Important process changes made for ASAC professional development grants
Rolling application process replaced with two windows
July 9, 2024 | By WCER Communications
The All-Staff Advisory Committee (ASAC) is pleased to inform you of important changes to the procedures around professional development (PD) funding for projects and personnel at WCER. The changes are designed to make the selection and disbursement process more equitable and clear.
Effective this fiscal year, which started July 1, PD grants to eligible academic staff, university staff, and postdoctoral employees will no longer be awarded on a rolling basis until funds are depleted.
Instead, two defined application windows have been created to guide the submission of award requests across the academic year. The first window for application submissions opens on Sept. 16 and closes on Oct. 18 for fall 2024 requests; the second window opens Feb. 3 and closes March 7 for spring 2025 requests. Decisions after each window closes will be made within a week.
This approach allows ASAC to review all requests for PD for a given semester at the same time, enabling the widest distribution of funds among different projects and individuals.
In addition, ASAC is sharing the rubric (see PD Grant Rubric below) that will be used to evaluate grant applications. The rubric is firmly based on the guidelines for funding outlined in application materials, and those guidelines have not changed in this process revision.
Also as before, ASAC can award grants up to $800 per applicant, with a total of 13 awards throughout the year if all requests are for the maximum amount.
Please find the PD grant application and more information about eligibility criteria and guidelines toward the bottom of ASAC’s webpage on MyWCER. We look forward to receiving your applications starting Sept. 16, when the first window opens!
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this new process, please contact ASAC at wcer-asac@wcer.wisc.edu or Co-Chairs Allison Monday (almonday@wisc.edu) and Jordan Gallant (jlgallant@wisc.edu), or WCER COO Hanna Blazel (hblazel@wisc.edu).
