How to Keep Going When the Funding Runs

How to Keep Going When the Funding Runs Out Or How to Get Started Without a Grant Lucille B. Garmon University of West Georgia Presented at the 19 th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education Purdue University August 3, 2006

Gafney Suggestions § WPA grants § Unpaid leaders § Leaders get credit for an accompanying course for which tuition is waived. § If selected for a second leadership experience, student is paid. § This more likely to be successful at four-year institutions than at community colleges. § Grants for curriculum innovation, serving minorities, etc. § Grant may explicitly include PLTL as a teaching/learning initiative. § If student stipends not included in grants, they may pay for faculty time and thus free up funds in instructional budget. § Internal soft money § Dean or president may have discretionary funds. § At Western Oregon, professors chipped in to pay leaders.

Gafney Suggestions (continued) § Internal fees § Lab fees can be set to cover cost of peer leaders. § At Miami-Dade, even non-lab courses have a $10 -$15 lab fee. § Work-study § Can be used for leaders who qualify for federal work-study. § Academic assistance centers (learning centers) § These may have personnel who assist in training leaders. § They may also provide partial funding for leader stipends. § System-wide initiatives § A tuition increase in Indiana was used to encourage teaching initiatives. IUPUI received funding for a project in which PLTL was a key component. § Institutional budget line § Permanent institutional funding is ultimate goal.

What to Tell the Dean § How does PLTL express the mission of the institution? § Convince the dean that PLTL is of value in meeting missionrelated institutional goals. § Does it help minorities or otherwise underrepresented groups the institution is trying to reach? § Share your data. § If you had a grant, don’t just send assessment data to the NSF (or other funding agency) in your final report. Give it to the dean! § Have a plan and discuss it with the dean. § If you were funded by a grant and it will expire, talk to the dean a year before it ends. Show a plan, such as the possibility of larger lecture sections if PLTL is in place. § Show dean that this could work in other disciplines. § Assuming dean wants to see academic transferability.

What to Tell the Dean (continued) § Can this be called faculty development? § If PLTL rejuvenated your teaching, it may do the same for others. Dean would then have a rationale for using this [sometimes separate] pot of money. § Consider various “in kind” trade offs. § § Course credit for leaders instead of stipends? Tuition waivers? A dedicated scholarship fund? Can faculty workloads be adjusted appropriately?

Hide Not Thy Light under a Bushel § Any positive outcomes from PLTL need to go in department chair’s annual report to the dean. § If you can, get it into the dean’s report to the president. § Even better, see what you can make good enough to get in the institution’s report to the board.

Peer Leader Training Promotes Learning Center § “The Freshman Center added new activities which included: a campus-wide faculty seminar for advising the core curriculum, and development of a leadership course for peer leaders in chemistry workshops. ” § From State University of West Georgia 19992000 Annual Report of Institutional Progress, p. 2

Test Scores Go Up § “A new instructional method in Introduction to Chemistry has resulted in an increase in scores on the American Chemical Society’s standardized test. ” § From State University of West Georgia 20022003 Annual Report of Institutional Progress, p. 10.

from Business Week, September 13, 2004, p. 124

Institutional Foundations § Most educational institutions, public as well as private, have a foundation which solicits support from faculty, staff, alumni, and the community. § This foundation often will fund special programs that reflect well on the institution. § Advantage of this funding agency: no competition from colleagues at other institutions.

“Course Packets” for Workshop § Many professors prepare “course packets” of notes, reprints, etc. § These are sold at bookstore. § Students in course are expected to purchase. § Department can usually set price per packet. § Or, department may develop “in-house” laboratory manual, also sold at bookstore. § Workbook for workshops could be done the same way.

Advantages of In-House Workbooks § Topics and problems included with each workshop can be tailored to the course at a particular institution. § Can even be slightly different for sections taught by different instructors. § Can include additional material specific to the institution (calendar, syllabus, etc. ) § Sale price, minus bookstore cut, comes back to department.

The Case of UWG § Workbook is developed by chemistry faculty. § Is duplicated by publications and printing. § Students are also given, in class, handouts of notes and laboratory activities. § Students buy a voucher in bookstore. § Voucher is to cover cost of workbook plus above handouts. § Students bring voucher to Chemistry Department and get workbook.

Doing the Numbers § The cost of the voucher is $36. § Current pay for leaders is $6. 50/hr. § New leaders are paid only for the time they are actually leading workshops. § Veterans are also paid for time preparing and attending leaders’ meetings. § Average is about $20 per week per leader, or $300 per semester. § Eight students in a group X $36 = $288.

Conclusions § There are ways to get PLTL on the road. § Please help yourself to a sample USG workbook while the supply lasts.

Acknowledgements § National Science Foundation Grant 9950575, which got chemistry workshops started and paid for them until the grant ran out, § The administration of the University of West Georgia for seeing that workshops kept going.