The purpose of these grants is to promote curriculum or course development in teaching. The program is designed to support WCU faculty who wish to develop creative and innovative approaches that go beyond routine course development. The main consideration in reviewing proposals is assessing prospects for change: change in teaching strategies as well as change in course content.

Eligibility
All full-time, tenured or tenure-track WCU faculty are eligible to apply for Instructional Improvement Grants. Joint proposals are welcome and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.

Available Funding
Proposals are typically in the range of $1,000 but any amount up to $4,000 may be requested. Requests exceeding $1000 must have a strong rationale and show promise of exceptional impact on the applicant's courses or curriculum. Funds awarded under this program will be available for use between July 1, 2011 and May 1, 2012.

Appropriate Expenditures
Funds may be requested for services, supplies, and equipment related to developing new materials for an existing course or for a new course that has already been officially approved. In either case, proposals should explain how money will be used to support an innovative approach to course delivery; funds will not be awarded for routine course development. Examples of appropriate requests are shown below.

• Services necessary for redesigning courses or specific units within a course (media production, print shop expenses, etc.)
• Supplies such as commercially developed instructional materials, overhead transparencies, slides, video/audio tapes, study guides, computer software, etc.
• Equipment essential to the design and preparation of new materials and the delivery of instruction
• Travel, salaries and honoraria are not normally approved from PIIG funds. Other WCU funding programs are more suitable for these items (i.e., Microgrants, and faculty release time programs). In rare cases, exceptions may be made for travel but only if it is part of an innovative approach to teaching.

How do I apply: Submit Electronically and send a hard copy to the Faculty Commons
Proposal Format (Word)
Proposal Cover Sheet (Word)

For Questions, please call ext. 7196.

The 2010-2011 PIIG committee members are as follows:

• Bill McDaniel
• Janet Ford
• Justin Menickelli
• Robert Kehrberg
• David Kinner
• Kimberly Crawford
• Laura Cruz

Deadline: March 15, 5:00 p.m.