Professional Development Grant

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To apply, complete the online application form.  We encourage you to copy and paste the questions below into your own document, answer the questions in your document, and then paste your responses into the online application form.  This will allow you to keep track of word counts, and you will have a record of your responses as well.

In addition to the questions below, you will be asked to provide supporting materials that will help reviewers understand the nature of the professional development program or activity in which you are proposing to engage. Examples include the conference announcement, conference program, program agenda, speaker bio, etc.

You may either upload an attachment that provides a description of the program or activity, or you can share a weblink to the program webpage.

Application Questions

Proposal TItle

1.Briefly describe your proposed professional development activity (e.g., attending a conference, joining a program, engaging with an individual, bringing a guest speaker to campus, etc.). [roughly 100 words]

2.How will this opportunity significantly enhance all three areas of faculty engagement (i.e., teaching, scholarship, and service)?  [roughly 300 words]

3.Briefly, how would this activity contribute to faculty success (yours or your colleagues') at CSUN? [roughly 200 words]

4.Provide a timeline of activities for engaging in this professional development activity (include specific dates and details about what will take place).

5. If applicable, does your proposed idea include specific collaborations (e.g., serving on a committee, offering a workshop, launching something new on campus)? If so, share the evidence that consultation about the proposed idea has transpired and execution of the idea is viable. Please note that collaboration is not required.

6. Will you be presenting at this professional development event? Please note that presenting is not required.

7.Is this an opportunity that you might not have access to without a grant from FacDev? Please explain your response.

8.How much funding are you requesting?

9. What will be the total anticipated budget for this activity?

10.If you anticipate supplementing or seeking co-sponsorship from other entities/offices (e.g., department, college, other grants) please include those details.

11. Have you previously received a Faculty Development grant or professional development funding from FacDev? Please note that applicants who have not yet received funding from FacDev for professional development will be given priority.

All faculty, tenure-track (including department chairs) and lecturers, are eligible for this award. Applicants who are applying for conference registration fees do not have to give a presentation at the conference in order to be eligible.  Individuals may receive grant funding more than once, but priority will be given to those who have not yet received this funding.

Faculty are encouraged to be creative in thinking about how conference attendance and/or a professional development opportunity can benefit multiple areas of emphasis at CSUN (teaching, scholarship, service).

Specific examples could include proposals to:

• Attend a teaching conference to learn and implement new learning-centered teaching strategies (area 1). To also meet their department scholarship expectations (area 2), the faculty member might develop a plan to collect data to investigate and measure the impact of that teaching approach which would eventually lead to presenting at a conference or publishing in a peer reviewed venue. Finally, the faculty member may offer a workshop (through the Office of Faculty Development, their College, or Department) teaching other faculty about the innovative strategy and impact results (area 3, service).

• Present at a discipline specific scholarly conference that aligns with department expectations for scholarly activity or maintaining currency in the field (area 1). The faculty member engages students in research related to this conference and returns to campus with an augmented mentoring approach to teaching students about their scholarly field (area 2). Finally, the faculty member serves on a department committee and makes strides to launch a new undergraduate research program for the department (area 3).

• Join a professional organization or specialized program that is specifically focused on developing faculty in higher education related to all three areas of teaching, scholarship, and service.

• Engage with a professional speaker or consultant to provide a professional development service (e.g., keynote speaker) that will address a topic that will impact all three areas of teaching, scholarship, and service.

If you have never attended a teaching conference, consider one of these.

• Association of American Colleges & Universities conferences
• The National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE)
• Lilly Conferences 
• ACUE Teaching Courses
• Online Learning Consortium

Priority will be given to those who have not previously received funding for professional development from Faculty Development. A FacDev team will evaluate applications anonymously based on the following criteria:

1. Comprehensiveness: does the proposal explain how ALL three areas (i.e., teaching, scholarship, service) will be significantly enhanced as a result of this opportunity?
2. Strong Rationale: does the proposal make a case that this professional development activity is needed for their success at CSUN?
3. Detailed: is the proposal specific and detailed-oriented about the plans to engage with the professional development activity?
4. Realistic: do the activities proposed demonstrate promise that it can and will be accomplished within the stated timeline?
5. Consultation: if the proposal includes specific collaborations (e.g., serving on a committee, offering a workshop, launching something new on campus), is there evidence that consultation about the proposed idea has transpired and execution of the idea is viable?

Grant winners will…

• Contact your department chair to inform them of the award.  FacDev will transfer the grant funds to your College for disbursement. You will need to work with your department chair so that you can access them.

• Attend an informational/ celebratory coffee (date/ time/ location details will be announced later based on grant recipients’ schedules).

• Engage in the professional development activity proposed in the application before the end of the academic year. The funding may not be used for different conferences or delayed.

• Submit a brief, one-page report to Faculty Development describing the impact of the conference on their professional development by the deadline specified above.

If you have any questions, contact us in Faculty Development facdev@csun.edu