Purpose
The objective of the Curricular Arts Enhancement Grant is to enhance students’ learning in the visual and performing arts. Curricular Arts Enhancement Grants are designed to support:
- Scholarship of teaching and learning initiatives related to demonstrating the effectiveness of arts programming on student learning;
- Integration of universal design for learning principles, allowing for multiple means of engagement, action/expression, and representation specific to the arts in higher education classrooms;
- Guest artist visits and engagements with students, courses, and programs;
- Innovative arts-related pedagogical experimentation with the potential for long-term impacts.
Eligibility
All Texas A&M University faculty are eligible to receive the AVPA Curricular Arts Enhancement Grant. Co-authored, interdisciplinary proposals are eligible and encouraged. Collaborations with faculty from other member schools within the Texas A&M University System are also encouraged.
A faculty member’s name may not appear on more than one application in a single grant cycle. No more than two Curricular Arts Enhancement Grants may be awarded to any principle investigator in any three-year period.
The AVPA Director and the AVPA Advisory Board will adjudicate grant applications. Board members who submit a grant proposal will be excused from the entire Arts Research Grant review process. Award Limit: $7,500
Format
All proposals must be submitted electronically as a single PDF file, uploaded via the Grant Application Portal. Two or more PDFs must be combined into a single file. Proposals must include:
- Statement of Support: A brief, signed statement of support from the principle investigator’s Department Head or Program Director.
- Abstract: A summary briefly describing the project’s objectives, format, and anticipated impacts in layman’s terms. The abstract should not exceed 150 words and must use Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced with one-inch margins. List five keywords associated with this proposal listed directly underneath the abstract.
- Project Description: A narrative description of up to 3 double-spaced pages using Times New Roman 12-point font with one-inch margins. The project description should include any illustrations, figures, data, or other pertinent information and state the specific objectives of the project. A complete project description should:
- Describe the format and goals of the proposed guest artist engagement or pedagogical experiment. As appropriate to the project, discuss the methods and practices to be employed as well as the aesthetic frames through which the project will be evaluated.
- Place this project within the larger context of course, curriculum, and program in which it will take place.
- Provide background information about the project and discuss its potential impact on the Arts at TAMU, especially impacts on students and the project’s potential to have long-term and lasting impacts on a curriculum or program.
- Describe any additional anticipated outcome(s) of the project expected within one year of the award (e.g. publications, public performances, etc.).
- Investigator and Guest Artist Curriculum Vitae: Up to two pages listing recent publications or creative works for all investigators and guest artists.
- Current and Pending Support: List the source, title, date, and amount of relevant internal and external funding support received and pending, as well as for applications submitted but not funded during the previous three years (for all investigators).
- Budget and Justification: Up to one page, specifically itemizing each budgeted item. Justify each item in the budget in terms of the goals of the project.
Evaluation Criteria
The grant adjudicators will consider the following:- Impact on program operation and curriculum;
- Benefits to students;
- Benefits to faculty;
- Benefits to the wider community;
- Potential for impact beyond the project period (where appropriate to the proposal);
- Sources other than the AVPA where similar support may be available; and
- Alternative plans if support not available.
Project Period
Grants are awarded for one year from the transfer of project funds to the Principal Investigator. One ninety-day, a no-cost extension may be requested. Any unused funds at the end of the project period will be returned to the AVPA.
Report Requirement
Upon completing the awarded project, the awardee is responsible for submitting a project report within a month after the last day of the project period.
Curricular Arts Enhancement Grants must demonstrate a sustained interaction between faculty and students as well as significant educational impact for TAMU students. Results of these activities, including student feedback in the forms of written essays or surveys as well as an explanation of how impact has been assessed, must be described in the awarded project report. In addition, these reports should include documentation of classroom visits, coursework, or student art-making, as appropriate.
In the event that public performances or presentations result from this grant, the Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts should be appropriately acknowledged.
These reports will be summarized in an annual AVPA Final Report, which will be publicly available. Documentation of the project will also be posted on the AVPA website.
If the awardee fails to submit a report on time, he/she will not be eligible to apply for any APVA grants for three academic years.