Faculty Senate Development Funds

Application & Review Procedure

Policy for Faculty Development Funds

Funds to support faculty development will be made available through the Office of Academic Affairs. These funds are for the purpose of improving the quality of instruction at Old Dominion University. The awards are available to all full-time faculty who are not on a terminal contract. They are not meant to support research.

After evaluation and signature by the department chair and Dean, the Office of the Dean should submit a copy of the faculty member's proposal to the Senate Scholarly Activity and Research Committee (D). The Committee's recommendations for awards will be based on overall evaluations of competing proposals. The Committee will forward its recommendations, along with the evaluation of the Chair and Dean, to the Provost for final review, evaluation, and determination.

The following list provides some suggestions for funding, but it should not be considered exhaustive.

• Reimbursement of expenses for workshops on teaching effectiveness.
• Reimbursement of expenses for workshops which will make the faculty member proficient in some area and which subsequently may lead to course development.
• Summer stipends, which will not exceed those awarded for summer research grants ($5,000), to support faculty self-study, development of instructional materials such as videos, course packs and workbooks, development of innovative educational approaches, or significant program curriculum revision.
• Reimbursement of expenses for guest speakers and/or consultants as related to classroom instruction.

Faculty Senate development funds cannot be used to support faculty research, attendance or presentations at conferences. Any equipment bought with these funds becomes property of the department of the awardee. The funds can not be used for purchased release time / overload during the academic year. However, summer stipends are acceptable but must be paid before June 2024.

Procedures for Obtaining Faculty Senate Development Fund

Format

The faculty member wishing to obtain Faculty Senate Development Funds from the Office of the Provost must prepare a proposal. The proposal should briefly, but clearly, define the request of the faculty member and state its relationship to his/her discipline. Applicants should be careful to follow the specified format, to include all information requested, and to write the proposal such that those outside the applicant's field can easily understand it.

Proposals should be double-spaced, not exceed five pages in length inclusive of cover sheet and synopsis, and contain the following:

I. Cover Sheet (Download)

• Name of Applicant, Department, Date
• Title of Proposal
• Type of Proposal, i.e. teaching workshop, topic workshop, summer award for..., etc.
• List of previous development awards and amounts of awards
• Amount of budget request
• Evaluation and signature of the Department Chair
• Evaluation and signature of the Dean

II. Description of Activity (include goals of the project/activity, relationship to department and college curricular plans, how it will contribute to the knowledge and professional growth of the applicant, and lead to improved instruction, and the plan of evaluation).

III. Time Table (include work to be accomplished, notice and schedule for workshops, workshop brochure, or potential visitation dates for speakers)

IV. Budget (specifically detail all expenses, e.g. materials, production costs, expenses for workshops or speakers, and include stipend if being requested). For projects involving telecommunication technology, please consult Academic Technology Services to determine cost estimates and ATS's ability to support the plan.

V. One Page Synopsis (describing faculty's teaching role in the academic unit and strategies already implemented to improve instruction)

The Review Process

Awards are based on the overall evaluation of competing proposals. All proposals will be evaluated by the applicant's Chair, Dean, Scholarly Activity and Research Committee and the Office of the Provost.

1. By the first day of the review cycle, the faculty member must submit the proposal to the Chair who will evaluate and sign the proposal. The Chair will forward the proposal to the Dean for evaluation and signature. In the event of competing proposals, the Dean should indicate the priority of the proposed projects. The Dean should submit copies of all proposals, evaluations and ratings to the Chair of the Faculty Scholarly Activity and Research Committee.

II. Copies of the proposal, including the evaluations of the Chair and Dean, will be distributed to the members of the Scholarly Activity and Research Committee. Members of the committee will evaluate the proposals and make recom­mendations for funding.

III. The Scholarly Activity and Research Committee will forward its recommendation to the Provost.

IV. The Provost considering the evaluations and recommendations of the Chair, Dean and Faculty Scholarly Activity and Research Committee, will make the final review, evaluate the proposals and determine funding. The Provost will notify the faculty member of the funding decision, in writing, with copies of the correspondence to the Dean of the College and members of the Faculty Scholarly Activity and Research.

Criteria for Evaluation Proposals

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• The extent to which the proposed project or activity meets the intent of faculty development as it relates to the improvement of the quality of instruction.
• The extent to which the proposal describes and documents how the proposed project/activity will contribute to the faculty member's professional growth and quality of instruction at Old Dominion University.
• The extent to which the budget is complete and cost-effective.
• The extent to which the applicant follows the specified format.

Cost sharing with the department and/or college is encouraged.

Final Report

In the year following funding, successful applicants must submit a final report, signed by the Chair and Dean, to the Provost. The faculty member must supply qualitative and or quantitative evidence on the degree to which the project or activity achieved the intended goals and improved the quality of instruction at Old Dominion University. A copy of the final report will be filed with the Scholarly Activity and Research Committee for informational purposes.

Time Table

A memorandum announcing the request for proposals under the Faculty Senate Development Funds Proposal Program will be emailed to all faculty. Proposals will be accepted and reviewed once a year (note that this is a change from previous years)

• Proposal review cycle starts the week of November 1, 2023.
• Proposals due in department office for evaluation and review by Chair on November 30, 2023.
• Proposal with Chair's endorsement due in Dean's office for review by December 7, 2023.
• Proposal due with Dean's endorsement due in the Faculty Senate Office by December 14, 2023.
• Recommendation of Faculty and Scholarly Activity and Research Committee forwarded to Provost January 18, 2024.
• Announcements of Awards February 1, 2024.
• Final Report of Awardee forwarded to Provost February 1, 2024.
• Note that all funds have to be spent before the end of the fiscal year 2023-24, i.e. before June 2024.