Teaching Enhancement Grants

There are five categories of grants: (1) Teaching Equipment (2) Teaching Software (3) Teaching Enhancement (4) Teaching Assessment (5) Professional Development

All grant applications are submitted through an online application process at https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/webapps/teachinggrant

We strongly encourage applicants to reach out to the CTL team (davidyt.chan@utoronto.ca) to receive support prior to submitting your application. The CTL team can provide consultations to any grant applicant in order to ensure alignment with best practices and teaching grant criteria.

For categories 1-4, applications open the first week of January every year, and close on the last Friday of February. This year, teaching grants open January 8th, 2024 and close on February 23rd, 2024.”

For professional development grants (category 5), there is a rolling deadline but applications must be made at least one month in advance of the time the funds are required.

UTFA faculty with continuing stream appointments, or term appointments of at least three years.

Sessional Instructors 2 and 3 are also considered for the Professional Development grants. 

The following are the criteria that will be used in assessing proposals. Depending on the nature of the proposal and the level of competition, all criteria may not need to be addressed.

• Clarity of the proposal: Goals for the project are clearly described and thoroughly documented
• Consideration of best practices and pedagogical literature
• Alignment with specified learning outcomes in named courses
• Feasibility of the proposal: Proposal has a strong and innovative design with procedures and activities that are well defined, fully explained and linked to project goals
• Sustainability of the proposal: If the project is intended to continue beyond one year, the proposal outlines the resources available to make that happen       
• Appropriateness of the budget: Read guidelines
• Scope of impact for primary users, and number of students and degrees of impact
• Transferability/Shareability: Where applicable, the proposal indicates how the project, (ie. a learning object) could be used/shared by other courses and instructors
• Collaboration with other instructors: All named courses and instructors should sign off on proposal
• Alignment and/or integration of work-integrated learning, community-based learning and experiential learning
• Special priority to applications that align with the UTSC Curriculum Review, specifically focusing on equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and Indigenous pedagogies. 

These guidelines can help you develop a budget for your application. Please note that funds are to be used within 10 months from the date that they are awarded.

Each of the following are to be completed in the Teaching Enhancement Grant web app https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/webapps/teachinggrant

(1) Teaching Equipment Grants provide for the purchase and/or repair of teaching equipment (excluding software). Equipment should be directly related to teaching-related purposes. Projects in this category can be supported up to $20,000. However, proposals that exceed $10,000 are strongly encouraged to receive departmental matching funds. 

(2) Teaching Software Grants are to enrich courses with the one time–only purchase of software or for the purchase of a software license(s) for a one-year period. Licensing beyond one year cannot be guaranteed and require reapplication for the relevant year. Projects in this category can be supported up to $2000. 

(3) Teaching Enhancement Grants (TEGs) generally deal with the people side of the enhancement of teaching. TEGs are for one-time-only projects, not for ongoing expenses. Course-related proposals that will result in the direct improvement of an existing or approved course will be considered (including adding Service Learning to course/program curriculum). Integration with existing resources and services is strongly recommended, and projects should have identified learning outcomes. The intent is to distribute funds as effectively as possible across meritorious proposals. Projects can be supported up to $10,000. Funds from this award cannot be used to support an applicant's time, travel or conference attendance. For conferences, see item 5.

(4) Teaching Assessment Grants are for the purpose of supporting research on the efficacy of a particular teaching innovation or activity. Awards will be for a maximum of $1,000 per year per person. Funds from this award cannot be used to support an applicant’s time, travel or conference attendance.

(5) The Professional Development Fund - This fund can support an instructor’s (as outlined below) attendance at a teaching-themed conference (such as the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education) or at a pedagogical session of a discipline-based conference. The maximum available for reimbursement of expenses (i.e. registration, travel, accommodation) is $1,000 per year for each applicant as follows:

• UTFA Faculty (professor, teaching stream; lecturer/senior lecturer): One award per year for a teaching-related conference.
• Sessional Lecturer II and III and Writing Instructor II (L)/Writing Instructor II (Priority). One award per year for a teaching-related conference. This award is being offered on a trial basis. Applicant must be teaching at UTSC in the term that the application is submitted and the conference occurs. Special consideration will be given to pre-tenure professors and pre-promotion instructors in the teaching stream.

The funding cycle is May 1 to February 28. The process is as follows:

• Apply using the web app. You can contact us in advance to check if the conference you want to attend qualifies. We will confirm our intention to reimburse or not.
• If the conference attendance is approved for reimbursement, applicants should complete an expense reimbursement form after the conference. Original receipts must accompany the form. Awards must be claimed no later than two months after the conference.
• You can contact David Chan in advance to ask about availability of funds (as there is a limited amount per year), or to see if the conference you're interested in qualifies for reimbursement or to receive details about reimbursement.
• Please note that the Awards must be claimed no later than one months after the conference. Unclaimed grants will be added back to the grant pool. The complete reimbursement process will be sent via e-mail to successful applicants. 

Additional notes:

• Teaching grants can be renewed for up to 2 additional years. Grants that are being submitted for renewal will have to reapply using the application system, and will need to include an update on the project, a new budget proposal, and will have to a project in good standing (e.g. cost recovery forms submitted on time, 12-month report submitted on time, etc.).
• Applicants can submit and hold multiple teaching grants at any given time, however, it is up to the adjudication committee’s discretion to allocate the funds as equitable as possible.
• We encourage all applicants who are submitting their grants for renewal to include statements around how they hope these projects will be sustained after the funding period.

It will take approximately six weeks for decisions to be made about applications and announced to applicants.

For successful projects, the project title, brief description and grant amount will be posted on the CTL website. Applicants will be asked to submit a two-page report on project outcomes within 10 months of the award. As well, successful applicants may be invited to take part in a local (virtual or event-based) showcase.

Thank you for your efforts to improve our teaching community.