Seed Grants of up to $7500 per project will be awarded by the College of Education to individual faculty members or small groups of faculty who are beginning significant new projects in teaching, service, or scholarship.

New Projects And Purpose

New projects are encouraged that focus on:

• aspects of teaching that enable learning on campus or in P-12 classrooms,
• aspects of service that directly benefit the university or the education curriculum, and
• aspects of scholarship that contribute to current knowledge or that make what we know more useful to the educational community.

Although tenure-track faculty members at all levels (assistant, associate, and full) from the College of Education are eligible for the grants, preference will be given to applicants who are un-tenured. Faculty members who have received a Seed Grant are not eligible for another Seed Grant award for two years.

Proposals that help the recipient make significant progress toward promotion and tenure are essential. Therefore, applicants should carefully explain the evidentiary source targeted by the project. Further, applicants should carefully explain the expected impact of the project when completed, including the influence it will have on current scholarship; the impact on the college, university, and/or wider educational community; and/or the influence on curriculum and teaching.

Seed Grants are competitive and directed toward significant projects that will establish a line of inquiry or begin long term engagement in an aspect of teaching, service, or scholarship. Faculty members are encouraged to explore other funding sources within the university for short term or less significant projects.

Funding and Proposals

Funds may be used for the following:

• Materials, supplies, or equipment
• Technology, including software but excluding computers*
• Travel for research or presentation(s) related to this project
• Stipends for undergraduate or graduate students
• Faculty teaching replacement cost(s).

Funds are available July 1 and must be expended by May 31. Budget expenditures will be monitored by the COE Administrative Coordinator for Budget.

Two reports (written and oral) are required of all recipients, as described below.

1. Written Report -- Recipients are required to submit a final written report within 60 days of when the project is completed or the end of the funded period, whichever occurs first. The final report should include a description of the objectives, success in completing the objectives, other accomplishments, and impact on the relevant fields. The report also should include an expenditure report. A copy of any document, model, or other artifact with explanation of how it addresses the targeted evidentiary source and how it will be used for the promotion and tenure dossier should be included with the report.
2. Oral Presentation - Recipients are required to work with the College of Education Faculty Development, Mentoring, and Retention (FDMR) Committee to provide an informational session on the Seed Grant Program featuring reports from Seed Grant recipients. This faculty development session ordinarily will be scheduled for Spring semester.

Review and Decision

Proposals will be reviewed and ranked by a Selection Committee comprised of five representatives from the College of Education, four who are tenured. Two additional non-voting members of the committee will be available to mentor applicants as they prepare the grant proposal. Selection Committee members will serve staggered, two-year terms, appointed by the Dean in consultation with the FDMR Committee. The Selection Committee reports to the FDMR Committee. Mentors will serve in that capacity one year, and as voting members of the committee the other year of their service. At least one member of the selection committee must be a member of the FDMR Committee, and serve as chair of the Selection Committee. Funding recommendations will be made to the FDMR Committee, which will make subsequent recommendations to the Dean. Final funding decisions will be made by the Dean of the College of Education.

• Non-consumables and equipment purchased from grant monies are the property of the College of Education, not the investigator.

The Seed Grant Guidelines document contains the following:

• The program description
• The list of application materials
• The submission process & list of deadlines
• The cover page
• The project budget pages
• The review process
• The report of completion

Seed Grant Guidelines (DOCX, 42K)