Call for Proposals:
Innovation in Graduate Education

Purpose: The Graduate School Centennial, celebrated in 2005, provided an opportunity to reflect on our shared success in providing high quality graduate education and to assess where there is room for improvement. The Graduate School invites proposals for innovation that will strengthen graduate education at the University of Minnesota and support the University’s goal of becoming one of the top three public research universities in the world over the next decade.

Proposals may address any aspect of graduate education (master’s and doctoral), but preference will be given to ideas that advance the Graduate School’s priorities: (1) increasing access to graduate education by underrepresented groups; (2) innovating in the design of graduate education to produce excellent student experiences and outcomes; and (3) developing institutional policies and practices that facilitate interdisciplinary teaching, research, and training in graduate education. The Graduate School will invest staff time and funding to seed the development of the winning proposals, and will help to forge the partnerships needed to advance and sustain improvements in graduate education.

Submission Deadline: Proposals must be received in the Graduate School no later than Friday, March 17, 2006. Submit (hard copy) proposals to:

Office of the Graduate School Dean and Vice Provost
321 Johnston Hall
101 Pleasant Street S.E.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Eligibility Criteria: Any University employee, currently enrolled (spring 2006) Graduate School student, Graduate School program, or department or college that offers a program(s) in cooperation with the Graduate School, is eligible to submit a proposal.

Proposal Format: Proposals should be in the form of a letter up to 3 pages in length addressed to Gail Dubrow, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost, and must include the following elements:

• Name of the individual or entity submitting the proposal (if an individual, please identify this individual’s status—e.g., Director of Graduate Studies, Department Head, Graduate School student)
• Description of the new initiative or change proposed
• Description of the audience that will benefit from the proposed new initiative or change
• Description of the expected impact of the new initiative or change
• Description of the steps or process needed to implement the new initiative or change
• Description of the process and criteria that will be used to evaluate the success of the initiative
• Identification of partners who will need to be convened to effectively implement and sustain the proposed change (their concurrence is not needed at this stage)
• Estimated cost of implementing the new initiative or change on a one-time and/or recurring basis.
• Proposed timeline for implementation

Selection Criteria: Proposals will be judged on the following criteria:

• Alignment of the proposed new initiative or change with one or more of the Graduate School’s three priorities
• The promise of the proposed new initiative or change to positively affect graduate students
• The feasibility of sustaining the initiative or change beyond the implementation year
• The potential of the idea to be adopted by others seeking to improve graduate education

Selection process: Proposals will be judged on the basis of the above criteria in a competitive process overseen by the Dean of the Graduate School/Vice Provost in consultation with representatives of the graduate education community.

Award: Three cash awards will be made of $2500, $1500, and $1000 each to the author(s) of the successful proposals. A single award will be made in the case of proposals with multiple authors. Award recipients will be invited to consult with the Graduate School regarding the development of their ideas. Awards will be announced in mid-April and celebrated at a public event in early May.

Implementation: Implementation will be no earlier than fall 2006 and no later than fall 2007. A report to the Graduate School on the success of the new initiative or change will be required within three months following the end of the implementation year.

For questions, please contact Vicki Field, Office of the Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost, 612/625-6532 or field001@umn.edu.