Mini-Grants

Definition

A faculty mini-grant is an award of financial support by Edgewood College to a faculty member for a specific activity. Typical activities include: disciplinary conferences and presentations, workshops, research and special projects that cannot be funded solely by department or school funds. Course preparation and the purchase of books for courses will not be funded.

The professional development of the individual faculty member and the academic program development of Edgewood College are the two major objectives of the program of faculty mini-grants.

Eligibility

The following two categories of faculty will be eligible for mini-grants:

1. full-time faculty members
2. part-time faculty members who have had four semesters of service to the College

Award Amount

A full-time faculty member or an eligible part-time faculty member who teaches 9 credit hours or more within the semester of his/her application may apply for up to $1,000 per fiscal year. An eligible part-time faculty member who teaches less than 9 credit hours within the semester of his/her application may apply for up to $500 per fiscal year.

Subsequent applications may be considered if additional funding is available. Applicants are expected to seek funding from other sources when their expenses exceed the allowed maximum amount of mini-grant awards as well as departmental/school supplemental support, and when no additional mini-grant funds are available.

Procedures

1. Awards will be made four times over the academic year and funding will be equally allocated for each round of applications. The Chair of Faculty Development Committee will issue an email reminder about grants by 09/01, 11/01, 12/15, and 03/01, including an announcement of the forthcoming application deadline.
2. The faculty member will complete and submit the application form online by 10/01, 12/01, 02/01 and 04/01. The application form is located in the Faculty Development Committee folder on My Edgewood as well as the Academic Dean’s folder. Hard copy submissions are welcome, and the applicant should submit the printout of the completed application form to Linda Wilder in the Academic Dean’s Office.
3. Other Guidelines:
   1. Typically awards made in a given fiscal year must be used within that same fiscal year.
   2. A written request is required to transfer an award to a different event is subject to approval.
   3. Applications should normally be submitted before an event takes place. Retroactive applications may be considered only when submitted in the current academic year and only when funding is available.
   4. When possible, applications should indicate the earliest date when funding needs to be secured.
   5. Awardees are encouraged to present their activities through such channels as departmental websites, brownbag meetings or faculty colloquium series.
4. Applications will be notified of the grant decisions within ten days after the Faculty Development Committee has reviewed the applications.

Criteria

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Scholarly merit and impact on professional development
2. Relationship to the program needs of the Department/School and/or those of the College
3. Length and quality of service
4. Past grants given to the applicant within the current fiscal year
5. Supplemental funds from the department/school or other sources