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Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology

Community Engagement Learning Grant Program

At the heart of ISU’s focus on civic engagement is the commitment to incorporating real-world topics, challenges, and people into students’ educational experiences.  Contacts with individuals in the community and from the community are especially effective ways to foster powerful learning experiences.

While faculty may know of worthwhile community experiences that would enhance their courses, in some instances they may be reluctant to include them because of financial constraints. This grant program is intended to encourage faculty to include community engagement components into their course design by providing an opportunity for associated expenses to be reimbursed.

This grant program supports faculty in designing and implementing experiences for student to engage people and places in ways that contribute to experiential learning related to course goals. For purposes of this grant program, students’ learning experiences should be pertinent to learning goals for a specific course (or program) and can include but are not limited to:

  • Visiting a specific location relevant to the course (i.e., field trips)
  • Guest speakers from off campus
  • Online contact with places and/or individuals (e.g., teleconferences)

Expenses eligible for reimbursement by this grant program include:

  • Travel expenses for students and instructor to specific locations (fuel, parking, fleet vehicle rental, etc.)
  • Fees (e.g., admission) and related expenses for onsite visits
  • Travel expenses for classroom guests (including meals, lodging)
  • Stipend (modest) for guest speakers, either for onsite visit or teleconference session
  • Fees/registration for online seminars, workshops, etc.

Eligibility

All tenured and tenure-line faculty, full-time non-tenure track instructors, and full-time AP staff with teaching responsibilities at Illinois State University are eligible. Recipients of prior CTLT grants who have failed to meet their grant obligations are ineligible.

Amounts of Grants

Grants will be up to $300 for reimbursement of documented expenses directly related to community engagement learning experience. Number of grants and amounts of individual grants are subject to availability of funds. Funds are available for reimbursement upon grant acceptance. Individual faculty are eligible for no more than two grants per academic year.

Application Materials and Procedures

  1. Cover Page
    Include title of the grant program, course title and number, date, name and rank of applicant, applicant’s department/school/unit, campus address, and signature of applicant and signature of the department chairperson/school director/unit director.
  2. Narrative (length: 200-300 words)
    1. Detail the pedagogical goals of the community engagement experience, the anticipated impact on student learning and why it is expected to be positive and substantial in terms of course goals.
    2. Explain the instructional design specifics of your engagement experience in your efforts to maximize student learning and to achieve learning goals for students (e.g., What are you doing to prepare students for the experience? What will students do during the experience to enrich their learning? Afterward, how will you guide reflection on the experience and help them connect it to prior and upcoming course content?)
    3. Explain plans to assess the outcomes, including specifics such as data collection method(s) and data analysis methods. These do not have to be extensive, however some means of evaluating the quality of students’ learning related to the intended outcomes – either qualitative or quantitative or both – is expected.
      Note: As with any study involving human subjects, approval is needed prior to data collection through the campus Institutional Review Board (IRB): Here’s the link for your convenience: Human Subjects – IRB Forms.

    CTLT can provide a literature-informed consultation on educational principles and most effective practices for these community-based experiences. Applicants who take advantage of this service would be better positioned to compose a successful application narrative, particularly for sections B and C. To schedule a consultation, contact Claire Lamonica (cclamon@ilstu.edu; 438-7695) or Cyndy Ruszkowski (clruszk@ilstu.edu; 438-5848).

  3. Expenses
    Indicate amounts for various expenses. Documentation must be submitted on or before June 1 of the current fiscal year (June 1 of the following fiscal year for Summer Term applications) to be eligible for reimbursement.

Application Deadlines

There is no deadline for grant applications. Applications can be submitted at any time before the event commences and will be evaluated when received. Funds are available upon grant acceptance.

Application Delivery Options

Send document (in Word or Rich Text Format) as an email attachment to eawelch@ilstu.edu. Please put “Community Engagement Learning Grant Application” in the subject line.

OR

Mail or drop off one printed set of application materials to:

Beth Welch
Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology
Campus Box 6370
Re: Community Engagement Learning Grant Application

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on the degree to which each:

  • Clearly addresses all of the narrative elements specified above consistent with principles of best practices.
  • Presents an itemized budget and solid rationale for the budget.
  • Is well written and complete.

Conditions of the Grant

Acceptance indicates agreement to fulfill the following options, which are designed to maximize the benefits of recipients’ experiences by sharing them with the ISU community. Completion of this condition is required to remain eligible for future CTLT grants.

Option 1:
A presentation or poster describing the project and outcomes at the annual ISU Teaching and Learning Symposium (held each January). Recipients must submit proposals in response to the Call For Proposals issued each fall. Presentations can include participation in a panel of fellow grant recipients or individual presentations/posters. Presentations for grants received in spring or summer are expected for the next symposium following grant receipt; presentations for grants received in fall are expected no later than the second symposium following grant receipt.
Option 2:
A presentation describing the project and outcomes as part of a CTLT-sponsored workshop. Recipients interested in this option should contact Claire Lamonica, CTLT Associate Director, to see if the project complements workshop themes identified for a particular semester. If there is not a thematic fit with planned programming, recipients must fulfill another option. Workshop presentations are expected within one year of grant receipt.
Option 3:
An article for posting on the CTLT website. The article should include the specifics of the experience and its relationship to the course goals (which can be drawn from the grant application) as well as a summary of the findings that emerged from the assessment component that had been proposed in the application. Length is expected to be 400-500 words to adequately detail the project and outcomes. Photos documenting the experience are welcome as well.

Important Dates

  • Funds must be spent no later than June 1 of the appropriate fiscal year.
  • All receipts for reimbursement and other required documentation must be received at CTLT no later than June 1 of the appropriate fiscal year. Expenses not properly documented by that date cannot be reimbursed.

Questions?

Contact Dr. Patrick O’Sullivan, Director of CTLT, at (309) 438-2542.