Faculty Summer Teaching Grants Program

ELIGIBILITY: Who can apply?

Eligible applicants are those who are employed full-time by Western Washington University (WWU) for the current academic year and have a contract (or formal agreement of full employment with the university) for the academic year. The following exceptions apply:

• Faculty who received a Summer Teaching Grant last year are not eligible
• Faculty members in their first year are not eligible because the university offers summer support to first year faculty

In addition:

• Faculty members may not hold a Summer Teaching Grant and a Summer Research and Creative Opportunities Grant concurrently.
• All summer appointments combined may not exceed 100% effort.
• Priority will be given to tenured and tenure-track faculty members and to faculty who have not held an award in the previous two-year period. 

Funding Information 

• All summer appointments combined may not exceed 100% effort.
• Funding is for faculty salary only.
• Faculty may apply in teams to support a single project, but must indicate how the award will be shared.
• The RSP Office will initiate personnel action (PA) forms in the spring.

Proposal Requirements

1. The proposal should be a maximum of 5 pages as follows: 

• Proposal narrative adhering to the narrative content guidelines not to exceed 3 pages 

• Current curriculum vita not to exceed 2 pages

2. Proposals must use the provided template and be attached to the eSign application form in a pdf format 

3. The eSign application form must include an assessment from the Department Chair 

Note: Incomplete applications, applications that do not use the required proposal template, and those received after the deadline for submission will not be considered for review.  

Narrative Content Guidelines

Please be sure to write your narrative for an audience of colleagues who are not in your discipline. Do not assume that reviewers are familiar with the details of your scholarly work. Explain methods or techniques that are specific to your field and may not be clear to someone from another field. Avoid technical jargon and offer sufficient background information to assist the reviewer to understand the merit of your proposal. Ensure that figures, charts, or other graphics are readable and fit within the 3-page narrative limit.  

Note: Faculty applying in teams to support a single project must use the header box in the template to indicate which collaborators will share in the award.  

Use the following headings to address key merit criteria within the project narrative (not to exceed 3 pages):

Introduction:

Briefly summarize how funding will result in a significant advancement of instruction at the graduate or undergraduate level (3-4 sentences).

Background:

Your application will be evaluated based on your ability to clearly describe how the proposed work will accomplish the following:

• Promote the mission of the department, college, or university
• Enhance specific courses, programs, or department curricula
• Benefit students
• Enhance your professional development
• Expand your expertise as a teacher

Subheadings pointing to these merit criteria are strongly encouraged. They support the review committee to navigate and evaluate your proposal.

Deliverables and Timeline:

What are the proposed deliverables for the project?  What specific activities and tasks will be completed to ensure those deliverables are met? Provide enough information so that the committee can evaluate the feasibility of accomplishing the scope of the project over the course of the summer. In addition:

• If the award would immediately follow or precede professional leave, clarify what will be accomplished during the summer as distinct from the project undertaken or to be undertaken during the professional leave.

Bibliography:

Include a bibliography within the 3-page limit, if appropriate 

Teaching Grants are awarded for activities that substantially enhance the instructional quality of the university’s academic programs. Proposals must demonstrate the activity requires significant effort that goes beyond that normally expected of faculty. A broadly representative faculty committee evaluates proposals based on the extent to which the proposed work addresses the criteria listed in the Narrative Contents. In addition, the committee will consider:

• The clarity and accessibility of the proposal to an academically diverse committee.

• Whether the proposal is appropriately scoped for a Summer Teaching Grant.

• The equitable distribution of awards across colleges.

Rubric

• Enhances specific courses, programs, or department curricula.

• Benefits students.

• Expands the applicant's expertise as a teacher.

• Enhances the applicant's professional development.

• Promotes the mission of the department, college, or university.

Proposals are reviewed by a subcommittee of the Research and Creative Activities Council who submit their recommendations to the Vice Provost for Research for approval.