The Excellence in Teaching Program

Program Objectives

The Instructional Enhancement Grant Program provides grants from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to enhance any aspect of the instructional mission of the university. The average amount funded is usually around X. Grants can focus on traditional classroom-based modes of instruction as well as other modes, such as tutoring, electronic distance education, directing graduate students, advising, etc. For example, projects may include development or acquisition of instructional materials, the introduction of new teaching techniques, instructional research, outreach or assessment. Sample proposals and the list of funded projects for the last three years illustrate the range of possibilities.

We encourage group projects that represent collaboration among faculty members. We also encourage proposals that address one of the themes of the Excellence in Teaching Program.

Time line for 2008-2009 IEG proposals:

Events	Due dates
Deadline for submiting new proposals	March 21 , 2008
Notification sent to applicants about the outcome	April 14, 2008
Date 2008-2009 funds are available	July 1, 2008
Poster session for the 2008-2009 funded projects	February 11, 2009 Time: 2:00-4:00pm Location: TBA
Deadline for spending the 2008-2009 funds	May 15, 2009

Eligibility

All academic and administrative faculty on continuing appointments of 0.5 FTE or greater are eligible to apply and must be the Principle Investigator.

Application

All IEG proposals must be submitted using an on-line application form. Please review the online application. Proposals must include:

Title,
Description of the project,
Statement of purpose,
Potential impact, including the number and type (undergrad non-majors, undergrad majors, grad students, community members) of students involved,
Relationship of the project to academic plans and goals of the department, college and/or university,
Final product of the project (e.g., instructional materials, presentation, formal assessment),
Budget, with budget explanation,
Agreement to present your findings at the IEG Poster Session
Justification for funding outside of available campus resources

The budget must include an itemized list of all expenses as well as the time period for which the funds will be used. Any amount up to $5,000.00 is accepted. Projects must be completed by the end of the fiscal year. Funding must be spent by May 15 of the fiscal year in which the funding begins.
IEG Proposals are evaluated on the following criteria:
Rating Scale: 1 = Weak, 2 = Moderate, 3 = Strong

Merit	Rating (1-3)
Instructional enhancement purpose Outcomes expected (benefits) Innovation (is project doing something new?) Feasibility of success
Evaluation	Rating (1-3)
Evaluation Plan (how the project will be evaluated) Usefulness of Evaluation Appropriateness (how well the evaluation plan measures the stated outcomes)
Budget	Rating (1-3)
Clarity (how funds will be used and breakdown of expenditures) Appropriateness (funds will be used in accordance with project guidelines) Matching Funds (presence and significance of matching funds) Reasonableness (likelihood the budget will support a successful project) Impact (number of students impacted over time)

IEG does not fund:

Faculty salaries of any kind
Consumable supplies, such as paper
Photocopying expenses
Speaker fees
Training fees
Conference fees
Travel fees, unless benefiting students

Salary for undergraduate or graduate research assistants is sometimes funded if well justified.

The proposals will be reviewed by, and funding decisions made by, the Instructional Enhancement Grants Committee. This committee includes faculty members from most colleges, many of whom have been recipients of Instructional Enhancement Grants in previous years, and representatives from the Excellence in Teaching Program, Core Curriculum Board, the University Library, Teaching and Learning Technologies, and University Assessment.

Questions should be directed to Lesley Sheppard (lesleys@unr.edu)

Phone: (775) 784-6591 or to a member of the IEG committee.