Professional Development & Travel Grants:

2008-2009 Deadlines and Guidelines

The College of Creative Arts (CCA) Faculty Professional Development and Travel Grant program was created to support activities that lead to professional development for full-time faculty in the College of Creative Arts. It is intended to be used either in conjunction with other University grant opportunities or as a single grant for a separate professional activity. Funds donated to the College of Creative Arts and managed by the West Virginia University Foundation are the primary source for this program.

Examples of Appropriate Activities

  • Support in the presentation of, or participation in, workshops, classes and seminars related to the faculty member’s area of expertise.
  • Travel to attend major regional, national, or international events related to a faculty member’s area of expertise.
  • Start-up funding for special projects, initiatives, or opportunities that lead to professional development.
  • Travel to libraries to conduct research.
  • Travel to directly assist in the presentation or performance of new scholarly or artistic works that will significantly help in the development or advancement of the faculty member’s professional profile.

Non-fundable Activities

The College cannot fund:

  • Award Amounts Activities for which a faculty member receives a stipend or honorarium for attendance or participation.
  • Activities that are outside the faculty member’s area of expertise.
  • Activities such as organizing professional events or fulfilling association obligations.
  • Activity or travel to attend a performance or exhibition.

The maximum award for 2008– 2009 is $300

General Guidelines

Activities in the area of research, curriculum development and outreach will be given priority. A proposal is more likely to be funded if it can be viewed as “seed money” for clearly planned development, either of a larger activity or of one with a significant, long-term impact on the faculty member’s professional development, the applicant’s home division, the college and/or the University.

  • Requests for support should include detailed explanations of how funding will contribute to the professional development of the faculty member as an artist, researcher, service provider, or potential teacher, and there should be a clear relationship between the proposed activity/project/program and one or more elements of the mission of the College of Creative Arts and West Virginia University, (i.e., teaching, research and service.)
  • The proposed activity should have an influence beyond the individual faculty member submitting the proposal. For example, a proposal has a better chance of receiving funding if it involves graduate or undergraduate students; has an impact on curriculum; results in collaborative research/artistic activity with a domestic or international counterpart; or has an impact on the economic and artistic development of West Virginia.
  • There must be a clear follow-up plan for the funded activity.
  • In any given year, the CCA Grants Review Committee will receive more requests for support than it can fully fund. To be considered for support, applicants must submit complete and comprehensible applications. This must include a full and accurate description of the proposed activity.
  • Only one application will be funded for any individual during a given academic year. Deadlines for the program year are given below. A faculty member may apply for funding after the travel has taken place, but the application must be received no later than the next scheduled deadline after the travel has been completed.
  • The committee will summarily reject applications that fail to provide information in the form requested.
  • Applicants who have any outstanding balances from previous awards or who have not submitted the required documentation from previous awards shall be ineligible.
  • The faculty member must complete the application and take it to the Chair of the respective unit for review and approval. The Chair of the unit will review the application, and if approved at the divisional level, will forward the application to the Office of the Dean. Applications submitted directly to the Office of the Dean without the Chairs review and approval will be considered ineligible.

Deadlines

The CCA’s deadlines for the submission of applications are always earlier than the deadlines established by the Office of Sponsored Programs. Our College policies require that the Dean’s office and the CCA Grant Committee review all grants prior to final submission to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Therefore, all grant applications must be submitted before University’s published deadlines in order to consider them for any award.

  • Grants submitted after the deadline will not be considered until the following review cycle.
  • Grants for any activity occurring more than 90 days prior to the date of application cannot be funded.

The completed and signed application must be submitted directly to the Office of the Dean of the College of Creative Arts by the end of the working day on the following applications deadlines.

Faculty Travel
August 25, November 6, January 16, April 2

Faculty Development
September 5, December 15, February 27, April 17

International Grants
September 5, December 15, February 27

Public Service
November 20

Senate Research
October 23

Making an Application/Which Forms to Use

All CCA grants require forms that can be either downloaded or accessed through the links below.
University grant forms can be also found by accessing the West Virginia University Office of Sponsored Programs web pages at: http://osp.research.wvu.edu/funding_source/grants

All application forms must be typed.

Each grant proposal must include the following completed forms:

  1. College of Creative Arts Cover sheet
  2. Appropriate University Grant Application with support materials
  3. If a faculty member’s proposal involves travel, the WVU Travel Authorization Form must be submitted along with the other forms.

Submit ONE COMPLETED AND SIGNED COPY of the application and appropriate forms to the College Creative Arts, Office of the Dean, by the corresponding deadline for activity listed above.

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC

  1. Scroll down the page to the heading, “ADR RATES” and click on the blue highlighted “2005 ADR Rates (effective 10/1/2004)” line. This will take you to the “GSA – U.S. General Services Administration” page.
  2. Scroll down this page to the “Domestic Per Diem Rates” map of the U.S. and click on the state to which you will be traveling.
  3. Half way down your state’s page is the per diem rate chart. Please use the per diem rate column marked, ” M & IE Rate” for your maximum daily meal allowance rate. And to determine the per diem for your first and last day of travel, please use the “First And Last Day” column.

Evaluation Criteria

Application review will be based on the following criteria:

  • Significance of activity and level of importance in the faculty member’s professional field.
  • Nature of presentation and process of presentation selection (e.g., peer review, invitation, etc.).
  • Complete justification of all expenses. For example: How will the faculty member be traveling? Is the mode of traveling the least expensive route, time, and means? What is the source for this information?
  • Funding from sources other than the CCA Faculty Grant Program: Identify completely all funding sources (departmental, college, outside, personal; include a statement about other grant funds, if any, allocated for travel). If a faculty member has requested or received funds from other university sources, indicate source and amount. What is the extent of others’ and the faculty financial commitment to the proposed activity? The more complete the documentation of funding sources, the better the chances of receiving funds.
  • The merit and value of the activity, especially its potential to enhance the faculty member’s performance in teaching, research and creative activity, service and/or development as an artist.
  • Evaluations and comments provided by the Chair.
  • The adequacy of the proposal, especially the project statement, budget, clarity, and appropriateness of supporting documentation.

AWARDS WILL BE MADE BASED ON THE QULAITY OF THE APPLICATION AND THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS DURING ANY GIVEN REVIEW CYCLE.

Administration

Faculty members will receive written notification of any decision concerning the status of their application for a College grant.

Notification of University grants will be made via a separate letter from the Office of Sponsored Programs.

  • In the event that an award has been granted, faculty members must contact Melissa Morrison (Melissa.morrison@mail.wvu.edu) in the CCA Expert Business Office within 7 working days of the receipt of their first letter of award. This will activate the grant. Failure to contact Ms. Morrison within this time period will result in the rescission of the award.
  • The College and University cannot advance any funds for the purpose of development activities. Expenses are covered through reimbursement only. In some cases, the College may be able to assist in directly purchasing tickets or paying for special conference registration. Ms. Morrison can assist you in defining your eligibility of this type of assistance.
  • If there are funds from other sources (e.g., state), it may be necessary to process paperwork for prior approval, in which case university guidelines must be followed.
  • Post travel reports and receipts must be provided within 10 working days of the completed activity to receive reimbursement for expenditures. Failure to provide the appropriate receipts and documentation will result in the award being rescinded.

Any faculty member who is not applying for a College of Creative Arts grant, but is still seeking University funding for an activity, must still see Melissa Morrison within the time periods noted above. In order to simplify the process of reimbursement and as a courtesy to the faculty, the College EBO requests that faculty members NOT contact the Office of Sponsored Programs or the Office of Academic Affairs directly for reimbursement.

If you have any questions, first see the Chair of your appropriate Division. Additional information concerning CCA Faculty or University grants, please contact William Winsor or Theresa Z. Rhodes in the CCA, Office of the Dean.