National Science Foundation (NSF 08-532) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

Please distribute this information to your faculty to determine if they have an interest in submitting a proposal to this program.

WHAT: Limited Submission Proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF 08-532) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

WHO:  Texas A&M University faculty, including TAES, TEES and TTI personnel.

WHY:  The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program anticipates making Phase I awards, with a maximum amount of $750,000 for up to five years, as well as Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) awards in amounts of up to $200,000 per year for a maximum of five years.

WHEN:  Internal proposal deadline of February 11, 2008.

HOW:  Faculty should submit internal proposal to osppc@tamu.edu for review by the internal selection committee.  

THE FINE PRINT:

The funding agency below has limited the number of preliminary proposals to one per institution. If the number of faculty wishing to submit a proposal exceeds the number allowed by the agency, we will conduct an internal selection process. Below are due dates for the program, including the due date of the internal proposal for review by the internal selection committee, the date for announcement of the internal selection and the due date for submission to the agency.                                                      

AGENCY:  National Science Foundation (NSF)

AGENCY PROGRAM TITLE:  NSF 08-532 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

BRIEF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:  The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers.  The program provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends and programmatic support for STEM majors and STEM professionals to enter and complete teacher credentialing programs.  Program activities for scholarship and stipend recipients may include serving as resources for science and mathematics instruction of K-12 classrooms.  The project leadership team is expected to include STEM discipline faculty and education faculty working in collaboration with school districts and master K-12 teachers.  Also, scholarship recipients are required to complete two years of teaching in a high school district for each year of scholarship or stipend support.

Proposals may address either the scholarship or stipend program or both programs.  Scholarships for STEM majors must be at least $10,000 per year for up to three years.  Scholarship recipients must major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics and be in the last 2 years of a baccalaureate degree program.  It is expected that these students will graduate with a major in a STEM discipline and will obtain teacher certification or licensing.  In addition, proposals may include summer internships for undergraduate freshmen and sophomores to introduce students to early experiences in STEM education and provide examples of the integration of research and education.

Stipends of up to $10,000 are available for a maximum of one year for STEM professionals who hold a baccalaureate, masters or doctoral degree in science, mathematics or engineering and enroll in a teacher certification program.  Current K-12 teachers seeking new or re-certification are not eligible to receive Noyce scholarships or stipends.  Stipend recipients must commit to serving two years as a mathematics or science teacher in a high-need local educational agency within four years after graduation or completion of the program for which the stipend was awarded.  A high-need local educational agency means a local educational agency that serves an elementary or secondary school located in an area which there is:  a high percentage of individuals from families with incomes below the poverty line, a high percentage of secondary school teachers not teaching in the content area in which the teachers were trained to teach, or a high teacher turnover rate.  Proposals may include expenditures for program development and enhancement to enable STEM majors to complete a STEM degree while also completing teacher certification requirements within five years or to enable STEM professionals to earn a teaching credential.

Institutions shall require recipients of scholarships or stipends to provide the institution with annual certification of employment and up-to-date contact information.  Institutions will also monitor the service requirements of scholarship or stipend recipients.  Further, institutions must provide evidence of exemplary teacher preparation efforts to ensure that scholarship and stipend recipients become successful science and mathematics teachers in elementary or secondary schools.  Successful proposals will also provide evidence of functioning partnerships between institutions of higher education and school districts and an infrastructure that is supportive of new teachers.  All projects are expected to include an evaluation plan for measuring the impact of the project and effectiveness of proposed strategies in attracting, preparing and retaining STEM individuals in teaching careers as well as the effectiveness of the Noyce scholarship/stipend recipients as teachers.  The evaluation plan should also include a mechanism for tracking recipients and collecting demographic data on scholarship and stipend recipients.

Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) projects are designed to enable institutions to think and act strategically about the creative integration of NSF-funded awards towards a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts, with particular emphasis on awards managed through programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHN), but not limited to those awards. The PI for an I3 project must be the university provost or equivalent, unless the proposal is exclusively for I3 STEM educational or related research.

Five specific goals of I3 projects include:  increasing synergy and collaboration across NSF-funded projects and within/between institutions, towards an educational environment where artificial boundaries are significantly reduced and the student experience is more fully integrated; expanding and deepening the footprints of NSF-funded projects and enhancing their sustainability; promoting innovative programming, policies and practices to encourage the integration of STEM research and education; providing additional avenues to broaden participation by those underserved in STEM research and education, especially underrepresented minorities, women and persons of disabilities, as well as attending to seamless transitions across critical educational junctures, and/or providing more effectively for a globally engaged workforce; and encouraging STEM educational or related research in domains that hold promise for promoting intra- or inter-institutional integration and broader impacts.

More information can be found at:  http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08532/nsf08532.htm           

AGENCIES ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT:  The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program is open to institutions of higher education in the U. S. or consortia of such institutions or nonprofit entities that have established consortia among such institutions of higher education.  I3 eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education, including two- and four-year colleges), located and accredited in the U.S.

AWARD INFORMATION:   The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program anticipates making Phase I awards, with a maximum amount of $750,000 for up to five years, as well as Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) awards in amounts up to $200,000 per year for a maximum of five years.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS: Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:  No indirect costs are allowed for Phase I projects, but are allowed for I3 projects.  However, up to 20% of the proposed budget may be allocated for administrative and program costs associated with recruiting and preparing the teachers, providing support for the teachers as they begin teaching, and conducting monitoring and evaluation activities.  Also, scholarships and stipends may not exceed the cost of attendance.

COST SHARING:  NONE.

Internal Selection Procedures and Deadlines

February 8, 2008:  Deadline for an email of intent, including the names of the PI and co-PIs, title of internal proposal and a 1-3 sentence description of the project.  Send email of intent to osppc@tamu.edu     

February 11, 2008: Deadline to obtain signatures of approval from your department head and college dean to submit an internal proposal to the Office of Sponsored Projects for review by the internal selection committee.  The internal proposal should include:

• An executive summary, up to three pages, based on the proposal description as outlined in the NSF program announcement;
  
• Summary budget;
  
• Project and Management Plans (including team members)

The form for completing the internal proposal is here.  This completed form should be submitted electronically to osppc@tamu.edu for review by the internal selection committee.

Please read the RFP carefully for specific requirements of the program at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08532/nsf08532.htm   Selection of a proposal will be based on NSF guidelines.  The needs of the university’s reinvestment plan will also be taken into account.  During the selection process, the internal selection committee may contact departments and colleges for their opinions and commitments.  They may also request additional information from PIs.

February 22, 2008: The Internal Selection Committee will notify PIs of the result of the internal competition.

February 28, 2008:  Deadline for optional, but recommended, letter of intent for Noyce Scholarship proposals.

April 9, 2008:  Deadline for full Noyce Scholarship proposals: (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time).

April 10, 2008:  Deadline for full Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) proposals:  (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time).