The General Education Council (GEC) invites applications for its 2024-2025 Collaborative Curriculum Grants. These funds encourage collaboration among instructional faculty to engage in curricular or instructional projects related to courses in the General Education program. This year, the GEC especially invites proposals that seek to: 

  • Improve consistency of content across multiple sections of the same course. 
  • Improve or align pedagogy across multiple sections of the same course.  
  • Design and incorporate accessible instructional materials (e.g. ADA Title II compliance).  

 

Successful proposals will: 

  • involve a collaborative team of THREE or more instructional faculty members.
  • include a clear plan for the proposed project and a commitment to implement the proposed results or product(s). For example, descriptions of project objectives, instructional content to be developed or to-be-adopted pedagogy, and expected time commitment in the summer of 2025 will help the committee make funding selections.
  • Budget for a project can range at a total of $2-5K. The total fund granted for a project typically varies depending on the scope and scale of the instructional content to be developed and the pedagogical adoption.

Detailed instructions regarding eligible participants, proposal format, and appendices are below. For exploratory conversations or questions about proposals, please contact the relevant area coordinator(s). 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 25, 2025. 

Notification: April 8, 2025 

Send complete applications to gened@jmu.edu. 

 

All grant funds must be spent by June 16, 2025, with all work ideally completed by July 1 along with a brief (maximum 1-page) preliminary report listing completed and forthcoming activities. Final grant reports are due to the General Education Council by September 1, 2025. The General Education Council asks the faculty involved in the project to make a brief presentation to the Council in Fall 2025. 

Submit your proposal as a single document. Your document must include the following: 

 

  1. Information Sheet (one page) 
  1. Title. Give a brief and meaningful title.
  2. PI(s)/Participants. Include names of the individual(s) submitting the grant proposal, who is responsible for its implementation (PI, Principal Investigator), and other individuals who will participate in the grant activity (the Participants), marking the appointment status as you can (e.g. 10-month, 12-month, A/P, et al). If some of the participants are unknown at the time of the grant submission, provide the total number of individuals that are expected to participate. Also provide the academic units involved, with the AUHs’ contact information. Note: only 10-month appointment faculty members are eligible for these summer grant stipends. Adjunct faculty are welcome and eligible to participate if ACA hour limits permit. 
  3. Purpose. Give a brief statement describing the purpose of the proposal and its relevance and contribution to the General Education program. Describe how this proposal benefits students and faculty. If appropriate, describe how the grant will affect what is currently in place. 

   II.  Narrative (no more than 1000 words) 

  1. Activity/Product. Expand on the purpose stated above. Describe the specific activities that require funding and, if appropriate, how the work will be completed in the allotted time, for example, in May and June of 2025 and between July and August of 2025. Clearly identify the objectives, intended outcomes or products of the activities. For example, if the grant is for developing products such as revised syllabi, accessible digital instructional materials, or teaching modules, provide a detailed explanation of how these will be redesigned and developed during the grant period and how these new developments will be enacted in the teaching of the course in AY25-26 and onward.  
  2. Timeline. Give expected dates of relevant activities related to the grant work undertaken, such as group meetings. A brief one-page preliminary report will be due to General Education Council (gened@jmu.edu) by June 16, 2025. The deadline for the submission of full grant reports is September 1, 2025. 
  3. Deliverables/Product. Please state and briefly describe the outcomes or deliverables that will be shared with the General Education Council. 

  III. Budget (see Attachment A below) 

  IV.  Signed Endorsement Forms (Attachments B and C) 

The grant proposal must include completed and signed Endorsement Forms. Signatures of the grant PI and the appropriate Area Coordinators, Department Heads/School Directors of all grant participants, and Deans are required. 
 

NOTE: Consideration will be given only to completed proposals that conform to the above detailed format and are received by the deadline. 

Attachment A 

Please include all relevant information, adjusting the form as necessary. 

  1. Name of Applicant(s) Stipend(s)  
  1. Name of Participant(s) in addition to applicant(s) and desired stipend(s)  
  1. Please identify any individual that is an adjunct faculty member.  Stipends and work load must be in compliance with university requirements for yearly hourly average. 
  1. If actual names of participants are still to be determined, please make a reasonable guess as to the number of participants. 
  1. Name of Participants as collaborators and not receiving stipends 
  1. Please identify any individual on a 12-month contract that is included in this proposal.  12-month contract employees cannot be offered a stipend for work that falls within their regular job responsibilities and scope of work.    
  1. Estimated cost of food (if any):  
  1. Total budget request:  

 

Date by which budget must be spent: Prior to June 15, 2025

Attachment B 

Please include all relevant information, adjusting the form as necessary. 

 

  1. Proposal Title: 
  2. General Education Area: 
  3. Date of Proposal Submission: 
  4. Date of Grant Report Submission: 
  5. Abstract or Purpose:

 

Area Coordinator(s) Endorsement Table

Grant PI/Co-PIs  

 

 

Name:  

 

 

Signature: 

Department/School:  

 

 

 

Name:  

 

 

Signature: 

Department/School:  

 

 

 

Name:  

 

 

Signature: 

Department/School:  

 

 

 

Department Head/School Director Name: 

 

 

Signature: 

Department Head/School Director Name: 

 

 

Signature: 

Department Head/School Director Name: 

 

 

Signature: 

Dean Name:  

 

 

Signature 

 

Attachment C 

Please include all relevant information, adjusting the form as necessary. 

 

Title of Proposal:  

Area(s) proposal is designated for:  

Taking into consideration the goals and needs of your Area, rate the proposal with the following scale:  

1 (top rating; this proposal will significantly contribute to the Area to meet critical needs)  

2 (good rating; this proposal will contribute to the Area to meet certain needs)  

3 (fair rating; this proposal will contribute to the Area but not in an area of specified need)  

 

 

Department and College Endorsement Table

 

RANKING 

Signature 

Area 1 Coordinator 

 

 

 

Area 2 Coordinator 

 

 

 

Area 3 Coordinator 

 

 

 

Area 4 Coordinator 

 

 

 

Area 5 Coordinator 

 

 

 

 

Comments: 

 

Back to Top
General Education
Gabbin Hall
MSC 1110
971 Madison Drive
Room 110
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
Email Us
540/568-2852
Fax: 540/568-2913