Laura L.B. Border Teaching and Learning Grant

The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) is proud to announce the call for proposals for the Laura L.B. Border Teaching and Learning Grant. In recognition that even small sums of money can encourage experimentation and professional development, these grants are intended to support small-scale, short-term projects that augment instruction support. 

Grants are available in amounts up to $500 per graduate student per academic year. Awarded funds will be transferred directly to the awardee’s home department. Any funds not used by the end of the fiscal year will be returned to CTL; no carry forwards are allowed. This grant invites you to explore, implement, or evaluate emerging techniques, technologies, and practices that have the power to transform student learning at Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder.

Grant Overview

  • Award Amount: Individual awards of up toÌý$500.
  • Total Cycle Funding: Approximately $1,000 available for dispersal per cycle.
  • Eligibility: Open to graduate students from all academic disciplines and appointments. We encourage diverse representation from across the campus.
  • Frequency: Applications are accepted twice a year (mid-July for fall semester and mid-October for spring).

Grant Categories

Applicants must select one of the following four categories for their proposal:

Pedagogy & Practice

Focuses on emerging teaching practices, ranging from a single class technique to broad pedagogical frameworks.

Professional Learning

Supports professional growth, including workshops, online courses, or professional memberships, and departmental events.

Technology Innovations

Explores hardware, software, or web/mobile applications relevant to any teaching modality

Inclusive Pedagogy

Pursues improvements to provide equitable learning experiences or course redesigns centered on inclusive training.

Sample Eligible Expenses

Teaching mini-grant funds may be used to support a wide range of activities that enrich teaching and learning. Examples of allowable expenses include: 

  • Experiential learning opportunities for students, such as fieldwork, site visits, or service-learning projects; 

  • Materials, supplies, or resources for students or instructors, books, software licenses, educational technologies, manipulatives, poster materials, activity kits, or other engaged learning tools; 

  • Honoraria for guest speakers who offer specialized insights related to teaching and learning; 

  • Support for community building or a culminating event, such as workshops, community building activities, a mini-retreat, student showcase, and light refreshments. 

Review Rubric

Proposals are reviewed by a collaborative group of past awardees and CTL staff using the following criteria: 

  • Innovation: Outlines a unique opportunity for Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder.

  • Budget: Request is appropriate to the project scope.

  • Dissemination: Clear plan for gathering/sharing reflections.

  • Advancement: Positions innovation for self and community.

Tips for a Strong Proposal

Reviewers prioritize projects that demonstrate sustainability and scalability. To increase your chances of funding, consider the following:

How will this impact last more than one semester? (e.g., instead of a one-time guest speaker, how can that visit be recorded or integrated into future graduate student professional development?)

Can this innovation impact more than one course? Can it be shared across your department or college?

Does this help reduce costs for students? (e.g., implementing Open Educational Resources (OER) to replace expensive textbooks).

Ensure your "experiment" materials or technology needs are clearly linked to student outcomes.

Submission Guidelines & Requirements

Submission Deadline(s)

July 15 for Fall semester

October 15 for Spring semester

Required Materials

Your proposal must be submitted via email to preston.cumming@colorado.edu and include the following:

  1. Project Description (up to 500 words): Outline the unique innovation or opportunity.
  2. Grant Category: Clearly state which of the four categories above you are applying for.
  3. Funding Request: An itemized budget of the amount requested (up to $500). If other funding sources exist for the project, please list those, with amounts. 
  4. Assessment & Sharing Plan (200 words): A brief plan for gathering results/reflections and how you will share them with the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder community.
  5. Impact Statement: A brief statement on how this advances innovation for you personally and for the broader teaching community.

Technical Specifications

  • Format: PDF preferred.
  • Style: Use MLA style for any citations.
  • Formatting: Standard 12pt font, 1-inch margins, single-spaced.
  • IRB: If your project involves research on human subjects, please indicate the status of your IRB application.