Faculty Development Grants
- General Information
- Applicant Eligibility
- Project Eligibility
- Proposal Submission Guidelines
- Budgeting Guidelines
- Proposal Review Criteria
- Post-Award Requirements and Administration
- Past Awards and Abstracts
General Information
For fiscal year 2024 (AY23/24) and per Article XIX.C in the KSCEA collective bargaining agreement with the University System of New Hampshire, Keene State College offers $55,000 in grants from a Faculty Development pool to support faculty projects. Any unexpended funds from this pool are carried over and added to the Faculty Development pool available for succeeding years. A joint faculty-administration committee develops guidelines, evaluates proposals, and selects grant recipients.
Faculty may apply for grants of up to $3,500 for individuals or $6,000 for larger collaborative projects. Grant proposals are reviewed three times during the academic year. Award recipients are notified within 2-3 weeks after the application deadline.
Submission deadlines for academic year 2023-2024:
- Tuesday, September 26, 2023 (by 5:00pm)
- Monday, January 29, 2024 (by 5:00pm)
- Monday, March 25, 2024 (by 5:00pm)
FDG Application
Download the FDG Application (Word)
Faculty Development Grant Committee
On an annual basis, four members of the bargaining unit are elected to represent the faculty and a dean is appointed by the Provost to represent the administration. A member of the Faculty Development Grant Committee may apply for funds from that year’s Faculty Development Pool but must recuse themselves from deliberations for that round of applications.
- Jeanelle Boyer (Health Sciences)
- Sasha Davis (Environmental Studies, Geography, and Sustainability)
- Susan Menees (Psychology)
- Susan Wade (History)
Applicant Eligibility
- All individuals covered by the KSCEA collective bargaining agreement are eligible to apply (this may include tenured, tenure-track, and clinical faculty, as well as artists-in-residence). The key eligibility criteria is whether the individual is covered by the KSCEA collective bargaining agreement.
- Faculty who have received previous funding may reapply, but they must have completed any prior Faculty Development Grant and must have completed final reporting requirements.
- Faculty who will be on Sabbatical Leave for the time period of the project activities are eligible to apply.
- Applicants may submit only one proposal for a single grant cycle.
- All activities must take place after the date of award. Applications for retroactive activities cannot be accepted.
Project Eligibility
- Projects focusing on curriculum development are not eligible.
- Applications for conference travel in the absence of a scholarly presentation (i.e., attendance alone) are not eligible.
- All compliance requirements (i.e. IRB approval, IACUC approval and compliance training) need not be complete by the submission of the proposal, but must be complete prior to the receipt of any grant award.
- Because a grant cycle sometimes sees more applications than can be
supported by the remainder of the budget, the committee has established the following prioritization of
the use of funds. Please keep these priorities in mind when proposing
projects:
- Projects that involve new research/scholarship, or those pursuing significant developments in an ongoing research program, are given higher priority than those that do not advance research/scholarship. The term research/scholarship is used broadly here and is understood to encompass creative endeavors for those in the arts or humanities.
- Funding to support publications resulting from research or scholarly activities will be considered.
- All else being equal, applications from those without previous Faculty Development Grant support are given higher priority than applications from previous awardees.
- Due to the large number of travel requests, such requests will be
prioritized in the following way:
- Applications requesting funds to conduct research/scholarship (e.g., travel to a site for data collection; travel for archival research, etc.) will be given higher priority than other types of travel requests.
- Applications requesting funds for conference travel will be given lower priority. To the extent that the committee is able to support conference travel requests, they will be prioritized in the following way:
- Higher priority: Conference travel in which the individual will be presenting a paper or serving on a panel in order to disseminate his or her research or scholarly work. Lesser priority: Conference travel involving a poster presentation.
Proposal Submission Guidelines
Proposals for Faculty Development Grants are due no later than 5 p.m. on the deadline date.
Faculty Development Grant proposals should be submitted using the FDG Application Form. This form is designed to help you provide the necessary information in the required format. Please download the form to your computer before completing the application. Along with the completed form, applicants are asked to submit a resume/CV, as well as any supporting documentation relevant to the project. Make sure to combine all supporting documents into a single PDF.
Please note: All compliance requirements (i.e. IRB approval, IACUC approval and compliance training) need not be complete by the submission of the proposal, but must be complete prior to the receipt of any grant award.
Collaborative proposals should be submitted as a single application. Separate explanations of the project’s impact on the faculty member should be attached for each collaborating faculty member. Collaborative proposals must also designate a project budget manager who will be accountable for all financial responsibilities.
Hardcopy applications will not be accepted. By 5 p.m. on the deadline date, send digital submissions via e-mail to the Asst. Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library: Celia Rabinowitz, celia.rabinowitz@keene.edu
You will receive an e-mail confirmation of receipt within two business days.
Budgeting Guidelines
Allowable Expenses
- Equipment costs needed to support the specified faculty development proposal
- Supplies
- Travel
- Project related training expenses
- In some circumstances, hourly work by an undergraduate research assistant
- Other project related expenses–contact Dean Celia Rabinowitz with questions
Unallowable Expenses
- Salary stipends for faculty
- Equipment requests in excess of $2,500
- Requests for equipment normally associated with instruction or to be used primarily for instruction
- Common desktop equipment (including computers)
- Expenses related to family care
- Expenses related to the completion of a terminal degree
- Visa expenses
The funding for this grant program comes from internal dollars so expenditures must follow all USNH and KSC policies. With questions, contact the Purchasing Office at Keene State College.
All equipment and supplies purchased with Faculty Development Pool funding become the property of Keene State College and must relate directly to and/or be consumed by the project.
Please include a current quote for air or train travel. Some price fluctuation is to be expected.
Faculty are encouraged to look at the Purchasing Office’s Travel website for the most updated information on mileage rates and travel regulations.
Proposal Review Criteria
Members of the Faculty Development Grant Committee read all proposals with this criteria in mind:
- Appropriateness of the project for the faculty member and the potential to enhance the professional development of the faculty member, as defined in the proposal.
- Proposal clearly articulates relationship of project to the faculty member’s professional life, as defined in the proposal.
- Clarity of the proposal (including following the format).
- Proposal clearly articulates a vision of future impact of the project (both short- and long-term).
- Potential for continuation of the project (e.g. further research, subsequent projects that build on this one, potential for pursuit of external funding, etc.).
- Potential for successful and timely completion of the project and a defined plan for use and/or dissemination of the results.
- Proposal has a clearly described and reasonable timeline that is appropriate to the needs of the project.
- Proposal has a clearly described and appropriate budget.
- Proposal has well justified budget expenditures.
- Proposal is well written and professionally presented.
- Proposals will be judged only on information provided in the proposal.
- At the discretion of the committee, partial funding may be awarded. The committee will not award partial funding if, based on the evidence presented, the project cannot be satisfactorily completed without full funding.
- The committee may on occasion encourage an applicant to revise and resubmit his/her application for the next competition. This is not a guarantee of funding within the next round. Rather, it is an indication that the committee thought the proposed work held merit but lacked sufficient detail.
Tips for making your application more competitive
- Use the required application form, and follow its instructions precisely.
- Clearly address the review criteria (as listed above).
- Have a colleague (or multiple colleagues) read your application for style, clarity of purpose, and precision. Write your narrative for a general audience, as committee members may not be familiar with your discipline or area of professional study. Applications that are unclear or poorly written are not competitive.
- Pay close attention to your budget, ensuring it is both accurate and realistic.
Post-Award Requirements and Administration
- Award recipients will be notified within 2-3 weeks after the application deadline.
- Once awards have been processed, faculty will be notified and given instructions on how to access funds. New Business Office guidelines require (a) prior approval for all reimbursements, and (b) submission and prior approval of all paperwork for services provided by independent contractors. Contact Pat Wright, Mason Library Administrative Assistant, for details.
- Projects must be completed and funds be expended within one calendar year of the award. A shorter spending period may be imposed based on project timeline. If additional time is needed, the recipient may request a one-time extension of up to 6 months. Requests must be in writing and sent to Dean Celia Rabinowitz. A shorter timeline may be imposed based on project timeline.
- Grant recipients are encouraged to disseminate the results of the project to the campus community.
- At the completion of the project, faculty receiving Faculty Development Grants will submit a Final Report, summarizing the outcomes of the grant project and expenditure of funds. Final reports should be submitted within 30 days of the grant closing date (as outlined in the award). Non-submission of a final report will result in future proposals not being reviewed by the Faculty Development Grant Committee.