Teaching Innovation Grants

All members of the UMD community may participate in this initiative. Tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, professional-track faculty, permanent status-track librarians, and instructional staff are all eligible to apply as principal investigators (PIs). Part-time instructors, postdocs, staff, students (undergraduate and graduate), or contractual service providers, are encouraged to participate as team members. UMD community members may participate in up to three grants but may only receive funding from one project. Stipends for collaborators external to UMD are not eligible expenses.

Proposed projects must meet the instructional needs of the unit, and as such, require a letter of support from the unit chair or dean.

Special consideration will be given to projects that meet two or more of the following criteria:

1. Co-PIs collaborate across two or more fields of study;
2. Pilots in courses/programs with a history of high enrollment;
3. Impact on courses/programs with a history of high rates of withdrawals and grades of D or F;
4. Impact on courses/programs that fulfill UMD’s General Education (Gen Ed) requirements;
5. Impact on courses/programs that contribute to DEI-focused learning outcomes in undergraduate academic degree programs;
6. Involves undergraduate and graduate students as collaborators;
7. Explores the grand challenges of our times.

Proposals will be scored on the criteria below.

• Innovation - Education increasingly depends upon the use of ever-evolving technologies. Submissions should focus on a compelling and forward-leaning approach that will bring significant and transformational changes to teaching, helping us reimagine the future of learning at UMD.
• Scalability - The proposal describes how the proposed strategies might serve as a model for other courses or sections of the same course. How could the activity or content be modified to impact other disciplines, programs, or target audiences?
• External Visibility and Reputation - The proposal identifies how the work will be promoted externally as a model for technology-rich teaching and learning that also increases visibility and enhances the reputation of the University locally, nationally, or globally (e.g., presentations, publications, external funding, new or expanded external partnerships, etc.).
• Scope of Potential Impact - The proposal indicates the breadth and/or depth of the work. This may be represented by the number of students (seats), courses, or academic programs that will be impacted or benefit from the project, and/or by the innovative and transformative nature of the idea and students’ learning experience. 
• Goals / Feasibility - The proposal clearly articulates achievable specific objectives and provides a clear benchmark for measuring progress and results. It should also include vulnerabilities and potential risks that have been considered and planned for. 
• DEI - Proposals consider innovative and inclusive teaching and learning approaches, giving attention to diversity, equity, accessibility, and belonging.
• Outcomes/ Assessment - The proposal clearly articulates a feasible plan for evaluating the impact of the project and disseminating the findings. The proposal precisely outlines the artifacts and metrics that comprehensively capture and convey the project's impact.
• Sustainability - If the project requires recurring resources, how will these be updated and maintained? What is the life-cycle replacement? Sustainability may also involve reducing waste and energy consumption and making our operations more sustainable over the long run.
• Seed Grant (T-01 only) - Proposals should describe a clear path toward subsequent major external funding.

T-01 PROJECTS - $450,000 ($150,000 per year)

Proposal Phase

• September 2023 - RFP announced and published
• Fall 2023 - Information & ideation sessions 
• Fall 2023 - To ensure that the projects support instructional needs and priorities within units, a letter of support from each PI/Co-PI's dean/chair must accompany the project proposal. The letter should indicate a commitment to support the 1:1 match funds. An internal process to vet proposals at the unit level may be helpful.
• October 13, 2023 - Preliminary proposal due (to include: 3-page proposal with project description, budget, & letter(s) of support)
• October 2023 - Committee reviews pre-proposals
• October 20, 2023 - Select applicants are invited to submit a full proposal. Invited applicants will be instructed to prepare a full proposal and presentation
• January 2024 - Full Proposals and Presentations are due / Open Forum
• February 1, 2024 - Award decisions communicated. 

Implementation & Reporting Phase

• Spring 2024 - Awardee Orientations
• Spring 2024 - Planning/hiring and consultation/collaborations
• Summer/Fall 2024 - Funds are distributed for Year 1 (repeated for subsequent years)
• Fall 2024 - Project implementation may begin (*extensions may be negotiated)
• December 2024 - End of semester check-in (repeated after subsequent semesters)
• June 2025 - Year 1 Summary Due (repeated for subsequent years)
• July 2027 - End of Year 3: Final reports and budgets due

Units may choose to implement internal deadlines to provide a letter of support or a unit-level review process prior to the submission deadline for each grant level. Please contact your unit head to learn more about the internal routing and approval processes.

BSOS Internal Review Process

T-02 PROJECTS - $50,000 (for 1 year)

Proposal Phase

• September 2023 - RFP announced and published
• Fall 2023 - Information & ideation sessions
• Fall 2023 - To ensure that the projects support instructional needs and priorities within units, a letter of support from each PI/Co-PI's dean/chair must accompany the project proposal. An internal process to vet proposals at the unit level may be helpful.
• October 30, 2023 - Proposals are due: 3-page proposal with project description, budget, & letter(s) of support
• December 14, 2023 - Award decisions are communicated 

Implementation & Reporting Phase

• January 2024 - Awardee orientations
• January 2024 - Funds are distributed
• Spring, Summer, and/or Fall 2024 - Projects are implemented
• December 2024 - Final budgets and reports are due

Units may choose to implement internal deadlines to provide a letter of support or a unit-level review process prior to the submission deadline for each grant level. Please contact your unit head to learn more about the internal routing and approval processes.

BSOS Internal Review Process

Eligible expenses include faculty stipends, teaching assistantships or student hourly wages (undergraduate and/or graduate), consulting service agreements (e.g., video editor, ASL interpreter services, software development, etc.), laboratory equipment, or discipline-specific software**. 

• Eligible expenses include well-justified requests for salary support (including temporary positions, research associates, and graduate students), laboratory equipment, software, and project-specific development needs. 
• The following expenses are not eligible: stipends for individual collaborators external to UMD, travel expenses, conference and event registrations, per diem, food, and office supplies. 
• Faculty stipends may be up to $8K maximum per year per person, and collaborators’ stipends may vary depending on the amount of work for each person involved. Pro-rated fringe benefits must be included in the proposed budget.
• Student (graduate and undergraduate) wages must be calculated according to the unit’s or program’s guidelines. Pro-rated fringe benefits must also be included in the budget if applicable.
• No indirect costs should be included in the budget.
• No overhead should be included in the budget. 
• Budgeted items should be at or below the total funds available per proposal. If it includes requests to fund new technologies with recurring charges, proposers must include a long-term plan that clearly describes the fund sources to maintain the funding.
• Proposals must include information about the roles and duties of each team member (including students if appropriate) and how they will collaborate to advance the work proposed.
• The funds will be dispersed through the PI’s home unit and placed in a unique Workday account. The home unit will manage payments to team members, payments for other expenses, and record keeping.
• Build your budget with an indication of the first month in which actual expenditures would be incurred and the planned ending date. With that start date, the funds should be expended over three years. All projects must start spending no more than 6 months after notice to proceed.
• Equipment purchased through this Initiative would remain at UMD even if a PI or team member were to leave the university.
• 1:1 matching funds are required from participating colleges and/or departments that include cash and in-kind resources for all T-01 projects.
• Unspent funds, if any, will revert to the Provost’s office at the end of the project. Requests for up to 1-year no-cost extensions may be considered under exceptional circumstances, but are not guaranteed for T-01 one projects. 

We recommend reading the Funding and Budget Planning Guidelines and using the proposed budget template for planning.

**Planning on buying or licensing new Software?

Proposals that include plans to procure new technology or eventually integrate into ELMS-Canvas (currently unavailable in the DIT service catalog) should first schedule a consultation with DIT (itsupport@umd.edu) to assess the feasibility of such integration and the need for a review/approval for security, FERPA, and accessibility compliance.

• Participate in a 2-hour post-award orientation session, hosted by TLTC;
• Yearly submission of metrics, outcomes, financial expenditures, and sharing of results;
• Participate in media training with the Office of Strategic Communications;
• Cooperate with Maryland Today and/or other media inquiries to promote the work;
• Distribute and encourage students in your course/program to complete a standard survey on their involvement or experience. 
• For T-02, $50K grants:
  • Share/present at the 2024 UMD Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference.

The staff from the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center, DIT Academic Technology and Innovation, Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the University Libraries will be available to offer a variety of training, workshops, instructional design, and technology support services to help you plan, design, and implement your innovation. You may also leverage college and department contacts for assistance. If feasible, the University will assign dedicated support (instructional designers, technologists, and librarians) to projects that include multiple courses and sections and will impact many students.