Criteria

The TLEF is financed by a portion of tuition fees paid by undergraduate and graduate students to UBC Vancouver.  When the Board of Governors approved tuition fee increases in the early 1990s, it was resolved that the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund would be established based on the five principles elaborated below.

     *New in 2013:  There are two types of TLEF Proposals:  Standard and Flexible-Learning.  All proposals should meet the requirements below, but there are additional requirements for Flexible Learning TLEF proposals, which can be found here (or scroll to the bottom of this page).

  1. The proposals recommended for funding will significantly contribute to the enhancement of teaching and learning.
  2. The projects will result in sustainable benefits to students.
  3. Outcome-based criteria will be used to evaluate the project’s success.
  4. The proposed budget is reasonable and in line with the objectives of the project; and
  5. Students have been/will be involved in development and/or implementation of the proposal.

Essential Elements for Approval

  1. Proposal targets enhancement of teaching and learning that benefits a significant number of students directly (e.g., enhancement of curriculum, services, and resources) and/or indirectly (e.g., training of faculty and staff in new learning technologies).
  2. Proposal provides clear rationale and objectives consistent with TLEF mandate and UBC Place and Promise goals. It clearly explains methodology.
  3. Expected outcomes are well defined.
  4. Proposal explains how the project benefits will continue beyond the grant period (including an indication of the source of future ongoing funding should such be required).
  5. Proposal outlines an evaluation process which will be used to ascertain how well objectives have been met.
  6. Student involvement in preparing, reviewing and/or implementing the proposal is explained. (Please note that students hired to implement a TLEF project may not occupy positions that significantly include duties normally performed by members of bargaining units at UBC, unless the relevant collective agreement permits this. Please contact your department’s Human Resources Advisor to review duties your proposal will require, to ensure that the University continues to comply with its contractual obligations to the unions.)
  7. If the principal applicant is not a faculty or staff member, the application must be supported and signed by a co-applicant who is a faculty member.
  8. Budget is appropriate and justified, with an explanation of associated costs.
  9. For continued projects only, proposal contains detailed progress report.
  10. Proposals targeting Medical Residents are ineligible for TLEF funding consideration unless a significant number of UBC students would also directly benefit from the project.  This follows the Senate resolution that Residents are not classified as students.

Important Considerations

  1. Potential for sustainable benefit to students.
  2. Integration of proposed project with other current or planned initiatives in the Department, Faculty, or broader learning community, and particularly the integration of research in undergraduate education.
  3. Additional sources of funding.
  4. Consideration of related initiatives at UBC or at other institutions.
  5. Evidence of community participation and/or consultation process, where appropriate.
  6. Opportunity for students to participate in learner-centred environments in a variety of roles (e.g., tutors, mentors, facilitators, technicians).
  7. Projects promoting and strengthening student diversity on campus; projects promoting participation of non-traditional students in planning and implementation.

Guidelines for Approval and Allocations

  1. Proposals are invited for projects ranging from $1000 to a maximum of $150,000.
  2. Applications may be made for a second year or third year of funding, to a maximum of three years’ funding for one project.
  3. Faculties/Colleges may rank proposals if they wish. The committee will take the rankings into account as one factor in determining allocations.
  4. Where proposals relate to initiatives or activities of other units on campus (e.g., CTLT, Equity Office, Library, First Nations House of Learning, other academic units), evidence of consultation is crucial.
  5. Wherever possible, proposals should take advantage of existing UBC resources, such as software licences.  Where an applicant wishes to make a case for developing new or additional resources not already available, the proposal should provide evidence that the relevant departments (e.g. IT or CTLT) have been consulted about feasibility and usefulness of the new resource.
  6. When matching or additional sources of funding are available, the budget should show specifically what the matching funds cover, versus what the TLEF is being asked to cover.
  7. This is not an equipment fund. However, if the substance of the project merits equipment then that component may be considered for funding, if it is demonstrated that such equipment is unavailable on campus and instrumental to the project.
  8. Faculty-release time is not normally funded by the TLEF.
  9. If a project budget includes salary costs, any applicable benefits must be factored into the salary expense.  There is no extra provision for benefit expenses within the TLEF or centrally.
  10. It is normally not permissible for a TLEF applicant or co-applicant to be hired for a position that receives salary from the project budget.
  11. If a TLEF proposal has a potential to raise privacy or security issues (for example, the storage of electronic information outside of Canada), applicants are asked to consult UBC’s Access and Privacy Manager in the Office of the University Counsel, prior to applying to the TLEF.
  12. Please refer to the Cost Estimate on the Application Process page of this website for spending guidelines.

TLEF Regulatory Policies

  1. Successful applicants are required to comply with the TLEF reporting requirements outlined in the congratulatory letter and posted on the website.  Specifically:  A final report is required within a month after the project completion date as indicated in the proposal (therefore, by April 30th).   Please see the report template TLEF Report Template – Final.  All sections of the template must be completed.  Reports should be sent via email (pdf format) to the attention of ronfong@mail.ubc.ca.
  2. Should another year of funding be sought for a project, a progress report (TLEF Report Template – Interim) is required to accompany the application form.
  3. Significant spending adjustments to budget categories must have prior approval from the Office of the Provost and Vice President Academic.
  4. Transfers of funds to or from a TLEF project to other PGs is not permitted without approval.  Any consolidation of existing TLEF accounts requires approval from the Office of the Provost and VP Academic.
  5. Any unused funds remaining in TLEF accounts at the time of account closure will be returned to the TLEF fund.
  6. TLEF funding may not be used for Professional Development activities unless the Adjudication Committee has deemed that the project’s success depends on the funds’ being used for this specific purpose (e.g. conference attendance by participating students), and has specifically approved this part of the budget request.
  7. Faculties and Colleges must submit all applications they receive to the Office of the Provost and VP Academic.
  8. Any purchases or procurement of services must be made in accordance with the relevant UBC policies.  For example, before entering into a contract with an external business or partner, applicants must comply with UBC policy in this regard:   http://universitycounsel.ubc.ca/signing_authority/.

Flexible-Learning TLEF Projects:

FL projects are required to satisfy the goals of TLEF by enriching student learning through innovative educational enhancements.  In addition FL TLEF proposals must propose an innovative implementation or piloting of digital technology.  We are particularly interested in projects that propose one or more of the following:

  • to modify courses with reduced face-to-face time
  • to develop online courses or online with a capstone / wrapper
  • substantial integration of open educational resources
  • partnership with faculty at other institutions (or across Faculties at UBC) to develop courses / programs
  • piloting of new and/or emerging technologies

In order to best support Faculty in preparing their FL TLEF proposals, all applicants for the FL pool must attend a drop-in consultation session.  Sessions are scheduled Fridays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., October 4th through November 8, 2013.  They will take place in Room 2.22 of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.  If these dates do not work for you please contact Jeff Miller to arrange a consultation (jeff.miller@ubc.ca).  Applicants are advised that they are expected to have read the criteria and application process pages on this website, and have a one-paragraph description of their project in hand before a consultation.

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