Teaching and Learning Grant Holders

Teaching and Learning Grant Holders will: 

1. Complete mandatory ethics training. Apply for ethics certification or exemption. Consider ethics during each stage of your project. 
2. Complete the provided project request form and submit it to the Research Services Office (RSO) by June. 
3. Implement their project activities. Please note that it is generally expected that your proposed project will be modified based on feedback from the REB. Any major changes to the proposed activities must be requested in writing to tlgrants@ucalgary.ca.
4. Spend their budget in alignment with the project’s proposed activities according to University of Calgary policies and rules (see links on the website here). Any major changes to the proposed budget must be requested in writing to tlgrants@ucalgary.ca. 
5. Submit a mandatory Final Report Form (found on the website) within one month of the project’s completion.
6. Reconcile all expenses ahead of the closing date and close their project with Finance. 
7. Celebrate their successes, and share the results of their completed project with relevant audiences. 
8. Participate in the adjudication of University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grants applications. 
9. Join, if interested, the UCalgary SoTL community on MS Teams 
10. Attend, as possible, gatherings of grant recipients.

Once the adjudication is complete for all applications, successful applicants will receive an email with a notice of award letter and a partially completed project request form. 

To set up your project account with Research Services, submit the following by email to rsogrants@ucalgary.ca: 

• Your completed Project Request Form signed by the PGH, department head and Dean/Associate Dean (Research)  
• Your Notice of Award letter   
• A copy of your Grant Application  
• REB Certification or Letter of Exemption when available (see Early Release of Funds below) 

Questions related to the preparation of these materials can be directed to finance@ucalgary.ca.  

Once the materials have been reviewed and approved by Research Services, they will be forwarded to Research Accounting, which will set up your project. You will then receive an email notification with the accounting codes you should use to hire students and reconcile all expenses related to your project. Please note You should not use the accounting strings provided in the Project Request Form. 

Early Release of Funds:

The TL Grants program allows for Early Release of Funds - release of funds prior to final ethics certification or permits. Projects granted early release of funds are not allowed to spend on expenses related to conducting research or data gathering. A detailed list of eligible and ineligible expenses may be found on the Research Accounting website under “Other Research Accounting Links”.  

Questions related to allowed and disallowed expenses can be directed to cerev@ucalgary.ca. 

More Information:

• Research Services Office (RSO)  

  • Guides, checklists, links- https://research.ucalgary.ca/conduct-research/additional-resources/guides-and-checklists  

• Research Accounting  

  • Project Creation and Maintenance - https://www.ucalgary.ca/finance/accounting-budgeting/financial-reporting/project-creation-and-maintenance 

University of Calgary Teaching & Learning Grant Award recipients should carefully consider and reflect on the ethics of their work at each stage of their project. 

Prior to full release of funds, you will need to have your proposed work reviewed by the appropriate University of Calgary Human Research Ethics Board (REB) and provide either an REB certificate or a letter of exemption to the RSO office.  

Early release of funds is available to hire student research assistants to support with ethics applications (see above). 

Information on Human Research Ethics at the University of Calgary can be found at: https://research.ucalgary.ca/conduct-research/ethics-compliance/human-research-ethics  

Considerations for Teaching and Learning Grant holders: 

• At the University of Calgary, there are two REBs. You will be supported by either the CFREB or CHREB depending on the faculty of the PGH (see link above). 

• PGHs are responsible for ensuring that all members of their research team complete mandatory ethics training (see link above). 

• PGHs are responsible for ensuring that all members of their research team understand the ethical considerations of their work, the ethics approval process, and report deviations from their approved work.  

• You cannot begin data collection or spend on any materials related to study participant activities before your ethics approval is in place. Please familiarize yourself with the review timelines for each REB. 

• It is generally expected that your proposed project will be modified based on feedback from the REB. Only significant changes to the intent or goals of your work need to be reported to the Academic Lead, UCalgary Teaching & Learning grants (tlgrants@ucalgary.ca). 

Level of Review:

University of Calgary Teaching & Learning Grant projects from all streams can be considered research, quality assurance (QA), or quality improvement (QI). Depending on the intentions, scope, data collected, and plans for dissemination, many projects could fall into one or more of these categories. As a result, projects will require different levels of ethics review (e.g., full board review, delegated review, or exempt from review). 

For more information, please see: 

• CFREB Scholarship of Teaching Learning (SoTL) Guidelines for Research, Program Evaluation, and Quality Improvement 

• CHREB QA/QI/PE vs Research https://research.ucalgary.ca/sites/default/files/teams/2/Ethics/QA-QI-PE%20vs.%20Research%20Resource%20-%20Jan%2016%202024.pdf

For applicants to the CFREB, you can use this assessment tool to help determine what level of review your project will require, and to provide the information required for a letter of exemption. 

For applicants to the CHREB, if you believe your project is exempt from board review, you can send an email with a brief description describing why that is the case. 

We recommend that grant recipients include a copy of their proposal and award letter in all correspondence with the REBs. 

Support Contacts: 

• Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board cfreb@ucalgary.ca

• Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board chreb@ucalgary.ca 

All projects on campus must follow legal and privacy policies.

Please see guidelines and policies at https://www.ucalgary.ca/legal-services/access-information-privacy. 

It is your responsibility to consult with legal services regarding questions related to your project (foip@ucalgary.ca). 

University of Calgary teaching and learning grant funds are distributed through Research Services Office (RSO) and grant funds should be used in alignment with the project's approved budget. All grant spending must adhere to University of Calgary policies and rules (see links above below.)  

Small modifications and budget adjustments are expected during a project. Only significant changes to the intent or goals of your work need to be reported to the Academic Lead, UCalgary Teaching & Learning grants (tlgrants@ucalgary.ca). 

TIMELINE

Awards are announced in March. Spending must be complete before the fiscal year end (March 31) of the project’s final year. 

Full budget funding will be released after your project has undergone ethics review and you have completed the required paperwork to set-up a project with the Research Services Office. Early release of funds can be available for projects prior to research ethics approval. These funds can be used to support expenses related to the project that do not require research ethics approval (e.g., hiring a student to support with project design and the research ethics application process). 

Project creation and funds transfer typically takes 6 weeks, but can take longer. We recommend beginning this process as soon as awards are announced. You can begin recruitment for student hires as soon as awards are announced, but will not be able to pay students until the project is created and funds transferred. 

GUIDELINES

Ineligible expenses
The following are ineligible for funding through the University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grants:

• Costs normally budgeted by University of Calgary units or services offered by the university (e.g., office space, departmental administrative support).
• Costs associated with student course fees (e.g., student costs with field trips, tuition reimbursement, etc.).
• Salaries, wages, or compensation for full-time employees of the University of Calgary.
• Employing Teaching Assistants for timetabled courses.
• Principal Grant Holders may not pay themselves.
• Journal subscriptions or professional memberships.
• Creation of sub-grants.
• Purchasing equipment or supplies normally supplied by the University.

Travel
A maximum of 30% of the budget may cover conference travel and registration fees to learn about teaching and learning or to present a project's findings. Travel costs must be approved by the university. Requests for travel-related budget items should be accompanied by a strong rationale for their relevance to the project. If students as partners are involved in your project, we recommend including them in plans for sharing knowledge.

Dissemination
A maximum of 30% of the budget may be allocated to disseminate findings, such as open-access publication fees or page charges.

Teaching Release
Requests for course releases must have the explicit approval of the relevant leadership in your academic unit (e.g., Department Head and/or Dean). If a teaching release is included, the cost of that release must be included and justified in the budget.

RELEVANT UCALGARY HANDBOOKS AND POLICIES

Teaching and Learning Grants are internal grants and are subject to UCalgary finance policy and procedures.

Applicants should consult their appropriate department administrator, HR advisor, finance partner and the following relevant handbooks and policies.

• Travel & Expense Reimbursement Handbook (updated May 2023)
• Human Resources – Collective Agreements, Handbooks, Terms of Conditions of Employment
• Gifts, Donations and Sponsorship Policy
• Gifts and Invitations to Events and Conferences
• Hospitality and Travel Expenses Policy
• Intellectual Property Policy
• Indigenous Cultural Protocol
• Meetings and Working Sessions Expense Procedure
• Research Integrity Policy

To support students' development as teachers and researchers and to inform how we conduct research into teaching and learning, we encourage involving student research assistants (RAs) not just as support but as co-inquirers or fellow members of the research team (i.e., more fully understanding the teaching and learning context, providing a student's perspective throughout the project, planning and designing the project, gathering and analyzing evidence, disseminating findings by co-authoring and/or co-presenting). 

We recommend a minimum rate of $25/hour for undergraduates, $30/hour for graduate students, and $35 for PhD students. We also recommend advertising for student hires through the Elevate Platform, and then posting your advertisement in the SoTL MS Teams Channel 

Please contact UService or your HR partners for information on student hiring processes.  

Please join our new Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Microsoft (MS) Team, and share this group with others who may be interested. 

This teams site is a place where you can collaborate, share resources, and discuss all things SoTL.

Please check out the TI Resource Library for more resources, and the TI Course Calendar for more workshop offerings. 

Consultation sessions
Applicants can book an appointment to discuss their proposed projects with a Teaching and Learning Academic Staff member. 

Email TLgrants@ucalgary.ca to book a consultation

If you have questions about OER, please view the resource guide. If you would like to discuss OER with a libraries and cultural services staff member, please use this contact form. 

Reviewing the literature and methodologies
For support in reviewing the literature and methodological approaches, please reach out to the SoTL specialist directly via email. 

A mandatory Final Report is due one month after your grant's end date.

Please review the final report questions and prepare your submission using this Example Form.

When you are ready to submit your final report, please add your answers to the Final Report web form below.

All expenses must be submitted prior to year-end on March 31^st  

After you submit your final report, you should request the closure of your project through Finance 

When the project has ended and all deliverables have been met, the project will need to be closed.  The request to close the project can be sent to finance@ucalgary.ca with confirmation of the following: 

• All invoices and vendors have been paid 
• All PCARD and T & E card reconciliations have been completed  
• All project-related expense claims have been submitted  
• All sub-grant commitments have been paid out  
• All final reporting requirements have been submitted 
• All other project deliverables are complete 

Closure of projects prior to the project end date can also be requested by sending the request to finance@ucalgary.ca