Proposal timeline for the 2018-2019 academic year:

• Proposals are due on or before March 9, 2018 at 5:00 pm CST.
• Award notifications will be made by April 1, 2018. 

Fund information:

Planning Grants - up to $10,000 for one year (up to $5,000 for planning and up to $5,000 for IBL course pilot), non-renewable

Rice University's Experiential Inquiry and Research Fund awards competitive grants of up to $10,000 to departments/units that oversee the curriculum of a major, area major, or interdisciplinary major/minor. Grants are intended to fund integration of experiential inquiry and research into the undergraduate curriculum of a major, area major, or interdisciplinary major/minor. Planning Grants are for departments/units that need time and resources to evaluate curriculum and identify gaps in the scaffolding of inquiry and research. Departments may submit a budget of up to $5,000 to be used for planning and assessment and an additional budget of up to $5,000 to pilot an IBL course in Spring 2019.   
 
Funds awarded will be for academic year 2018- 2019 and cannot carry over to a second year.  Awarded departments/units agree to meet regularly with the Office of Inquiry Based Learning and other relevant academic support centers (Center for Teaching Excellence, Program in Writing and Communication, and Fondren Library) to design and implement  curricular scaffold.  Additionally, awarded departments will collaborate with the Office of Inquiry Based Learning to assess the curricular scaffold and student learning outcomes in accordance with SACSCOC.
 

Allowable Costs: 

Up to $5,000 for planning and assessment:

• Faculty time: relief to support the planning process with graduate student TA or RA (department responsible for fringe)
• QEP graduate fellows: graduate students trained by the Office of Inquiry-Based Learning to support design and assessment of experiential inquiry and research scaffold (budgeted at $20/hour up to ten hours per week)
• Faculty development: attendance at conferences or workshops that support curricular development and assessment, pedagogical consultants brought to campus   

 Up to $5,000 for pilot curricular initiative: 

• Course development and implementation: materials, supplies, software, undergraduate or graduate TAs, and honoraria to support inquiry-based activities   
• Off-campus learning: student travel, meals, and lodging associated with learning off campus; travel and meetings associated with working with off-campus partners  

Departments are encouraged to seek additional funding for course development by applying for the Brown Teaching Grant and/or for a grant from the Program in Writing and Communication (PWC). The PWC is eager to work with departments that are interested in integrating writing, speaking, or visual assignments into courses as part of their QEP initiative.  Awards ranging from $5,000 - $15,000 are available to support communication instruction, the development of course materials, and peer communication coaching. For more information, contact Tracy Volz (tmvolz@rice.ed), Director of the PWC.

Eligibility:

Teams with a minimum of three full-time faculty of mixed rank who have authority over a major, area major, or interdisciplinary major/minor are eligible to apply. 

Review Process: 

Office of Inquiry Based Learning and the Faculty Advisory Committee will review proposals and consult with relevant Deans in making final award decisions.  

Selection Criteria:

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria: 

• Identification of a department leadership team of tenured/tenure track and NTT faculty with influence and commitment to lead undergraduate curricular change
• Evidence of assessment that reveals strength and weaknesses of current curricular scaffold in experiential inquiry and research (see the inquiry scaffold)
• Proposed impact of the initiative on the curricular scaffold
• Proposed impact on  and relevance of curricular change to QEP student learning outcomes if they are not present already.
• Number of students (both majors and non-majors) expected to participate in the curriculum 
• Innovation of curricular change
• Justification for proposed budget and plan for sustaining the curricular changes beyond the period of the grant award 
• Statement of departmental resources to support curricular change (e.g., funding, faculty time, materials) 

How to Apply:

Proposals to be submitted as a single pdf document to Caroline Quenemoen or Liz Eich by March 9, 2018.  Proposals should include the following documents:   

1. A project description of no more than three pages (in 12-point type), including figures;
2. A budget indicating how the requested funds would be expended and listing resources sought or acquired from other source;
3. A letter of support from the Chair of the department. 

Questions:

For questions or feedback, please contact Caroline Quenemoen at (713) 348-4378 or ckq@rice.edu.