Call for Proposals

Note: The CWSP is not accepting grant proposals at this time. The following is a description of the grants, for future reference.

Faculty Writing and Speaking Grants

The Campus Writing and Speaking Program calls for proposals for faculty grants that seek to enhance student learning through writing and speaking in the classroom. Faculty members may apply for up to $4000 for a range of support, including personnel or release time. Ordinarily, priority will be given to permanent members of the teaching faculty; however, proposals from temporary or visiting faculty or instructional staff will be considered if the project promises to have lasting curricular impact.

Acceptable proposals cover a wide variety of projects, including (1) course development (such as creating a new writing- or speaking-intensive course, designing and teaching a course as a demonstration project, revising an old course so that it makes use of writing and speaking more effectively to promote learning, rewriting a lab manual so that it encourages better lab reports, preparing new assignments with improved assignment descriptions and scoring guides); (2) faculty development (such as attending an appropriate workshop or conference, offering training to graduate teaching assistants, working intensively with a writing or speaking expert); (3) infrastructure development (such as purchasing or creating multimedia instructional materials, including web sites, software, and hardware); and (4) the development of tools for assessment (such as portfolio programs, pre- and post-tests of student ability, measurement of teaching effectiveness or improvement following the implementation of writing and/or speaking methods, etc.). Funding is not provided for temporary TA support or for projects that do not have a lasting impact on a course or curriculum.

Proposals should be limited to four pages (plus an optional 2-page c.v.) and organized as follows:

1. Describe the pedagogical issue or problem the proposal will address and explain its importance in light of curricular goals;
2. Present a detailed account of how you propose to use the grant to solve the problem or address the issue in (1);
3. Delineate the outcomes and benefits expected for the proposed project; and
4. Propose a budget for the project; ordinarily, funding will not exceed $4,000, but in some circumstances and especially for projects involving a team of faculty, funding may exceed this amount. For projects with a broader scope, proposals may be tied to the Graduate Consultant Program, in which faculty may be granted up to 20 hours per week of a trained graduate consultant's time in order to work on course design or supporting materials (please request additional information).

Where appropriate and especially in (1), the proposal should refer to any departmental or college-wide plans for the implementation of writing and speaking outcomes.

Funding decisions will be based on the following criteria:

1. Leverage and sustainability: how likely is the project to provide long-term benefits and/or influence beyond a single classroom?
2. Focus: how central are writing and speaking to the project?
3. Methods and use of resources: how logical and cost-effective are the proposed methods for the project?
4. Feasibility: how likely is it that the project can be completed given the resources?

Grantees are expected to provide occasional updates on the progress of their projects; to meet several times, if called upon, with members of the Campus Writing and Speaking Program and fellow grant recipients during the year; to write a 5-10 page project report at the conclusion of the grant; and to agree to present the results of their project during the Program's annual Showcase of Effective Practices, a two-hour poster session conducted during the spring semester. Grantees also have the option of extending their reports, with the support of the Program, to contribute to the Program's Technical Report series.

Previous grant recipients are not barred from reapplying for support; however, preference will be given to those who have not yet received a grant.

Be certain to include the following in your proposal or email message:

• Your name
• Department
• Campus address
• Telephone number
• Email address

Proposals must be submitted by [ ]; funding decisions will be made by [ ]. Proposals may be submitted in paper form to Chris Anson, Director, CWSP, Campus Box 8101.

You can also send attached documents via email to chris_anson@ncsu.edu.

Call for Grants
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Previous Grant Recipients
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