Purpose

The purpose of the Curricular Improvement Fund – CIF is two fold: 1) Curricular Development – CD – proposals will focus on content development and teaching methods for entire programs or single courses; and 2) the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning – SoTL – proposals will focus on a systematic study of teaching and learning.

CD – proposals may include: 1) developing programs for university curriculum requirements; 2) developing changes in major or minor program requirements; 3) developing courses outside of your normal duties and responsibilities associated with curricular modifications; 4) developing a new course or revamping a course that hasn’t been taught for a number of years; and 5) developing a totally different approach or incorporating a new teaching method(s).

SoTL – proposals involve research and development of new pedagogical techniques and/or models and the scholarship of assessing these new methods. Past scholarly work has involved experiences with other programs such as the Office of Professional and Instructional Development’s (OPID), WI Teaching Fellows, WI Teaching Scholars, and Faculty College. Other projects have involved training provided by the UW-Platteville Teaching Excellence Center. Summer work may be devoted to SoTL planning or writing the case studies.

SoTL – proposals may include: 1) researching a project or procedure in a course intended to improve pedagogy; 2) implementing a change in teaching or learning and assessing the results of the change.

Criteria

All proposals related to curriculum reform are welcomed. Proposals will be rated by the clarity of the objectives, the realism of the scope, and the completeness of the plan of work and budget. Additional consideration will be given to projects that satisfy one or more of the following:

• Project affects broad numbers of students such as major program or university level curriculum development including but not limited to development of entry-level and capstone classes; modification of highly enrolled general education courses; program reform; and program development.
• Project promotes writing across the curriculum
• Project exposes students to ethnic and racial diversity
• Project promotes an international perspective; or
• Project is interdisciplinary.

Eligibility

Faculty and instructional academic staff who normally teach one-half time or more for the entire academic year and are returning to the university the following academic year are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to applicants who have not received a CIF grant in the past two years.

Time Period

Payment cannot be made until the final report is submitted. Final reports must be written in Microsoft Word and submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs via email attachment to osp@uwplatt.edu no later than September 1, 2013 for CD performed in the summer; June 1, 2013 for CD performed in the fall or spring; September 1, 2014 for SoTL. Payment will be made when the final report is received. However, an intermediate payment may be given based on the timeline provided. In order to be paid on the first of the month, the report must be submitted by the 10th of the previous month.

Faculty members who fail to submit a final written report and share their results with university colleagues will be ineligible to receive additional grants in the future including, but not limited to, CIF, SAIF, AAF and sabbaticals.

Restrictions

1. Maximum total awards are listed below:
   • For CD proposals submitted by a single applicant: $3,000.
   • For CD proposals submitted by multiple applicants: $6,000.
   • For SoTL proposals: $1,000.
2. The maximum allowance for a single individual’s summer salary is $3,000.
3. The maximum allowance for release time during the fall or spring semesters is $4,000 (Note: Requests for release time funds must be accompanied by a letter of support from the chair/director (or chairs/directors) of the affected department (or departments)).
4. The academic department will provide any supplies necessary for the project.
5. Funds may not be used for attendance at conferences, workshops or conventions.
6. Funds may not be used to support graduate study leading toward a terminal degree.
7. All UW-Platteville research projects which involve human participants must have approval from the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB) prior to the onset of data collection. Research projects involving animal subjects must have approval from the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) prior to the onset of data collection. The approval letter must be included with the final report on your project. Failure to provide this documentation will result in nonpayment of salaries associated with your grant.