Professional Development Funding Sources

On this page:

1. Professional Development Allocation
2. Perkins Funds
3. Highline College Teaching and Learning Enhancement Grant
4. Assessment Committee Funds
5. NIEA Mini-Grants

Professional Development Allocation

(Full time/part time faculty)

To access professional development allocation funds, talk to your department secretary/faculty admin.  Please see also the faculty PD funds request form provided by Academic Affairs.

The details of the allocation are  below, from the H.C.E.A. Agreement (Faculty Contract)  Section 616:

616 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
The College encourages and expects professional development from the faculty. To facilitate professional development, the College budgets each year an amount sufficient to allow each full-time faculty member $1500 and each lecturer $750 per year to be used in the pursuit of professional development.

616.1 POOLED FUNDING
Faculty members may request to pool funds to facilitate large projects. Pooled- fund projects must be approved by the respective Division Chair(s) and the CAO.

616.2 PART-TIME FACULTY
In addition, there will be a separate fund of at least $20,000 set aside each year to fund professional development activities or projects by part-time faculty. These requests must be approved by the Division Chair and the CAO. Groups of part-time faculty may apply together.

616.3 PROCESS
To receive funding for professional development, an eligible faculty member must use the current form to submit a proposal to the Division Chair. The Division Chair will either approve the proposal, or indicate to the applicant reasons for denial. At the first Instructional Cabinet meeting on or after March 1st of the academic year, the Division Chairs and the CAO will meet to discuss the distribution of the unused professional development funds. The CAO will have the final approval for distribution of these funds
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Perkins Funds

(Dean of Instruction for Professional / Technical Education)
The Dean of Instruction for Professional Technical Education makes this funding available for Professional/Technical faculty.  The form requires a description of the activities and accomplishments to be achieved, the names of participants, dates, the impact of the activity, the number of professional/ technical students who will be served by it, the amount requested, and any supplemental funding being used. Faculty may request the from from the Dean’s office.
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Highline College Teaching & Learning Enhancement Grants

Due Date:  October 21, 2024 by 4 p.m. PT

The HC Foundation provides funding for Teaching & Learning Enhancement Awards. The next deadline is Monday, October 21, 2024 by 4 pm PT. The application process has been revised to reflect principles of universal design. Faculty are welcome to submit applications in the form of a synchronous (live) presentation with PowerPoint/Google slides, a written document, or an asynchronous video presentation. The 2024-25 TL Enhancement Application and supporting emails should be submitted to academicaffairs@highline.edu. To schedule a live/synchronous application, contact Carrie Davidson or Dr. Lardner to set up an appointment with the committee.

Here is a recording from a recent information session explaining the new modalities for applications.

Please reach out to Carrie Davidson or Emily Lardner if you have any questions about the grant application process. And please consider submitting an application!

Guidelines for all Applicants

Applicants can use this rubric to guide the development of a proposal.

All full-time and part-time faculty members are eligible to apply for these grants. These grants are intended to support projects that clearly meet one or more of the following award purposes:

• promote excellence in teaching and learning;
• enhance the educational environment of the college;
• contribute to the advancement of the applicant’s discipline;
• lead to the development of innovative curriculum
  • (HCEA Agreement Section 614.2)

General awards of $3,000 or less are available under the criteria outlined in Section 614 of the HCEA Agreement. Faculty are encouraged to apply in pairs or groups.  However, a single project is capped at $3,000.

Please consider submitting a proposal tied to work you are currently involved in. For example,

• Increasing student engagement and interaction in online courses (regular and substantive interaction)
• advising as a form of teaching
• Low-cost and no-cost educational resources
• labor-based grading
• Investigating intersectionality as it applies to our diverse student body i.e. leading with racial equity in the context of classrooms filled with immigrant and refugee students
• Other topics/projects you’re engaged in or would like to engage in–with your students and/or your colleagues at Highline and/or your disciplines

Additional Guidelines

Per Section 621.3, funds may be used for:

• Faculty development activities
• In-service training
• Temporary substitutes or replacement costs directly associated with the faculty development program
• Professional travel & conferences
• Publication and dissemination of exemplary projects
• Supplementing the salary of the holder of a faculty award or pay expenses associated with the holder’s program area

Funds from this program shall not be used to supplant any existing faculty development funds.

Award Criteria

In assessing applications, the TLE Awards Committee will consider the alignment between the rationale for the proposal and the project goals & outcomes, as well as the alignment between the project goals & outcomes, the work plan and timeline, the evaluation plan, and the proposed budget. (See application for more detail.)

As a step towards grounding the four broad categories in a Highline-specific context, applicants are encouraged to align their proposal with one or more of the following recommendations:

1. Promote excellence in teaching and learning: applicants are encouraged to address one or more of Highline’s criteria for effective teaching.
2. Enhance the educational environment of the College: applicants are encouraged to link their proposals to issues identified in Highline’s educational environment through the mission fulfillment report (MFR), department or program level data, or other sources of evidence pointing to a need for enhancements.
3. Contribute to the advancement of the applicant’s discipline: applicants are encouraged to specify how the proposal contributes to the advancement of their discipline, recognizing that committee members are likely to come from other disciplinary and professional backgrounds.
4. Lead to the development of innovative curriculum: applicants are encouraged to explain how the curriculum development project represents an innovation over existing practice, recognizing that committee members are likely to come from other disciplinary and professional backgrounds.

Requirements of Grant recipients

Upon completing their projects, successful applicants must submit a brief report including a description of the impact of the project on teaching and learning. Successful applicants are also expected to share project results, including their evaluation, with appropriate audiences, including colleagues, the HC Foundation, and the Trustees

Tips from Highline Faculty

At a faculty showcase in 2023, several previous awardees shared some tips for applying for these awards:

• Just do it!  Highline has this money allocated, so use it.
• Answer the questions that are asked.  Create headings for each of the questions.
• There is a lot of support during the project itself if you have questions once you get underway.

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Assessment Committee Funds

Funding for Assessment Projects
(includes Proposal Requirements and Evaluation Criteria)

The Assessment Committee can provide funding for your assessment projects. These funds can provide resources to help departments:

• Review departmental outcome assessment practices.
• Create innovative pilot projects that explore new assessment methods and practices.
• Get additional training in outcome assessment.

A department may receive more than one grant. more than one person may submit proposals for a department. Several departments may choose to collaborate and submit a joint proposal.

Proposal Requirements

Here are the general requirements for the funding proposal. Please contact an assessment committee member for additional details.

• Applicants should define the problem or challenge that they will address. Discuss how this project advances the department’s assessment work. List all expected outcomes of the project.
• Provide detailed descriptions of the proposed activities and resources needed to achieve each expected outcome.
• Present a budget summary and justification.
• Provide an itemized list of expenditures which includes a brief description for each expenditure. Describe how each expenditure connects to student learning outcomes/assessment.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals need support from both the department and division. Here are some other criteria that we’ll consider:

• Whether you have addressed all of the proposal requirements fully.
• How this proposal fits into the department’s overall assessment strategy.
• How broadly the project impacts the department.
• If the proposal has the potential to reach its intended outcome.
• The potential impact on students.
• The clarity, organization, and coherence of the plan.
• How the plan makes efficient use of resources.

Funds can be used for:

• Travel and registration costs for assessment-related conferences and workshops.
• Purchase of assessment-related materials (survey instruments, resource materials, etc.).
• Honoraria for assessment-related speakers, facilitators/consultants, or other expert assistance.
• Release time (replacement costs) for full-time faculty to manage substantial projects.
• Stipends for part-time faculty to participate in project activities.
• Work-study or clerical support for data input, document preparation, or record-keeping.

Funds cannot be used for:

• Stipends for full-time faculty or staff.
• Ongoing projects and/or implementations that last more than one year.
• Supplies, materials, or equipment for routine instructional use.
• Projects not connected with outcome assessment.