FACULTY ENRICHMENT COMMITTEE GRANT
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
1. Purpose
The Faculty Enrichment Committee (FEC) Grant was developed to encourage faculty
members to pursue further development in their fields by attending professional
conferences or workshops, taking courses, doing research (including graduate or
undergraduate research), writing books or writing grants. It is meant to facilitate these
activities by reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses related to travel or other costs, or, if the
grant comes in the form of a course release to allow time to work on research and/or book
or grant writing activities, to provide funds to the faculty member’s department to hire an
adjunct to teach one of his or her courses. The intent is not only to enhance the faculty
member’s expertise in his of her field, but also to enrich Franciscan University with that
expertise.
2. Policies
A. The maximum amount a faculty member can be awarded through the FEC Grant
program is $1,500 per fiscal year (June 1 – May 31). A faculty member can
apply more than once, and receive FEC Grant money more than once, but the
total amount awarded within any given fiscal year may not exceed $1,500.
B. Generally, projects under the grant (or the grant-supported portion of a longer-
term project) should be completed within one calendar year of an award.
C. FEC Grants will only be awarded to support future activities. Retroactive grants
will not be permitted.
D. FEC Grants are not to be used for:
i. Membership fees or dues associated with professional organizations,
or maintenance of rank or status within an organization;
ii. Work toward a degree of any kind;
iii. The expansion of a course or creation of a new course at FUS or
elsewhere;
iv. Material or equipment for a department;
v. Work not related to one’s field at FUS; or
vi. Payment for your time.
E. The FEC will not review grant applications from any faculty member with an
“open” grant, that is, a previously awarded FEC Grant for which a report upon
completion of the project, along with a detailed accounting for funds used, has
not been submitted. A report detailing an FEC Grant-supported project and its
outcome, along with a list of funds used, together with original receipts, is due to
the Office of Academic Affairs no later than three weeks after the projected
completion date of the project, as stated in the award letter.
F. In considering some applications, such as those relating to conference
participation, the FEC may give preference to applicants who have been invited
to speak or present over those who would merely attend. To receive such
preference, the applicant must provide documentation in the grant application
indicating that such an invitation was extended.
G. The FEC may give preference to applications from junior faculty and first-time
applicants.
H. If an application is for a joint or team project, a principle investigator (PI) who is
a full-time faculty member must be listed as the primary applicant. Other team
members may include Franciscan University faculty or students only.
I. Generally, FEC Grant monies are paid in the form of reimbursement of out-
of-pocket expenses after-the-fact following the submission of a final report
and original receipts. The final report, together with an accounting for expenses
and original receipts, must be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs no
later than three weeks after completion of the project. If approved by the Office
of Academic Affairs, FEC Grant monies may be made available in advance of
project activities for substantial up-front costs only (e.g., costs associated with
conference registrations or airline reservations). If FEC Grant monies are
obtained in advance, and the grant-supported project is subsequently aborted,
some or all of these funds may be recouped from Faculty Development monies
otherwise available to that faculty member.
J. In order to allow adequate time for his or her department chairman to secure
coverage, when requesting a course release, a faculty member should, if possible,
apply for the grant a full year prior to the semester for which the release would
apply. However, a course release may be granted pursuant to a request made in
the semester immediately prior.
3. Application Procedures
A. The faculty member must fill out the FEC Grant application in its entirety
(including all required signatures) and submit it to the Office of Academic
Affairs by the applicable deadline. (Please note that applications for a course
release require the signed approval of both the relevant department
chairman or program director and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
These signed approvals must be obtained by the applicable deadline and
submitted with the application.)
The FEC will not review applications submitted after the deadline. This
includes applications without the required signatures. Applications that are
incomplete or received after the deadline may be resubmitted for consideration in
the next round of grants if grant-supported activities would occur after that later
date.
B. Application deadlines will occur three times per fiscal year, on:
September 15th
January 15th
and
April 15th.
These three deadlines are set with the intent of dividing the grants fairly and
distributing them evenly throughout the fiscal year to interested faculty members.
These dates apply regardless of whether the deadline falls on a non-business day.
If scanning technology is not available for the applicant to submit signature pages
or other supporting materials electronically, original documents or hard copies
may be submitted; please note, however, that such original documents or
hard copies must be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs by the end
of the working hours (usually 4:30 p.m.) on the last business day before the
applicable deadline. All applications must be received (and time stamped via e-
mail) by 12:00 midnight on the applicable deadline date.
C. The Faculty Enrichment Committee will review all applications and make ranked
recommendations to the Office of Academic Affairs for either approval or denial
of each application. A majority vote of the Committee is required to either
approve or deny an application; please note, however, that due to limited
resources, it may not be possible to support all applications approved by the
Committee.
D. The Faculty Enrichment Committee will make its recommendations and the
Office of Academic Affairs will announce final grant determinations
approximately two weeks following each deadline.
ksw 8/2009