The Theresa Neil Memorial Research Fund

The Summer Session Research Consortium, which consists of the North American Association of Summer Sessions (NAASS); the North Central Conference on Summer Schools (NCCSS); the Western Association of Summer Session Administrators (WASSA); and the Association of University Summer Sessions (AUSS), is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals for the Theresa Neil Memorial Research Fund.

Amount of Award
The total available for the year 2012 is $9,000. One or two proposals will be supported from this amount.

Research Topics
The Consortium invites proposals that address pedagogical or administrative issues that pertain to summer session at North American colleges and universities. For example:

• Analysis of summer faculty salary issues
• Assessment of student needs
• Effects of administrative reorganization (e.g. centralization/decentralization or change from state support to self support)
• Factors related to student choice to attend summer (e.g. at what point in time is the decision to attend made and why?)
• The impact of technology on summer sessions (e.g. new models for distance delivery of courese)
• Learning outcomes of compressed or time-intensive courses vs. full semester-length counterparts
• Relationship of economic factors (unemployment, for example) to summer enrollment
• The effectiveness of particular marketing strategies

The research must be on a topic of ongoing concern to summer session deans/directors generally. A project that is highly parochial in scope, or that addresses a topic of unlikely interest beyond a specific campus, will probably not be selected for funding with this program.

For full details on the Theresa Neil Award, please visit:  AUSS.website
http://outreach.olemiss.edu/auss/neilmemorial.html

Supportable Expenses
Grant funds may be used for supplies, mailing and telephone costs, the cost of data entry and statistical processing, salaries and fringe benefits for graduate students, and general direct expenses necessary for the research such as travel. The funds may also be used for purchase of the load of a researcher, for release time for a faculty/staff member, or as an added stipend for someone already employed. Overhead charges are not considered a supportable expense.

Format for Proposals
The proposal must be written in clear and concise language.  The narrative should not exceed four double-spaced pages.  Please include the following elements in the order listed below:

1. Title page    
   Include name of project; name/address of researcher; name of institution and the Summer Session organizations(s) to which it belongs; and a paragraph-length abstract of the proposal (single-spaced, 150 words or less).
2. Statement of the specific problem or research question(s) to be studied.
3. Explanation of why this is an important issue with a clear indication of how the study can provide insight for summer session deans/directors and other university leaders on matters vital to the continued growth and development of summer sessions.
4. Brief review of literature (if applicable) relevant to the study.
5. Description of the research methodology, including any proposed data gathering instruments and statistical techniques.
6. An itemized budget.

Required Attachments

1. Signed statement acknowledging that the researcher will protect human subjects’ rights and confidentiality.
2. Vita of the principal investigator(s).

Conditions for Funding
It is not necessary for the researchers to be involved directly in summer session work, but it is expected that their institution be a current member of one of the Consortium organizations. In addition, award recipients must agree to:

• Complete the research by December 2013.
• Present the research findings/results at an annual meeting of NAASS, NCCSS, or WASSA. (The sponsoring associations reserve the right to include a shortened version of the findings/results on their Web pages.)
• Submit a précis or abstract of the results for publication in Summer Academe.
• Submit a full paper on the findings/results for publication in Summer Academe or to some other journal in the field of education.
• Submission of two copies of the results for the NAASS archives.

Selection of Awards
The review committee consists of the Research Committee Chairs of NAASS, NCCSS, WASSA, and AUSS. Crucial selection criteria include clarity and completeness of the proposal, significance of the topic, and whether the proposed methodology is suitable for the research question(s) posed. Decisions will be announced by May 2012.