SoTL Travel Grant

At Illinois State University, we define the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) as the “systematic reflection/study on teaching and learning [of ISU students] made public.” This definition was created to include a wide range of research (broadly defined) on the teaching and learning of our ISU students that is presented, published, created, or performed.

ISU’s Cross Endowed Chair in SoTL requests applications for the SoTL Travel Grant Program - FY26. The program is designed to  encourage public sharing of SoTL work related to the teaching and/or learning of ISU students . The program  provides partial funding  for travel  to present SoTL work.  Funds may be used toward conference registration and/or travel costs. This applies to a  trip already taken (and not fully reimbursed) or to be taken, to present SoTL work this fiscal year.  We expect to award 10-12 grants for FY26 across the fall and spring award cycles. Please note that faculty/staff are eligible for one travel grant (of any kind) per year.  Awards of up to $750 will be available to those presenting SoTL research. Awards of up to $1000 will be available to those presenting at international teaching and learning conferences.

Eligibility and Requirements

All tenured and tenure-line faculty, non-tenure line faculty, faculty associates, and AP staff with teaching/teaching support responsibilities at Illinois State University and under contract at time of travel are eligible to apply. Proposals must meet the following requirements.

Travel must occur between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 and must involve a presentation on SoTL about the teaching and/or learning of ISU students as defined above.
Funds must be spent for the travel and purposes outlined in the application.
The conference may be a disciplinary, teaching-learning, or SoTL conference as long as the appropriate work is being presented. See sotl.illinoisstate.edu/conferences/ for examples of potential SoTL outlets/conferences.
SoTL work involving research on human subjects and presentation must have IRB approval.
A brief (500-700 word) report on the trip is due to the Cross Chair in SoTL within 45 days of travel.

Application Procedure

Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on May 29, 2026 and should include:

A description (300 words, maximum) of the SoTL work being presented/shown/performed explaining the nature of the project and its connection to the teaching and/or learning of ISU students.
A description (200 words, maximum) of the conference or venue for presenting/sharing the work including the URL to the conference website.
Official documentation that the work has been presented or has been accepted for presentation. (Please do not expect reviewers to search for your listing in a large, online program.)
An itemized budget and budget justification for the travel expenses, including a list of any other funding sources and/or any expenses already covered (300 word maximum)

Recipients will be notified 2 weeks after the grant application due date regarding the status of their application. All funds must be spent and reimbursement paperwork filed before June 30, 2026 (note, if reimbursement is filed more than 60 days after travel, taxes apply).

Review Criteria (applied equally to all applications)

The work to be presented/shown/performed is related to SoTL and is about the teaching/learning of ISU students.
The SoTL work is of high quality (i.e., innovative, grounded in literature, appropriate method).
The application meets requirements above (including a budget that is detailed and explained).
Preference will be given to presentations beyond the local level.
Prior SoTL grant or travel grant recipients have met all obligations of previous funding.

Contact Dr. Jennifer Friberg-Fort, Cross Endowed Chair in SoTL @ jfribe@ilstu.edu, with questions.