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Guerrieri Academic Commons arial view from front entrance.

Course Enhancement Grants

The ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Libraries are offering Library Course Enhancement Grants for faculty. Course instructors will receive $750; if a team applies, the $750 will be divided equally among team members. The grant most likely will be in the form of a supplemental pay contract, with half paid at the beginning of the contract and half at the end. We anticipate offering four to six grants per year.

Deadline

Proposals are due by April 30 for courses during the upcoming academic year.

Purpose

The grants are intended to support faculty in collaborating with librarians to revise existing courses or design new courses which 1) incorporate research and information-literacy skills such as finding and evaluating appropriate sources, effectively using sources, and/or engaging in disciplinary dialogues; 2) make use of library collections and/or services in creative and substantial ways beyond the “one-shot” instruction session; and 3) integrate an appropriate library faculty member as a partner in the course in some way.  The collections include any Libraries collection, including those in the main library, the Nabb Center, and the Curriculum Resource Center, while services can include not just instruction, but also the Maker Lab, the Exhibit Lab (that is, creating exhibits in conjunction with our curator), or other Libraries services.  In support of SU’s goal of inspiring a campus culture of inclusive excellence, support, and collaboration, one grant will be reserved for courses that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Eligibility

Any full-time faculty member in any academic department at SU may apply, regardless of tenure status.  Courses in any discipline and at any level are eligible.

Librarian Role

The academic faculty member should contact the appropriate library faculty member before submitting the proposal to discuss their potential collaboration.  It is not necessary that all details be finalized before the proposal is submitted, just that both parties have agreed to work together.  It is expected that by July 15 for fall classes and November 30 for spring classes, the academic and library faculty will have met several times and agreed on the learning outcomes for the course, how research and information-literacy skills will be integrated into the course, and what the librarian’s role during the course will be.  This will give the library faculty member adequate time to prepare for their contribution/participation for the class.  The librarian’s role may vary, but the librarian should be included in the course in some way, whether that involves instruction or some other means of participation.

Requirements

Grant recipients will be expected to assess in some way the effect of the project on student learning.  This could be through research journals, annotated bibliographies, or other means that demonstrate that students have mastered information-literacy skills.  In addition, grant recipients will be expected to turn in a 1-2 page report after the course ends summarizing the project and its effect on student learning.

Application Process

Please submit a 1-2 page application that includes:

  1. Your name, department, and email
  2. Course name and number, anticipated enrollment, and whether it is a new or revised course
  3. Term in which you plan to teach the course
  4. A summary of the project, including:
    1. Your goals/desired learning outcomes
    2. Some idea of what information-literacy skills you will incorporate, how they relate either to your major or to general education, and how you will do this in terms of assignments or projects (this does not need to be final).
    3. The name of the library faculty member with whom you are collaborating and some idea of how you will incorporate that person into the course (again, this does not need to be final)
    4. How you anticipate assessing the effects of this project on student learning

Proposals should be submitted to Bea Hardy, Dean of Libraries, at bbhardy@salisbury.edu by April 30 for the upcoming academic year.

Selection Process

A committee of library faculty and the dean of libraries will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria*:

  1. Depth of integration: To what extent will information-literacy skills be integrated throughout the course? To what degree will higher order aspects of research and information use be supported?
  2. Partnership building: Does the instructor-librarian collaboration help to build or strengthen connections between the academic program and the Libraries? What is the extent and the nature of the collaboration between the instructor and the librarian?
  3. Innovative pedagogy: Does the project employ pedagogically-sound practices or approaches that are either new to the instructor, course, or department or new to the application of those practices? If so, how do these new approaches facilitate student learning?
  4. Feasibility: Is the project realistic in terms of what can be accomplished? Does the proposal communicate clearly the project’s central goals and approaches?

*These criteria are taken verbatim from the . These seemed perfect for what we are trying to accomplish, so we have chosen not to reinvent the wheel.

Grant Awardees