My USC Lancaster

Each year, the Academic Dean, on the advice of the AIT Award Committee and with the support of
the Campus Dean, will award up to four grants. Applicants may request either one course release
during the academic year or $4,000 in summer salary.

USCL instructors of any rank and tenure-track and tenured faculty are eligible for this program.
Adjunct instructors and staff are not eligible at this time.

AIT awards are subject to the following restrictions:

• Applicants may submit only one proposal per cycle.
• Awardees must work with their division chairs to coordinate any course releases with curricular
  needs for the division. Division chairs and the Academic Dean may veto a requested release or
  require the applicant to move it to a different semester to accommodate teaching needs. Releases
  must adhere to USCL and Palmetto College policies.
• Award recipients must continue to be employed by USC Lancaster for the duration of the award
  year.
• Applicants may not receive an AIT award if they have received one in the past 2 award cycles.
• Applicants cannot use an AIT course release during a semester in which they are also teaching
  an overload.
• Awards should not be used for routine course preparation.
• Grants are primarily to be used to provide time for planning, reflection, and professional
  development and, rather than supporting the purchase of materials, should leverage existing
  resources on campus, including technology, facilities, and supplies. Applicants requesting salary
  may use up to 20% of their award amounts on materials, but any proposed purchases should be
  detailed in the application. Requests for equipment and supplies must be clearly justified as
  essential to the project, and the applicant must demonstrate the purchases cannot be
  accommodated through division or technology budgets. All equipment and supplies purchased
  with grant funds become the property of the university.
• Monetary awards cannot be used to pay tuition or fees for degree programs.

Applicants should submit the following materials as a single PDF:

• A 2-page, single-spaced explanation of the proposed work. Applications should be detailed and
  specific and address the following:
  
  • The specific goals to be achieved through developing or revising course methods and
    materials,
  • The pedagogical theories underlying new methods and materials,
  • Expected impacts on student learning and, where appropriate, metrics for success,
  • The sustainability of the proposed work in future semesters,
  • The timeline of proposed work, and
  • A budget for any materials.
• A CV of no more than 2 pages highlighting teaching and pedagogical expertise.
• Optional: Appendices consisting of no more than 6 total pages, to consist of any of the
  following or others appropriate to the applicant or project:
  • Expressions of support from stakeholders including collaborators, supervisors, or past
    students
  • Bibliography
  • Samples of materials to be revised or replaced
  • Evidence demonstrating likelihood of success and/or impact

Grant Applications Due: 5:00 p.m. on the last Friday in October
Award Year: May 11^th, 2027, to May 10^th, 2028 (please note that faculty salary dispersals must occur
between May 11^th and August 16^th, 2027)
Submission Method: Please upload a single pdf to Dropbox [link pending]. Your document should
be named YourLastName YourFirstName AIT 2027.

All required components of the grant application must be combined into a single pdf document and
uploaded to the appropriate Dropbox account. If you require assistance combining documents into
a single pdf, please contact any member of USCL IT Support.

Please use the link above to upload your application. You will receive upload confirmation, but you
will not be able to access your document once submitted. Note that the link will no longer be
available following the application due date.

No late or incomplete applications will be considered.

Grant applications will be evaluated based on the criteria below. Applicants are not necessarily
expected to address all criteria in their narratives or to do so equally, but all of the considerations
may be used to compare applications:

• Is the application complete, detailed, and clear?
• Does the proposed work merit a grant of this size?
• Is the proposed work innovative or ambitious enough to warrant special funding beyond the
  applicant’s regular compensation?
• Is the proposed work suited to our curriculum and student body?
  Will the grant foster work that could not reasonably be done without the award?
• Does the applicant demonstrate the value of the work for the campus, especially students?
• Does the proposed work offer the possibility of improved teaching on campus beyond the principal investigator?
• Does the applicant demonstrate the value of the work for their professional development, including improved evaluations and/or promotion?
• Does the proposed work reflect good practices within the applicant’s discipline, and is it likely to produce improved pedagogy?
• Does the applicant demonstrate a likelihood of successful completion of the proposed work and the relevant expertise to execute it?
• Will the work foster changes that can be implemented in a sustained way in future courses that are likely to be taught again?

Applications will be evaluated by a committee of the academic division chairs and the grant program
chair. This committee will make funding recommendations to the Academic Dean, who will make
final decisions. In subsequent years, applications will be evaluated by the grant program chair and a
committee comprised of the previous year’s awardees.

Upon receipt of the award letter, applicants should consult with the Business Office to establish the
grant project in PeopleSoft to allow for expenditure of funds.
Within six months of the conclusion of the project, awardees must participate in the Advances in
Teaching Lecture Series by presenting a talk of 30-45 minutes outlining the results of their work and
any teaching insights others might benefit from.

Please forward any questions to the chair of the USCL Advances in Teaching Grant Committee at
pslawren@mailbox.sc.edu.