Non-Instructional Assignment Grants

The purposes of non-instructional assignments are to contribute to the professional growth of the faculty; improve the teaching and curriculum across the University; and enhance scholarship and academic excellence of the University in ways that cannot be accomplished under the constraints of regular workload assignment (https://www.mtsu.edu/policies/governance-and-compliance/032.php#Non-Instructional%20Assignment).

NIA grants relieve faculty members from all faculty duties for one semester or one academic year, depending upon the nature of the proposal request. The committee may recommend any combination of semester and full year awards. NIA’s allow faculty time to pursue research, publication, or creative activity opportunities free from instructional responsibilities.

The deadline for applications is October 11, 2024, at Noon.

The signed application and proposal must be submitted to provostgrants@mtsu.edu by the deadline. For more information, please contact our office at (615) 898-5941.

Approved Proposals for 2023-24

  • Presentation of the Self in Academic Supporting Genre
  • Establishing the Perennial Grain Research and Education Center at MTSU
  • Africans in Ireland: A Historical Database
  • Sculpting Sound: Tradition, Identity, and Contemporary Phenomenon
    the Chinese Zheng
  • Re-excavating Enoch: Contemporary Readings, Reception, and Relevance of an Ancient Text
  • Strengthening Computational Chemistry at MTSU
  • High School Teachers Use of Math Technology
  • “Yours For World Peace”: World War II Repatriation and the Emergence of the Cold War, 1947-1952

Guidelines

The NIA grant relieves faculty members from all faculty duties for one semester at full pay (12 hours reassigned time) or for one academic year at half pay (6 hours reassigned time per semester) to pursue research, publication, or creative activity opportunities.

To be eligible for an NIA, an applicant must:

  1. Be a tenured member of the full-time teaching faculty, including department chairpersons
  2. Have completed seven consecutive years of employment at Middle Tennessee State University
  3. Be an Associate Professor or Professor

Applications should include the following:

  1. A description of the specific project, its objectives, and end product
  2. Schedule of progress for the NIA
  3. A copy of the applicant’s vita over the last seven years
  4. Proof of acceptance by cooperating universities and/or other entity, or approval by granting agencies, if applicable
  5. A letter from the Middle Tennessee State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) approving the project, if required
  6. Sources of internal and external funding to supplement the grant, if applicable
  7. If the applicant was previously awarded an NIA Grant, a report of the completed activity related to the prior award.

*The committee will consider proposals for which final IRB approval has not yet been received, but funding will not be recommended until all necessary approvals have been submitted.

An application cover/approval page with the signatures of the department chairperson and dean is required.

The NIA Committee will evaluate all applications and make recommendations for approval to the University Provost.

If a faculty member receives a full academic year NIA, a mid-year performance review will be completed by the department chairperson and shared with the NIA committee and the Vice Provost for Faculty and Strategic Initiatives. At the end of the NIA, each awardee will submit a written report of the NIA activity to the Vice Provost for Faculty and Strategic Initiatives and forward copies to the appropriate dean and chairperson. The report should include evidence of work completed such as a copy of or online access to the final product. 

Acceptance of an NIA requires that the faculty member return to MTSU for minimum of two semesters immediately following the award. Summer sessions are not included. If the faculty member cannot agree to these conditions, the NIA will not be granted.

If materials are published as a result of the NIA, recipients must acknowledge Middle Tennessee State University. All grant recipients are subject to MTSU Policy 140 Intellectual Property and MTSU Policy 140-A Intellectual Property amendment.

A period of seven years must intervene between NIA’s for an individual faculty member. For example, a 2018-19 NIA recipient, who applied during the 2017-18 academic year, may apply again during the 2024-25 academic year for an NIA to take place during 2025-2026.