2007-2008 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
THE UNDERGRADUATE  INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

A.  Program Objectives

Undergraduate Instructional Improvement funds provide support for projects that enhance the educational experience of UC Davis undergraduates. Proposals from individual faculty members, faculty groups and departments or programs are invited. Projects may range from efforts by an individual faculty member to revise an existing course to a department-wide update of undergraduate curricula. (See Section C below).

B.  Overview of the Application and Review Process

Applications must be prepared according to the guidelines described in Section E and submitted via email to Lenora Bruce at the Teaching Resources Center: trc@ucdavis.edu. The deadline for the first round of applications this year is Tuesday, November 13, 2007.  The second round of proposals is due Monday, April 14, 2008.   All proposals are sent to the appropriate college or divisional dean for comment and then to a Faculty Advisory Committee for formal review. The Advisory Committee recommends awards to the Vice Provost -- Undergraduate Studies.  Normally, the entire process from application deadline to notification of award takes 6-8 weeks.  Most awards fall within the range of $1,000-$8,000.

Review Criteria: In evaluating proposals, the Advisory Committee considers their relative merits for improving teaching and learning on the Davis campus. Proposals are more likely to be well regarded if they reflect some of the following elements:

-A clear statement of instructional purpose
-A direct response to themes listed in the annual UIIP Call
-A direct response to internal or external program reviews
-The potential to improve instruction for a substantial number of students
-Non-routine and essential course development features
-Budget projections that are strategic and reasonable
-New applicants and/or new approaches

A more complete description of UIIP review criteria is available at http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/grants/faculty/UIIP_review.html

C.  Categories of Awards

1.   Department/Program Awards.  Departments and programs can request UIIP funds to substantially revise all or part of an existing curriculum. Revisions can include developing new courses, consolidating existing courses, program assessment, and so on. Requests of this sort normally complement additional resources committed by the college or division and by the department or program.

2.   UIIP Faculty Course Development Awards.  Individual faculty members can request UIIP funds to help develop new courses or make substantial revisions to existing courses. UIIP funds allocated for Department or Individual course development projects may be used to develop or purchase course materials, hire graduate or undergraduate assistants, and for other related expenses. During the academic year they cannot be used for salaries of faculty members with full-time appointments (See Section E4). NOTE: proposals to develop new courses require (a) a clearly stated commitment from the department to support the course as a regular offering’ and (b) evidence that the department has formally submitted the course proposal to the Senate Committee on Courses of Instruction.

3.   Chancellor’s Fellow Course Development Awards.  Four Chancellor’s Fellow Course Development Awards will be available in 2008 to support summer course development activities by Davis faculty members. Recipients of these awards will receive up to $6,000 in summer salary compensation. Applications for a Chancellor’s Fellow Course Development award may be submitted at the same time as other UIIP applications, but they will be reviewed separately. Applicants for these awards should describe: (a) any respects in which their proposed course development project requires exceptional investments of faculty time, effort, skills or training and (b) how the project will address significant instructional needs of the Davis campus. To be eligible for a Chancellor’s Fellow Course Development Award faculty members must be employed at UC Davis for the following academic year(s) (See Section E4). Note: Faculty members who request summer salary through the Chancellor’s Fellow Course Development Award program can also apply for a UIIP Faculty Course Development Award to cover other project expenses.

D.  Areas of Special Emphasis for 2007-2008

1. Strengthening analytic writing and communication skills.  The UIIP Program invites proposals to develop new or revised courses that support General Education objectives of increased emphasis on analytic competencies that are exercised through writing and oral communication, particularly in the science and engineering disciplines. Proposals that address these matters in both lower and upper division courses are encouraged. Writing skills can emphasize analytical dimensions of technical, academic or narrative genres. Oral communication can emphasize public speaking and presentation skills, listening strategies that enhance understanding, debate skills and strategies, and effective communication in-group settings, including questioning and responding skills. Proposals should refer to seminars that include significant skill development activities, structured feedback, and opportunities for revisions and peer discussions about disciplinary topics. The incorporation of similar elements in other course formats is also encouraged. Attention to the needs of non-native speakers will be considered as a positive component of any proposal.

2.  Internationalizing teaching and learning.  This area of emphasis is aimed at encouraging departments or individual faculty members to incorporate, where applicable, an international perspective in individual courses or in the curriculum as a whole. Such perspectives might include exposing students to research conducted in other countries, drawing comparisons between the US and other nations, or gaining an understanding and appreciation of other cultures. Faculty may apply for funding covering a wide range of activities aimed at developing or revising courses in ways that are consistent with this larger goal, but UIIP funds cannot be used to support foreign travel for either faculty or students.

3.  Enhancing faculty-student interactions in large enrollment classes: Projects addressing this emphasis area involve strategies for encouraging for formal and informal faculty-student interchange in large enrollment classes. Strategies can include personal response system (PRS) technologies (“clickers”), alternative formats for in-class presentations and discussions or for faculty response to student work, on-line interactions between faculty and students (course chats and blogs), and course related but out-of-class mentoring, social activities and meetings.

4.  Increasing experiential and discovery learning in large enrollment classes: Projects focusing on this emphasis area can include strategies for engaging students from large enrollment classes in hands-on, experience-based, and action-learning activities. These can include in-class simulations, role-playing, exercises, laboratory activities, presentations and group problem solving. Similar strategies can be pursued through fieldwork, internships, and small-scale research or service projects.

5.  Incorporating value-added or outcome-based evaluations of courses, programs or instructional technologies.   Proposals are invited to design, implement and assess alternative outcome-based approaches to evaluating teaching and learning. Outcome-based or “value-added” approaches can include various forms of pre and post testing as well as comparative assessments of student work--across courses or course sections, over time, or in among different instructional approaches, including contrasting assignments, technological support and other planned variations. Proposals that incorporate these elements can focus on enhancing course content or developing more effective means of course delivery. In general, UIIP funds cannot be used to purchase equipment, as other resources are available for that purpose.

6.  Increasing understanding of social and cultural diversity.  Support is available for instructors to develop new courses or modify existing ones so that they meet the Academic Senate's General Education criteria for social-cultural diversity courses. These courses must have substantial emphasis on issues, topics, and/or perspectives such as race, ethnicity, social class, etc. that have been underrepresented in the curriculum.

E.  Preparing and Submitting Applications

Download Application Template (MS Word Document)

Submit all proposals by email (along with the Chair’s departmental support letter) to Lenora Bruce, Teaching Resources Center: trc@ucdavis.edu. Proposals and support letters can be formatted as a Microsoft Word file.  To ensure that a proposal is considered for funding, the TRC must receive your complete email application no later than 5:00 p.m. on the deadline of the funding cycle for which you are applying.

Please limit your proposal to a narrative description that is no more than two pages long and a budget that is no more than one page long. Specific guidelines for preparing a proposal are listed below.

Application Guidelines

1.  Title. The title should briefly and accurately describe the nature of the project.  It becomes a key part of the UIIP project database.  Please also provide the name and title of the applicant(s).

2.  Abstract. A brief (100 word or less) description that can be used in assigning the proposal to appropriate reviewers.

3.  Rationale. What problems and issues will the proposed project address? What relationship do these have to the purpose and priorities of the Undergraduate Instructional Improvement Program?  How many students will benefit from the project? If a specific course revision is proposed, how frequently will the course(s) be offered?

4.  Project Description.  Describe the project in enough detail that reviewers from other departments can understand what you are proposing (typically, a page or two is sufficient).  What activities will be supported?  What people will be involved and what role will they play?  How will activities be coordinated and managed?  How will new activities be institutionalized? How will ongoing activities be continued?

5.  Budget. All budget requests must be itemized.  Rough estimates for categories such as "miscellaneous" or "videotapes" are not acceptable. Costs and expenses listed should be reasonable and verifiable.  It can be useful to the UIIP Review Committee if applicants prioritize their proposed budget by distinguishing items that are essential to the project at proposed levels from items that could be scaled back if less than full funding is available.

Please Note the following stipulations in preparing a proposed budget:

*The UIIP program does not fund routine departmental support for photocopying, word-processing, telephone, NAM’s and similar administrative expenses.

*Proposals that request faculty summer salary for developing or revising courses will be reviewed separately.from other UIIP applications and within the guidelines noted above for the Chancellor’s Fellow Course Development Awards.

*Faculty members who request summer salary through the Chancellor’s Fellow Course Development Award program can also apply for a UIIP Faculty Course Development Award to cover other project expenses.

* Salaries for students and the faculty must be based on official university personnel titles and reflect consultation with the department MSO.

*Graduate students and non-Senate faculty must be paid using non-teaching titles (e.g., Research Assistant, Specialist, Post Graduate Researcher).  

*Benefits do not need to be calculated or included in the proposal budget. 

*Salary supplements will not include merit increases or range adjustments awarded after the time of application. 

6.  Report and evaluation. To ensure full consideration, UIIP proposals must describe how proposed activities will be evaluated.   A written report and evaluation of the completed project is required of all proposals supported by UIIP funds. Award recipients are also expected to share lessons learned from their project with other members of the Davis campus—i.e. through individual consultation, workshops or distributing reports.

7.  Chair's Letter.  Proposals must be accompanied by a letter from the department or program chair indicating her or his assessment of the project's value to the department.  The chair must also indicate the level of support the department or program is willing to provide if the project is funded.  Most letters are included with the proposal, but chairs do have the option of submitting the letter directly to the Director of the Teaching Resources Center. Both the chair’s letter and the proposal should be submitted via email to Lenora Bruce at the following address: trc@ucdavis.edu.

Please Note:  All documents or other instructional materials that have been wholly or partially supported by UIIP funds must contain an appropriate acknowledgment of this support.

UIIP MINIGRANT PROGRAM Minigrants provide support up to a maximum of $500 for small projects that require more immediate funding.  Typical minigrant requests support development of instructional materials (above what is normally expected to be provided by a department), e.g., purchase of videotapes, CDs, and teaching-related software, and travel to workshops or conferences on teaching.  Support for guest lecturers up to a maximum of $250 per year is also available.  Minigrants have the advantage of relatively quick turnaround - awards are usually made within a week.  The application process is also simple.  The applicant submits to the Director of the Teaching Resources Center a 1-page request, signed by the department chair.  No additional copies are required. Instructors are generally limited to one award per year.  For further information contact Janet Chambers (752-6050 or jachambers@ucdavis.edu).