Microgrants

OEDAA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MICROGRANTS 

Purpose

The Office of the Executive Director of Academic Advisement (OEDAA) recognizes and supports professional academic advisors in furthering their careers, knowledge, and expertise.  Specifically, the OEDAA seeks to bolster professional development opportunities through conference attendance – networking, presenting, and keeping abreast of best practices and updates in the field.  Attending or presenting at local, regional, or national conferences hosted by academic advising, or adjacent, organizations can help augment the development of early-career academic advisors and provide valuable continuing education opportunities for seasoned academic advisors.

Because unit-based professional development funds cannot always cover the entire cost of conference attendance (registration, travel, lodging), the OEDAA accepts, reviews and awards gap-filling microgrants through an application process. Microgrants are awarded to professional academic advisors who are presenting at or attending a workshop, professional meeting, or conference related to academic advising, related student affairs functional areas, higher education administration, or other topics related to academic advising.

Award Amounts

Maximum of $750 (available maximum may change annually based on availability of funds); one per professional academic advisor per year. We anticipate making 6-8 awards annually. Professional academic advisors are encouraged to seek and receive funding from other sources (departmental, scholarship, etc.) and those who do so will receive funding priority.

OEDAA Professional Development Microgrants can be used to fund expenses which meet the requirements for ETSU travel and accounts payable policies and procedures:

• Conference registrations
• Lodging
• Meals
• Airfare
• On-site transportation

OEDAA Professional Development Microgrants may not be used to fund:

• Alcohol purchases
• Food expenses above the ETSU per diem
• Stipend or salary payments

Application Submission Process

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis. Submissions should be planned such that travel can be accomplished within six months of the date of the award, otherwise, the award may be retracted.

Application

Click here to submit microgrant applications to the OEDAA  

Applications must include:

A proposal including the following information (maximum of 2 pages single-spaced, or 4 page double-spaced):

• Applicant’s name, title, and department
• Description of student population/demographics served - program/degree, classification (FR, SO, JR, SR), level (UG, GR), etc.
• Length of time in current position, and length of time in academic advising or other student services positions
• List of conferences/workshops/events attended in the past two years
• Conference/workshop/event details - title, location, dates, and sponsoring organization (please also provide weblinks when possible)
• If presenting, the full presentation title, short description, names and titles of co-presenters
• Statement of purpose (500 words single-spaced maximum) answering the following questions:
  • How will attending this event help advance your personal professional development goals? Please indicate specific professional development goals you will be able to meet by attending the conference.
  • How do you plan to build on what you gain from this event to advance specific goals such as projects, initiatives, or other advising innovation within the unit or as a cross-unit endeavor? (i.e. a student retention initiative, an innovation in advising delivery modes, a new student support model at orientation, etc.)  
  • How do you plan to share what you learn with academic advisement colleagues at ETSU (i.e. host a brown-bag lunch, provide a reflection at AAC, create a resource to share, etc.)?
• Total estimated budget broken down by major budget categories: registration, airfare, lodging, on-site transportation, meals (based on ETSU per diem), etc.
• Total amount requested from OEDAA, and amount(s) received or requested from all other sources

Please note:  

• Incomplete applications will be returned to applicant for adjustment and resubmission
• Funding may not be provided to reimburse for prior professional development activities
• Grant recipients are responsible for their own event/conference registration, arranging lodging and travel accommodations, etc.

Review Process

Priority will be given to applicants who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Demonstrate event is relevant to academic advisement and/or career development
• Demonstrate plans to share information/content from the event with professional academic advisors upon return (i.e. create a resource, presentation, etc.)
• Demonstrate plans to implement projects, initiatives, or other advising innovation within the unit or across units upon return
• Present new material at a local, regional, or national conference
• Have not received funding within the past fiscal year from the OEDAA professional development microgrant fund
• Document inability to attend with only the funding available from other sources (department/unit, scholarships, etc.)

Click here for the Microgrant Review Rubric 

Post-Event Deliverables

Within one month of the conference/event, applicants must submit a brief synopsis (250-word maximum) documenting:

• How the conference/event attendance has helped advance their career
• A proposal for how/when content will be shared with the professional academic advising community
• Final budget documentation

Additional Sources of Travel Funding 

• Please contact department heads or supervisors for travel funds within the unit
• NACADA Scholarships:  NACADA > Programs > Scholarships (ksu.edu)

Conference Opportunities

• NACADA Annual Conferences: NACADA > Events > Annual Conference > Upcoming Annual Conferences (ksu.edu)
• NACADA Region 3 Conferences:  NACADA Region 3 (ksu.edu)
• NCORE Annual Conferences:  WHAT IS NCORE? - NCORE (ou.edu)
• National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition National Conferences:  Conferences - National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition | University of South Carolina (sc.edu)
• ACPA Conferences or Institutes:  Upcoming Events › In-Person › – ACPA (myacpa.org)
• NASPA Conferences or Drive-Ins:  NASPA Events 
• Stanford Life Design Studio: Life Design Studio Training for University Educators 
• National Organization for Student Success: NOSS Annual Conference
• Tennessee Association for Student Success and Retention: TASSR Annual Conference 
• Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers: Home (sacrao.org)
• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers: Home (aacrao.org)

Other Possible Opportunities

• Relevant major disciplinary conferences
• One-time specific workshops or symposia 

Contact

Ethan Hutchinson, hutchinsoneg@etsu.edu. 423.439.8562