Bluenotes GLOBAL 2020 Conference call for faculty grant proposals
Final submissions are due December 6, 2019
Explorance has committed a total of $160,000 to be awarded to faculty in support of their research projects using assessment or course evaluation data. Each faculty award will be between $10,000 and $15,000 US dollars. Faculty may use an existing research project or use the funding to support data collection January 2020 through May/June 2020. The grants will be awarded to faculty contingent on the presentation of their research findings at the Bluenotes Global 2020 conference to be held in Chicago, August 2 through August 5, 2020. Travel expenses to Chicago should be factored into the project budget. The goal is to have a track of presentations dedicated to faculty-led assessment and/or student learning initiatives at the 2020 conference.
Faculty grant proposal review process
A blind review process was administered and coordinated by the University of Louisville. Each proposal was anonymized upon receipt by Explorance for review by at least two members of our 9-person review committee (see list below), made up of faculty and staff representing higher education institutions from around the world.
Thirty-six proposals were received. The attached rubric was used to score all of the proposals.
The highest score on any proposal was 49 (all 7s on the rubric) making the highest combined total from both reviewers 98.
The scores from both reviewers were summed, sorted in descending order, and the top 16 proposals with the highest scores were selected for funding.
Review Committee Members:
| Stephanie Klein | University of Minnesota |
| John Jordi | University of Florida |
| Taiwo Ande | Southern California University of Health Sciences |
| Brad Wuetherick | Dalhousie University |
| Donna Davis | James Madison University |
| Bob Goldstein (chair) | University of Louisville |
| Krista Young | University of Louisville |
| Beth Willey | University of Louisville |
| Tham Yieng Wei | Management Development Institute of Singapore |
Faculty Grant Proposals Selected for Funding:
| Institution | Faculty |
| Australian Catholic University | Dr. Bhavani Sridharan |
| Bellarmine University | Dr. David G. Wolf |
| Dalhousie University | Dr. Leanne Stevens |
| Kennesaw State University | Christopher T. Allen, Ph.D. |
| Liverpool John Moores University | Dr Anna Law |
| Reykjavík University | María Óskarsdóttir |
| Simon Fraser University | Rochelle Tucker |
| The Ohio State University | Joyce J. Chen |
| The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Dr. Esther O. Ohito |
| University of Florida | Kate A. Ratliff |
| University of Louisville | Linda Fuselier |
| University of Maryland Global Campus | Darragh McNally |
| University of Minnesota | Joseph Rios |
| Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University | Yao Wu |
| Yorkville University | Irene Torres-Arends |
| Zayed University | Sadiq Midraj |
Notification about the status of each proposal was forwarded to the primary faculty by Bob Goldstein on Friday, December 20. If you have any questions about the status of your proposal, please contact Bob Goldstein (robert.goldstein@louisville.edu) directly.
Key Dates – Mark Your Calendars!
| September 15, 2019 | Call for proposals opens |
| December 9, 2019 | Deadline for grant submissions |
| December 20, 2019 | Notification of awards to selected faculty |
| January 6, 2020 | 50% of funds distributed to award recipients |
| April 15, 2020 | Progress report due from recipients |
| April 20, 2020 | 30% of funds distributed to award recipients |
| June 30, 2020 | Presentation for Bluenotes Global 2020 due for inclusion in conference program |
| August 2 – 5, 2020 | Bluenotes Global 2020 conference |
| August 9, 2020 | 20% of funds distributed to award recipients |
Guidelines for Grant Proposal Submissions
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following rubric. [Explorance Faculty Grant Scoring Rubric – Bluenotes Global 2020]
Please attach a brief funding proposal/project (2–3 pgs.) that includes the following:
- An overview of the initiative for which you are requesting funding, including the following:
- A brief description of an assessment proposal/project (e.g. survey, use of formative or summative course evaluation data) that directly contributes to the improvement of institutional effectiveness, an identified student learning outcome or a strategic student success issue. Improvements are indicated by degree of impact or by change in identified key measures. [Rubric: I./III.]
- Supporting evidence/data of the primary objective of the assessment proposal/project and proposed analytic plan. [Rubric: I./II.]
- Clear project goals with timeline that outlines key milestones aligned with the requested funding. [Rubric: II.]
- A budget overview that outlines how the requested funds will be used to support the assessment proposal. [Rubric IV.]
- Your plan for assessing the degree to which your assessment proposal/project achieves the intended outcome(s). This should include specific measures/data that will be used to determine whether the project is or is not successful, including expected impacts on institutional effectiveness and/or student learning/student success. [Rubric V.]
- To protect the anonymity of the grant evaluation process, please ensure that your grant proposal does NOT include any identifying information as far as the name of your institution or the name(s) of the author(s).
Review and Selection Process
- A committee consisting of Bob Goldstein (UofL) as the chair in addition to 5 other committee members representing higher education institutions from around the world will evaluate the proposals based upon the rubric that UofL will provide for the website.
- Proposals will be 3 to 5 pages in length. Longer proposals will be downgraded with the rubric.
- Committee members will evaluate each proposal and forward the results to uoflirp@louisville.edu between December 7 and December 17. Proposals with the highest combined total scores will be awarded the grant.
- Applicants will be notified by Bob Goldstein, no later than December 20, whether or not their submission has been selected to receive a grant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to participate?
Only faculty are eligible to receive a grant. Blue administrators and project managers (those collecting the course evaluation and assessment data – i.e., Explorance’s contacts already invited to the conferences) are excluded as the objective is to broaden the scope of topics and participation in the Bluenotes Community.
Can proposals include multiple faculty?
Yes
Can multiple faculty from the same institution submit independent proposals?
Yes. Multiple faculty from the same institution are eligible to receive grants.
How much will each faculty receive in grant money?
The final amount awarded per proposal is contingent upon the total number of accepted proposals. The minimum amount to be awarded is $10,000 per proposal.
Are there any restrictions on the use of the grant funds?
No. However, please keep in mind that travel expenses must be budgeted by the grant recipient. Award money can be used to fund travel to the Bluenotes Global 2020 conference. Please note that conference registration fees for award recipients will be waived by Explorance.
What are the requirements for receiving a grant?
Faculty awards are contingent upon the recipient providing a progress report of their research (April 15), a presentation for inclusion in the Bluenotes Global 2020 conference program (June 30), and attendance/presentation at the Bluenotes Global 2020.
Must faculty use data collected by Blue?
Faculty are encouraged, but not required, to use data collected with Blue or BlueX within the proposal. Explorance is offering faculty a free BlueX survey account to collect data for this initiative. BlueX, Explorance’s new software solution that rivals Qualtrics and Surveymonkey, can be used for the data collection. More details about BlueX are available at: https://explorance.com/products/bluex/. To obtain a free BlueX account, please contact Sophiann Hayet (shayet@explorance.com).
Is this initiative available to faculty at institutions in North America only?
No. Proposals will be accepted for consideration from any institution, regardless of location.
Can faculty submit a proposal for an existing research project?
Yes. Faculty may use an existing research project or use the funding to support data collection in spring 2020.
Is the proposal required to include final research results?
No. In case of a multi-year study, preliminary results of research may be presented at Bluenotes Global 2020.
Can corporate customers participate?
No. Submissions are limited to institutions of higher education.
Bluenotes GLOBAL 2020 Faculty Grant Proposal Contacts:
Becky Patterson or Bob Goldstein, the University of Louisville