Excellence in Education Research Program Guidelines

Introduction

The Excellence in Education Program is a $1500 award established to support graduate student research in the summer. The awards are intended to assist graduate students in the conduct of scholarly research and creative works that will enhance their academic experience and professional growth. Recipients of this grant will also receive a one-credit tuition stipend to enroll in a course directly related to their research during one of the two summer sessions. Sample proposals can be viewed here.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

1. Have regular status in a graduate degree program with an NMU graduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
2. Be enrolled in at least one course related to their area of research during one of the two summer sessions.
3. Provide evidence of support from a faculty sponsor and the student’s department (see cover page).

Students receiving both an Excellence in Education award and a summer Spooner Grant are expected to relinquish the Spooner award so that other unfunded students may be supported. Students who receive an Excellence in Education award  but fail to complete a course related to their project at NMU, must forfeit the award and pay back any monies received. Students may only receive the Excellence in Education award two times over the course of their graduate program. Once a student has received the Excellence in Education award twice, they are no longer eligible for the award in any subsequent years.

NOTE--Students receiving the NMU Dependent Child Tuition waiver during the summer semester are not eligible for the Excellence in Education award.

Fundable Activities

1. Activities which the student, advisor and department head define as scholarly or creative work will be considered by the review committee
2. Activities must result in a tangible product to be considered for funding.
3. Awards provide funds for supplies, materials, travel, living expenses, or other activities directly associated with the conduct of the proposed project.
4. In addition to the funding available for the conduct of research, requests will be considered for the support of student travel to scholarly meetings at which the applicant will be presenting a paper or creative exhibit. To be considered for funding in this category, evidence must be presented that the paper/exhibit has been accepted for presentation (e.g., acceptance letter, conference program, etc.).

Non-fundable Activities

1. Activities which constitute part of one’s position of regular employment.
2. Attendance at a conference, without presentation of the student’s work.
3. Payment for services rendered to a second party.

2013 Deadlines

• Feb 1: Student submits one complete application (hard copy) to their Department Head and emails a Microsoft Word version of the narrative to the Office of Graduate Education and Research (graduate@nmu.edu)
• Feb 15: Department Head submits ranked hard copy to the Office of Graduate Education and Research
• Feb/Mar: Review by Graduate Program Committee 
• Mar 15: Award Notification
• Oct 15: Student submits final report to their Department Head and the Office of Graduate Education and Research (graduate@nmu.edu)

Evaluation Procedures

Proposals will be received by the Graduate Programs Committee (a committee appointed sub-committee) which will then review the proposals based upon the following criteria:

1. The significance of the proposed project and soundness of the methodology.
2. Clarity of presentation and planning of the proposed project.
3. Qualifications of the student investigator.
4. Adherence to format and content requirements.
5. Justification of additional funding for second year applicants.

The members of the review committee will rank all proposals and forward their recommendations for funding to the Assistant Provost of Graduate Education and Research, who will make the awards.

Application Procedure

A student must submit one complete application (hard copy) to the Department Head and email a Microsoft Word version of the narrative to graduate@nmu.edu by February 1. Departments must evaluate the proposals and rate them as excellent, very good, good, or fair (see cover page). Additional comments can be attached in the form of a letter. If more than one proposal is submitted from a department, they must be ranked. By February 15, the Department must submit the ranked hard copies to the Office of Graduate Education and Research (401 Cohodas).
The application must contain:

1. An Excellence in Education Checklist.
2. A current Excellence in Education Research Grant cover page signed by the advisor, department head, and student.
3. A double-spaced narrative, and double sided copying (4 page minimum, 6 page maximum* with Times New Roman, 12 point font) which includes the following:
   1. A statement of the problem, project objectives, significance
   2. A brief discussion of the Project Rationale and a Literature Review
   3. The project plan with a timetable with expected outcomes (e.g. paper, presentation, or creative work)
   4. Statement of resource availability (e.g. supplies, equipment, staff, etc.) where applicable
4. A detailed budget and budget justification which clearly justifies the requested funds, indicating how monies will be used to support the research project.  The budget should be broken down into two categories:  1) supplies, and 2) all other expenses.  The supplies monies will be transferred directly to the departmental budget, where the faculty mentor would assume responsibility for ordering these supplies.
5. Appendix:
   1. A curriculum vitae of the student indicating qualifications for conducting the project.
   2. A copy of the most recent student transcript (unofficial transcripts are fine).
   3. Letter of support from advisor.
   4. If applicable, copy of Final Report from previously funded Excellence in Education application(s).

*Note that references and appendices do not count towards the six page limit.

Any applicant that proposes to use human subjects (e.g., clinical or survey work) must have applied for or received approval of NMU’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to submitting an Excellence in Education application.  See the Institutional Review Board (IRB) page for information and application procedures.

Any project involving the use of animals must have applied for or received approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to submitting an Excellence in Education application. See the IACUC page for information and application procedures.

Applicants must attach a copy of their Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Animal Care (IACUC) approval letter, or confirmation of application from the Chair of IRB or IACUC, with their application to be considered for funding.

Grant Requirements

Students receiving an Excellence in Education Research Award will also receive a one-credit tuition stipend when they enroll in a the grant required course that is directly related to the project (such as Special Topics, Directed Studies or Thesis) during one of the two summer sessions.
 

Final Report

A Final Project Report must be submitted to the department and the Office of Graduate Education and Research (graduate@nmu.edu) by October 15th after completion of the project.  Grantees who fail to submit a Final Report will not be eligible for future Excellence in Education Research Award funding.

The Final Project Report should include the following information:

• Name of award recipient
• Period of support
• Project Objective(s), and how they were addressed during the award period
• Project Actual Outcomes, and how these outcomes compared to the Project Expected Outcomes discussed in the original Excellence in Education application