Summer Institute Request for Proposals

2026 Request for Proposals

The University of West Georgia’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Career Readiness through Experiential Learning, advances UWG’s strategic goal of preparing students for meaningful careers through intentional, high-impact learning experiences.

By providing financial support and pedagogical training, UWG will empower faculty to design innovative, high-impact learning experiences that align with the university’s goal of advancing every student’s career before graduation.

Submit proposal to qep@westga.edu

Program Overview
Category	Details
Theme	Career Readiness, Experiential Learning, and Meaningful Learning
Dates	June 15–16, 2026
Location	University of West Georgia Campus, Carrollton, GA
Building	All sessions will take place in the Nursing Building
Format	Two-day, on-campus faculty development experience

Institute Goals

Strengthen alignment between experiential learning and career readiness competencies
Support intentional course redesign using backward design principles
Foster cross-disciplinary collaboration among faculty
Produce implementable course deliverables tied to QEP assessment

Morning sessions of the institute will be reserved for QEP Faculty Grant Recipients, while afternoon sessions will be open to the broader UWG faculty and staff community to expand campus-wide impact.

Featured Speaker

The Institute will feature Dr. Kevin Gannon, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence at Queens University of Charlotte and author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto. Dr. Gannon is a nationally recognized expert on pedagogy whose work has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Washington Post.

His work focuses on meaningful, human-centered pedagogy and sustainable teaching practices, with particular emphasis on connecting transformative learning to professional preparation, making his scholarship exceptionally well aligned with UWG’s QEP goals.

Institute Focus Areas

Career readiness as the development of transferable habits of mind
Integrating experiential learning intentionally across the curriculum
Designing assessments aligned with QEP Student Learning Outcomes
Building sustainable, reflective teaching practices
Developing scalable strategies applicable across disciplines

Two-Day Schedule
Time	Monday, June 15, 2026	Tuesday, June 16, 2026
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM	Grantee Seminar: Discussion of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (Grant recipients only—books provided)	Grantee Seminar: Discussion of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (Grant recipients only—books provided)
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM	Working Lunch (Provided for recipients and team)	Working Lunch (Provided for recipients and team)
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM	Plenary I: “You Can’t Eat Vocation: Balancing Career-Readiness and Meaningful Learning” (Open to all faculty and staff)	Plenary II: “Human/e Teaching” – Interactive workshop and guided reflection (Open to all faculty and staff)

QEP Summer Institute Grant

UWG will award six competitive grants to support course innovation for the upcoming academic year. Grant recipients are expected to participate fully in the Summer Institute, leveraging professional development to inform and guide their course redesign work.

What is Experiential Learning?

The Association for Experiential Education describes experiential learning as having the following characteristics:

Experiences are carefully chosen for their learning potential (i.e., whether they provide opportunities for students to practice and deepen emergent skills, encounter novel and unpredictable situations that support new learning, or learn from natural consequences, mistakes, and successes).
During the experiential learning opportunity, the student actively poses questions, investigates, experiments, is curious, solves problems, assumes responsibility, is creative, and constructs meaning; and the student is challenged in taking initiative, making decisions, and being accountable for results (Kolb 2014).
Reflection on learning during and after one’s experiences is an integral component of the learning process. This reflection leads to analysis, critical thinking, and synthesis (Schon, 1983; Boud, Cohen, & Walker, 1993; Weber & Myrick, 2018).
The student engages intellectually, emotionally, socially, and/or physically, reinforcing the authenticity of the experience.
The student develops and grows relationships with others and gains a better understanding of themselves and the world.

What are the Eligibility Requirements?

Eligibility Requirements
Requirement Type	Details
Award Amount	$1,500 stipend per faculty member (6 awards)
Eligibility	Full-time UWG faculty who have not previously received a QEP grant or attended the Institute
Commitment Period	AY 2026–2027

What are Grant Recipients’ Obligations?

Each grant recipient is expected to:

Participate fully in the two-day Summer Institute (June 15–16, 2026)
Modify (or redesign) a course to integrate at least one QEP Student Learning Outcome (AY 26-27)
Incorporate experiential learning activities aligned with career readiness competencies
Submit a revised syllabus or comprehensive course redesign plan, to include selected modes of assessment (by May 1, 2027)
Present finalized plan at UWG’s Fall Faculty Kick-Off

What are Core Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)?

Core Student Learning Outcomes
SLO	Outcome	Description
1: ENVISION	Identify	Students identify experiential learning and career competencies relevant to their personal and professional goals.
2: ENACT	Analyze & Reflect	Students analyze and reflect on competencies cultivated through experiential activities.
3: SHOWCASE	Articulate	Students create artifacts articulating the integration of activities and developed skills.

What are the Application Requirements?

Faculty applicants must submit a complete proposal package including:

A 300–500-word project narrative describing the course redesign
Description of proposed materials or experiential learning activities
Identification of QEP Student Learning Outcomes addressed
Plan for assessment and cross-disciplinary adaptability (if applicable)
Description of expected student impact and scalability (if applicable)

Submission Deadline: May 15, 2026. Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF to qep@westga.edu.