GEC Grants Program

The purpose of the General Education Grant program is to support projects, events, and/or other activities that advance the program goals of General Education at Shippensburg University. The General Education Council (GEC) is committed to supporting proposals that involve as many Shippensburg University students as possible, as well as those that demonstrate (1) collaboration among multiple faculty members leading different sections of the same general education course OR (2) collaboration among multiple faculty members leading sections of different general education courses that support the same program.

Application 

All funded projects and events must provide evidence that they will:

1. Achieve one or more of the General Education student learning objectives.
2. Assess the student learning outcomes of the project or event.

Two categories are available for funding:

• Category One. The program or event will be open to the entire campus community or to a wide segment of that community (e.g., open university-wide, open to all students enrolled in a general education course, or open to all students enrolled under a program goal, etc.).  Up to $6000 per proposal can be requested for this category.  Proposals in this category will be prioritized and, all other things being equal, are more likely to be funded.
• Category Two. Offer the program or event to a narrow segment of our campus community (e.g., a few sections of one general education course).  Up to $1500 per proposal can be requested for this category.

NOTE: Prior recipients of General Education Grants must have submitted a completed Final Report prior to applying for new grants.

HOW TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

Please sign in to InfoReady using your normal @ship.edu credentials and be prepared to provide the following information along with the details of your project:

1. Applicant and co-applicant names, phone numbers, and email addresses.
2. An Abstract that provides a clear description of the project, event, or activity.
3. The General Education Program Goal(s) that will be supported.
4. A description of the collaboration among co-applicants (if applicable).
5. The number (or estimated number) of students that will be reached.
6. A clear and complete explanation (or curriculum map) of the proposed project or event and the specific General Education student learning objectives the applicant seeks to accomplish. All the student learning objectives are presented and explained in the General Education Handbook.
7. A description of how the applicant’s students’ learning outcomes will be assessed using the Grant Evaluation rubric.
8. A proposed budget. 
9. Documentation to support your budget as necessary, examples include:

• Invited speaker fees.
• Hotel rates and expenses.
• Transportation expenses (e.g., quote from bus company if transporting students, travel expenses for invited speaker, etc.).
• Requested amounts for mileage or food based on current per diem allowances.
• https://www.passhe.edu/offices/anf/accounting/employee-travel-expense-reimbursement-rates.html
• https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates
• Evidence explaining and/or quotes supporting any additional expenses (e.g., publicity, additional project or event information, etc.).

HOW GRANT PROPOSALS ARE REVIEWED

The GEC’s Budget Committee is responsible for evaluating the GEC’s grant proposals. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted. For full consideration, it is recommended that completed proposals are submitted to InfoReady at least two weeks prior to the next GEC meeting.  Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis during the academic year however, priority will be given to applications submitted by 11:59 PM on the 1^st Monday of October and by 11:59 PM on the 1^st Monday of March. Proposals submitted after these deadlines will be considered while funds remain.  If a proposal is found lacking, it will be returned to the primary applicant who may elect to revise and resubmit the application. If the proposal is complete, the Budget Committee will review and vote to approve/reject the application. If approved, the Budget Committee will submit their recommendation to the full body of the GEC where it will be considered and put to a vote. GEC-recommended proposals are forwarded to the Office of the Provost, which has the final authority over how all funds are distributed. Typically, awarded funds are made available via a dedicated cost center and department/program administrative assistants handle transfer and disbursement of grant awards.

Please note that proposals will not be reviewed during winter and summer terms when GEC is not in session.

GRANT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES

Additional information about the requirements and policies may be found in the General Education Handbook which is a valuable resource that is updated annually. Members of the GEC and the GEC Budget Committee are eager to support collaborations among faculty members and to provide guidance about assessment.

GEC Grant funds are limited, completed proposals will be reviewed on a “first come, first served” basis. Partial funding may be awarded at the discretion of the GEC and/or GEC Budget Committee due to high demand, budget constraints, or other factors.

All receipts must be retained and submitted for reimbursement through the applicant’s department and the Office of the Provost.

Retroactive funding can be granted up to 60 days after a project or event occurs, but only with evidence that student learning outcomes were assessed.

General Education Grant awardees are required to submit a Final Report that summarizes the completed project AND presents the results of their student learning assessment(s). This Final Report must be submitted by the end of the semester during which the project or event takes place.  General Education Grant awardees who do not submit a completed Final Report are not eligible to apply for future awards until it has been submitted to and accepted by the GEC Budget Committee.

GRANT EVALUATION RUBRIC FOR THE GEC BUDGET COMMITTEE

Table 1: About the applicants.

Table 2: Criteria for evaluating proposals.

Goals and Objectives

As part of the grant application process, you will be asked to demonstrate how the project to be funded will advance the goals of the relevant part of general education.  You can find these goals and objectives here:

Current Gen Ed Program

• Arts (A)
• Citizenship (S)
• Creative (C)
• Critical Reasoning (R)
• Diversity (D)
• Ethical Reasoning (E)
• First Year Seminar (U)
• Foreign Languages (F)
• Global Perspectives (G)
• History (H)
• Literature (L)
• Natural World (N)
• Oral Communication (O)
• Quantitative (Q)
• Technology (T)
• Writing (W)