Teaching Support Grants


Application Procedure

  • For complete application details, please see proposal form
  • Proposals may be submitted online or may be printed and mailed to:
    Grants Program Manager
    Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
    301 Rider Building University Park, PA 16802

Application Deadlines

  • October 15 is the application deadline for projects starting after January 1, 2008.
  • February 29 is the application deadline for projects starting after May 1, 2008.

Project Types


Multi-Campus Projects

  • Involve at least two Penn State locations
  • Build on successful projects that are smaller in scale
  • Involve multiple faculty and students

College/Campus Projects

  • Involve multiple courses from a single college or campus
  • Build on successful projects at the course or department level
  • Involve multiple faculty and students

Department/Division Projects

  • Involve multiple courses from a single department or division
  • Build on successful projects at the single course level
  • Involve multiple faculty and students

Individual Projects

  • Involve a single course
  • Involve a single faculty member and his/her students

Award Amounts


  • Multi-Campus Projects — up to $23,000
  • College/Campus Projects — up to $16,000
  • Department/Division Projects — up to $8,000
  • Individual Projects — up to $1,000

Examples of allowable expenses:

  • materials and supplies
  • project-related meetings, conferences, or travel*
  • publication, computing, or consultant services
  • reference books and periodicals
  • course release time, graduate stipend, or undergraduate wages

Matching funds are not required, but they are an excellent way to demonstrate the unit’s commitment to instructional development and innovation.


Examples of expenses to be covered by academic units:

  • tuition
  • fringe benefits
  • other expenses not related to teaching
  • travel for scholarly activity or research*

Grant Focus Areas


Project proposals in all areas should address a course or program need, include methods for assessing the impact of the changes, and a plan to disseminate findings. All proposals should provide a plan for disseminating within Penn State, but they may also discuss plans for external dissemination (e.g., teaching and learning conferences).

Each project should focus on one or more of the following areas:


Innovative Teaching Methods:

Projects should either develop new methods or adapt innovative methods used in other courses or disciplines. Proposals should reference appropriate literature.

Developing Learning Materials:

Research on effective teaching has shown that it is sometimes necessary to go beyond the standard textbook and develop additional learning materials such as cases, virtual fieldtrips, and demonstration models. Projects in this area should revise or enhance existing materials based on previous research.

Student Learning Assessment:

Projects should design and implement new forms of assessment to determine the degree to which student learning outcomes are being met. Various forms of student learning assessment (e.g., computer-based testing, grading rubrics, concept questions) can be used as alternatives to traditional paper and pencil exams.

Program Assessment:

Keeping the curriculum current and aligned with the needs of future graduates is the focus of program assessment. Projects should indicate the current learning goals for a department or division (or any academic unit) and a plan to evaluate the degree to which those goals are being met.

Faculty Development:

Learning new strategies and techniques for teaching students may require training sessions and workshops to help faculty change the way they teach and redesign their courses. Projects should describe the types of activities that will be developed and offered (e.g., workshops, seminars, retreats), as well as a plan to assess their impact on participants.


Proposal guidelines are modeled after the NSF Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education.


*Faculty interested in travel for disseminating other teaching-related findings should explore our Travel Grants program. Please note, the Institute does not provide support for travel unrelated to teaching.