Undergraduate Instructional Improvement Grant Program
Purpose: The Scripps Undergraduate Instructional Improvement Grant provides support for projects and innovations in undergraduate education at Scripps. Proposals are invited on a wide range of topics to support undergraduate student learning. Some areas of emphasis are:
- Instructional materials and equipment, particularly to support undergraduate laboratory and field courses.
- Plans to incorporate technologies and/or active learning components to enhance instruction, particularly in large-enrollment or gateway classes.
- Proposals that will enhance the culture of learning assessments in courses and majors administered by Scripps Oceanography.
- Proposals to improve TA effectiveness in undergraduate courses.
- Studies of student learning objectives and outcomes for, and assess learning in, single courses, a suite of courses, or the department’s curriculum.
- Redeveloping or improving a course in keeping with UC San Diego’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity.
- Funding for travel for course development and planning to support additional field trip components in existing or new undergraduate courses.
The Scripps Undergraduate Instructional Improvement Grant Program seeks to fund projects that will have an enduring impact on a course over time, beyond a single offering. Projects should ideally lead to curriculum changes that are sustainable beyond the period of funding.
For additional funding opportunities in enhancing undergraduate instruction, including larger awards for creation of hybrid or flipped courses, please see the UCSD Course Development and Instructional Improvement Program (CDIIP).
Who should apply: Applications from all faculty, lecturers and academic staff who are directly involved with undergraduate student instruction within the Scripps Institution of Oceanography undergraduate programs are encouraged. This includes SIO courses, Environmental Systems (ESYS) courses, Climate Change Studies (CCS) courses and opportunities related to any SIO, ESYS or CCS curricula (i.e.. academic major or minor).
What can be funded: Proposals are welcome on anything that enhances or enriches undergraduate instruction at Scripps. Funded items may include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) instructional materials and equipment, 2) classroom demonstration materials, 3) field equipment for instructional purposes, 4) instructor salary support, 5) specialized instructional software or hardware that is not available elsewhere on campus, 6) learning assessment instruments, 7) facilitator or consultant honoraria, 8) travel expenses for participation in workshops on pedagogy or conferences directly related to teaching, and 9) travel or other expenses related to adding field components that enhance student learning in existing or new courses. For a list of recent awards, please see below.
What cannot be funded: Requests that cannot be funded in this program include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) expected course revisions required to regularly update courses, 2) duplication and distribution of materials to students, 3) purchase of books or the equivalent for students, 4) creation or updating of standard webpages or sites for courses, 5) graduate or undergraduate student wages, teaching assistantships or the tuition portion of a Graduate Research Fellowship appointment, 6) travel to conduct research or to present research papers that are not directly related to teaching or pedagogy, or 6) graduate courses.
Budget guidelines: Awards will be made up to $6000 for most proposals. Larger awards may be considered for instructional materials and equipment. Funding opportunity for larger awards, particularly for development of hybrid, flipped or completely on-line courses, are available through the UCSD Course Development and Instructional Improvement Program (CDIIP).
Proposal deadlines: Proposals will be accepted at any time and decisions will be made on an ongoing, rolling basis. Please be aware that it may take up to two to four weeks after submitting a proposal before the funding decision would be made and funds will be available for use.
Review criteria: All proposals will be reviewed by the Scripps Oceanography program directors (COAP, GEO, OBP, and the program director for undergraduate education) in consultation with the department chair and with consideration of available funding. Decisions will generally be made within 2 weeks of the submission deadline and funds will generally be made available within 30 days of the submission deadline.
Reporting requirements: A completed final report form is required upon completion of the grant project. The form prompts the awardee to describe the impact of the project, to summarize the budget expenditures and to project sustainability of the enhancements made as a result of this project.
Further information: Applicants are encouraged to contact Scripps Oceanography program directors (COAP, GEO, OBP and undergraduate education) for more information.