Coalition for Transformational Education Offers Grants up to $25,000 for California Community Colleges
At the Community College League of California’s 2023 Annual Convention, the Coalition for Transformational Education — a pioneering national coalition of colleges and universities focused on preparing students for all aspects of life after college — launched a competitive grant program to help California’s community college students develop their identity, agency, and sense of purpose. The program will expand access to programs and experiences that will benefit community college students beyond their higher education.
"Leaders at California Community Colleges (CCC) work diligently with their colleagues to enhance student wellbeing and academic success,” said Larry Galizio, League President & CEO. “This generous grant opportunity from the Coalition for Transformational Education will support three projects beneficial to CCC students and their home communities. Additionally, working with the Coalition and LivingWell, these efforts highlight how our colleges create and offer programs and opportunities that address student needs for all stages of their lives."
CTE’s work is founded on data from the Gallup Alumni Survey, which found that students with a caring professor or other mentor are more likely to thrive as a person and at work. These relationships are transformational for students, yet less than five percent reported having such a college experience. With 1.9 million students at 116 colleges, California has the largest community college system in the country.
“With this grant program, we welcome and encourage community colleges throughout California to pursue innovations in teaching and learning that lead to higher engagement and increased wellbeing among all students,” said Keith W. Buffinton, Ph.D., Executive Director, Coalition for Transformational Education. “There are numerous paths to achieving these imperatives, and we encourage each institution to explore what might be the best approach for its distinctive culture and community.”
CTE’s steering committee will award up to three grants of up to $25,000 each. Faculty and staff from all CCCs are invited to respond to a Request for Proposals issued by the coalition. Grant applications will be considered on a rolling basis for a period of one year.
Representatives of the colleges within the Community College League of California (CCLC) who are institutional members of the Coalition for Transformational Education are invited to submit proposals for pilot projects to design and test ways to develop undergraduate students’ identity, agency, or sense of purpose. The Coalition Steering Committee will award one grant of up to $25,000 to each member institution. Details and submission information for grants are below.
Coalition for Transformational Education
Mini-Grants to Develop Student Identity, Agency, and Sense of Purpose
Request for Proposals for Community College League of California Members
Representatives of the member colleges within the Community College League of California (CCLC) who are institutional members of the Coalition for Transformational Education (CTE) are invited to submit proposals for pilot projects to design and test ways to develop undergraduate students’ identity, agency, or sense of purpose. The Coalition Steering Committee will award one grant of up to $25,000 to each member institution.
Become a member of the Coalition for Transformational Education (CTE).
Background
CTE’s work is inspired in part by two critical findings from the Gallup Alumni Survey (formerly known as the Gallup-Purdue Index):
- College graduates are nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to thrive in five key elements of well-being throughout their lives if a professor cared about them as a person while they were students; and
- College graduates are nearly twice as likely to be engaged at work if they had a mentor who encouraged their them to pursue their goals and dreams.
These relationships are transformational for students. Yet less than five percent of college graduates surveyed by the Gallup-Purdue Index reported having both a professor who cared about them as a person and a mentor who encouraged their goals and dreams.
CTE knows that some students will encounter caring faculty members and develop mentoring relationships, and yet many of our students will not. The Coalition poses this question: If relationships with caring faculty members and mentors during college are so profound, how might we ensure that every student at our institutions has these experiences? Furthermore, how might we demonstrate ways to encourage strong mentoring relationships between faculty and students, and to bring such transformational opportunities to every undergraduate student in the U.S.?
The institutional members of the Coalition are committed to pursuing the aspirational challenge stated above – to bring transformational educational experiences to every student at scale – at each of our institutions and to share what we learn, with each other and with other organizations that are interested in bringing transformational learning experiences to their students.
Objectives
We believe that a transformational education – one that prepares students to thrive in their personal and professional lives – engenders in students three interconnected elements of well-being: identity, agency, and sense of purpose. To develop identity, students must be encouraged to discover who they are, where they come from, and their place in the world. To develop agency, they must be encouraged to discover what they can do with what they learn and to apply their knowledge to authentic problems in the world. And alongside these, to develop a sense of purpose they must be encouraged to explore what impact they might have on the world.
We believe that the best undergraduate education includes authentic learning experiences and opportunities for students to apply what they are learning, with access to emotionally supportive faculty mentors who both advise and encourage students’ hopes and dreams. In general, our institutions tend to be best at offering such opportunities to students through extra-curricular programs, co-curricular activities, cooperative learning opportunities and internships. For this reason, we seek ways to incorporate the development of identity, agency, and purpose within the very core of an undergraduate curriculum so that it reaches every student. This would be a paradigm shift for higher education at a time when just such a shift is needed.
With this mini-grant program, the Coalition encourages CCLC member institutions to design prototypes that engage faculty and test curricular approaches to developing student identity, agency, and sense of purpose. We aspire to identify the most promising paths and methodologies that will enable us to provide a transformational education to every student. There are numerous paths to achieving these imperatives, and we encourage each institution to explore what might be the best approach for its distinctive culture and community.
Who can apply for this grant?
The mini-grant program is open to colleges and universities within the CCLC that have become members of the Coalition for Transformational Education. Faculty and staff from these institutions are invited to submit applications. One application per institution will be considered.
What is the Coalition looking for?
Boldness. The strongest proposals will lay out a bold vision for how this project might develop one or more of these vital elements: identity, agency, or sense of purpose.
Viability. Show us a viable path for making that bold vision a reality.
Scalability. How might the project be scaled up after its experimental stage?
Experimentation. We encourage you to embrace a spirit of experimentation: a bias towards action and a willingness to try new things.
Assessment. Proposals should include some built-in iteration and must include a clear plan for assessing impact.
Contextual Awareness. We expect proposals to include a meaningful plan for attending to the social and ethical aspects of their intentions.
Sustainability. Ultimately, the goal of the Coalition is to create lasting change and thus proposals should describe how the programs and activities developed with support of the grant will be continued beyond the grant period.
Adaptability. To what extent might this project be adaptable to another institution or educational context?
The proposal submission format is given below.
Timeline
Grant applications will be considered on a rolling basis for a grant period of approximately one year. Periodic progress reports as well as a final report and detailed assessment of outcomes are required as part of the grant process.
Questions can be directed to Keith Buffinton at BuffintonKW@gmail.com.
Proposal Format
Project Title
Project Abstract (500 characters)
Lead Applicant/Contact Person (name, title, institution, address, phone, email)
Who: Tell us who will be working together on this project. Include names, titles, and the role each person will play in the project.
Why: Tell us the objectives of the project, including some background on the problem the project addresses and what change you are trying to make. Please indicate clearly how this project will develop students’ identity, agency, or sense of purpose. Projects may focus on one or more of these elements of a transformational education.
What: Tell us what activities you will pursue and how faculty will be engaged. Clearly describe how your proposal addresses the expectations of:
- Boldness
- Viability
- Scalability
- Experimentation
- Assessment
- Contextual Awareness
- Sustainability
- Adaptability
Where: Tell us the context and location of the project
When: Provide a timeline for activities and assessment.
How: Provide a project implementation plan, including a plan for assessment of how you will determine whether the project has been successful.
Budget: Provide a simple budget of expenses related to the project, including a narrative description and justification for each item
Letter of Endorsement: Please upload a signed letter of endorsement from your institution’s representative to the Coalition.
