Due to budget constraints, all grant programs are on hold.

 

Purpose

The purpose of the grant program is to expand and strengthen College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Distance Education offerings. Seed money for Distance Education Grants available through this program will enable College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Departments and faculty to move existing degree programs online, develop new online certificate programs, or convert/develop additional key online courses for asynchronous delivery.

The overall objective is to increase student credit hours thru Distance Education courses asynchronously delivered in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Additional objectives are to:

• Improve quality of credit offerings delivered at a distance
• Increase the number of courses available for delivery at a distance
• Increase the shelf life of offerings
• Extend offerings beyond State of Iowa

Directions for Submitting Proposals

Proposals (limited to 5 pages) are to be submitted by e-mail by to Dr. Gaylan Scofield, Director, Brenton Center (ggs@iastate.edu) with the following information:

• Department Name
• Brief description about the program, certificate, or courses proposed
• Clear indication of how this program, certificate, or course will benefit the College of Agriculture and Life Science Distance Education Program
• Audience to be served •Course three year rotation plan
• Course number, Title, Description, Instructor (name & email)
• Department Chair indication of support for proposal (e-mail preferred)
• A brief description of the assistance you require

Grant Guidelines

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will provide a grant to convert courses for Distance Education delivery. Courses not eligible include: 490, 590, 599, 699 or courses that have already received College funding for their conversion.

New Course Grants

Departments will receive $1,000/course credit. Departments will be expected to teach the courses a minimum of three times to satisfy the grant. One third of the total grant funds will be transferred to the Department after teaching the course. This transfer will continue in this manner until the course has been taught a total of three times. Departments will have one year to make the conversion. Departments will develop and follow a rotational plan to ensure that students will have access to all courses in a timely manner. The Department will follow approved practices and principles for developing distance delivery courses as stipulated by the Brenton Center. Course content will be organized in modules for greater flexibility of teaching additional credit or non-credit courses. Faculty will meet with the Brenton Center staff to discuss their needs and time line for completion of the conversion.

The Brenton Center will provide assistance and services up to $1,000/course credit to the Department. If the development costs exceed the course grant, the additional costs will be recovered from the original grant funds and/or the course student credit hour payback when the course is taught.

Course Tune-Up Grants

Course Tune-Up Grants are designed for existing Distance Education courses that have been taught for more than three years and have a need for updating. Departments will receive $500/course credit and will be expected to teach the courses a minimum of three times to satisfy the grant. One third of the grant funds will be transferred to the Department after the course has been taught the first time. This transfer will continue in this manner until the course has been taught a total of three times. Departments will have one year to make the upgrade. Departments will develop and follow a rotational plan to ensure that students will have access to all courses in a timely manner. The Department will follow approved practices and principles for developing distance delivery courses as stipulated by the Brenton Center. Course content will be organized in modules for greater flexibility of teaching additional credit or non-credit courses. Faculty will meet with the Brenton Center staff to discuss their needs and time line for completion of the conversion.

The Brenton Center will provide assistance and services up to $500/course credit to the Department. If the development costs exceed the course grant, the additional costs will be recovered from the original grant funds and/or the course student credit hour payback when the course is taught.

Distance Education Program and Certificate Grants

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will provide a grant to convert core courses for new Distance Education Graduate Certificates or Masters Degree Programs. Departments will have three years to make the conversion of all grant funded courses listed in the certificate/degree program. Departments will develop and follow a rotational plan to ensure that students have access to courses on a timely manner. Departments will be expected to teach all courses a minimum of three times to satisfy the grant. Those courses that have already received College funding for their conversion, 599, & 699 courses will not be eligible for additional grant funds.

Master's Programs are based on five core courses/3 credits each
Certificates are based on four core courses/3 credits each

Departments will receive $3,000/course (based on a 3 credit course) and will be expected to teach each course a minimum of three times to satisfy the grant. One third of the grant funds will be transferred to the Department after the course has been taught the first time. This transfer will continue in this manner until each course has been taught a total of three times.

Departments will have three years to make the conversion for a Master's program or two years for a Certificate program. The Department will follow approved practices and principles for developing distance delivery courses as stipulated by the Brenton Center. Course content will be organized in modules for greater flexibility of teaching additional credit or non-credit courses. Faculty will meet with the Brenton Center staff to discuss their needs and time line for completion of the conversion.

The Brenton Center will provide assistance and services up to $3,000/course (based on a 3 credit course)to the Department. If the development costs exceed $3,000/course, the additional costs will be recovered from the original grant funds and/or the course student credit hour payback when the course is taught.