The Faculty Benefits Committee sponsors three competitive award programs to support the professional development of tenured and tenure-track faculty: sabbaticals, summer fellowships, and project grants. The following questions are typically posed by applicants pursuing project grant. Applicants are strongly urged to consult Please referred to the Faculty Handbook
[11. Faculty Development Programs 11.1 - 11.4 ] for a complete description of the purpose, eligibility, conditions of acceptance and application procedures of each program.
1. What are legitimate uses of project grant funds?
Answer: Funds can be used to purchase equipment, to cover financial expenses associated with sabbatical leaves or summer fellowships, to hire student assistants on a faculty project, or to cover expenses associated with instructional, scholarly, or creative projects when financial support is not available through department budgets. Recipients cannot use grant funds to pay their own salary or to pay the salary or an honorarium of a full-time faculty member. The grant cannot be used to cover expenses of a student project.
2.When is the deadline for filing a grant application and who needs to receive copies of the proposal?
Answer: The deadline for filing an application is the first Tuesday of October of each academic year. Submit copies electronically to:
a). Faculty Senate Office, AC 105, c/o Grace M. Hiles (hilesg1@nku.edu);
b). the department chairperson.
3. Where can I obtain an application form and related information about this faculty development program?
Answer: Application forms can be down-loaded at the Benefits website . The procedures, eligibility conditions, and reporting requirements are covered in please referred to the Faculty Handbook
[11. Faculty Development Programs 11.1 - 11.4 ]. At the beginning of the fall semester, the Benefits Committee holds a workshop on the application process for all award programs. Attendance is voluntary. The date of the workshop is announced in August through e-mail, Faculty Senate website and circulars distributed by the Faculty Senate office.
4. What is the department chairperson's role in the application process?
Answer: The chairperson is responsible for filling out the Benefits committee-supplied Project Grant evaluation form about the applicant. Chair letters help evaluate the application and, for project grants, state what the departmental funds are available(if any) to support the project, if approved. The weight of the Chair letter as part of the evaluation process is up to the subcommittee members. The chair's deadline for forwarding the evaluation form is the second Tuesday in October. The chair forwards electronic copies, (preferable PDF) to:
a). the Faculty Senate Office, AC 105, c/o Grace M. Hiles (hilesg1@nku.edu);
b). the applicant
5. When am I eligible for a grant?
Answer: Tenured and tenure track faculty are eligible for a project grant every year. The faculty handbook states "Other things being equal, preference should be given, first, to a candidate who has not previously received a program award; second, to a candidate without tenure; and, third, to a candidate who received a Program award the longest ago" . A faculty member who will receive a terminal contract is ineligible.
6. What does it mean, “provides academic references,” under criterion k3 in the Evaluation Guidelines document?
Answer: It means that the proposal contains citations to source material following discipline-appropriate, academic standards; including a works cited page and in-text citations. (It does not mean that letters of recommendation from colleagues in academia were provided.)
7. What is the maximum amount I can request?
Answer: Applicants may request any amount up to a maximum of $6,000. Especially worthy projects may be funded for additional amounts, but applicants should ordinarily plan a budget that stays within the $6,000 cap.
8. How much time do I have to spend the grant funds?
Answer: Funds must be expended between May 1 and June 30th of the following year.
9. What are the final reporting requirements and when is the report due?
Answer: Final reports are required for all awards. It consists of a summary abstract of about 250 words written for a general audience, a one to two page detailed summary, and a photo of the faculty member sent as email attachments to the Office of the Provost, c/o Assistant Provost of Special Project Jason Vest (vestj3@nku.edu) X-5622, who will distribute them to the appropriate Dean, Chair/Supervisor, and the Faculty Senate Office. The abstract and photo will be published in the annual Faculty Development Program Brochure published by the Provost Office. Tangible products of the award (e.g., a scholarly manuscript, book or book chapters, ect. ) do not have to be submitted with the report; however, the applicant should make them available to administrators upon request.
10. Who receives the final report?
Answer: Award recipients submit electronic copies of the final report to:
a). the Office of the Provost, c/o Assistant Provost of Special Project Jason Vest (vestj3@nku.edu) X-5622
11. Can I apply for a summer fellowship, a project grant, and a sabbatical leave during the same academic year?
Answer: Yes, but be aware that separate applications must be submitted for each award, that there are different eligibility requirements for sabbaticals and summer fellowships, and that there are different final report deadlines for the various awards. each Faculty Development Award is evaluated independently, approval of one does not necessarily guarantee approval of sister applications. Check the Faculty Handbook for eligibility requirements for the different awards and for deadlines of final reports please referred to the Faculty Handbook
[11. Faculty Development Programs 11.1 - 11.4 ].
12. Is a chairperson eligible for a project grant, and if so, who evaluates their application and verifies their eligibility?
Answer: Yes, department chairs are eligible. The Dean is responsible for filling out the Benefits-committee supplied evaluation form on the chair applicant and their proposal. The deadline for forwarding the evaluation to the Faculty Senate office is the second Tuesday in October. They submit their applications simultaneously to the Faculty Senate Office, AC 105, c/o Grace M. Hiles (hilesg1@nku.edu) and to their college dean who evaluates the application and verifies eligibility.
13. When will I know if my proposal is approved?
Answer: The Provost informs applicants of the status of proposals no later than December 24.
14. Where can I find an example of a successful application from a prior year?
Answer: Go to Benefits Committee homepage
15. Are project grants with multiple applicants allowed?
Answer: Project grants with multiple applicants are permitted, each applicant has three pages for his/her vitae, but the rest of the application should follow regular page limits.
16. Who reviews the application and how will they evaluate it?
Answer: A subcommittee within the Benefits committee will initially review the application; the entire Benefits committee votes on final funding recommendations which are passed onto the Provost. The project grant subcommittee submits to the Benefits chair a detailed list of any budget changes along with their rankings, with a rationale for any changes from the requested budget to the recommended budget. Each subcommittee is composed of members from a variety of colleges and departments on campus so it is important to be able to convey the content of your application to individuals outside your academic discipline. The subcommittee follows guidelines in the faculty handbook and uses the rubric as an initial evaluation tool.
