News Articles
Enhancement Fund Supports U of G's Undergraduate Learning Environment
Inaugural grants awarded to 13 projects ranging from Guelph Near Space Initiative to case study of new Future Inns hotel
BY LORI BONA HUNT
Thirteen campus projects aimed at strengthening undergraduate engagement and academic success have received $300,000 in support from the University's new Learning Enhancement Fund (LEF).
The fund was created to support initiatives arising from the integrated planning process and the curriculum renewal process. It's supported by the Priority Investment Fund (also established as part of integrated planning), which reallocates a percentage of total college budgets to resources that are considered among the University's strategic priorities.
“The LEF is central to integrated planning and a critical tool in our ongoing efforts as a community to strengthen the learning environment for undergraduate students,” says Prof. Alan Shepard, associate vice-president (academic). “This was our inaugural call for proposals for LEF grants, and we're delighted by the creativity and innovativeness that people have displayed. In fact, we had so many high-quality submissions that it ended up being a very competitive selection process.”
In total, there were 40 submissions, and 13 received grants in this first round.
“Ultimately, the students are the ones who end up benefiting from the process because the projects that emerged with LEF grants show great promise as new initiatives or are ideas that will significantly strengthen existing programs,” Shepard says.
Some examples of projects receiving LEF grants are:
- The Guelph Near Space Initiative, where students design, build and launch a series of suborbital balloons to study high-altitude chemical, physical and/or biological processes. The goal is to give students the opportunity to consider “what if” scenarios and perform studies that aren't accessible via conventional laboratory exercises. Chemistry professor Paul Rowntree received $10,000 to head the project, which will include five other U of G faculty.
- Creating a new dynamic online learning platform in the College of Biological Science. Biology News Network will focus on first-year biology and increase integration; co-ordinate course, campus and world news; and promote inquiry-based learning within a student-friendly atmosphere. CBS program counsellor Dawn Larson and Prof. Brian Husband, Integrative Biology, received $61,505 to support this project.
- A student-run business consulting service that allows students to gain experience working for real clients on substantial managerial-level business research, analysis and planning projects, and to practise applying the business knowledge they have gained. This graded elective project will be run entirely by senior students in the College of Management and Economics. Marketing and consumer studies professor Paulette Padanyi received $20,000 for the initiative.
- A case study of the new Future Inns hotel adjacent to the University. It will track all phases of decision-making and construction up to the hotel opening in June 2007, and remain active into the next decade, tracking the life cycles of a hotel and the facility management. The case study will be used in at least eight courses in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM). Prof. Iain Murray received $10,000 for the project. In addition, two new HTM courses received support. Prof. Stephen Lynch was awarded $15,000 to create a capstone course that emphasizes analytic, problem solving and decision-making skills to managers entering the hospitality and tourism industry. Prof. Joan Flaherty received $12,000 for a new course on managerial professionalism in a globalized industry.
- A project to enrich the diversity of course materials and approaches to learning in the area of literary and cultural studies on social justice. Students will be able to design and produce websites, community radio programs, self-published “zines” and documentary videos. This will build on programs offered by the School of English and Theatre Studies that are interdisciplinary and multicultural and encourage students to explore fields such as human rights, social justice, border studies, and media and communications across numerous geopolitical borders, cultures and genres. Profs. Mark Lipton, Martha Nandorfy and Ajay Heble received $24,000 for this project.
Proposals for LEF grants could come from faculty or staff in any college, department or academic support unit that reports to the provost. The only requirement was that projects strengthen undergraduate teaching and learning in demonstrable ways. It was also important to show how the initiatives would support learning experiences that cross department and college boundaries and pursue systemic innovation, renewal and experimentation.
“We also looked for projects that demonstrated sustainability and the potential to grow and to be supported financially beyond the initial grant,” says Shepard.
All grant recipients must turn in a final report on their activities and project outcomes, and the projects must be resubmitted to be considered for subsequent funding.