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IT Grants for Faculty

Overview

Offered from 2008-2016, the Technology and Learning faculty grant program offered competitive funding to Pepperdine's full-time faculty members to support and encourage innovation in the field of technology and learning.  The grant program was established by the offices of the Provost and the Chief Information Officer, and has been administered through the Technology and Learning department.  Grant proposals have been reviewed and evaluated by a faculty committee.

* Note: The program was placed on hold in 2017 and may return in the future.

Grant Program Goals

The goals of the grant program are to:

  • Provide seed funding to faculty members who propose new ways to integrate technology and learning
  • Provide a regular mechanism for sharing and communicating faculty member innovations in technology and learning
  • Create an environment where faculty members can undertake faculty-led, independent, cutting-edge technology and learning projects
  • Determine the feasibility of implementing successful innovations campus-wide

Strategic Focus Areas

Faculty members may propose grant projects on any subject related to the integration of technology and learning.  Proposals closely aligned with one or more of these strategic needs may receive special consideration during the application process.

  • Assessing student learning.  Research tools and best practices in the area of assessing student learning, such as online quizzes, surveys, and learner analytics.
  • Faculty development.  Develop models, workshops, and/or materials to gather and share faculty success stories using technology in the classroom.
  • Online course design.  Develop designs, create shared materials, investigate tools, and/or research best practices for effective online or blended/hybrid teaching.  Examples may include: gamification, badging, "flipping the classroom," conditionally-released learning activities, melding synchronous and asynchronous activities, developing interactive syllabi, accommodations for different learning styles or learning challenges, and much more.
  • Open educational resources (OER).  Explore the creation and/or effective use of open educational resources and how they may benefit the students and faculty of the university.
  • Synchronous online learning best practices.  Explore and research new methods of using our online learning platform, Zoom, to its full potential to engage students and promote learning at a distance.  This is especially important to support blended and online programs at Pepperdine.

Eligibility Requirements

Full-time faculty members are eligible to receive a grant.  Part-time faculty or staff members may partner with a full-time faculty member to become eligible for an award.  Faculty members are eligible for one award every three years.

Grant Recipient Expectations

After a period of twelve to eighteen months, grant recipients will be expected to:

  • Submit a journal-ready case study that details their work.  The case studies will be published on our Technology and Learning website.
  • Be available to present their work at Pepperdine's Technology and Learning Faculty Conference or Faculty Speaker Series.
  • Spend all awarded funds by the deadline set forth in the grant agreement.  Awards are intended to promote innovation in teaching and learning.  The program will provide one-time funding for training, travel, consulting assistance, or tools such as hardware and software.  Recurring maintenance for hardware or software is not an allowable expense beyond twelve months after receiving an award.  Proposals and budgets should consider and include the support and implementation needs of the project.  Awards may not be used to fund or supplement pre-existing tools or services paid for by schools, departments, or the university.  Awards may not be used for faculty or staff salary supplements; however, awards may be used to support salaries for student workers who participate in the faculty member's project.  Pepperdine's Office of the Provost will provide the necessary purchasing and post-award accounting support.  Additional information will be shared with award winners.

All grant projects must comply with existing university policies on research, spending, etc.  Please refer to the Academic Policies and Documents of the Office of the Provost.

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How to Apply

Check back in the future! 

While the grant program is currently closed, please watch for future announcements about the next round of Faculty IT Grants.

Funding Limit: 

$10,000

Grant Proposal Process:

Proposals should consist of no more than five pages and should include the following items:

  • The names and titles of all faculty and staff members working on the project.
  • A summary paragraph of no more than 200 words describing the proposed project, its goals, and method of investigation.
  • A narrative of no more than three pages detailing the proposed project, method of investigation, goals, and expected outcomes.
  • A narrative of no more than one page that outlines the overall relevance of the project for faculty members at Pepperdine University.
  • A review of current best practices or other relevant information concerning the state of the problem area that will be under investigation (no more than one page).  Information regarding practices at other institutions of higher education is especially relevant.
  • A detailed, line-item budget for the project.

Proposals will be ranked and funding will be recommended by a committee consisting of faculty representatives from each of the schools of Pepperdine University.  Awards will be announced by the end of the fall semester.

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Recipients

Contact

For further information, kindly contact:

Technology and Learning
techlearn@pepperdine.edu

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