Public Scholarship and Service Learning Curriculum Development Grants Requests for Proposals

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1 Requests for Proposals DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: Friday, February 13, 2009 The Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnerships Program (CESEP) and its Faculty Council offer the opportunity for Rutgers faculty on the New Brunswick campuses to apply for Public Scholarship and Service Learning Curriculum Development grants made possible with support from the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. We particularly encourage applications from junior and senior faculty who have established relationships with local, state, and/or global communities, have integrated this into their courses, and want to add a pedagogical component to their courses that can deepen students learning. A small number of grants ranging in the amount of $1,000- $1,500, totaling $15,000, will be awarded. The purpose of these grants is to build faculty capacity to engage in public scholarship and strengthen student learning through credit bearing, academically-linked civic participation in a not-for-profit community organization. The grants can be used to create a one-credit Public Scholarship and Service Internship component related to an existing course or it can be used to enhance or expand an existing PSSI effort. The one-credit PSSI consists of approximately 33 hours of service and seven hours of associated academic work composed of class time, readings, reflections and related projects. Funding Criteria and Priorities Proposals can build on current course designs to enhance a public scholarship/civic engagement orientation; initiate a faculty-led or CESEP-led Public Scholarship and Service Learning recitation section associated with an existing course; and/or add an international community service component to an existing course. For SAS faculty, pedagogically innovative courses with a civic participation focus can help meet the goals that have been set in the revised Core Curriculum. See attached information on the SAS CCR learning outcome goals. Faculty submitting proposals should make sure to address these basic principles of critical pedagogy and service-learning course construction: Critical Reflection: What mechanisms/assignments will be employed to encourage students to critically reflect on the link between course content/academic theories and their service learning experience? Engagement: How does the academic service component of the course meet a common good? How have campus-community boundaries been negotiated and how will they be crossed? Public Dissemination: How will student service learning projects be presented to the community organization and the broader public? If relevant, how will data be collected or information and/or product be returned to the community? At a minimum, service-learning courses should meet the following broad criteria:

2 a) The course has a formal, academic curriculum that is rooted in the discipline in which the course is being offered. b) The course contains a set of organized community-based learning activities through which students directly serve a constituency as a means to address an identified community need c) The course provides structured opportunities for students to connect their service activities to the course curriculum Source: Adapted from Criteria for Service Learning Course Review at UC Berkeley Assistance is available to faculty who are considering applying, as well as to faculty awardees. We encourage faculty to contact the CESEP office regarding current community partnerships available through the CESEP Community Council. As noted earlier, if faculty members would prefer to not directly instruct the recitation section, faculty may have students participate in the CESEP program s academic-community-service focused recitations, where students learn to develop reflective and critical thinking skills related to their service experience. Regardless, the CESEP staff will assist faculty with student service placement coordination, tracking and documentation of student in the community site, and will provide participating students with an orientation. Staff will also act as liaison between the faculty and the community organization. For any questions regarding community engaged service-learning course design or other proposal related matters, applicants may call Amy Michael, CESEP Senior Program Coordinator at or her at amymic@rci.rutgers.edu. She will put faculty in touch with faculty who have experience in this field and consult with the Director of CESEP, Dr. Maurice Elias, Professor of Psychology. Also, some helpful websites include: Compact, which features model syllabi, National Service Learning Clearinghouse, Community Partnerships for Health, Imagining America, Application Process, Selection and Deadlines Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee made up of members of the CESEP Faculty Council, CESEP Director, the Senior Program Coordinator and the Associate VP of Academic and Public Partnerships in the Arts and Humanities. All faculty are invited to apply by submitting a proposal through the RFP application process. Proposals must be approved by department Chairs and any appropriate Dean. The deadline for the proposal will be Friday, February 13. The recipients of the awards will be announced in March Redesigns of existing courses will be piloted in the Fall 2009 semester and new courses in Spring 2010.

3 Requirement of Recipients 1. Recipients must agree to teach the new or redesigned course at least two times and set up a schedule for this teaching so that the CESEP office can coordinate resources and faculty support. 2. Grant recipients will submit a final report at the conclusion of the grant period that will include the following: a. Brief narrative explaining how the funds granted facilitated the work accomplished. b. Copy of syllabus for course funded by the grant. c. Copies of reflective assignments used in class funded by the grant. d. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the course from the perspectives of the students and the community partners. e. Information about the community partner and description of their role including indication if the community site met expectations and goals. f. Budget receipts and narrative of expenditures 3. Recipients will share their course design with other faculty, especially those who apply subsequently.

4 An Initiative of CESEP Application Academic Rank or Title: Address: Dept./Unit School/Faculty/Program Building Room Telephone: FAX: Project Title: Endorsement by Dept./Unit Head Date: Academic Unit: Comments: Endorsement by Dean of Faculty Date: Academic Unit: Comments: Original + seven copies of the completed application must be received in the Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic & Public Partnerships, Room 201, 18 Bishop Place, College Avenue, New Brunswick, by 4:30 P.M. on Friday, February 13, s will be accepted only if the hard copy is received by the deadline. Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic & Public Partnerships in the Arts & Humanities 18 Bishop Place New Brunswick New Jersey (732) /4302 FAX (732)

5 An Initiative of CESEP Application Please respond to the following items in no more than 3 pages. 1. Course abstract (100 words). Please list the learning goals and outcomes of your current or proposed course. (If an SAS course, please also include how it addresses SAS learning goals) 2. Describe how the service learning component will be linked to the academic content of your course including: a plan for critical reflection, the types of placements envisioned for students, and any current community partners. Include the goals of your course revision in terms of changes in student learning. 3. Describe the community-based component of the new/re-designed course, how will academic service component meet a community-identified need or contribute to the public good, will the community-based component be related to your own scholarship. 4. How will student service learning projects be presented to the community organization and the broader public? If relevant, how will data be collected or information and/or product be returned to the community? 5. Outline your preliminary thoughts about the methods you will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the community learning component. 6. How are you planning to use the $1,000-$1,500 provided for this program? (Provide an itemized budget and brief justification for each item.) 7. Frequency of course/curriculum offering and sustainability plans. Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic & Public Partnerships in the Arts & Humanities 18 Bishop Place New Brunswick New Jersey (732) /4302 FAX (732)