) The UTC also requests approval for Prof. Tanya Robinson (NUR) to replace Prof. Vaidy Sunderam (A&S) as Chair of the committee. UTF Awards during 1997-1998 This is the second full year of UTFC operation as a standing committee of the Senate Faculty Council. In 1996-97, 28 projects totaling $178,360 were funded in two rounds of proposal processing. In 1997-98, the UTFC solicited proposals during Fall '97 and Spring '98. In the first round, the UTC received 34 proposals by the deadline of November 3, 1997. An aggregate amount of $411,149 was requested. The UTFC adopted a review process where two members were designated principal reviewers for each proposal; unless deemed necessary on technical grounds, reviewers were assigned proposals from outside their academic units/schools. All UTFC members had access to all proposals, irrespective of their reading assignments. At a full meeting of the UTFC, principal reviewers presented their opinions, and after discussion, proposals were decided upon by consensus. Twelve proposals totaling $67,717 were funded. Most were individual projects, with awards ranging in amount from $1,155 to $12,000. For the Spring '98 funding round, 22 proposals were received by the deadline of February 27, 1998. A total of $231,457 was requested. Following a similar reviewing procedure, 15 projects totaling $144,888 were selected for funding. Again, most were individual projects; a few interdepartmental projects for larger amounts were also funded. In summary, during 1997-98, the UTFC received 56 proposals with an aggregate request of $642,606, and awarded 27 grants totaling $212,605. The UTFC has recently completed the first round of proposal processing for the 1998-99 academic year. For this round, 22 proposals requesting $339,081 were received by the deadline of February 27, 1998. Following the usual reviewing procedure, 12 proposals for a total award amount of $139,654 have been selected for funding. The second round of proposal processing for 1998-99 is planned for Fall '98. A list of projects funded in 1997-98, and those approved for funding in Fall 1998 is shown in Appendix A. Reporting and Evaluations The guidelines for proposal submission, as well as award letters to recipients, list reporting requirements for awardees. The guidelines also indicate that grant recipients are expected to participate in follow-up discussions and evaluations. Most projects funded during 1996-97 have now been completed or will be completed soon. The UTFC has received reports on most projects, and formal as well as informal feedback suggests that the fund is extremely valuable to furthering the teaching mission at Emory. During Fall '97, in conjunction with the Teaching Commission's open house event, the UTFC arranged for a poster presentation of selected projects exemplifying the types of teaching initiatives that were being undertaken with the help of the fund and the experiences learned therefrom. This session was very informative and valuable for those who attended as well as for the presenters, and the UTFC hopes to make this a regular occurrence. Also in Fall '97, the UTFC collected short abstracts of funded projects and assembled these for perusal by the community at large. Over 150 copies of the book were distributed at the open house event, and copies were mailed to all deans and division directors. This method of disseminating information about teaching initiatives and UTFC funded projects was also well received and will likely become routine practice. Copies of the book of abstracts (or original sets from which copies may be made) are available at the Provost's office. A listing of the book's table of contents is attached in Appendix C. Ongoing UTFC Operation It is anticipated that the UTFC will process teaching proposals on an ongoing basis, and expects that funds of approximately $250,000 will be awarded each academic year. The guidelines for proposals are deemed by the UTFC to be of crucial importance, and the current version has evolved over the past two years; a copy is attached in Appendix D. The UTFC expects that further refinements will take place as experience is gained with proposals and teaching projects, and via feedback from faculty colleagues. The types of proposals appropriate for funding by the UTFC and the criteria used in making selections are among the most important issues that need to be carefully defined and articulated. The UTFC is of the opinion that one funding cycle per year become the norm for teaching grants, based on the planning lead times required by faculty and departments, proposal preparation, and reviewing requirements. It is intended that proposals will be solicited in the fall of each academic year, with awards being announced in the spring, for projects to be conducted in the following year. However, in response to a number of requests by faculty and discussion of the best interests of the teaching community, the UTFC reconsidering this notion and has in fact conducted two funding cycles per year in each of the two years of its existence. Issues and Concerns The UTFC has encountered a number of pressing issues that are being considered and discussed; it is hoped that these will be resolved soon. Issues concerning eligibility, post-award accounting, rebudgeting, and change in scope of projects continue to arise periodically. The UTFC is dealing with these on a case by case basis, and at the same time, evolving these decisions into standard policy for the future. The UTFC has been supported extremely well with accounting assistance from the Office of the Provost, and administrative assistance from the Office of the Provost and the office of the University Senate. However, if the workload of proposal processing and grant administration increases substantially, an office analogous to that of the URC should be considered. A number of proposals requesting funds for faculty to attend teaching improvement seminars and courses have been received. The UTFC feels that a greater segment of the faculty could benefit if the University were to offer such seminars here on campus, and urges the Administration to consider this. The issue of different salary structures in the different schools has been difficult to reconcile when considering proposals that seek to partially pay faculty salaries from UTFC funds. One of the intentions of the UTFC is to enable or facilitate large and/or highly innovative teaching projects that would have substantial impact on teaching University-wide. The issue of balancing such proposals (which may request 30-50% of the total UTFC budget) against individual proposals is a difficult one. Another issue concerns individual academic units or schools requesting a substantial sub-allocation of UTFC funds for disbursement internally for teaching related activities. The UTFC feels that several of the above issues should be discussed and resolved in cooperation with other entities at Emory, both visionary as well as operative, such as the Commission on Teaching, the College Center for Teaching and Curriculum, the Office of Internationalization, and ITD. The UTFC plans to engage in discussions with some of these entities next year. Respectfully submitted Vaidy Sunderam, UTFC Chair 1997-98. Top of Page |
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| UTF Awards 1997-98 (Rounds #1 & #2)
Department Title Contact Person(s) Funding Anthropology Group
Dynamics Training Bartlett $3,570 Business Multicultural
Workplace Kenton $5,000 Biochemistry Protein
Structure Prediction Gernert $14,340 Economics Case-Method
Teaching Techniques Capenter $6,500 Emergency
Medicine Internet-based
Evaluation Process Shayne $13,795 English Kairos
Foundation Seminar Cavanagh $1,500 Film
Studies Interdisciplinary
Course on Violence in Cinema Bellesiles $10,000 German Immersion
Program McMahon $3,000 Gynecology Faculty
Development Seminar Zieman $1,500 History Womens'
Studies Theory-Practice Internship Odem $5,700 HNE Using
Students Learning Experience Effectively Martin $13,603 ILA American
Musical Cultures Tullos $3,242 Law A
Collaborative Course on Legal Methods Bederman $3,500 Law American
Legal History Price $1,155 Linguistics The
American Languages Hary $5,000 Medicine Gyn
Exam Education Doyle $7,250 Nursing Course
Offering in Child Advocacy Kelly $10,000 Nursing Standardized
Patient Program McDonnel $15,300 Oxford Historical
Perspectives Ali $12,000 Pediatrics Teaching
Syllabus for Pediatric Neurology Holt $7,500 Phys.
Asst Clinical
Therapeutics Course Mayfield $7,000 Political
Science Theory
& Methods in Social Science Teaching Rich $4,500 Psychology Teaching
Through Community Service Owen-Smith $5,000 Religion Theatre/Carlos
Museum Lipstadt $10,000 Religion Theory
Practice Learning Patterson $5,000 SPH Injury
Control Graitcer $6,000 SPH International
Field Site in Gautemala Schroeder $31,650 TOTAL: 27 awards - $212,605 funded |