Student Engagement Initiative Grants

Click here to download a .pdf grant application.

The research literature on student engagement demonstrates that the time and energy students devote to educationally purposeful activities (both inside and outside the classroom) is the single best predictor of their learning and personal development (Astin 1993; Chickering & Reisser, 1993; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt & Associates, 2005; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005).

Funded through the Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost, Student Engagement Initiative Grants are aimed at providing funds to support high impact initiatives that address student engagement activities/projects in the first year of their studies. Faculty and staff members are invited to collaborate with the Centre for Learning and Teaching on the development of proposals for projects designed to enhance the learning experiences of first- year students at Dalhousie University.

"High impact" is defined first in terms of the number of students who will benefit from an initiative. Therefore, initiatives that address widely-shared learning and retention issues and that cross one or more Faculties are encouraged. Second, proposals should be designed to integrate learning activities that have been demonstrated to have positive effects on student success. These activities include, but are not limited to:

• first year seminars
• mentoring programs
• shared intellectual experiences across courses or programs
• writing-intensive courses
• collaborative assignments and projects
• undergraduate research experiences
• service learning / community-based learning
• capstone courses and projects

Based on expressions of interest received, the Centre for Learning and Teaching will facilitate a collaborative proposal development process with groups who share specific interests. Groups may involve members who cross Departments, Faculties, the Libraries, Student Services and/or a range of contributors to the student experience at Dalhousie. The product of this collaborative process will include a final proposal that will contain the following information:

1. Title of the Project
2. Rationale for the project
3. Short literature review supporting the educational concept
4. List the Faculty/Faculties and other units involved and their roles
5. Explanation of the target student population 6. Assessment and evaluation component
6. Timeline to complete the proposed project (maximum 3 years)
7. Detailed budget
8. Letter from the Dean of the Faculty/ies and/or the senior administrators of other participating units indicating their support for sustaining the project after the initial development phase

All grant recipients will be required to share their project results for the benefit of the wider Dalhousie community through the Centre for Learning and Teaching or other venues.

Deadline for proposals: Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis..

For more information and support for developing a proposal, interested faculty, staff and/or academic administrators should contact:
Dr. Deborah Kiceniuk, Associate Director (Institutional Initiatives)
Centre for Learning and Teaching, Dalhousie University
902-494-3808 or deborah.kiceniuk@dal.ca