The Institute for Teaching & Learning (ITL) is pleased to announce a call for mini-grant applications for the academic year 2024-2025. The ITL Mini-Grant Program (formerly the Office of Assessment mini-grant program) provides funds for small projects to help build a campus culture focused on teaching, learning, and assessment towards student success. Project funding will be capped at $300, with up to $10,000 in funding available to campus.
ITL has significantly shifted the focus of these grants in order to support a wide variety of projects, equipment, training, and other ideas. Mini-grant project applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, and funds will be available through the end of May 2025. Please submit requests at least two weeks ahead of a planned project so that ITL has sufficient time to review and arrange funding.
Successfully funded projects will be focused on actionable ideas that can be implemented easily into a classroom, event, meeting, or other learning spaces. Examples of these projects may include (but are not limited to):
- Additional pay to create and deliver a professional development workshop, training, or activity for faculty or staff. Topics could be focused on the program, department, college, or university levels.
- Funding to bring in an outside presenter for faculty and/or staff professional development. Topics could be focused on the program, department, college, or university levels.
- Funding classroom equipment, such as microphones, video cameras whiteboards for students, scratch-off cards, or manipulatives
- An app that creates interactive experiences in student organizations meetings
- An advanced presentation remote that allows a presenter to interact uniquely during lectures or presentations
- Honoraria or small appreciation gifts for guest presenters (non-YSU)
- Travel expenses for off-campus class visits.
- Funding catering or incentives (non-monetary value) for participation in teaching and learning or continuous improvement activities. For example:
- Focus groups
- Workshops
- Artifact scoring calibration
All applications are submitted online through the Mini-Grant Application Form.
Please review application guidelines including evaluation criteria and updated responsibilities of grant winners. Funding will begin July 1, 2024, with spending of mini-grant funds completed by May 15, 2025.
Please note some significant changes made to improve the mini-grant program:
- Mini-grant recipients will no longer be required to submit a poster at the completion of their mini-grant. As an alternative, mini-grant recipients will decide how they plan to disseminate results and note that plan in their application. Examples of sharing could include a one-page reflection report, how-to-guide, workshop, website, or article.
- This program is discontinuing funding faculty and staff travel to conferences as ITL is looking at a separate travel funds program. However, the mini-grant will continue to fund local travel for things such as a classroom or industry visits outside of YSU that may enhance teaching/learning. The grant program will also continue to fund paying for travel for outside speakers or consultants to come to campus.
- The University is tightening guidelines regarding providing student incentives. Projects requesting student incentives with a monetary value (e.g. gift cards) will be asked to substitute alternative incentives such as promotional items.
- Mini-grant applications are reviewed by ITL staff using an evaluation rubric. Applicants will be notified of a decision within two weeks of submission.