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Strategies for Teaching, Assessment & Retention Grants - STAR

Proposal deadline extended: Complete application materials should be submitted as a single PDF file by 5 p.m. CST on November 20, 2023, using the STAR Grant Application Form.

Number of Awards & Amount: Two (2) $3,000 teaching grants will be awarded to faculty (individual or faculty team) who are developing or implementing innovative, creative, and effective approaches to undergraduate education at UTSA, including new methodologies and best-practices.

Eligibility: All T/TT and FTT (at least 75% FTE) faculty are eligible to apply. ADTS and AI members are ineligible. Any previous STAR awardees are ineligible to apply again.

Grant Description

The Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars (ADTS) and Academic Innovation (AI) are pleased to announce the Strategies for Teaching, Assessment & Retention Grants (STAR) program in Fall 2023. The program seeks proposals to develop and implement innovative and/or effective pedagogy, digital literacy, experiential learning, evidence-based research and practices, or the use of technology to enhance accessibility and undergraduate student success. Proposals should describe how their teaching practices promote student success while enhancing student engagement and retention.

Proposal Instructions and Review Process

Proposals should be no more than three (3) pages in length and should contain the following:

  • Project description and goals, explaining the innovation or improvement
  • Anticipated outcomes and impact to students
  • Plan to evaluate the project success, specifying metrics and evidence
  • Plan to disseminate the results
  • Budget with justification

The following addendum should be attached:

  • Course outline or proposed syllabus
  • List of courses taught in the last two (2) years with enrollments
  • Planned schedule of future teaching of the enhanced class(es)

If your proposal is resubmission of the proposal previously submitted to this call but unfunded, you will be asked to provide a brief summary of what changes/updates have been made from the previous one (a separate textbox will be provided through the application link).

Grant funds can be applied to course release or summer salary, undergraduate research, or teaching assistants, supplies or equipment specifically needed for the project. Travel expenses to relevant education conferences may also be covered.

Grantees will be expected to provide a report that includes:

  1. a final syllabus;
  2. course assessment, including student evaluations of the new approach; and
  3. project evaluation and future plans based on the findings.

Grantees are required to present their results at a meeting of ADTS and/or AI, in a workshop promoted by ADTS and/or AI (such as Teaching Showcase) to interested faculty, and/or in faculty news articles, record an audio or video testimonial, write a blog post(s) or in other ways to share details of the project.

Proposal Review Process:

The selection committee is composed of members of ADTS and AI. The committee will use the following proposal evaluation criteria.

  • Promise and benefits of teaching innovation and/or improvement
  • Potential impact of the change (e.g., number of students impacted)
  • Potential for dissemination to other faculty
  • Evaluation plan
  • Plan for dissemination
  • Appropriateness of budget

Proposals that support high-risk courses (high D/F/W) and/or general education and core courses in a degree program are especially encouraged.

Key Dates

Grant period: January 1, 2024 - July 31, 2024

  • Proposal Deadline: November 20, 2023
  • Grant Period: January 1, 2024 – July 31, 2024
  • Full Report due: August 31, 2024

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