The Office of the Provost established two internal funding programs in April 2021, the Educational Advancement Fund and the Course Improvement Grant, designed to support excellence in the classroom through continued pedagogical advancement and long-term educational transformation. These provost-sponsored internal funding programs are managed by the Office of Faculty Affairs in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and join two research-focused programs announced in March: Seeding Success Grants and the Rapid Advancement Micro-grant Program (RAMP).
The deadline to submit for the upcoming second round of funding is Oct. 15, and funds will be available on Dec. 1. Interested faculty can submit applications online using InfoReady Review.
All full-time, VU-employed (provost-reporting) faculty are eligible regardless of tenure status. Graduate students and postdocs are ineligible. Faculty may carry out the proposed project individually or in a team.
Funds may not be used to support faculty salary or graduate student tuition; however, funds may be used to pay a graduate student for completing tasks related to the awarded grant.
Proposals should have a potential for impact at Vanderbilt and should demonstrate a commitment to teaching. Educational Advancement Fund awards must be used within 24 months after they are awarded, and Course Improvement Grants must be used within 12 months. Up to $500 may be requested for the Course Improvement Grants, and up to $2,500 may be requested for the Educational Advancement Fund. Successful applicants will participate in a CFT-supported learning community during their award period.
The inaugural round of recipients was announced in June and includes 10 faculty members across three of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges. To learn more about the recipients and their projects, visit the internal teaching grants recipients webpage.
Visit the Educational Advancement Fund and Course Improvement Grants webpages for more information about the program, including eligibility standards, proposal requirements, funding guidelines and selection criteria.
Any additional questions about these two programs can be directed to Julaine Fowlin, assistant director of the Center for Teaching.