Bingham Innovation Grants

Integrating Technology

• to help students develop digital literacies

• to engage in innovative pedagogies, scholarship, and creative projects

• to receive training in technological tools and innovations

Pedagogical development

• to purchase materials for innovative course (re-)design

• to support collaborations that elevate pedagogy and students' learning (e.g., covering adjuncts to cover team teaching, cross-division pedagogical projects)

Professional Development

• to fund participation in pedagogical conferences or experiences

• to support the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL), i.e., scholarly pedagogical projects

If you have an idea but are unsure how it might fit into this Grants program, contact the BCTE Co-Directors for information and feedback. 

We are also happy to work with you to develop your idea into a robust application. In fact, we strongly encourage you to do so if you have an ambitious (or expensive!) idea. 

To give you context, the application will ask you to provide a detailed description of your request and a rationale for how this grant would enhance your teaching, including your goals and anticipated outcomes. 

**Yes, groups of faculty may apply! We encourage applications for cross-program/division collaborations, program-level innovations, and related initiatives. 

The BCTE Co-Directors solicit and review grant applications in consultation with the DLA Fellow. They then make recommendations to the Dean of the University, who ultimately approves grant applications. 

The BCTE Co-Directors are responsible for developing policy, conducting regular assessments, and providing transparent reporting, in consultation with the DLA Fellow and the BCTE Advisory Board. 

Individual faculty may apply for multiple grants in one academic year. However, second or subsequent applications will have lower priority than first applications to allow financing for more faculty. Total funding per fiscal year per faculty member will not exceed $5,000 except under unusual circumstances or in the case of leftover money. Total available funding for individual faculty may be less than $5,000, depending on demand. 

In some cases, faculty may need to apply for a grant for the following fiscal year (e.g., a pedagogical conference in August). That's fine! Grants approved for the following fiscal year will count toward that year's funding limits, not the current year's. 

Group grants will count toward individual faculty limits, but we will work with applicants to determine how to divide the group grant sensibly and fairly. (For example, a group grant of $5,000 would not count as the individual maximum for all collaborators. Instead, the $5,000 would be divided and applied in pieces toward individual faculty's award limits.)

Funds can be spent for various purposes, including the cost of materials, training, contract services, and travel necessary for the success of your project. Some caveats: 

Equipment and technology purchases

Remember that all equipment purchased with grant money becomes the property of Transylvania University. 

Personnel costs

Grant money may be used for contract services or adjunct labor.

We will consider requests for faculty stipends not exceeding $1,000 across grants for time spent in summer months above and beyond what would typically be required to prepare for courses (e.g., to supervise contract services, to take a rigorous training course, to spend substantial time researching and recording new material). Staff and students are welcome to participate in collaborative faculty projects; the Dean will consider requests for stipends for staff work conducted outside regular working hours or for student work not for academic credit. We cannot guarantee that stipends will be approved if the rest of the application is approved, as the Dean will make a case-by-case determination of the strength of the rationale in the application. Also, if the pool of money is tight, stipends may not be approved to accommodate as many applications as possible.

General policies

We will follow all University guidelines related to internal grants and Transy’s current travel policy. If the project involves human participants or animal subjects, provide documentation that the project has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

An award is approved only for the proposed budget and expense items. We cannot reimburse expenses not included in the proposed budget. If you find that your spending needs are different than you anticipated, send us a detailed request and rationale to bcte@transy.edu, and we’ll do our best to work with you.

Spending needs to occur during the academic year(s) listed on the application. Funds generally cannot be used after the fiscal year of the latest stated academic year. However, should you require an extension on grant spending into the next fiscal year, send a request to bcte@transy.edu with an appropriate justification, and we’ll do our best to work with you.

Outcomes

Recipients of a stipend will be asked to submit a written report on the project within three months of its completion; these reports are shared with the Bingham Board. Submitting a complete report promptly is necessary to receive a stipend, if applicable, and to remain eligible for future grants.

Depending on the nature of the project, the BCTE may invite you to share what you’ve learned or the outcomes of your innovations with the Transy community (e.g., by presenting at a Lunch & Learn or sharing materials on our website).

OK, are you ready to apply? Great! 

1. Click this link to the application portal and choose Submit Application for the BCTE Innovation Grant. 

2. Fill out the application. Note that you need to complete the full application in one sitting; there is currently no option to save and return. The questions that will be asked:

   • Project start and end dates, if applicable

   • Conference details, if applicable 

   • Grant application cycle - next cycle (Fall, Winter, May), or immediate need for time-sensitive requests

   • Project focus or title

   • Project rationale

   • Applicant and Collaborators, if applicable (names and emails)

   • Itemized budget

   • Supplemental material (links or attachments), if applicable