UCF awarded almost a combined $1 million to fund seven new projects for the 2010-11 fiscal year after finding successful results from two undergraduate pilot projects.
In 2009, UCF invested $721,000 of tuition revenue into two pilot projects, one in college algebra and one in English composition, according to Chad Binette of UCF News & Information. The success of these programs made UCF decide to look for more ways to enhance the quality of undergraduate education.
"After seeing the tremendous results and a significant change in behavior and ability, we said ‘let's build on the success of these projects,' " said Alison Morrison-Shetlar, the vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies.
Once it was decided to expand on the university's recent success, UCF asked 15 Pegasus professors, who are recognized by UCF for excellence in teaching, research and service, to be a part of the proposal review committee.
In December, UCF asked the campus community to submit innovative project proposals to the committee. Of the 36 proposals received, seven were chosen based on how sustainable and enhancing the projects would be.
"The review committee looked for projects that were sustainable initiatives and would have a significant positive impact on the quality of undergraduate education," Morrison-Shetlar said. "The key is development of initiatives that would be sustainable after three years."
The seven projects offer a wide range of educational disciplines, including accounting, mathematics, psychology, communication, digital media and art.
Although the budget for the projects has not been finalized, the amount of money awarded for all seven projects is slightly less than $1 million.
The money will come from part of the university's tuition revenue that has been put aside for undergraduate innovation.
"I think the commitment of the president and the provost should be recognized," Morrison-Shetlar said. "They are taking the money coming in and it's going right back to students."
Piotr Mikusinski, the chair of the Mathematics department, was happy to hear his proposal, "Quality Through Active Learning for STEM and Business Majors: Pre-calculus and Calculus," was one of the seven chosen.
"It's a big project that will affect a lot of students and, knowing the competition, I was a little bit nervous," Mikusinski said. "But I'm very glad our proposal was selected."
His proposal builds upon the already successful college algebra project but deals with pre-calculus and changes the way the course is taught.
Instead of having 49 students in each class being taught by various adjuncts and a few faculty members, Mikusinski said he hopes to even out the teaching quality by offering two 180-student pre-calculus classes taught by the department's best professor.
They will complement the instruction with six graduate students and six undergraduate students to monitor and facilitate the pre-calculus students' progress. They will also be required to spend time solving problems in a computer lab, expanding on the idea of the college algebra classes.
Each proposal was limited to a maximum of $200,000 per year of funding for three years, according to Mikusinski. For his proposal, he asked for a total of $960,000.
Over three years, $600,000 from the award money will but put into the project.
The remaining $360,000 will come from the College of Sciences and the Mathematics department.
"While this may seem like a substantial amount of money, the impact is very big and will affect thousands of students," Mikusinski said. "This includes hiring more assistant professors to help replace some of the adjuncts and to help establish a computer lab to accommodate the pre-calculus students."
DeLaine Priest, the associate vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Services, submitted a $190,000 proposal called Project A+. However, the amount allotted to the project has not been finalized.
"The purpose of the project is to increase retention and persistence in science, technology, engineering and math courses by providing supplemental instruction," Priest said.
As of now, 18 courses are supported by the Student Academic Resource Center's Supplemental Instruction, but Priest is looking to increase that number through this project.
"We've found that students who have participated in SI earn, on average, a half to a full letter grade higher than students who do not participate," Priest said.
Each program will submit a mid-year report for their projects. After six months, they will submit a yearly report for three years, according to Morrison-Shetlar.
Although UCF may seek additional proposals in the future, Morrison-Shetlar said that the university is fully invested in these programs.
"There is an incredible interest across the country in what we are doing with these programs," she said. "This is something that we haven't seen at other institutions."
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A list of the seven projects, according to UCF News & Information:
Adventures in Emerging Media: Non-linear Course Design (Department of Digital Media and Department of Art)
Principal Investigator: Rudy McDaniel -- This project involves the development of a multi-media, non-linear instructional strategy to increase student engagement and enthusiasm for online courses. This model will engage students in the analysis of emerging media and will enhance UCF's reputation as a university with innovative teaching practices.
Preparing Students to Join the Conversation: The Oral Communication Competency Initiative (Nicholson School of Communication)
Principal Investigator: Rita Graham -- Students will join a civic conversation about issues in their community through practice in critical thinking, using information fluency and articulating ideas effectively. Students who need oral communication activity will benefit from this program.
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