IU Northwest Internal Grant
Student Success Grants
IU Northwest
PROCEDURE AND GUIDELINES
Revised 2015 (Academic Affairs)
PURPOSE: The purpose of the Student Success Grants is to provide faculty with resources to
implement projects designed to improve student learning and success. Projects may focus on
academic challenge, student-faculty interactions, active and collaborative learning, enriching
educational experiences, and/or creating a supportive campus environment. Proposals should also
describe how student success will be increased and how the project impacts overall student
retention.
GUIDELINES:
(1) Proposals should broadly address improvements using technology, assessment strategies,
and/or new pedagogies. Projects that integrate more than one area are encouraged.
Preference will be given to proposals that address:





Projects with a potential for publication in journals addressing the scholarship of
teaching and learning
Models that can be applied across disciplines
Innovations that impact multiple sections of courses
Improvement of student retention
General Education goals
A. Technology – The proposed projects will focus on the use of instructional technology to
enhance teaching and improve student learning outcomes. They should make a significant
technological advance in instructional practices and student learning beyond the use of
Oncourse. Potential topic areas include: high-tech classroom usage, distance learning, ecommunities, e-advising, blogs, Wikis, student response systems, simulations, computer
modeling, e-portfolios, and podcasts.
B. Assessment – Assessment-related projects will focus on systems or procedures for formative
and summative evaluation of learning and learning outcomes using qualitative and/or
quantitative methods. Potential topic areas include: changing pedagogy to enhance outcomes,
assessment schemes and rubrics, student participation in assessment procedures, and the
impact and clarity of outcomes.
C. Pedagogy – Teaching-related projects will focus on the implementation of classroom models
and theories to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Potential topic areas
include: writing across the curriculum, problem-based learning, peer-led learning, collaboration,
critical thinking, creativity, learning styles, diversity in the classroom, lesson-study groups,
learning communities, and other student engagement models.
(2) All tenure-track and tenured faculty and those with full-time continuing clinical rank and
lecturer appointments are eligible to apply.
1
(3) Award amount is up to $10,000. A detailed budget must be included with the grant
application. Travel to conferences to present research findings are not eligible for funding with
this grant. Compensation for the principal investigator will generally not be funded.
(4) Applicants must include at least one outside letter of recommendation and one internal
letter (from the chairperson or appropriate unit head as appropriate). Letters should be
addressed to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, accompany the application,
and arrive in Academic Affairs (Lindenwood 329) on or before the deadline of the second Friday
in November each year.
(5) Recipients must continue at IU Northwest through the academic year following the award
year in order to be eligible for this grant opportunity.
(6) An application involving the use of animals must be accompanied by evidence that it has
been approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at the Northwest
Center for Medical Education. An application involving the use of human subjects must be
accompanied by evidence that it has been approved by the IU Northwest Human Subjects
Committee. An application involving DNA, human fluids or tissues, or other infectious agents
must be accompanied by evidence that it has been approved by the Biosafety Committee in
Bloomington. Without such approval and in the absence of unusual extenuating circumstances,
an application will not be considered. For information on the policies related to animal,
biosafety, and human subject approval, the applicant can access the Indiana University policies
and forms (http://researchadmin.iu.edu/cs.html) and the IU Northwest policies and forms on
human subjects (www.iun.edu/~hsc/) online.
(7) All funds must be used within two (2) years of receipt of the award. Funds not used within
that time frame will revert back to the grant program. An annual summary of progress on the
grant will be due to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at jmbishop@iun.edu
and codell@iun.edu by September 30th of each year until the project is complete.
(8) Funding is not renewable for a project previously funded through a Student Success Grant
unless substantial change or addition to the project has occurred.
(9) A principal investigator may not hold a Curriculum Improvement Fellowship and a Student
Success grant simultaneously. In other words, a principal investigator cannot be awarded both
grants within the same funding cycle.
(10) These funds are intended to enhance the efforts of continuing IU Northwest faculty. A
condition for consideration for this grant is a commitment to the university on the part of the
applicant to remain at IU Northwest for at least one year following the award date and an
agreement to reimburse IU Northwest for all funds expended by the University in the event that
this commitment is not honored after the receipt of a grant awarded under this program.
(10) The Office of Academic Affairs will handle the awarding of the funds, which will be
transferred into the recipient’s research account.
2
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
(1) Applications for support must follow the format on the Student Success Grant application
form.
(2) The deadline for proposals will be the second Friday in November each year.
(3) An application for a Student Success Grant should be sent to the Office of Academic Affairs
(must include original and three copies). Please note: one complete original application,
including letters of recommendation, CV, must arrive in Academic Affairs (Lindenwood 329) by
5:00 pm on the second Friday in November to be eligible. Also submit a PDF containing the
complete application (naming rule: LASTNAME_SS_YEAR) to jmbishop@iun.edu and
codell@iun.edu.
For additional grant information, please contact Dr. Cynthia O’Dell (Associate Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs) at codell@iun.edu or 219-980-6509.
(4) Notice of award should be no later than two months after the proposal deadline.
EVALUATION PROCEDURE:
(1) The Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will assume responsibility for the
application—evaluation process, distributing the proposals, and running the meetings.
(2) The Grants Committee of the Faculty Organization wills serve as the selection committee for
the Student Success Grants. They will be charged annually by the Associate Executive Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Individuals cannot serve on this committee during a year in
which they are applying for funds. The Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will be
invited to review the proposals and attend the evaluation meeting.
(3) Copies of proposals will be read by all members of the committee, evaluated, and ranked in
terms of merit prior to the committee meeting to discuss the proposals. The committee will
meet to select the recipient(s).
(4) The committee will make its recommendations and send them to the Associate Executive
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs who will make the final decision in consultation with the
Executive Vice Chancellor. Awardees will then be notified by the Office of Academic Affairs.
OBLIGATIONS:
(1) Each faculty member who receives a grant must file a brief informative report with the
Office of Academic Affairs upon completion of their project to jmbishop@iun.edu and
codell@iun.edu by September 30th. If the work is not completed by the end of the fall
semester following the receipt of the grant, a progress report must be submitted by September
30th. A final report should be submitted when the project is completed. Failure to submit
these reports may cause a faculty member to be ineligible for all categories of IU Northwest
support for research and teaching development. These reports may be reviewed by future
funding committees to assist them in evaluating subsequent applications of a faculty member.
3
(2) Each faculty member who receives a grant must also agree to present the findings of their
project at a CISTL workshop, in order to share their best practice with the campus community,
within six months of completing the project.
4
INDIANA UNIVERSITY NORTHWEST
Academic Affairs
Application for Student Success Grants
Date:
1.
Applicant Name
2.
Title and Department/Division/Unit
3.
Project
a.
Title
b.
Character and scope
c.
Applicant’s special competence for this project (background, training,
preparation)
d.
Method and plan of work
e.
Describe how student success will be enhanced through this curriculum
improvement. (Include specifics on assessment measures.)
f.
When commenced, progress-to-date, and expectation regarding completion
and publication
4.
Papers published by the applicant, bearing upon this subject
5.
Other publications by the applicant (Attach list if desired.)
6.
References (The applicant should request supporting letters from at least two persons,
including the chairperson of the department or division head as applicable, and a person
from outside who is knowledgeable in the field of the proposed project. Please list
names, titles, addresses, and telephone numbers of persons who will supply
references.)
7.
Other source(s) of support for this research, if any
8.
Year of first appointment at Indiana University
9.
Other sources and amounts of support for research you have received in the last five
years
10.
Other relevant information, if any
11.
Amount requested: $
5
12.
Detailed Budget
NOTE: It is understood that (a) substantial deviations from the budget for a Student Success
Grant are not to be made without the authorization of the Office of Academic Affairs, and (b)
any granted funds not needed should be promptly returned.
I acknowledge and agree that, as a condition for consideration for this grant, I will remain at IU
Northwest for at least one year from the award date if I am awarded a grant under this
program. ___________[initial]
I agree that if I if I am awarded a grant under this program and I fail to remain at IU Northwest
for at least one year from the award date, I will reimburse IU Northwest for all funds
expended by the University under the grant. __________[initial]
13. Signatures:
________________________________________
Faculty
_________________
Date
________________________________________
Department Chair
_________________
Date
6