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Submission and Selection Criteria for ACS Interdisciplinary Mini-Grants
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Required Proposal Cover Sheet
BACKGROUND
In considering the question, “How do we provide the education that students need to be responsible and productive global citizens,” two external realities exist that make interdisciplinary opportunities both critical and challenging in a liberal arts education:
- The world is rapidly changing. Essential skills for the present and the future include international vision, a mature understanding of human experience, access to extensive knowledge, and the ability to look at issues from multiple perspectives.
- Research of all types, be it casual or formal, is becoming more and more interdisciplinary in nature.
Preparing students for these two realities calls for a breadth of understanding of multiple disciplines and how they relate to each other, as well as the ability to find, to evaluate, to integrate and to synthesize information that will inform decisions, policies, and practices in every phase of one’s social and business life. In order to do this effectively, and to foster innovative practices, it is critical to promote a faculty culture that moves from specialization to cross-disciplinary dialogue. This means that departments and faculty need encouragement (structured opportunities and rewards) to work together to help students recognize and experience disciplinary relationships, even in non- interdisciplinary courses. This kind of dialogue must take place if effective curricular changes are to be made.
However, changing the culture is not solely a faculty or a curricular issue. It also must extend to extracurricular and co-curricular spheres, including advising, residence life, and special programs. Thinking in interdisciplinary ways and helping students understand the connections among disciplines and what these connections mean in the real world are campus-wide responsibilities.
GENERAL MINI-GRANT INFORMATION
The Associated Colleges of the South and the Interdisciplinary Opportunities Task Force invite faculty, staff, and students from all sixteen ACS member institutions to submit proposals for mini-grants made possible by funding from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. **PLEASE NOTE: Students who wish to submit an interdisciplinary co-curricular proposal must have an actively involved faculty or staff mentor/sponsor working with them and the proposed activity/program.**
The total amount available for these interdisciplinary mini-grants is approximately $90,000. Individual proposals may be funded up to a maximum amount of $8,500 and $4,250 for supplemental proposals to repeat or continue a project previously funded by an ACS Interdisciplinary minigrant.
The basic purposes of these grants are to:
- promote campus dialogue about the need for and the place of interdisciplinary opportunities in a Liberal Arts education.
- encourage effective curricular and co-curricular changes at ACS institutions.
- support the development of innovative models and practices through the design, evaluation, redesign, and implementation of curricular and/or co-curricular interdisciplinary opportunities at individual ACS institutions and across the consortium.
- provide a venue for the sharing existing and new interdisciplinary models within and beyond the consortium.
DEFINITION
The definitions of “interdisciplinary” and “multidisciplinary,” as defined by the ACS Interdisciplinary Task Force, are online at http://www.colleges.org/newmodels/interdisciplinary/definition.html
For the purposes of these mini-grants, interdisciplinary is defined as academic courses, non-academic/co-curricular programs, and/or other opportunities that link together and integrate information and methodologies from two or more separate disciplines. Such linkages and integration create a multi-faceted picture of a topic through the exploration and synthesis of various approaches/views. To ensure success, these intersections and connections among disciplines require a non-hierarchical sharing of intellectual authority and continuous dialogue among ALL participants. This is an especially critical point for those designing and implementing a course/ program/ opportunity.
Often, a team teaching/leadership model is used to achieve the intended results. In this model:
- faculty and/or leaders plan every facet of the course/offering together. There are no unilateral decisions.
- there is dialogue between the faculty/leaders and the disciplines. All are equal. In courses, faculty members teach each other’s texts.
- each class/session interweaves the disciplines and texts. There is no sole ownership of disciplines or texts.
- all faculty/leaders involved participate in every class/session.
- [ideally] course grading and any evaluation are done as a team.
- academic courses count for credit in each discipline.
I. INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULAR & CO-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES
Proposals may be submitted for interdisciplinary curricular and/or co-curricular
opportunities. Collaborative models combining both curricular and co-curricular ventures are encouraged. ** NOTE: Students who wish to submit an interdisciplinary co-curricular proposal must have an actively involved faculty or staff mentor/sponsor working with them and the proposed activity/program.
Regardless of the venue, the resulting interdisciplinary experience should:
- provide opportunities for dialogue and collaboration among two or more disciplines.
- encourage departments, faculty, and staff to work together to help students recognize and experience interdisciplinary relationships, even in non-interdisciplinary courses and/or campus activities.
- help students understand the connections among disciplines and what these connections mean in the real world.
- demonstrate to students the need to bring together different disciplines in their studies as they deal with real world problems and seek potential solutions to these problems.
- stimulate additional interdisciplinary efforts.
- address critical interdisciplinary needs and opportunities on a campus.
II. Availability of Mini-Grants
There will be four rounds of mini-grants.
A. Submission deadline of April 17, 2006
B. Submission deadline of October 6, 2006
C. Submission deadline of February 16, 2007
D. Submission deadline of October 15, 2007
III. Acceptance Guidelines
A. For a proposal to be accepted for consideration, it must:
- directly provide interdisciplinary opportunities as defined above.
- address the mission, purposes, and objectives of this initiative.
- be able to be completed within twelve months of receipt of funding and
contain all of the proposal elements listed below.
- include evidence of institutional support for the mini-grant proposal. The signature of the Academic Dean is required on all Proposal Cover Sheets.
- In the case of CURRICULAR proposals, a letter of support from the faculty member’s Department/Division Chair must be included.
- In the case of faculty/staff co-curricular proposals, a letter of support from must be included.
- In the case of student initiated co-curricular proposals, a letter from the faculty/staff mentor/sponsor and the chief student affairs officer must be submitted.
- Projects with October 15, 2007 submission dates may be for the Fall 2007 or Spring 2008 semesters and must be completed and final report submitted by May 16, 2008.
Grant proposals, be they curricular or co-curricular, may be for planning and implementation in the granting period or for planning alone, with implementation left to a later time. Please indicate clearly the purpose by indicating it in the summary, the proposal itself, and by checking the appropriate boxes on the required, standard cover sheet.
B. Proposal Elements
Proposals should be prepared in 12 point double-spaced type with 1 inch margins and conform to the page limit recommendations listed below. Sections 2-4 may not exceed ten pages. A completed full proposal consists of a single hard copy and a copy submitted via email, and must include the following:
1. Standard Cover Sheet (download and print)
- Title of Project.
- Name(s) of faculty, staff, and/or students submitting the request. Students must have a faculty or staff mentor actively working with them.
- Title, Department, Institution and mailing address.
- Phone, Fax, and e-mail information.
- Categories of submission:
- co-curricular interdisciplinary opportunity
- new interdisciplinary course/module/teaching and learning opportunity
- implementation of an interdisciplinary course/module/teaching and learning
opportunity
- redesign and implementation of an interdisciplinary course/module/teaching and
learning opportunity
- A supplemental idea to repeat or continue a project previously awarded by an ACS Interdisciplinary minigrant
- Date of submission and date of proposed period of grant.
- For curricular proposals: Signatures of applicant (s), department chair(s), and chief academic officer(s).
- For co-curricular proposals: Signatures of applicant(s), chief student affairs officer, and chief academic officer.
2. Summary recommended not to exceed one page:
- Issue, topic, problem, or process addressed by the proposal.
- Goals and objectives of the interdisciplinary opportunity.
- Description of how the goals and objectives will be accomplished.
- Anticipated outcomes and benefits.
- Description of collaborative relationships.
3. Project Description recommended not to exceed six pages that describes:
- Goals and objectives.
- Background and campus context.
- Detailed interdisciplinary plan, demonstrating adequate planning and preparation for faculty/staff/student collaboration.
- Prior activities or research related to proposal.
- Projected timetable.
- Requested budget, with justification for each line item: reassigned time, equipment, supplies, travel, etc. Faculty stipends [for summer work] cannot exceed $5,000 total per proposal and cannot include any benefits or taxes. Indirect costs are not permitted.
Consideration may be given for a larger stipend amount when evidence supporting the
need for an additional amount is included.
- Context of the interdisciplinary offering in curriculum and /or faculty’s research agenda or context of the co-curricular offering in campus life.
- Anticipated impact on the discipline , the institution, and the students
- Evidence of institutional support.
4. Evaluation, Dissemination, and Continued Support recommended not to exceed two pages including:
- A description of evaluation/assessment process. How will success be measured?
- Plans for dissemination of results. Include a plan to showcase the results of the project. For example, presentation of results at ACS and other conferences and workshops; publications in appropriate journals.
- Personal/departmental/institutional plans for continued support of this interdisciplinary offering beyond this proposal.
5. Literature Cited
List all references cited in the proposal. Each reference must include the title, names of all authors, book or journal, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication.
6. C.V. of Faculty Participant(s)
Maximum of two pages. If multiple institutions are involved, include a c.v. for the principle faculty and at least one faculty c.v. from each collaborating institution.
7. Resume of Student[s] Submitting Proposal
Maximum of two pages. If more than one student is involved, include a brief paragraph for each student, including name, class classification, and major/minor.
8. Disclosure Statement
Each applicant is asked to list other on-going grant activities or activities
that will coincide with the submitted proposal. Each applicant is further requested to
include current and pending funding information relevant to these activities.
C. Interim Progress Report
If the timeline for the funded proposal is six months or less, an Interim Progress Report will not be required.
If the timeline for the funded proposal is more than six months, an Interim Progress Report will be due to ACS Atlanta office by October 1, 2006 for the first grant round, March 1, 2007 for the second grant round, June 30, 2007 for the third round and February 12, 2008 for the fourth round. Guidelines for the Interim Report are posted on the ACS Interdiscilplinary Opportunities website and will be sent to the mini-grant recipients as part of the award/acknowledgement confirmation.
D. Final Report
It is expected that a detailed written report will be submitted by May 16, 2008 for the fourth round, addressing activities, outcomes, lessons learned, finances, and any follow-up plans. Final report Guidelines and deadlines are posted on the ACS Interdisciplinary Opportunities website and will be sent to the mini-grant recipients as part of the award/acknowledgement confirmation.
IV. Proposal Deadlines and Submission Schedule
The deadline for submission is April 17, 2006 for the first grant round, October 6, 2006 for the second round, February 16, 2007, for the third round and October 15, 2007 for the fourth round. Submit an electronic copy by the above dates to mwhite@colleges.org and a single hard copy (by mail, UPS, FEDEX,etc.) postmarked no later than the appropriate submission deadline to:
Marcia White, Director of Program Development
Associated Colleges of the South
1975 Century Boulevard
Suite 10
Atlanta, GA 30345
mwhite@colleges.org
404.636.9533 ext 18
A Review Sub-committee of the Interdisciplinary Task Force and the designated ACS staff person(s) will review the submitted proposals. Awards will be announced within 4 weeks of the submission deadline.
V. Project Evaluation Criteria
- Does the project address the goals of this grant?
- Does the proposal meet the submission guidelines and provide the requested information?
- Is the approach or design of the project appropriate to the goals and feasible?
- Is the project innovative and a potential model for adaptation?
- Are there adequate plans for evaluation and dissemination?
- What is the context of the activity within the curriculum or within campus life?
- What is the impact of the proposal on the discipline [for academic courses] and on the institution?
VI. Committee Review Process
Proposals will be read and discussed by a three [3] member Review Sub-committee of the Interdisciplinary Task Force. The following guidelines will be used to ensure that the review and selection process is fair and unbiased:
- Review committee members who are directly or closely involved in any project must remove themselves from participation in the review process to avoid a conflict of interest
- Campaigning on behalf of any one project by members of the larger planning committee or the review committee is discouraged.
- The designated ACS staff person will coordinate/facilitate the submission and review process.
- The review process will be confidential.
- Feedback will be provided to the applicants.
VII. Questions
If at any time there is a question related to the preparation of the proposal, please contact the Director of Program Development for ACS, Marcia White, mwhite@colleges.org, 404.636.9533 ext 18.
More information about the ACS Interdisciplinary Initiative is found online at http://www.colleges.org/newmodels/interdisciplinary/index.html.
Download the interim report guidelines
Download the final report guidelines
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