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Rice University increased its funding for teaching innovation grants for full-time and research faculty this spring.
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To ensure college students are getting a meaningful and relevant educational experience, colleges and universities continually invest in course development and experiential learning opportunities. This year, leaders at Rice University nearly doubled their undergraduate teaching grants for faculty members to help them improve student learning.
The George R. Brown Teaching Grant at Rice works to foster excellence in teaching and provides funding for equipment, course development and more.
How it works: The Brown Teaching Grants are part of Rice’s Creative Ventures Funds, managed by the Office of Research, and have been offered at the university for almost 20 years, according to student newspaper the Rice Thresher.
Full-time or research faculty from all schools or disciplines are eligible to apply as individuals or a group. To be considered, professors must submit “a clearly presented and feasible plan to enhance an aspect of undergraduate education, a projected impact on a significant number of students, teaching innovation and a justified and realistic budget,” according to a university press release.
Each project is judged on innovation, how it advances undergraduate education, the number of students impacted, sustainability of the project and if the project will receive matching or in-kind donations.
Members of the Committee on Teaching evaluate proposals, which are then reviewed by the provost’s office. If the proposal is granted dollars, it will be made available for Rice faculty to review, as well.
The grant funding can be applied in several ways, including: purchasing equipment, supplies and materials; hosting outside speakers and consultants; special event support; costs associated with developing and teaching a new course; or providing payment for individuals’ assistance with a project, according to the university’s website.
Previous projects include teaching modules in ethics for philosophy courses, building and testing physical models in architecture classes and creating a lab component of a human physiology course.
The university hosts an information session and workshop before the submission period opens in the spring to give details about the process and ideas for successful projects.
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Other colleges and universities are also prioritizing undergraduate educational experiences by providing faculty members grant dollars.
- Faculty and staff at Ohio University participated in a pilot grant program this spring to promote engagement among first-year students and university personnel.
- Tennessee Tech University gave faculty members grants to identify and use open educational resources, which in turn promoted affordability for students.
Dollars in the classroom: In January, Rice leadership announced it would nearly double its annual investment in the teaching grant, from $35,000 to $60,000. With the new budget, project budgets can reach a max of $8,000, up from the previous limit of $5,000.
This spring, 20 faculty members submitted proposals for the grant (a historically high number compared to the previous average of 15 proposals annually), and 13 faculty members received grants.
This year’s projects include experiential learning in field research and technology (such as new training mannequins for the Rice EMS team), creating a library of Japanese resources, improving student metacognition and creating peer education for generative artificial intelligence uses.
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