Study Abroad offers grants for virtual international experiences

Augusta University’s Study Abroad Office is offering funds to help create collaborative online international learning opportunities for the Spring 2021 semester.

Collaborative Online International Learning, as defined by the Stevens Initiative, “is a new teaching and learning paradigm that promotes the development of intercultural competence across shared multicultural learning environments. Through the use of internet-based tools and innovative online pedagogies, COIL fosters meaningful exchanges between university-level teachers and students with peers in geographical distant locations and from different cultural backgrounds.” Institutions have been creative in offering a variety of ways for COIL to take place in their classrooms.

Grants will be awarded to support the development of innovative international opportunities that are brought into the classroom through COIL/ virtual learning. Proposals should support a positive impact on the campus and internationalization. There is a $6,000 maximum per award. Grants will be approved on a rolling basis and amounts may vary. Funds must be expensed by Friday, May 14.

Required components of proposal narrative:

Provide a brief description of the course you are currently offering. Include how many students are in that course(s).
Describe the virtual learning component you would like to incorporate into your classroom.
List estimated expenses (or include a quote) for the potential virtual learning experience (this can be a very rough estimate).

Include any additional information you would like. If this COIL experience can eventually provide an idea for a study abroad program, please include that information as well.

Priority consideration of grant awards will be given to:

Faculty members who do not have any virtual exchange experience;
Faculty who have not led a Study Abroad/Away program at Augusta University;
COIL experiences with the potential to lead into a possible study abroad program;
Proposals that affect a large number of students.

Each application should be formatted as a single PDF file attached to an email no later than Wednesday, March 31 to Maria Darley. Include the following:

COIL application form with signatures. Form can be found here.
Budget (no more than a page) to explain project costs, listing specific figures and any necessary justifications (not to exceed $2,000).
Proposal narrative (no more than three pages).