TEACHING. LEARNING. FACULTY DEVELOPMENT.

Faculty Development Grants

The Academy for Teaching and Learning uses state Faculty Development Grant Program and federal Title III HBCU Faculty Development Program funds each year to support the ongoing professional development of faculty members - and in particular to enhance their teaching effectiveness - by funding participation in workshops, conferences, short courses, seminars, and other professional experiences that promote increased teaching/learning effectiveness.

Grant requests should be aimed at developing knowledge and skills related to: (1) effective and innovative teaching pedagogies, (2) new and emerging ideas, processes, and discoveries within academic disciplines, or (3) broad-based academic leadership skills related to teaching and learning.

Applying for a Faculty Development Grant

1. Faculty Development Grant Application and Instructions. Faculty members applying for faculty development funds must submit a completed Faculty Development Grant Application (Word) to the Academy for Teaching and Learning (ATL), 313 Dowdy Building, at least 30 days prior to travel date and prior to arrangements/registration being made.

2. Travel Authorization and Expense Reimbursement Forms. Award recipients must submit a completed and signed Travel Authorization and Travel Advance Request Form (TVL-1) along with hardcopy evidence supporting estimated expenses (e.g. conference brochure listing registration and/or hotel fees, online travel itinerary, etc.) prior to travel.

In addition, award recipients will need to submit a completed and signed Travel Expense/Reimbursement Form (included in the TVL-1 Form package above) and required documentation when the trip is completed to be reimbursed for allowable trip expenses.

Important Note: Submit the signed and completed Faculty Development Grant Application, along with the signed and completed Travel Authorization and Travel Advance Form (TVL-1), before making any conference or travel arrangements. The ATL will notify applicants about the status of their application according to the schedule listed below. Only after receiving an award letter from the ATL should you begin making travel arrangments.

Questions? Contact Ms. Mikosha Gatson, the administrative assistant for the ATL director, at mcgatson@ncat.edu or 334-7085, ext. 2249.

Due Dates

Faculty Development Grant applications are due by the 15th of each month. Decisions on faculty development grant requests will be made by the 1st of the following month All applicants will be notified via email of the decision about their application. Please take the decision dates into consideration when planning your travel. Note in particular that conference/workshop registration often needs to be confirmed well in advance of the conference/workshop date. Plan early!

Award Decisions

Awards are based on a variety of factors, including the strength of the relationship between the proposed activity and ongoing professional development as well as institutional priorities, needs, and program development. New and recently appointed permanent faculty members, as well as faculty members involved in curricular changes, near tenure/promotion decisions, or undergoing post-tenure review will be given higher priority in the selection process. In addition, some consideration is given to funding equity across departments/schools/colleges when making faculty development awards.

Co-payment Rule

Faculty Development Awards are intended to partially fund travel requests; departments and colleges/schools (or the faculty member) should expect to cover a minimum of 10% of expected travel costs. This will allow more faculty members to benefit from the limited funds that are available to fund faculty development activities. The ATL believes that each academic unit must be the primary source for faculty development funding; Title III and State faculty development funds are to be used to complement the funds of academic units, not replace them.

Important Note: The Faculty Development Grant co-payment is typically 30%, but in consideration of the budgetary situation during the 2009-2010 academic year, the co-payment amount is being reduced to 10% for this year.

Prepaid Travel Expenses

Only airline tickets, program registration fees, and hotel reservations can be prepaid, with proper documentation. After a Faculty Development Grant has been awarded (and prior to travel), faculty members must submit a completed Travel Authorization/Travel Advance Request Form (TVL-1) with the appropriate signatures and documentation to receive prepaid expenses.

Limitations

• Faculty Development Grants are limited to one award per faculty member per academic year.
• Faculty Development Grants may NOT be used to support presentations at conferences. However, you may still apply for funds to attend the conference as a professional development activity.
• Faculty Development Grants CANNOT be used to pay for conferences/workshops/seminars primarily related to research, funding, program accreditation, etc. You must be able to demonstrate a direct link between participation in the conference/workshop/seminar and student learning in the classroom.
• In general, Faculty Development Grants may NOT be used for international travel and travel to Hawaii. Special permission must be requested and received from the U.S. Dept. of Education to use Title III funds for international travel.
• The ATL will not fund more than two Faculty Development Grants from the same department and no more than three faculty members overall (regardless of department) for a particular conference/workshop/course (in order to maximize the benefits of the Faculty Development Grant program across all units on campus).
• No travel arrangements should be made until you hear from the Academy for Teaching and Learning that your Faculty Development Grant request has been funded. Requests for reimbursement of costs related to travel that has already been completed will be automatically denied.

Additional Information

• U.S. government funds (Title III HBCU funding) become available at the earliest October 1, but may be delayed beyond this date. Travel requests may be awarded, but prepayment of registration and/or airline travel may not be possible (although reimbursement of expenses paid by the traveler are permissible) immediately on October 1.
• Faculty Development Grant funds may be depleted prior to the end of the academic year. Check the ATL web site to see whether funds are no longer available, especially if you plan to travel in summer or at the start of the academic year (August/September). To increase your chances of funding, submit travel requests as early as possible in the academic year.