Faculty Fellows Program

About the Faculty Fellows Program


Purpose and Goals

The purpose of the Faculty Fellows Scholarship program is to allow faculty members the opportunity to participate in scholarly activities that advance the mission of Walters State Community College.  The goal of this program is to provide support to faculty in their efforts to improve teaching and learning that increases the educational attainment and workforce preparedness of students.


Who can become a Faculty Fellow?

Full time and part time faculty will be eligible for selection as a Faculty Fellow. 


Selection of a Faculty Fellow

Each year, two faculty fellows will be selected by a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate, the Faculty Fellows of the previous year, and the Director of IDEAS.  Faculty members/teams will submit a proposal to the committee that outlines the plan for their project.  The committee will evaluate each proposal and select two proposals for the upcoming year based on the Selection Rubric (see attachment). Each proposed project will be assigned a number, and the name of the faculty member/team removed for the selection process; however, complete anonymity may not be possible given the nature of some projects.

Guidelines

  • Projects that have been previously approved by the college for any type of compensation are not eligible as a Faculty Fellow project.
  • Potential project areas include, but are not limited to:
    • Redesign of a course to include a High Impact Practice (HIP) as outlined by TBR taxonomies and/or the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).
    • Implementation or design of advising
    • Implementation of technologies in a course/program
    • Faculty and student collaborative research
    • Scholarly research related to academic discipline or college initiatives
    • Projects focused on workforce development
    • Research conducted in conjunction with dissertation hours
  • Faculty/teams who do not receive a fellowship will be notified in writing.
  • Projects that are not selected are eligible for resubmittal the following year.
  • Project will aim to enhance learning, teaching, or advising across WSCC.

 

Expectations

  • Each Faculty Fellow will share their work during the All-Faculty meeting at the beginning of the spring semester.
  • Each Faculty Fellow is required to attend monthly Team meetings with the Director of IDEAS and other fellows. A schedule of meeting topics is available upon request.
  • Faculty Fellows may share their work at conferences, conventions, etc. as deemed appropriate.
  • Faculty Fellows are required to provide mentorship to future faculty fellows. 
  • Faculty Fellows will serve on the selection committee for the subsequent year of their fellowship.
  • Faculty Fellows will submit a fellowship report no later than August of their fellowship year. This report will be published on the WSCC website to showcase the excellent work.   

 

Awards/Benefits

  • Each Faculty Fellow will be awarded a $2000 fellowship, plus benefits.  50% of the payment will be awarded halfway through the pilot the remaining 50% will be awarded after pilot reports have been submitted.
  • A group submission (2-4 faculty members) may submit to the fellowship. If a group submission is chosen as the winner, the single group fellowship will equally split the $2,000 funding.
  • Each Faculty Fellow may count the work of this project as professional development and include the work in the promotion portfolio.

 

Application Procedure

Proposals should be submitted to Candace Justice by April 5, 2024.  

For consideration, each proposal should include the following information:

  • General overview of the proposed project
  • Description of how the project contributes to the WSCC mission, strategic plan, and goals (contact Candace Justice for a copy of the current Strategic Plan)
  • Explanation of project alignment to related course or program competencies
  • SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) purposes and objectives associated with the project (these may change as needed as the project progresses)
  • Benefit of the project to the college, division, department/program, or individual
  • Potential of the project to be scaled across departments and divisions
  • A statement indicating the faculty member has made their dean aware of their intent to submit a proposal

 

Timeline

January: The submission window opens and the call for proposals is publicized
April: Submission deadline
April: Subcommittee reviews submissions
April: Faculty Senate votes on awardees for the year, based on subcommittee recommendations
May- December: Faculty Fellows meet monthly with the Director of IDEAS to work on projects

 

 

 

 

 

Contact IDEAS

Hours
Mon - Thu - 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Friday - Virtual Hours by Appointment Only

Phone
423.585.6996

Address
Dr. David White Instructional Design Suite
Morristown Campus
Dr. Jack E. Campbell College Center
Suite 245

 

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