APPLICATION & REVIEW CRITERIA FOR INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP IN
THE CIRTL NETWORK
Fall 2023
(Editable MS Word version | PDF Version)
Please see CIRTL for the Nation: A Membership Plan for Sustained Impact for information about the CIRTL network structure, core ideas, and member institution expectations.
CIRTL’s primary focus is to enhance excellence in undergraduate STEM education through the preparation of future faculty. While preparing the faculty who teach STEM students remains a key focus of our work, many of our members serve future faculty from all disciplines. Program participants embrace cross-institution and cross-disciplinary learning.
Note: The application submission form requests contact information and a short CV or NSF-style biosketch for the Institutional Leader and Administrative Co-Leader, as well as contact information for the university official who can commit the institution to CIRTL Membership.
Maximum page length = 12, with 12 pt font.
Institutional Interest (15%)
Characteristics of Your University (15%)
CIRTL Structure and Organizational Capacity (20%)
CIRTL Engagement and Evaluation (20%)
Plans for a Local CIRTL Learning Community (15%)
Plans for Contributions to the Cross-Network Learning Community (15%)
A. Institutional Interest (15%)
1. How will participating in the Network contribute to achieving the strategic plan or vision of your university?
Section A Rubric
Applicants should discuss how joining the Network will align with your institution’s strategic plan or vision with respect to preparing future faculty and/or more broadly.
B. Characteristics of Your University (15%)
2. What are the key characteristics and recent trends of the doctoral and postdoctoral population you would like to have participate in your local CIRTL population?
3.Describe existing opportunities, distinctive characteristics, resources, initiatives, activities, or programs offered at your institution to support the professional development in teaching and learning of your university’s future faculty (graduate students, professional students, and postdoctoral scholars).
4. What local, regional, and national partnerships does your institution participate in related to preparing future faculty?
Section B Rubric
Applications should demonstrate the potential for institutional impact on instructional faculty through producing doctoral graduates and postdocs who go on to academic careers or having other important impacts on STEM teaching and learning .
Special characteristics of an institution’s graduates may also be important. A meritorious application should outline these special characteristics and show that a substantial core of the institution’s doctoral programs will participate.
Experience with the professional development of future faculty through programs at the institutional or national levels is beneficial (but not necessary).
C. CIRTL Structure and Organizational Capacity (20%)
5. Describe the composition and roles of your proposed CIRTL team. Indicate each person’s position, department/unit, experience relevant to CIRTL, and time commitment to CIRTL work.
5. Where will CIRTL activities be housed in the current organizational structure of your institution (e.g., Graduate School, College or School, Center for Teaching and Learning, etc.)?
7. What support services will be available to support the day-to-day operations of your learning community? Identify the individuals or positions who can assist with program logistics, such as finding meeting space, on-campus advertising, program evaluation, and participant tracking.
Section C Rubric
Strong applications will have an Institutional Leader and an Administrative Co-Leader that have collectively demonstrated success in research, teaching and learning, program management, advocacy, marketing, and evaluation.
The co-leaders should be situated appropriately within their institution to engage future faculty. This could include, but not be limited to, a Graduate School, a Provost office, or a Teaching Center. A vital CIRTL learning community will need the engagement of administrators, faculty, and staff on behalf of future faculty. This organizational structure should promote sustainability of your CIRTL work and membership.
Applications should demonstrate a strong commitment from upper administration in a graduate school or other organizations within the university to implement the CIRTL program on their campus. The co-leaders will need the support of individuals who can assist with program logistics, space management, on-campus advertising, and program evaluation.
An internal organizational structure that will support the long-term sustainability of the program is important.
D. CIRTL Engagement and Evaluation (20%)
8. Describe how you will evaluate the impacts of one program or activity offered by your local learning community. Identify the person, position, or office that will conduct program evaluation.
9. What are your definitions of success in participating in CIRTL and how will you know you’re having a positive impact on the professional development of graduate students, professional students, and postdoctoral scholars?
10. How will your campus community – including graduate students, professional students, and postdoctoral scholars – be attracted to participate in your local and cross-Network CIRTL learning community?
Section D Rubric
The program should have the capacity for creating an overall assessment plan that your team and campus administrators can use to determine if CIRTL is successful on your campus. Applications should also include nascent plans for evaluating the local CIRTL activities; this need not require a professional evaluator and resources to assist in developing these plans are available to new CIRTL members.
Applications should describe plans for reaching out to future faculty participants including marketing, social media, and other outreach strategies.
Strong applications will describe a plan that will engage a broad spectrum of future faculty across STEM in CIRTL activities, and lead to increasing numbers of future faculty participants over the first four years who achieve CIRTL outcomes for the Associate and Practitioner levels.
E. Plans for a Local CIRTL Learning Community (15%)
11. Describe your vision for how future faculty, current faculty, and staff will interact in your local CIRTL learning community.
12. How will these participants be connected to form a learning community?
13. How does your existing programming connect to the CIRTL Core Ideas and Learning Outcomes?
14. How do you imagine incorporating existing and new programming into CIRTL offerings at your institution?
Section E Rubric
A strong application will have an identified, even if nascent, local learning community team.
Applications should articulate a clear and plausible plan for developing new, or advancing current, learning communities and associated programming on that pursue the CIRTL goals and incorporate the CIRTL core ideas. The learning community should be multidisciplinary and have a design that will connect individual program participants to form a learning community.
Where appropriate, the application should include a discussion of how new programs will be developed based on the CIRTL core ideas and/or how CIRTL’s core ideas will be used to strengthen current programs and learning communities.
The application should include initial ideas on how students may attain the Associate, Practitioner, and perhaps Scholar levels. (Please see Learning Outcomes.)
F. Plans for Contributions to the Cross-Network Learning Community (15%)
15. What is a strength or area of expertise of your institution that you’d like to bring to the Network as a workshop, course, or program? How does this area connect to CIRTL Core Ideas and Learning Outcomes?
Section F Rubric
The application should describe the programming or expertise that will be offered by the institution to future faculty through the Network. Typically, one such contribution would be made by the end of the second year of membership.