Faculty Fellows Program

Fellowship Categories (Focus Areas)

The following categories represent areas of need, as outlined in the Faculty Center Proposal.  Applications with proposals outside of these categories should (succinctly) provide data, as possible, and the rationale to support the outcomes as necessary for development at CSN to support CSN faculty and students.  

• New Faculty Institute: Support new faculty to develop a common understanding of teaching and teaching resources at CSN. The current priority is a tenure-track path.  
• Part-Time Faculty Institute: Support part-time faculty to develop a common understanding of teaching and teaching resources at CSN while providing a greater sense of community among part-time faculty.  
• Educational Technology: Support faculty at all stages of their career by highlighting technology that supports student engagement, learning, and accessibility. Support faculty to incorporate and integrate established and emerging technologies into their respective disciplines and teaching strategies.  
• Faculty Mentorship: In accordance with CSN’s policy on such, develop a program that supports faculty throughout their careers in ways that enhance student success.  
• Continuous Learning: Facilitate developing a culture of continuous learning, engagement, and camaraderie among faculty at all stages of their career but, particularly, for those who are mid-career and late career. Examples could be book clubs, Lunch-and-Learns, or other activities that allow for sharing of teaching strategies and philosophies across disciplines.    
• Department Chair Academy: Support newly elected or emerging department chairs in completing responsibilities that are common across CSN.  

Please note that collaborative fellowships may be proposed, but the stipend would be shared among those doing the project.  Each individual would be a fellow, but the project would be considered the funding of one fellowship, so the team members would split the amount.  

Examples of projects of fellowships at other institutions are available online.  Please note that these are not examples for or from CSN, but may give ideas of the general scope of projects.  Participants should anticipate investing approximately 6 hours per week in their project. 

Fellowship Program Expectations

• Full-time Faculty Fellows should be limited to typical teaching contract loads (i.e., no excessive overload credits) during the fall and spring semesters, as the Fellowship is equivalent to overload(s). Fellows should be teaching equal to or fewer than 19 IUs when applying.  However, please provide justification if teaching 16-19 IUs.  
• Part-time Faculty Fellows are limited to teaching (or special projects) of 6 total NSHE credits during the fall and spring semesters, as the Fellowship would be limited to the equivalent of a class.  
• Work closely with Faculty Center Director and, as appropriate, the Associate Vice President of Academic Success (AVPAS), Office of eLearning, Institutional Research, the Center for Academic and Professional Excellence (CAPE), Libraries, Institutional Effectiveness, Office of Technology Services - on teaching and learning supports for faculty.  
• Regular check-ins with Director; simultaneous or additional check-ins with the Fellows cohort, as possible.  
• Spring 2027:  
  • Develop resources and faculty development programming to support Faculty Center initiatives in the approved area of focus.  These may culminate in participants receiving a badge or some other recognition.  
  • Monthly Faculty Fellowship cohort meetings (present progress to cohort and Director)  
  • Recruit participants - as necessary - for late spring 2027 pilot workshop session.
  • Schedule in-person and online sessions in a manner that maximizes Faculty Center spaces (as applicable) for gathering, meeting, learning, collaborating, and exchanging knowledge, and building community.    
  • Based on the fellowship area of focus, be available for occasional 1:1 consultation with faculty or to give a presentation tailored to a specific department.    
  • Present and share with the CSN community (which may include Convocation) the findings and outcomes of the project at one professional development recognition event.  
  • At the conclusion of the fellowship each academic year, the Fellow submits an executive and comprehensive report and presents at the end of year teaching and learning showcase (presentation modality to be determined), which explains the activities completed, how the outcomes were met with pilot results, with requisite updates to program/curriculum.

Faculty fellows will be supported as much as possible for both the development and the timelines of the work.  While some adjustments are expected to align with faculty needs, shifting priorities, and changing timelines, the fellowships are expected to produce usable content, resources, or similar.  The fellowship may be ended should the timeline not be met or the Fellow experience unforseen extenuating circumstances.  Meeting expectations should be a mutually productive conversation between the Director and the Fellow, however, the Director (and AVPAS, as needed) may end the fellowship due to not meeting expectations.   

Fellowship Term and Payment Structure

January 11, 2027 to May 28, 2027  

Fellowship pay is:

• Separate from regular teaching contract  
• Spring semester: Two payments of 50% of the total Fellowship amount, one approved around mid-point (approximately spring break) and second approved at end of term. Approvals are based on progress in the project, engagement in the Fellows program, and meetings with Director  

Spring 2027 Faculty Fellowship stipends are planned at $2,500. 

The Center Director determines if the periodic progress has been met to remit payments and sends this information along to the designated office for processing payment.  Payment processing will occur on typical institutional HR timeframes and is outside of the control of the Center.

Proposed Application/Selection Timeline

Faculty Fellowship Application

Application Package Contents  

Only complete application packages will be reviewed and scored.  

In addition to requesting basic demography, a complete application package consists of the following:  

• Letter of Application, of no more than three pages, including:  
  • Description of your interest in the Faculty Fellows program  
  • Your topic/focus area for the fellowship (see category descriptions above)  
  • How you meet the required qualifications and desired qualifications, as applicable  
  • Your initial thoughts on a project plan (topic, resource needs, anticipated products, timeline, collaborators, expected challenges, your experience in the topic area, and any other relevant information)  
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Department/Unit Recommendation (provided by department chair or dean, as applicable)

These should be submitted as a single PDF to the Faculty Center email address:  Faculty.Center@csn.edu by the designated due date.

Selection Process  

The selection process will include:  

• Faculty Center Advisory Board to review applications using a rubric  
• In-person or virtual interviews, if needed, with candidates scored highly by the Advisory Board  
• While recommending a fellow applicant, the Advisory Board review, as well as the Center Director, can still provide significant feedback about requested revisions or suggested improvements to the proposal that can be a condition of fellow acceptance  

Final Selection Authority  

The final decision, with no appeals, will be made by Faculty Center Director (or AVPAA-AS) and is heavily informed by the Faculty Center Advisory Board recommendation.  

Adjustments

The Faculty Center Director, Advisory Board, and AVP reserve the ability to change timelines, expectations, and other aspects of the Fellowship program, only as necessary.