Eligibility and Restrictions

Eligibility

1. FRGs are made only to full-time, continuing members of the instructional faculty of all ranks, including lecturers, affiliated with the CAS.
   • Individuals serving one-year appointments or who are not under contract during both the application cycle and the award period are ineligible to apply for FRGs.
2. FRGs support projects that would normally be listed under the Scholarly, Creative, and Professional Activity Section of the FAAR.
   • This accommodates a variety of projects, including work toward articles to be published in peer-reviewed journals, chapters in edited collections, book manuscripts, and creative work in the visual and performing arts. This list is meant only to be indicative and not comprehensive.
   • For initiatives involving teaching and course development, faculty should instead consult the University Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation programs and, when available, the Dean of Arts and Sciences Pedagogy Grants.
3. Projects funded once by the Committee are not eligible for a subsequent grant for what is substantially the same project.
   • The Committee acknowledges that some projects are larger and have longer germination periods than others. In such cases, the Committee may fund subsequent FRG applications to support, for example, writing different chapters of a book manuscript or completing different stages in a long-term project. In such cases, the applicant must make clear in the proposal what the relationship of the part to the whole is.
4. Only candidates who have submitted all final reports from grants with completed funding periods will be considered for evaluation.
5. Projects for work leading to a terminal degree, including a dissertation, will not be funded.

Restrictions

1. Grants are awarded for one fiscal year, July 1 through June 30.
   • Money awarded for expenses must be spent within that year (that is, must be drawn on by June 1) and the activities, including travel, must be carried out according to the timeline offered in the original proposal unless that timetable is adjusted in consultation with the dean of CAS.
   • Expenses that occur prior to the funding period may be reimbursed during the funding period upon consultation with the Dean.
2. Grant funds for expenses may only be used in accordance with the Commonwealth of Virginia (‘the Commonwealth’) and University spending policies.
3. All purchases of non-consumable items made with UMW grant funds (e.g., equipment, software, books, DVDs, etc.) are the property of UMW because they have been purchased with Commonwealth funds. These items are not to be retained by the applicant but are, instead, to be turned over to UMW when the grant project is completed.
4. Grants used to secure a course release will cover the costs of hiring an adjunct instructor for the semester in which the grant recipient will take the release. Faculty are encouraged to work with their chairs to determine if locating or hiring replacement faculty will put an unfair burden on the department.
5. A proposal for a faculty summer stipend makes a request for the standard amount of $4,000 in lieu of teaching one summer session course. Faculty members are limited to a maximum of four remunerated summer session responsibilities, two during each summer session.
6. Applicants should note that stipends are taxable and are subject to Social Security (FICA) deductions, whereas project expenses are not.
7. Faculty may request a ratio of stipend to expense up to the maximum amount of the award, $4500. For example, rather $4000 in stipend and $500 in expenses, one might request $3000 in stipend and $1500 in expenses.

In the interest of funding the greatest number of worthy projects, the Committee reserves the right to fund projects partially (e.g., an applicant may ask for $4000 in stipend and $500 in expenses but may receive $4000 overall, which the applicant could then appeal to the dean to see if they could receive $3500 in stipend and $500 in expenses).