UWise (University of West Georgia Institutional STEM Excellence)
Mini-grant Program (2014-2015) – Request for Proposals
“Improving Instruction and Enhancing Student Success in STEM Disciplines”
Review of Applications will begin on Monday, July 28, 2014
UWise is pleased to announce mini-grants to support projects to improve instruction and
enhance the success of students in introductory and upper-level science and mathematics courses
(offered by COSM) as well as science and mathematics teacher preparation courses (offered by COE).
Projects may include the development and implementation of innovative instructional strategies to
improve student learning. The ultimate goal of the UWise Initiative is to increase the number and
success of STEM majors including students preparing to become science and mathematics teachers.
Eligibility:
Fulltime faculty members from COSM or COE are eligible to apply, with following guidelines.
 COSM Faculty: Proposals may be submitted by an individual faculty member or a group of
faculty members
 COSM Departmental requests: Requests from the COSM departments addressing common
innovative ideas to increase student learning in STEM gateway courses (listed elsewhere in the
RFP) can be considered for the mini-grant program. Either the Chair or the coordinator of these
courses can submit a proposal. Higher budgets can be requested for the departmental grants
with sufficient justification.
 COE Faculty: A limited number of grants are available to COE faculty specifically for servicelearning proposals that provide students the opportunity to gain teaching experience in science
and mathematics.
 Renewal of UWise Mini-Grants: Faculty who have received mini-grants in previous funding
cycles are encouraged to submit the projects, provided they make a strong case for further
refinement and/or to broaden the scope of the previously funded activities. All renewal
applications must include a brief progress report on the work accomplished during previous
funding period.
Requirements:


Recipients are expected to implement mini-grants in Fall 2014 and Spring 2015, analyze the data
in May 2015, and submit the final report by June 1, 2015.
All recipients are required to participate in Faculty Learning Community (FLC) that will support
development of project research, the research/evaluation, and a dissemination plan. During the
monthly FLC meetings, mini-grant recipients will discuss their projects with their peers. The
grantees will receive additional one-on-one support, as needed, to complete their final research
reports.
ALL Proposals must include the following:
1. UWise mini-grant cover sheet (1 page)
2. For Renewals only – Please provide a brief (about ½ page to 1 page) progress report of work
accomplished during the previous funding period.
UWise program is funded by Georgia Board of Regents’ STEM II Initiative
3. Description of the project: (2-3 pages). Brief project description should include the following:
 Identified needs (15 points). Projects must be based on an identified need related to
student learning. Provide evidence of this need. Describe any background or context
reviewers will need to understand your project.
 Impact (15 points). Explain breadth of impact this project may have on improving faculty
instruction and student learning in introductory STEM courses such as
o Math 1111, 1113 or 1634
o Physics 1111/1112 or 2211/2212
o Biology 1107/1108 or 2107/2108
o Geology 1121/1122
o Computer Science 1300, 1301 or 1302
o Chemistry 1211/1212
o Upper level science and mathematics course (2000 or above level courses for
science and mathematics majors)
o Any COE course on Science/Math teacher preparation.
 Goals (10 points). List the goals for the mini-grant. Briefly explain how the mini-grant goals
relate to the larger BOR STEM Consortium goals.
 Research Questions (10 points). List the research questions that will be answered through
the evaluation of your mini-grant’s implementation.
 Plan (30 points). Describe specific activities and timeline for the activities. Activities must
be based on identified needs.
 Evaluation (10 points). Participation in Faculty Learning Community (FLC) workshops is
required for mini-grant awardees in order to develop and implement an evaluation plan to
measure the impact of the mini-grant project/strategy(ies) on student learning. For this
proposal, write a brief statement about what you hope to learn from the project. The
statement should be tied to the research questions listed in the Research Questions section.
 Budget (5 points): The typical award will be about $7,500 per mini-grant, which might be
used for supplies and materials, travel, and/or hiring student research assistants. Of this
amount, up to $ 2,500 is allowed for faculty stipend in Summer 2015, which will be counted
towards 33.33% summer salary maximum. For grants with multiple investigators, please
indicate the distribution of faculty stipend. Provide itemized budget and budget justification
for each item requested in the application cover sheet. Please note that mini-grant funds
may not be used to support ongoing departmental initiatives.
 Dissemination (5 points). Describe how you will disseminate your findings.
[Submit the proposals to Dr. S. Swamy Mruthinti, Associate Dean, COSM]
UWise program is funded by Georgia Board of Regents’ STEM II Initiative
UWise (University of West Georgia Institutional STEM Excellence)
Mini-grant Program (2014-2015) – Application Cover Sheet
Name:_______________________________________________________ Date:____________________
Department: __________________________________________________________________________
Phone:_______________________________________Email:________________________@westga.edu
Collaborators (if any)
Name: _________________________________________________Department:____________________
Phone: _______________________________________Email:________________________@westga.edu
Title of the Proposal:____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Total Budget Requested: $ _____________________________(typical award $ 7500)
Provide the following details:
 Summer 2015 salary (maximum $ 2500)
$_______________
(for multi-investigator projects provide % distribution of summer salary in budget justification)
 Travel:
$_______________
 Supplies:
$_______________
 Student Assistant salary (last working day for all students is May 1, 2015)$_______________
Provide brief budget justification for each category:
Signature of the Applicant: ______________________________Date:_______________
Signature of the Chair: _________________________________Date:_______________
[Submit the proposals to Dr. S. Swamy Mruthinti, Associate Dean, COSM]
UWise program is funded by Georgia Board of Regents’ STEM II Initiative
UWise program is funded by Georgia Board of Regents’ STEM II Initiative