Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology

2008 - 2009 Academic Year (AY 2009)

Purpose and Composition
The Academic Excellence Committee exists to aid faculty and students in efforts to pursue educational excellence at Georgia Southern University. The committee shall be composed of an assistant/associate dean, who will chair the committee, and six faculty members, one from each of the college’s academic units. The faculty members will be elected for two-year terms. All full-time tenured, tenure track, and non-tenure track faculty who have an appointment in a unit within the College are eligible to serve. No member can serve more than two consecutive terms.

Scope of Program
Educational excellence for the purposes of this program is broadly defined; the committee will entertain requests for any activity and/or purchase that support scholarly excellence. Scholarly endeavors are understood to include the scholarship of application, scholarship of discovery, scholarship of integration, scholarship of service, and/or scholarship of teaching. Projects that represent start-up efforts or change initiatives are particularly encouraged.

Funding Level
The amount of funding available in an academic year can vary, but typically the total funding available is $2500 for the fall and $2500 for the spring funding cycles. Individual awards, however, will not exceed $500.

Eligibility
Excluding faculty actively serving on the Academic Excellence Committee, all full-time regular faculty who have an appointment in a unit within the College are eligible to apply for Academic Excellence funding, as are full-time undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a degree program within the College of Science and Technology. Also eligible are full-time faculty who are currently classified for immigration reasons as “temporary in a tenure-track line.” Applications from junior faculty who are initiating projects, and from any individuals who are undertaking change initiatives, are particularly encouraged. Student applications must identify a Science and Technology faculty member sponsor. A given individual may receive no more than two consecutive years of Academic Excellence funding and no more than three awards over a five year period.

Committee Meeting Schedule
The Academic Excellence Committee will meet once per semester to review proposals. Refer to the college’s website for the current academic year's schedule.

Proposal Submission Deadline
The deadline for submission of proposals will be 5:00 PM on the dates specified below. One original and seven copies of each proposal packet are to be submitted by the deadline to the Dean's office.

AY 2009 deadlines:

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Proposal Review Procedure
Proposals submitted by each deadline will be distributed by the Dean's office to committee members for their consideration and review at the committee's next scheduled meeting. At that meeting, all present committee members will be asked to discuss and rate each proposal according to the following scheme: 5 (Excellent), 4 (Very Good), 3 (Good), 2 (Fair), or 1 (Poor). Ratings will be compiled by the committee chair. Proposals with average scores less than 3.0 will be automatically rejected. Those with average scores equal to or more than 3.0 will then be evaluated for level of funding, with priority given to those with highest average scores. The committee may recommend to: fund a given project in full, fund at a reduced level, not to fund (in favor of a more highly ranked proposal), or defer a recommendation to a later committee meeting. If the committee cannot reach a consensus recommendation on a given proposal, then the chair will make the final funding recommendation. The chair will notify the Dean of the committee's actions. Decisions on each proposal will be communicated by the Dean's office to applicants in a timely manner.

Proposal Format
A prescriptive proposal format is not provided, since a broad range of academic excellence projects will be considered for funding. However, all proposals must address each of the following elements in no more than five single-sided, double-spaced, word-processed pages, with no less than one-inch page margins and 12 point font size. A cover sheet is required and is available from the college’s web site. The cover sheet and list of references cited are not included in the aforementioned five page limit. Any other additions or appendices will not be accepted. These guidelines will be strictly enforced.

1. Complete the Academic Excellence cover sheet. Each of the original and seven (7) copies of the proposal packet must include the cover sheet, proposal, and if applicable, the reference list.

2. Describe the proposed activity and its significance.

3. Identify the way in which the proposed activity is related to the pursuit of excellence in the previously identified area(s) of scholarship.

4.
provide a detailed project budget and a project timeline. Specify the amount requested from Academic Excellence and the distribution of requested funds by expenditure category (for example, airfare, mileage, equipment, supplies, registration fees, etc.). IMPORTANT NOTE: Academic Excellence funds are budgeted for the current fiscal year only and therefore cover only the current fiscal year's expenses and are subject to the university's spending guidelines and deadlines. The award letter may specify additional deadlines for expenditure of Academic Excellence funds. The 2009 fiscal year runs from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.

5.
Identify all other project funding sources from which you are seeking funds or from which you have (successfully or unsuccessfully) sought funds. In particular, a statement must be provided regarding the availability of departmental or school funds in support of the project. NOTE: Strongly encouraged are applications for projects on which other funding is being sought.

6. Provide an approval signature by the unit chair or director. In addition, the chair or director should indicate the departmental or school contribution to the proposed project, and if none, should indicate why (for example, funds exhausted or low priority).

7. If application is being made by a student, provide the name and approval signature of the faculty sponsor in addition to those of the unit chair. In signing, the faculty sponsor is certifying that the proposed Academic Excellence project will be performed under his/her supervision and is attesting to the applicant’s status as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a degree program within the College of Science and Technology.

	Contact Information:
	Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology P. O. Box 8044 Statesboro, GA 30460-8044 Telephone: (912)478-5111 Fax: (912)478-0836 Email: aepcost@georgiasouthern.edu

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	AY 2009 deadlines:
	Tuesday, September 23, 2008
	Tuesday, February 10, 2009

1.	Complete the Academic Excellence cover sheet. Each of the original and seven (7) copies of the proposal packet must include the cover sheet, proposal, and if applicable, the reference list.
2.	Describe the proposed activity and its significance.
3.	Identify the way in which the proposed activity is related to the pursuit of excellence in the previously identified area(s) of scholarship.
4.	provide a detailed project budget and a project timeline. Specify the amount requested from Academic Excellence and the distribution of requested funds by expenditure category (for example, airfare, mileage, equipment, supplies, registration fees, etc.). IMPORTANT NOTE: Academic Excellence funds are budgeted for the current fiscal year only and therefore cover only the current fiscal year's expenses and are subject to the university's spending guidelines and deadlines. The award letter may specify additional deadlines for expenditure of Academic Excellence funds. The 2009 fiscal year runs from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.
5.	Identify all other project funding sources from which you are seeking funds or from which you have (successfully or unsuccessfully) sought funds. In particular, a statement must be provided regarding the availability of departmental or school funds in support of the project. NOTE: Strongly encouraged are applications for projects on which other funding is being sought.
6.	Provide an approval signature by the unit chair or director. In addition, the chair or director should indicate the departmental or school contribution to the proposed project, and if none, should indicate why (for example, funds exhausted or low priority).
7.	If application is being made by a student, provide the name and approval signature of the faculty sponsor in addition to those of the unit chair. In signing, the faculty sponsor is certifying that the proposed Academic Excellence project will be performed under his/her supervision and is attesting to the applicant’s status as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a degree program within the College of Science and Technology.