The Faculty Development Center (FDC) offers the following grants to faculty members to enhance teaching and learning pedagogy at Furman University. For a list of additional funding opportunities, including Furman RPG funding, please visit here.
Expenses that can be covered by FDC grants may include:
- Fees and expenses for in-person or virtual conferences/workshops directly related to teaching (an extensive list available here);
- Innovative classroom technologies that add capacity unavailable through current enterprise systems (e.g. Moodle, Zoom, Box, etc.);
- Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary faculty collaboration to develop new teaching and learning models/methods/techniques/assessments;
- Collaborative projects aimed at developing or enhancing departmental/inter-departmental curricula or co-curricula;
- Research projects that examine the scholarship of teaching and learning;
- Honoraria for speakers to enhance campus-wide faculty development and/or teaching and learning.
Funding may not be used to reimburse costs already incurred and funds for technology will only be awarded if the product/s strictly adheres to privacy protocols as required by FERPA. Additionally, funding is typically not awarded for one-time course activities or honoraria for course speakers unless there is a direct connection to a more comprehensive pedagogical initiative.
FDC staff will review proposals for their relative merits in enhancing teaching effectiveness, student learning, and or pedagogical innovation. In general, proposals are more likely to receive a favorable evaluation if the proposal articulates:
- how the project will positively impact a substantial portion of the Furman community (faculty, staff, students);
- how the project will improve long-term retention of learned skills and knowledge;
- strategic plans to sustain the proposed project beyond the funding period;
- transferability of the project outcomes to other departments and/or beyond Furman’s campus.
Award decisions will be made on a rolling basis, with the exception of the Teaching Development Grants which have a fall and spring deadline (see below). Please do not hesitate to contact the FDC with questions about these grants and/or the application process.