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NSF Undergraduate Programs

Five CollegesApril 2012

Duncan McBrideDivision of Undergraduate Education

National Science Foundation

Email: dmcbride@nsf.gov703-292-4630

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Outline of Talk

National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education Transforming Undergrad STEM Ed

(TUES) S-STEM, STEP RUI, ROA, REU What Happens to Your Proposal? What to Do After a Decline? Discussion and Questions

What is NSF

A federal agency that funds grants for research and education in all sciences

Provides 21% of federal research support

Provides majority of support in Computer Sci, Math, Social. Sci, Environmental Sci, Physical Sci. Also basic Bio (excluding NIH)

Director, National Science Board, 7 Assistant Directors, ~52 Divisions 4/9/20123

What is NSF (continued)

Annual budget of $7.0 billion Staff of 1400 career, 200 rotator, 450

contractor 55,600 proposals a year, 13,000 new

grants 46,000 reviewers Web site www.nsf.gov includes both

organization and staff telephone directories.

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Division of Undergraduate Education

Responsible for programs that support excellence at the undergraduate level in all sciences

Multi-disciplinary staff, all with strong disciplinary connections

Programs: Transforming Undergraduate Education in

Science* Advanced Technological Education Scholarships in STEM* Federal Cyber-Service Scholarships Noyce Teacher Scholarships STEM Talent Expansion* Math-Science Partnerships

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.

Other undergraduate programs and activities in many NSF Divisions.

Include here three activities across NSF:

Research in Undergraduate Institutions*Research Opportunity Awards*Research Experiences for

Undergraduates*

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Who’s Who in DUE Biology

Celeste Carter Jose Herrera Mary Lee Ledbetter Terry Woodin

Chemistry Pam Brown Joe Grabowski Hal Richtol

Computer Science Guy-Alain Amoussou Sue Fitzgerald Victor Piotrowski Suzanne Westbrook

Geosciences Peter Lea

Engineering Maura Borrego Louis Everett Susan Finger Don Millard

Math Richard Alo Ron Buckmire Lee Zia

Physics/Astronomy Duncan McBride Dick Peterson

Social Sciences/Assessment Connie Della-Piana Myles Boylan

[Vacancies in Eng, Chem, Geo]4/9/20127

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Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics (TUES)

DUE’s broadest, most flexible program

Purpose of the Program To improve the quality of STEM education

for all students by targeting activities affecting learning environments, course content, curricula, and educational practices

Supports projects at all levels of undergraduate education.

Supports activities in the classroom, laboratory, and field settings

CCLI became TUES two years ago

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TUES: Three Scales of Projects

Type 1 Projects (small grants)Up to $200,000 ($250,000 when 4-year & 2-year schools collaborate); 2 to 3 years (can occur at a single institution with primarily local impact)

Type 2 Projects (medium grants) Up to $600,000; 2 to 4 years; build on smaller-scale proven ideas. Diverse users at several institutions

Type 3 Projects (large grants) Up to $5,000,000; negotiable; 3 to 5 years; combine proven results and mature products. Involve several diverse institutions

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TUES: Additional opportunity

Central Resource Projects: Leadership activities in TUES Research or evaluation on the TUES

program Meetings for TUES PIs or a large

subset to encourage cooperation among PIs

Budget depends on scope and scale of the project

Need close consultation with the program

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Implementing Educational Innovations

Creating New Learning Materials and

Teaching Strategies

Assessing Learning and

Evaluating Innovations

Developing Faculty

Expertise

Project Component

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Research on Undergraduate STEM Teaching and Learning

TUES “Cycle of Innovation”

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TUES - Creating New Learning Materials and Teaching

Strategies Type 1 projects can focus on piloting new

educational materials and instructional methods; Type 2 projects on larger-scale development, broad testing, and assessment.

Type 1 projects can focus on outcomes at a single site, but must include evaluation and some way of engaging the scientific community outside the local site.

Can be combined with other components, especially faculty development in Type 2.

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TUES - Developing Faculty Expertise

Activities that enable faculty to gain expertise May range from short-term workshops to

sustained activities Foster new communities of scientists in

undergraduate education Cost-effective professional development

Diverse group of faculty Leading to implementation

May be combined with other components, especially materials development and assessment

Excellent opportunities exist for you to participate in regional and national workshops

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TUES - Implementing Educational Innovations

Phase 1 projects generally Projects must result in improved STEM

education at local institution via implementing exemplary materials, laboratory experiences, or educational practices developed and tested at other institutions.

TUES-Implementation projects must stand as models for broader adaptation in the scientific community.

Proposals may request funds in any budget category supported by NSF, including instrumentation

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TUES - Assessing Learning and Evaluating Innovations

Design and test new assessment and evaluation tools and processes.

Apply new and existing tools to conduct broad-based assessments Must span multiple projects and be of

general interest

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TUES - Conducting Research on STEM Teaching and Learning

Develop new research on teaching and learning

Synthesize previous results and theories

Practical focus Testable new ideas Impact on STEM educational practices.

May be combined with other components

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Examples of Phase (Type) 1 TUES Projects

David Marsh, Washington and Lee University “Toads, Roads, and Nodes: Collaborative Course-Based Research on the Landscape Ecology of Amphibian Populations” NSF award 1140475

Jamie Schneider, University of Wisconsin-River Falls “Collaborative Research: Immediate Feedback Assessment in Chemistry Courses” NSF award 1140914

David Kinner, Western Carolina University “Testing the Benefits of Undergraduate Research-Based Learning … in … Hydrogeomorphology” NSF award 1044632

Stephen Hagen, University of Florida “An Advanced Laboratory in Biological Physics”, NSF award 1139906 

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Human Subjects and the IRB(Institutional Review Board)

Projects collecting data from or on students or faculty members are considered to involve human subjects and require IRB review

Proposal should indicate IRB status on the cover Exempt, Approved, Pending NSF Grants Office will require an official

statement from the IRB declaring the research exempt or approved.

See “Human Subjects” section in GPG NOTE: For TUES, IRB approval usually is

obtained during award negotiations, not with the proposal.

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Important Features of Successful TUES Projects

Quality, Relevance, and Impact: Transform

Student Focus Use of and Contribution to the STEM

Education Knowledge Base STEM Education Community-Building Expected Measurable Outcomes Project Evaluation

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Expected Measurable Outcomes

Goals and objectives translated into expected measurable outcomes Project specific

Some expected measurable outcomes on Student learning Contributions to the knowledge base Community building

Used to monitor progress, guide the project, and evaluate its ultimate impact

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Project Evaluation

Include strategies for Monitoring the project as it evolves Evaluating the project’s effectiveness

when completed Based on the project-specific

expected measurable outcomes Appropriate for scope of the project

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Lessons From Prior Rounds of the Program

Type 1 is an open competition – many new players;

Type 2 requires substantial demonstrated preliminary work;

Type 3 is for projects from an experienced team with a national scale.

Program web page on the NSF-DUE-TUES site includes link to recent awards (abstracts and contact information)

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Funding and Deadlines Expect to fund, all disciplines

130 Type 1 projects 45 Type 2 projects 4-6 Type 3 projects 1-3 Central Resource projects

TUES spends about $56 million per year

Proposal Deadlines Type 1: May 28-29, 2012 Type 2 and 3, and CRP : January 14,

2013 [Focused CRP workshops by

agreement.]

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What is new since CCLI TYPES have replaced PHASES Raised limit on proposal size ($200K,

$600K, $5M, $3M) Explicit encouragement of projects with

the potential to be transformative New Central Resource Project

opportunity Increased emphasis on building on

knowledge of how students learn, building on prior work, and encouraging widespread adoption of excellent teaching methods.

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What is new for 2012 Increased emphasis on projects that

have the potential to transform undergraduate education Special interest in widespread adoption of

exemplary materials Larger projects should promote adaptation

elsewhere Increased emphasis on

institutionalization of project While some added emphases, no

significant change in direction Remains DUE’s core program that

funds the best ideas in the disciplines (and interdisciplinary projects)

Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI)

An activity in all NSF research programs; not a separate program. Research program deadlines apply

Proposals evaluated in regular research programs

No separate program budget; funded from research programs

Proposals require a RUI Impact Statement and receive special review instructions

Lots of RUI experience at the four colleges Contacts: Program Directors in the appropriate

research program Spending: 2011 $58.6 million across NSF

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Research Opportunity Awards (ROA)

Supplements to existing NSF research grants

Support a faculty member from a predominately undergraduate institution to participate in research at another institution

Advantages: supplement is quick and informal; provides a chance to start research

Disadvantage: Not a grant to the PUI faculty

Spending: small; a part of RUI Under-used

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Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

Research for undergraduate students Sites (independent grants) or supplements to

existing NSF research grants A significant number of students from outside

the host institution Students must be citizens or permanent

residents Managed by NSF research Division or

Directorate Budget: Stipends for students; supplies;

small amount for PI; limited admin allowance Spending: 2011: $78.6 million Deadline: First Friday in June

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Writing a Proposal: Getting Started

Formatting, Fastlane, and Grants.gov NSF proposal format requirements

15 single-spaced pages Check type fonts required Intellectual Merit & Broader Impact explicit in Project

Summary Other required format instructions in Grant Proposal

Guide Fastlane submission

Web-based software – access from any browser Mature, well-supported system for NSF Accepts many file types, converts to .pdf

Grants.gov Government-wide system, less friendly than

Fastlane, does not support all NSF forms. Allow extra time.

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What Happens to your Proposal?

Submission of proposal via FastLane Proposals are reviewed individually or by panels of

faculty within the discipline(s) [Note: DUE primarily uses panels]

A minimum of three persons outside NSF review each proposal

For proposals reviewed by a panel, individual reviews and a panel summary are prepared for each proposal

NSF program staff member attends the panel discussion

The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal’s review considers the advice of reviewers and formulates a recommendation

Negotiations may be necessary to address reviewers’ comments, budget issues, and other concerns

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What Happens to Your Proposal (cont)

NSF is has the goal of telling 70% applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months.

Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, are provided to the PI.

Proposals recommended for funding are forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review.

Only Grants and Agreements Officers may make awards.

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a DGA Officer.

What to do after a decline

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Get your emotions out…. Read your proposal reviews and prepare

specific questions. Contact the program officer to discuss

your proposal constructively. Start rewriting your proposal right away. Polish your proposal by requesting that

faculty from your disciple and out your of discipline review it for you.

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How to Really Learn about Programs and Process

Become a reviewer for the proposals submitted to the program Send e-mail to the lead or disciplinary

program officer, and attach a short curriculum vitae

Your name will be added to the database of potential reviewers

TUES uses many new reviewers each year, especially for Type 1

Each NSF program maintains its own reviewer files, and practices vary.

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Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM)

Makes grants to colleges and universities to operate a scholarship project for their students

Covers all natural sciences, CS, Engineering, Math, Technology

Proposal describes student services, academic

support, administration of project—more than $ Goal is to attract and retain students in STEM

majors

Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) (continued)

Close interaction with faculty and other students is an important part of the project; faculty PI and other faculty involvement

NSF grants up to $600,000 for up to 5 years

Program makes about 90 grants per year

Scholarships are need-based, for able students, up to $10,000 per year

Deadline: August 14, 2012.35

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STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP)

Increase the number of students receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within STEM.

Many ways to do this: for example, recruiting; retention to degree; program quality; program capacity; increased diversity; undergraduate research. Emphasis on numbers

Type 1 projects are considered to be institutional efforts• Type 1A proposals from an institution that has

not previously been the lead institution on a STEP Type 1.• Type 1B proposals from an institution that has

previously been the lead institution on a STEP Type 1.

Type 2 projects are educational research on factors affecting associate or baccalaureate degree attainment in STEM.

STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP)(continued)

STEP budget is $26M. Type 1 projects: For five years, depends

on # of undergraduate students - 5,000 or fewer, up to $500,000; 5000 to 15,000 up to $1.0 M; more than 15,000, up to $2.0 M

Type 2 projects : $1.5 million for projects of up to four years

Deadline: September 25, 2012. Leadership change: Susan Hixson has

retired, now Lee Zia and Connie Della-Piana. 37

Comments…

Questions

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