Downloadable Call for Proposals

Downloadable Proposal Form

Call for Proposals

The new Common Curriculum (CC) for Leadership and Global Citizenship launched in Fall 2025, and we are still seeking new courses for the CC Topics of Inquiry (TOIs).

In recognition that transition efforts will be labor-heavy undertakings, the Provost’s Office has made funds available to departments and units to aid in this work. There will be three separate grant competitions this year:

1. Grant for NEW Courses
2. Grant for REVISED Courses
3. Grant for NEW Themes

This CFP is for REVISED course, and it should be submitted on behalf of the department as a whole. (Please see the application for details on who can submit.)

In order to be considered for this funding, courses included in the application must:

• Currently exist and carry a CA1, CA2, CA3/CA3-L, CA4/CA4-I, or EL designation, OR
• Currently exist as a non-Gen Ed and plan to become part of the CC by adding a TOI

Courses listed in this application should be ones that need a significant amount of work in order to be revised from their current form/designation to a TOI. If a course will transition fairly easily with little revision, please do not include it.

NOTE: Courses that are only W or Q that will have no TOIs should not be included in this application. All courses proposed for this grant should carry one or two TOIs. The maximum number of TOIs a course can carry is two.

All courses will be considered on their own merits, but we also highly encourage proposals for courses that:

1. Serve large numbers of students
2. Are offered at multiple campuses
3. Fulfill the TOI-1 Creativity: Design, Expression, Innovation area
4. Fulfill the TOI-6L Scientific and Empirical Inquiry, Lab area AND which incorporate innovative laboratory activities that utilize atypical spaces or that can be adapted for alternate spaces outside of a standard lab setting (see details below)
5. Incorporate service learning (Up to an additional $1000 available)

TOI-6L Scientific and Empirical Inquiry, Lab (Details)

One challenge of offering TOI-6L courses, particularly at regional campuses, is scheduling lab space. CCC+ therefore seeks innovative TOI-6L courses designed for students in non-STEM majors that maintain scientific rigor while offering students an opportunity to conduct experiments outside of a typical laboratory classroom. Possibilities include courses where:

• The lab portion of the class can be conducted outdoors or in a regular classroom
• Students are provided with reusable kits to conduct experiments*
• Other ideas? Surprise us!

*Please note that, in lieu of summer salary for the faculty member developing the course, grant funds can be used to buy the initial kits, but the department must be committed to replenishing any disposable elements of the kits. Grant funding is for one year only.

Who Can Submit

Appropriate applicants may include the Department/Unit Head, Associate Head, Courses & Curriculum Chair, Department/Unit-specific Faculty Navigator, or any faculty member who has been assigned to oversee the transition of courses to the Common Curriculum. If you are the instructor of an individual course who would like to be considered for this funding, please talk to your Department/Unit Head or course transition designee and encourage them to apply for this funding on your behalf. For this particular funding pool, we cannot accept applications from individual instructors.

Proposal Requirements

Each application should include:

• Thorough but concise answers to the questions in the application form (see supplied form for technical guidelines and requirements)
• An emailed statement of support (see template) from the department or unit head of each dept/unit involved (i.e. a course that is cross-listed with another department should have two statements of support, etc.). If the department head is the one submitting the proposal, no email is needed.

Due Date

Applications are due by 11:59pm on November 21, 2025.

Award Amount and Funding Details

• Each Department/Unit may apply for funding between $1000 to $30,000 to help support course transition efforts. The cost should not exceed $5000 per course.
• We assume that all funding will be applied toward summer salary for faculty who will be doing the work, so there is no longer a budget form for this grant. If a department would like to use part of the funding for something else, they should email commoncurr@uconn.edu for approval prior to submitting a grant application.
• Please note, departments who receive an award are responsible for processing HR paperwork for all summer salary.
• Faculty covered under the grant have the option to transfer their part of the award to their faculty research accounts instead of it being used toward summer salary. Please note that – per HR – the award is not transferred to the account until the end of the grant period.

$1000 Service Learning Add-On

The Office of Outreach and Engagement invites applicants to this course development grant to submit course proposals that contain Service Learning for an additional $1000 stipend.*

Service Learning courses engage students in hands-on learning in collaboration with community partners. Course materials align with projects that benefit community groups, and students participate in regular reflection.

If grant winners have not participated in previous SL fellows program training, they would be accepted into the 2026 cohort.

Reach out to Christopher.Ciarcia@uconn.edu or Anne.Gebelein@uconn.edu for more information about SL or the Fellows Program, or for assistance in developing a proposal.

*Please note that, if taken as summer salary, this $1000 is inclusive of fringe ($932 salary, $68 fringe). There are a total of four awards available.

Submission

An electronic copy of the proposal should be sent to commoncurr@uconn.edu with the Subject Line “Revised Course Application - Provost’s Common Curriculum Grant.” Emails of support (if needed) can be sent separately, but please be advised that proposals will not be considered for funding until the emails of support are received.

Requirements for Awarded Proposals

Departments who receive funding for their proposal will still need to submit a new course proposal form and full syllabus for the course approval process. Courses must be submitted in the Course Inventory Management (CIM) system by September 1, 2026.

Faculty who are working on courses are also required to attend an in-person Course Design and Development Retreat on May 13, 2026, and will be encouraged to avail themselves of other Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning resources in instructional design.

Timeline

Submission Deadline – November 21, 2025
Awards announced – By the end of January 2026
Mandatory Course Design Retreat – May 13, 2026
Summer salary paid out to awardees – Summer 2026
Course Action Request forms submitted in the system – By September 1, 2026
Course fully approved by University Senate before February 5, 2027
Course taught for the first time – AY 27-28

Contact

Email Karen McDermott at karen.mcdermott@uconn.edu or commoncurr@uconn.edu with any technical questions. For pedagogical questions, contact Jamie Kleinman at jamie.kleinman@uconn.edu.