Faculty Programs

The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) offers Course Transformation Grants of up to $3,000 to faculty to support the implementation of student-centered, evidence-based, and inclusive teaching practices that enhance the learning experiences of KU students. Examples include shifting the delivery of content to out-of-class time, organizing in-class time around active or collaborative learning, implementing team-based learning, and creating authentic or realistic learning experiences (e.g., problem-solving, discussion, case-study analysis, problem- or project-based learning).

Deadline for Applications: We are now accepting proposals for Spring 2025. Priority will be given to proposals submitted by March 28, 2025, that include plans to utilize the funding by June 1, 2025.

To meet the priority deadline for Spring 2025, proposals should be submitted by 5 pm on Friday, March 28, 2025. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by April 8, 2025, and funds will be available to successful applicants shortly thereafter. Proposals may be submitted after this date, but consideration will depend on the availability of additional funds.

Most money awarded must be spent in FY25. Awarded funds that are not spent by June 1 FY25 will be forfeited.

Proposal Guidelines and Application Submission For more specifics about eligibility and expectations, proposal development and guidelines, selection criteria, and access to the application submission survey, please visit the Course Transformation Grant page.

Read the full RFP for this program.

KU faculty are invited to apply for CTE’s Fall 2024 Faculty Seminar on Course Internationalization. This faculty seminar represents a collaboration between CTE and KU’s Office of International Affairs, and links to a broader university initiative to transform KU into a comprehensive international university and integrate international more thoroughly and seamlessly into every aspect of institutional life. To this end, the seminar aims to help faculty internationalize courses across the curriculum. Your course does not have to focus on international content, the goal here is to develop more courses that intentionally engage with the international in whatever ways make sense within the context of your discipline. This seminar will support KU faculty in incorporating meaningful international engagement into their course. The goal is to increase the number of students in all disciplines who experience meaningful international engagement while at the University of Kansas.

“Internationalization” of a course may involve transforming a course unit by adding international content, examples, or activities (e.g., use international case studies as course illustrations, or develop a collaborative project to try to find solutions to a specific global or international problem). Alternatively, internationalization could involve adding a Virtual Exchange project with an international partner or a COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) project with a faculty member overseas, linking your two classes for a joint project (e.g., a project dealing with the different ways that printers manufactured in the E.U. and in the U.S. are wired). It could even mean building a study abroad component into your course.

What is Faculty Seminar?

CTE’s Faculty Seminar gives faculty members an opportunity to develop teaching innovations and new models of teaching practice in a collegial setting that offers peer review and support. In Fall 2025, participants will attend four 90-minute meetings to explore ideas for internationalizing their classes. Through readings, discussion, and workshopping of ideas, participants will develop plans for a substantial change to acourse and plans to assess the impact on their students’ learning. In Spring 2025, participants will meet for two follow-up sessions, to reflect on progress and discuss implementation and assessment.

Deadline and how to you apply

Submit an application by September 13 through this this link: https://forms.office.com/r/mxYQZyac33. The application should be 1-2 pages and should address the following:

1. What course(s) do you propose to focus on, and why?
2. What are your goals for participating in this program? For your students and their learning?
3. Describe an example of something you have done in your teaching to improve your students’ learning.
4. Confirm your availability for Fall 2024 meetings scheduled for September 18, October 9, October 30, and December 11.  All meetings will be at CTE in 135 Budig from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m..
5. If you believe your project would be improved by your own international travel to meet with potential collaborators, further investigate a specific topic, or for some other reason, add a paragraph that indicates the location and purpose of your proposed travel.

Questions?

Contact Judy Eddy at jeddy@ku.edu or Megan Greene at mgreene@ku.edu.

The Center for Teaching Excellence will offer grants of $500 to support student-centered, equity-oriented integration of generative artificial intelligence tools and assignments into Spring 2025 courses.

Eligibility and expectations

Faculty (including teaching professors, teaching specialists, and lecturers with ongoing teaching roles in their department) from any department or program at the KU Lawrence or Edwards campuses are eligible. Postdoctoral fellows and students are welcome to be part of faculty-led teams.

Grant awardees are expected to share the results of their work, including a summary of student learning and other outcomes, at CTE's annual Celebration of Teaching on May 9, 2025. A CTE Graduate Student Fellow will assist you in developing your poster for this event. Projects that emerge from the grants may also be used, with credit, in CTE course materials related to generative AI.

Deadline

Proposals should be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23. We anticipate notifying applicants of funding decisions by Monday, Sept. 30, and funds will be available to successful applicants shortly thereafter.

More information and a link to apply can be found on the AI-related courses grants webpage.

Click here for Details and Application Portal for Spring 2025 (Applications due 4/1/25)

The Course Design Institute is a collegial, hands-on seminar especially useful for teachers who would like to reflect on and learn to represent their teaching. It is a good first experience for interacting with colleagues about course design. In the Course Design Institute, you will focus on one thing you want to change about one of your courses. You will work in small groups of colleagues from various disciplines, as well as with colleagues who have successfully implemented changes in their teaching. By the end of CDI, you will have a plan in place and will be ready to implement the course change you want to make next year, and you will be ready to document the results of your teaching project.

What will you do at CDI?

You’ll learn more about:

• Designing a course to maximize student learning
• Making the most of class time
• Using out-of-class time to promote learning (e.g. flipping classes)
• Assessing learning efficiently and productively
• Representing your teaching effectiveness

By the end of the institute, you will have a plan for developing your ideas. And as a CDI participant, you will receive a $1,000 instructional fund you can use for materials, travel, or hourly help for any teaching project.

When is CDI?

The seminar is typically held in May. Participants also attend two follow-up sessions during the following Fall semester. 

When is the application deadline?

Application guidelines and submission portal for CDI are typically available each spring semester.

KU faculty are invited to apply for CTE’s Spring 2025 Faculty Seminar on Interdisciplinary Teaching. The goal of the seminar is to help faculty identify tools, campus resources and diverse examples to build interdisciplinary learning into a course to energize their curriculum. Faculty participants are encouraged to be open to experimentation and to the opportunity to incorporate material and approaches from fields different from their own.

Apply by December 10.

What is Faculty Seminar?

CTE’s Faculty Seminar gives faculty members an opportunity to develop teaching innovations and new models of teaching practice in a collegial setting that offers peer review and support. In the Spring 2025 Faculty Seminar on Interdisciplinary Teaching, participants will attend five 60-minute meetings to explore ideas for incorporating projects, ideas and strategies from different disciplines to enhance their teaching. Through readings, discussion, visits to resources on campus, and workshopping of ideas, participants will develop plans for incorporating a new interdisciplinary project or a series of interdisciplinary approaches to a AY25-26 course, and plans to assess the impact on their students’ learning. In Fall 2025, participants will meet for one follow-up session to reflect on progress and discuss implementation and assessment. 

Participants will be expected to:

1. Attend in person seminar meetings from 2:30-3:30 pm at CTE in 135 Budig Hall on these Tuesdays: January 28, February 11, March 4, March 25, and April 8. Attend the follow-up meeting (TBA) in Fall 2025. 
2. Teach the target course in AY25-26.
3. Submit a brief final report (~ 2 pages) on their assessment of the course modifications by January 31, 2026.
4. Share the results of their work in a poster (with support from a CTE graduate student fellow) at the CTE Celebration of Teaching in May 2026. The poster and related materials will also be submitted to KU ScholarWorks, or seminar participants can choose to develop a portfolio (again, with support from a CTE graduate student fellow).

Who is eligible?

Faculty (including teaching specialists, teaching professors, and multi-term lecturers) from any department or academic program on the KU Lawrence or Edwards Campus can apply. The seminar is best suited for instructors who have some experience reflecting on their teaching and improving student learning. 

How will you benefit from participating?

In addition to what you (and your students) will gain from the readings and discussions, you will also:

• Become part of an intellectual community of colleagues from across campus who are interested in interdisciplinary thinking and approaches in their classrooms. Past participants in Faculty Seminar have become campus leaders in teaching innovation.
• Develop a strategic plan to improve a course and your students’ learning and engagement.
• Receive a $1500 stipend or professional fund. 

How do you apply?

Submit an application by December 10. The application should be 1-2 pages and should address the following: 

1. What course(s) do you propose to focus on, and why?
2. What are your goals for participating in this program? For your students and their learning?
3. Describe an example of something you have done in your teaching to improve your students’ learning.
4. Confirm your availability for Spring 2025 meetings. All meetings will be from 2:30-3:30 pm at CTE in 135 Budig Hall on January 28, February 11, March 4, March 25, and April 8.

Selection Criteria

Selection will be based on applicants’ openness to teaching innovation and interdisciplinary pedagogies, interest in engaging with an interdisciplinary faculty community, and ability to commit to attending and participating in meetings. 

Participants accepted into the program will be notified by December 18, 2024. In the meantime, please hold the seminar times on your calendar.  

Questions?

Contact Judy Eddy at jeddy@ku.edu.

This is a faculty learning community/discussion group organized around non-traditional approaches to grading, such as competency-based grading, mastery grading, contract grading, and ungrading. Participants will each receive the book Ungrading and as they work their way through the book they will meet regularly to discuss what they are reading and how to apply it to their own practice. Led by Mark Mort (CTE/Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), Nisha Fernando (Architecture and Design/CTE fellow) and Drew Vartia (CTE).

Meets 4-5 pm, in-person in Budig 135, monthly on the following Fridays during Spring 2025:

• January 24
• February 21
• March 28
• April 18

Use our sign-up form to register for this working group.

This working group will focus on the challenges and opportunities in higher education presented by generative artificial intelligence. Led by Doug Ward (CTE associate director/Journalism), Sara Wilson (Faculty Fellow/Mechanical Engineering) and Benjamin Rosenthal (Faculty Fellow/Visual Art).  This working group will meet online.

Meets 2-3 pm online on the following dates during Spring 2025:

• February 7
• March 7
• April 4
• May 2
• April 18

Use our sign-up form to register for this working group.

A Special Series for Incoming, Current, and Outgoing Department Leaders

Register by February 12 

This series, specifically designed for department and unit leaders, is equal parts workshop and support group. Sessions will include examples of low effort/high impact sparks to energize the classroom; peer supported assignment redesign; and dedicated reflection time to get back in touch with your best teaching self.

3:30-4:45 pm, in person, monthly on Wednesdays

Meeting dates: 

• February 19
• March 26
• April 16
• April 18

Use our sign-up form to register for this working group.

In Fall 2024 and again in Spring 2025 we will offer a New Faculty Book Club Teaching Community for faculty in their first year at KU (including those who started in Spring 2024) to get together regularly with colleagues and discuss teaching. Each meeting will center on a particular topic (e.g., what do we know about KU students, how to prepare for tenure) and will be held in different locations in order to engage with the greater Lawrence community. The Fall book club will be led by Sarah Ngoh (English and CTE Fellow) and Brad Osborn (Music and CTE Fellow). Stay tuned for the schedule and book announcement. 

This working group meets monthly to discuss strategies for effective, inclusive and engaging online teaching. Facilitated by Doug Ward (CTE/Journalism) and Susan Marshall (Psychology).

Meets 12-1 pm online on the following dates during Spring 2025: 

• February 3
• March 10
• April 7
• May 5 
• April 18

Use our sign-up form to register for this working group.

TSS is a faculty learning community that brings together instructors committed to helping students thrive through evidence-based teaching practices and course design and supportive learning environments. The program will include special emphasis on creating learning experiences that respond to student needs, with the goal of reducing DFW rates and improving successful course completion.

Meets 3-4 pm, in-person in Budig 135, monthly on the following Tuesdays during Spring 2025:

• February 4
• February 25
• March 25
• April 15

Find detailed information on the TSS and sign up today!

Thursday, March 27, Noon-1 pm, in-person at CTE (Budig 135)

In this session, we will discuss embedding and implementing iClickers in a large cohort course, including styles of questions that can be used. We will also talk about training GTAs in using iClickers in class, as well as topics that arise in discussion throughout the session. Lunch will be provided for those who register by March 24. Led by Sarah Browne, Mathematics. 

Register to attend

These workshops provide faculty with insights into institutional data and its applications for enhancing teaching, curriculum design, and program development. Both sessions conclude with Q&A, allowing participants to discuss applications and challenges in using institutional data effectively. Facilitated by Omar Jamil Safir (CTE), Brian Vancil (AIRE), Adam Dubinsky (CLAS).

Workshop 1: Student Demographics 

February 21, 11 am-noon, in-person in Budig 135

Learn how to access and utilize demographic data to inform curriculum decisions and meet assessment goals. This session will explore available data, its retrieval, and practical applications for addressing diverse student needs.

Workshop 2: Grade Distributions, Graduation, and Retention 

April 25, 11 am-noon, in-person in Budig 135

Discover how grade distribution, graduation, and retention data can guide program development and future planning. This workshop will include examples of effective data-driven strategies and offer actionable insights for academic improvement.

Register to attend

Feedback sits at the center of teaching and learning, but what do you really know about it? In this workshop series, faculty will learn to harness the full power of feedback in research-informed ways. While participation across the series is encouraged, faculty (and their students!) will still benefit from attending individual sessions. 

Feedback I:  Creating Better Feedback to Help Students

February 19, 11 am-noon, in-person in Budig 135

Given its centrality in improvement, robust feedback is one of the most powerful ways we can help students learn. In this workshop, participants will hone their feedback skills in a collaborative and data-informed way.

Feedback II: Feedback Partnerships with Students and Colleagues

March 12, 11 am-noon, in-person in Budig 135

Discover how to learn from and with students about the kinds of feedback they’ll value and act upon. Also in this session, learn tips and tricks for mining the feedback you’ve provided over the semester for useful information that serves promotion, award applications, and more.

Feedback III: Basics of Student-Student Feedback

April 9, 11 am-noon, in-person in Budig 135

We often ask students to give themselves or their classmates feedback with minimal support for how to do so. We’ll explore ways you can help students develop their own feedback skills and promote stronger self-guided and peer learning.

Register to attend

Since 1997, faculty and instructional staff have gathered at the beginning of each academic year to learn about and share best practices for teaching at KU’s Teaching Summit. The Summit typically includes a plenary session with a nationally prominent speaker and breakout sessions offered by KU faculty and staff. Past speakers have included Ashley Finley, the Association of American Colleges and Universities; Ann Austin, Michigan State; Randy Bass, Georgetown; Robin Wright, University of Minnesota and the National Science Foundation. The Summit has become an integral part of the new academic year and usually draws 350 to 400 faculty and staff members from the Lawrence and Edwards campuses, and the University of Kansas Medical Center. 

The Student Learning Symposium, which began in 2015, provides a yearly occasion for faculty, staff and administrators to reflect on the university's work in assessing student learning. Participants hear from colleagues about ways to improve assessment, and engage in discussion about the best ways to use assessment data for educational improvement, and to increase faculty investment and ownership of assessment. This half-day event for about 100 faculty and staff consists of a plenary discussion and smaller workshops to highlight, share and reflect on examples, best practices, and results in degree-level and general education assessment.

Launched in 2015, the Celebration of Teaching is an occasion to share and honor faculty work on educational improvement and innovation. All participants who receive funding through CTE's programs generate a poster, with support from a CTE Graduate Fellow. The poster holds faculty accountable for making planned changes and looking at the impact on student learning, and the event fosters intellectual exchange about teaching strategies and results. Making faculty work on teaching visible can influence social norms by illustrating for faculty and administrators the breadth of teaching innovation on campus. The event has a festive nature, and university administrators usually join in discussions with instructors. The Celebration of Teaching usually has 50 to 60 posters and draws more than 200 attendees.