Quality Improvement and Assessment Mini Grants
The Quality Improvement and Assessment Mini-Grant was established in the 2019-20 academic year to provide additional funding in support of the assessment of academic programs. These grants are available to academic programs to support the use of assessment results for improvement or to assist in conducting assessment. There are currently four grants of $500 (total amount of $2,000) available per academic year.
In order to be considered for one of the grants, an application must be completed by the deadline of January 20th of each academic year. The recipients will be selected by the academic assessment committee. Priority will be given to applications that plan to use the funds to make program improvements based on assessment results. Applications will also be accepted related to conducting assessment, but considered second over applications for improvement. Below are examples of projects or initiatives that could be eligible for the mini-grants:
- Using Assessment Results for Improvement: Purchasing new equipment or technology (e.g. tutorial software); Implementing learning outside of the classroom; Providing stipends for guest speakers; Support for student research activities.
- Conducting Assessment: Purchasing a proprietary exam to administer; Plan a retreat to review assessment results and develop an improvement plan; Funds to attend or present at an assessment conference; Develop a program assessment instrument such as a rubric or test items; Organize a discussion group around a book or set of readings on assessment and share findings at a division meeting.
Priority is also given to first-time recipients to ensure that the same programs do not receive the funds every year. If there are remaining funds, additional applications will be considered. All selections will be made by January 31st.
Proposals need to impact the program and not individual faculty. Funds will need to be spent by June of the same fiscal year; by June 30th. One requirement for the grant is for recipients to submit a final report to the assessment committee detailing how the funds are utilized, success of initiatives, and any next steps.