Student Success Faculty Learning Communities

Student Success Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs), facilitated by CETL in partnership with the Office of the Associate Vice Provost for Student Success, bring together small groups of faculty (no fewer than five and no more than seven) who are interested in specific teaching and learning approaches to support student success within an academic year. The experience is intended to enhance each participant's teaching in ways that may lead to documentable changes in student success and, when appropriate, to the production of scholarship (e.g., presentations, publications) that disseminates teaching innovations.

Topics for 2023-2024 academic year Student Success FLCs will focus one of three areas:

  • Fostering student success in large enrollment courses
  • Leveraging existing campus resources for student success within a course
  • Open topic - proposed by applicants and supporting student success 

These FLC’s can provide opportunities for faculty from different departments or colleges to engage in interdisciplinary investigations of teaching and learning related to student success.  

FLC Coordinator

The faculty member who submits the proposal will serve as the FLC Coordinator who will:

  • recruit faculty participants (FLC coordinator plus 4 to 6 FLC members)
  • schedule meetings and keep records of attendance
  • submit a mid-year report and final product that describes the work of the FLC, and
  • implement a plan that result in disseminating the work of the FLC during or before the Fall 2024 semester at a departmental, college, or CETL workshop, and/or at the 2024 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Summit.

Final product

For 2023-2024 FLCs, the FLC Coordinator will submit a 1-2 page progress report by Jan 8, 2024 and the final product by June 7, 2024. The final product may take either of the following forms:

  • A 1‐2 page narrative from each FLC participant of course changes as a result of participation in the FLC with evidence of the changes (e.g., description of new learning modules; revised syllabi, assignments, pedagogies, or assessments). The FLC coordinator will collate these materials and provide a cover narrative that summarizes the purpose of the FLC and introduces each member’s contributions.
  • A scholarly paper authored by all members of the faculty learning community that articulates the issue of student success in postsecondary education that was the focus of the FLC. The scholarly paper will be suitable for submission to an appropriate peer-reviewed medium and will include: (a) an abstract, (b) background information on the issue and problems addressed, (c) recommended strategies or solutions, (d) a conclusion, and (e) references (works cited).

Timeline for 2023-2024 FLCs

Application Deadline: October 30, 2023 EXTENDED to November 7, 2023

Meeting expectations: initial meeting during the month of November, 2023, with at least eight meetings scheduled prior to the final product submission

Mid-year progress report due date: January 8, 2024

Final product submission due date: June 7, 2024 

Amount

Upon approval of the FLC application: The FLC Coordinator will have access to $750 in FY 24 for resources (e.g., books) for FLC participants.

Upon receipt of the FLC Coordinator's final report: FLC Coordinators will receive a $1500 stipend; participants who attended at least 80% of the meetings and who substantively contributed to the final product (as verified in the FLC Coordinator's final report) will receive a $1000 stipend.

Funding for the FLC Coordinator and participant stipends is dependent on the project’s completion and is only available for FY24, subject to end of year deadlines. Funding is subject to all state funding requirements. In order to receive these funds, participants must be employed by KSU at the time of the expenditure. Funding for stipends will not be released until the FLC Coordinator submits a final written report on the FLC's activities that includes verification that a participant attended at least 80% of all scheduled meetings and events and has contributed substantively to the final product. Stipends will be added to summer salary, which is subject to KSU fiscal policy. Funds are nontransferable to other faculty.

Criteria

Funding is competitive and proposals will be evaluated by the Faculty Development Committee on the following criteria:

  • Clarity of the FLC plan, budget, proposed timeline for meetings/activities/objectives, and description of final product.
  • Potential short-term impact for FLC members (e.g., anticipated changes to teaching and student learning in courses taught by FLC members and preparation of a scholarly paper articulating an issue of teaching and learning within the scope of the Student Success area).
  • Potential long-term impact beyond the time frame of the FLC (e.g., changes in courses or curricula, ongoing scholarship through additional presentations or publications).

Eligibility

This program is open to all full-time KSU faculty holding an employment contract with KSU through June 30, 2024.  

Selection and Application Process

The FLC Coordinator will be responsible for:

  1. completing all sections of the online application:
    a. Project Title
    b. Project Abstract (1,000 character max), and
    c. Project Description (5,000 character max)
  2. Completing and uploading the required FLC Program Cover Sheet & Letter of Understanding with the following information included:
    1. FLC Coordinator's Name, College, Department, Phone, and Email
    2. Project Title (preferably no more than 20 words)
    3. A proposed FLC Materials Budget that lists books and other resources to be purchased by CETL for use by FLC participants. This budget cannot exceed $750 and cannot be used to purchase items not covered by state funds
    4. A list of 4 to 6 FLC Participants (not including the FLC Coordinator). The Faculty Development Committee will consider applications that list at least 4 Participants (in other words, the FLC Coordinator may still recruit up to 2 other Participants after acceptance).
    5. Proposed FLC meeting dates with proposed activities/objectives for each meeting during Fall and Spring semesters and a description of the final product that FLC members will develop.
    6. Please use DocuSign to obtain the following electronic signatures:
      1. The FLC Coordinator's signature and date on the Letter of Understanding.
      2. The name of the FLC Coordinator's supervisor (chair or director; dean if the FLC Coordinator is a chair or director) with the supervisor's signature and date. (Please share your Project Abstract, Project Description, and Cover Sheet with your supervisor before obtaining this signature.)

Submission Instructions

It will be the responsibility of the FLC Coordinator to ascertain that the proposal materials are complete when submitted. The Faculty Development Committee will not consider late or incomplete applications.

  1. Fill out the required fields below.
  2. Upload the required PDF document (combined cover sheet and Letter of Understanding). (Please use DocuSign to obtain electronic signatures on university documents.)
  3. Click “Submit” and when you are ready to submit your application.

You will receive an e-mail confirmation upon successful submission. If you do not receive the confirmation e-mail, please contact CETL at cetl@kennesaw.edu. 

Applications are closed at this time. Please contact cetl@kennesaw.edu if you have any questions.

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