Application Deadline: Monday after Spring Break, each year

New Initiatives/New Instruction (NINI) funding is available to LSA faculty and lecturers to enhance the undergraduate learning experience, increase engagement, and foster student success through innovative teaching methods and inclusive teaching practices. Proposals should seek to directly and substantially benefit LSA undergraduates and focus on issues critical to the current teaching environment:  assessment, accessibility, creative use of digital resources, active/experiential learning, new pedagogies, innovative technologies. This year, for example, projects might explore how to help students critically engage with AI and mindfully include or reject GenAI tools in course activities.

Past awards have ranged from $15,000 to $75,000.

Faculty are encouraged to focus on one of the following topics: 

Assessment

Assessment-related grant projects might include:

• Incorporate assessment styles that build courage and risk taking capability, in students, rather than stoking fear of failure, e.g. student-choice and creative project options

• Revise course assessment to move away from traditional in-person, timed exams e.g.: project based learning, experiential activities, end of semester portfolios or showcases

Accessibility and Inclusion

Grant projects on inclusion and accessibility might include:

• Update and/or adjust course materials for classes or class-labs to address multiple learning styles and abilities and permit multiple means of student engagement

• Integrate new pedagogies and collaboration tools to incorporate local and global community engagement and student expression

Innovative Technologies and New Pedagogies

Examples of new pedagogies and technologies include:

• Explore how to address new technologies such as GenAI to engage students and enhance critical thinking and deeper understanding of the field

• Expanding the residential learning experience by including online technologies and platforms

Classroom Engagement / Active and Experiential Learning

Examples of active learning projects include:

• Transform traditional courses into interactive, exploratory, or team-based learning experiences

• Develop and expand experiential learning opportunities

Proposals should address the pedagogical value, scope, and scale of the project, present the intended benefits and impact on the undergraduate student experience, describe associated risks, and establish a plan for assessment. All faculty or staff responsible for the project must be clearly identified.
 

Who Can Apply for a NINI Grant? 

NINI grants are open to all instructional staff in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Eligibility to apply for funding does not ensure that funding will be granted, but all instructors are welcome to apply.
 

How to Get Started

It is best to start every proposal with a consultation with one of LSA’s Teaching and Learning support units. They can help you plan your project and proposal, and will continue to consult and assist you during the project.

• LSA Technology Services Learning and Teaching Consultants (request a consultation here)

• Language Resource Center (email lrc.contact@umich.edu) 

It may also be helpful to reach out to one of LSA’s collaborative partner teams:

• Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT)

• University Library

• Inclusive Pedagogies Subcommittee of the LSA Undergraduate Education Climate Committee
   

Funding Guidelines

Items that may be included in the budget request are:

• Hourly wages, which are flat amounts, benefits not included. Grant Applicants must, however, calculate and include 7.65% for FICA payroll taxes in the funding request.  (For example 100 hours for an undergrad would be $1500 + ($1500*.0765) = $1,614.75 total request) You can use any FICA Calculator to help figure your request

  • Undergraduates start at: $15/hr 

  • Graduate Students start at: $25/hr

  • Rate should increase for any special skills required
     

If the amount requested doesn’t indicate FICA, FICA will be taken from the awarded amount (reducing the total number of hours available) or the applicant’s department will have to cover the FICA expense.

• Software and equipment not available through LSA Technology Services

• Fees for outside programmers, graphic designers, or other consultants

• Costs for digitizing images and texts

• Fees and expenses for student field trips or experiential learning opportunities

• Honoraria for classroom guest speakers

• Supplies

• Project evaluation expenses
   

Items that require significant rationale to clarify exceptional circumstances:

• Computing equipment and resources

• Faculty stipends for work that can be documented as over and above contract/appointment

  • Faculty stipends are flat amounts; benefits and taxes will come out of the total stipend 

    • Lecturers: up to $10,000

    • Tenure track: up to $5,000
       

Items that may NOT be included in the budget request are:

• Cost of on-going cycle of replacements for equipment

• Tuition reimbursement for student assistants

• GSI and GSRA appointments

• Faculty appointments or course release

• Cost of on-going subscriptions/licenses
   

Applying for a NINI Grant

Proposals should be submitted online and consist of:

• A narrative no longer than five (5) pages

• A detailed budget, in the Budget section

• An abstract suitable for general distribution

• A supporting letter from the Chair or Director

• Successful proposals will be asked to report outcomes to the LSA instructional community by participating in an annual grant showcase event and submitting a brief final report.

If your grant proposal is approved, a report on the project should be submitted within a year. For multi-year projects, brief reports should be submitted annually.
 

Timeline & Decisions

Proposals are due the Monday after Spring Break, each year. Faculty would begin work on major projects in Spring/Summer of that year and would begin piloting and implementing changes beginning Fall or Winter terms.