Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Conference Presentation Funds Program

CETL will sponsor a limited amount of travel funding for faculty whose Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has been accepted for presentation at disciplinary or interdisciplinary conferences.  

Highest priority is given to those projects that adhere to good practices for SoTL (Felten, 2013).

For these purposes, CETL defines SoTL as:

systematic and/or reflective inquiry into student learning and/or teaching in higher education which involves methodologically sound application of appropriate research methods, peer review, and distribution as scholarly work.

Application Deadlines

Our application process has recently changed. As of July 1, 2024, you may submit an application at any time, provided you have been accepted to the conference for which you are applying and the conference occurs between September 15 - May 15. Due to fiscal year constraints, we cannot fund conferences that occur between May 16 - September 14.

The Faculty Development Committee will consider applications four times during the year:

• Application Deadline:
  Applicant Notified by:
• August 19, 2024
  September 6, 2024
• October 7, 2024
  October 25, 2024
• January 13, 2025
  January 31, 2025
• March 17, 2025
  April 4, 2025

Amount

An applicant can apply for travel funds for up to $2,000. 

Criteria

To be considered, applicants must provide proof of their acceptance to present at the conference. Conference presentation funds are not retroactive and are applicable only to conferences that happen between Sept 15 and May 15.  
 
Highest priority for funding is given to:

• Proposals that represent original SoTL projects as defined above. SoTL projects may use quantitative or qualitative approaches appropriate to the discipline but must adhere to IRB guidelines for research involving human participants when applicable;
• Proposals for conferences that are international or national in scope;
• Faculty who are serving as lead author on the proposal;
• Faculty who have not recently received SoTL Travel Funds. 

Proposals from faculty who are not the lead author on the session, have recently received travel funds, or for those who are presenting teaching-related sessions that do not adhere to the definition of SoTL above will be considered but will receive lower priority for funding. 

Selection and Notification Process

All applications will be reviewed using an evaluation rubric by the Faculty Development Committee, a committee of the KSU Faculty Senate, with support from the CETL Associate Director for SoTL. Applicants will be notified of a decision on or before the dates listed above. 

Eligibility

All KSU faculty members with active faculty status are eligible for funding. If funding is provided, it is the faculty member's responsibility to ensure they remain eligible both during the dates of travel and when submitting the Concur expense report.

Application Process

Our application process has changed this year. All applications will come through InfoReady. This is to help streamline the application process and establish an approval flow that will be sent directly to your immediate supervisor. 

Go to the SoTL Conference Presentation Funds Program Application InfoReady Page.

1. Complete the application.
2. Add your proof of acceptance (e.g., letter/email from conference coordinator). Please ensure that it contains your name and the name of the conference.
3. Utilize the template in the form to indicate your expected expenses. 
4. Agree to the statements about the process. 
5. Add your immediate supervisor's email address in the appropriate question and notify your supervisor they will receive an email through InfoReady to review your application and approve. 

Incomplete applications (missing documents or supervisor approvals) will not be considered. 
 
You will receive an e-mail confirmation upon receipt. If you do not receive the confirmation e-mail, please contact CETL at cetl@kennesaw.edu. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the proposal was received by the deadline.

Reference

Felten, P. (2013). Principles of good practice in SoTL. Teaching and Learning Inquiry,1(1), 121–125. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.1.1.121