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Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Grant Projects

Tips for Getting the Grant

It is our desire to award faculty funding for implementing solid, useful assessment projects that help develop and improve academic programs. To that end, I offer the following suggestions for designing projects and writing winning proposals. Feel free to talk with me as well.

  • Do not simply copy text from the RFP nor title your proposal using the title of the RFP. Use a title that is specific to your project. Ex. Assessing Critical Thinking of Undergraduate Nursing Students or Preparing Students to Meet Industry Design Standards. Explain your project succinctly, but in your own words. Be clear about what you intend to do, how you intend to do it, and how you anticipate using your findings.
  • Assure that your project utilizes direct measures (i.e., an assessment of demonstrated student performance or knowledge). Indirect measures can be included, but should not be the sole or primary measures.
  • Explicitly connect your proposed project to your program SOAP. Even better if the project relates to your SOAP and simultaneously fulfills other goals such as contributing to university-level outcomes or your Program Review recommendations or action planning. The OIE website includes the university’s Strategic Plan, Academic Plan and multiple studies that relate to goals and issues in those plans. These documents may provide additional support for your project or context in which you can anchor your project.  
  • Address all components stated in the RFP. Do not assume that reviewers will know you intend to address a requirement in your project if you have not specifically done so in your proposal.
  • Assure that supporting letters from your Dean, Associate Dean or Department Chair clearly indicate their desire to have this project done and their willingness to support it, especially if ongoing support is needed to sustain the project after the grant has ended. A letter that simply says “I support this grant” is viewed as weak support. Additionally, if the proposed project requires collaboration of numerous faculty members, be specific about how you will develop, sustain or assure that collaboration.

 

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