CFP, Guidelines, and Application 2025-2026

The 2025-2026 Innovation Fellowship at St. Edward’s University: Call for Proposals

Deadline Extended! Applications now due March 10, 2025: 2025-2026 Innovation Fellowship Application Form. (You must be logged into your St. Edward’s account to access this form.)

St. Edward’s University invites applications for the 2025-2026 Innovation Fellowship, an initiative supported by Academic Affairs, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Office of Instructional Technology.

Areas of Focus

The 2025-2026 Innovation Fellowship encourages applications that emphasize innovative course design and the creation of enriching student experiences. This year’s focus areas include:

Advanced Experiential Learning
Generative AI Skills and Literacies (within majors/programs or general education)
Creating Safe Spaces for Challenging Conversations

Applications focused on course (re)design for other types of pedagogical innovation will also be considered, but priority will be given to the areas of focus.

This fellowship aligns with the university’s vision as outlined in Strategic Plan 2027:

St. Edward’s University, a Holy Cross, Catholic institution, will improve lives and transform communities by providing an education focused on excellence and distinguished quality that prepares students to create a more humane, just, and sustainable world.

Fellowship Overview

The Innovation Fellowship supports faculty members who seek to explore new pedagogical approaches and dedicate time to designing or revising courses to be taught in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, or Summer 2026. Fellows will:

Receive a $1,200 stipend, distributed in three installments over the fellowship year.
Participate in the Summer 2025 Innovation Institute, held from May 19-30, 2025.
Join a faculty learning community focused on pedagogical innovation, engaging in activities throughout the fellowship year.

Application Eligibility

Full-time, contracted faculty members are eligible to apply, including those who have applied for and received a Presidential Excellence Award for Summer 2025.

How to Apply

Applicants must complete an online form, with responses totaling fewer than 1,000 words to minimize application time. The application form can be found here: 2025-2026 Innovation Fellowship Application Form. (You must be logged into your St. Edward’s account to access this form.)

Prior to submitting the application, faculty members should inform their department chairs and deans of their intent to apply and clarify how this fellowship will be considered in their self-evaluation.

Timeline

Application Deadline: March 10, 2025
Decision Announcements: Early April 2025
Innovation Institute: May 19 – 30, 2025
Additional Fellowship Activities: 2025 – 2026 Academic Year.

We encourage faculty to apply and take advantage of this opportunity to enhance their teaching and contribute to the university’s academic excellence.

Need Help?

Need Help? CTE and Instructional Technology will hold a CFP Drop In Workshop in Holy Cross 105 on February 20 at 2 pm for faculty preparing applications for the Innovation Fellowship, Zero-Cost Course Materials Grants, TLTR Pilots, and/or the Teaching Symposium.

If you have any questions about the Innovation Fellowship or would like to discuss possible projects individually, please contact:

Sasha West, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, swest1@stedwards.edu
Rebecca Frost Davis, Associate Vice President of Digital Learning, rebeccad@stedwards.edu

Application Form Preview

Faculty Name, Department, School, Rank

Contact information: First and Last Name (form automatically collects emails)
School and Department
Names of Department Chair/Program Director and Dean: Be sure you have notified your chair or program director and dean of your intention to apply for this fellowship and clarified the area where it counts in your self-evaluation.
Confirmation of live participation in the Innovation Institute, on days between May 20-31
Course number and title of class that is focus of fellowship
Semester and year course will be offered
Area of Focus for fellowship (check all that apply)

We know that you are applying for the Innovation Fellowship because you want to have dedicated time to learn new pedagogical strategies within a community of practice and to refine a course. The following questions will help us better understand your individual goals for a fellowship, as well as enable us to connect the work of the fellowship to larger questions of student and faculty learning.

Goals

What are the goals of your course-design process? How do they align with the proposed strategic plan’s calls for courageous teaching and transformative learning? (250 words or less)

Impact on Student Experience

How do you see your changes impacting student learning and the broader student experience? Where possible explain how this work connects to the mission and/or proposed strategic goals of St. Edward’s University. (250 words or less)

Personal Growth

How will this fellowship help you grow as a teacher? (250 words or less)

Abstract

Write an abstract for public dissemination: Describe the course development project, its significance, and its potential for application broadly. We use this text to share with the broader community about the range of projects that Fellows are working on. Feel free to copy and paste from above. (150 words or less)

The Review Process

A committee composed of the following will review applications and make recommendations for the selection of fellows. Decisions will be made by early April. Review committee members will include:

Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence
Associate Vice President for Digital Learning
Former Innovation Fellow(s)

The review committee follows an established review practice:

Copies of the applications are circulated to all members of the committee for review.
Committee members read each application and rank them, adhering closely to the proposal criteria.
The committee then meets and holds an in-depth discussion of the top-ranked applications, leading to a final consensus decision based on both the scoring and the discussion.

Each proposal will be evaluated on the strength of the following areas. Sections of the application are listed in parentheses after each criterion:

Description of proposed course revision (Goals & Abstract)
Feasibility of the proposed revision (Course identification, Goals & Abstract)
Potential impact on student learning (Impact on Students)
Potential impact on teaching (Personal Growth)
Connection to the Holy Cross mission and/or strategic goals of the university (Goals, Impact on Students)