SCALE - Grants

Review Criteria for Evaluation of Applications

Successful applications will be able to articulate well-delineated objectives and must address desired outcomes, including a detailed explanation of how you anticipate that your approach will reduce the cost of course materials for students at your and/or other PASCAL member institutions. Successful applications must also thoroughly address any anticipated challenges and how these will be overcome if awarded a grant. 

The review committee considers and rates applications using the following criteria. If multiple applications are being considered, they may be compared against each other on this basis.

For all applications

To what extent does the application:

• Provide a clear summary of the proposed project
  • Is a clear articulation of the purpose of the project provided? 
• Provide a complete outline of the project
  • Is each step of the project named and clearly described?
  • Is the time needed for each step indicated and reasonable?
• Provide outcomes that impact affordable learning 
  • Do the outcomes have a significant impact on affordable learning?
  • Is the evaluation plan for the outcomes well-developed?
• Anticipate challenges for the project
  • Are the challenges listed clearly?
  • Do the challenges listed most likely represent the issues that will be encountered during the project?
  • Are there suggestions on how the challenges will be mitigated?
• Promote peer collaboration across campus
  • Are there other campus departments involved in the project?
• Demonstrate that the applicant’s institution is invested in the proposed activity or the goals supported by the activity?
  • Is there partial support from the institution, library, or other departments?
  • Is there endorsement from an academic officer or administrator outside of the library?

The Review Criteria Rubric (below) will be used by the Grant Review Committee to determine which applications are approved for a grant.

Potential Initiatives for Different Levels of Activities

Grants may be requested for a variety of activities, these are just suggestions for different types that members may be interested in.

Increasing Awareness of Affordable Learning on campus

• Faculty Training opportunities (ex. Online courses, webinars, workshops, etc.)
• Affordable Learning campaigns targeted at faculty, students, administration
• Textbook Review stipends for faculty

Tips for these activities:

• Make use of reputable programs or resources for workshop content. See our list of additional resources, which includes:    
  • programs that PASCAL has previously partnered with
  • events which our members have participated in and found valuable
  • recommendations by PASCAL’s Affordable Learning Committee
  • other programs recognized for their quality, innovation, etc.
• Provide information about the programs you will be pulling content from for your project.
  • Program name/host organization
  • URL for content  
• Commit to sharing the benefits of the activity with local colleagues or other PASCAL members?
  • How will you make sure content is repeatable by other PASCAL members?
  • What kinds of specific collaboration and follow-up are you planning among team members? Who will do what?

Promoting Faculty Use of Library or PASCAL Licensed materials in Teaching

• Help faculty revamp course using library licensed or PASCAL licensed materials
• Help a professor create a new course using library or PASCAL licensed materials

Tips for these activities:

• List exactly what library resources were used in the class so the syllabus can be replicable at other institutions
  • Book titles, article citations, resource guides, e-resources, etc.
  • Remove links to library licensed materials that others may not have access to.

Create or Expand Program that Encourages the Adoption, Revision, or Development of OER

• Partner with a faculty member to create OER learning materials benefiting students (ex. Textbooks, videos, open courses, etc.).
• Partner with a faculty member to revise a current OER 
• Work with faculty to revamp course using existing OER materials
• Partner with a faculty to create ancillary materials (ex. Tests, quizzes, question sets, power points, etc.) 

Tips for these activities

• Provide the title and URL of the OER you will be revising
• Provide information about the class that will be revamped (number of students/semester, how often is it taught, cost of current course materials, etc.)

• Provide information about software/platform you will be using to create new OER.