Course Development Grants

We will be once again offering our annual Course Development Grant in 2023-2024.  More complete details will be updated later this fall.  Please use the resources below for informational purposes; the process and requirements will remain substantially similar.

Watch an information session webinar in which staff explain the grant program and application, and three instructors shared their experience with this pedagogy and our support programs. 

Deadline: Sunday, January 22, 2023

The Office of Service-Learning is pleased to announce the Community-Based & Service-Learning Course Development Grants program for the 2022-2023 academic year. These grants of up to $4,000 are available to any Ohio State University instructor who would like to develop or improve a service-learning course.  This includes courses offered at regional campuses and undergraduate or graduate level courses.  Courses can be delivered in-person, online, or a hybrid - whatever works best for you and your community partner.  More information about the application is now available on our Grant Application Details page.

Community-engaged, service-learning courses should be grounded in a mutually beneficial, reciprocal relationship with a community partner organization.  Courses can include either a partnership the course creator develops independently or a partnership with the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML). Courses partnering with CML should use the OSU-CML Service Learning Template created by the Office of Service-Learning and CML that has students serving in CML's Homework Help Centers. This is a very flexible model that can be applied to a wide variety of courses, while at the same time alleviating the pressure on individual instructors to develop partnerships with service sites from scratch.  Those interested in using this model can read about our pilot course for an example of how this template can be applied.  The Office of Service-Learning may also be able to assist with potential community partner suggestions, depending on the content area.

For instructors looking to developing courses for inclusion in the new General Education (GE) program, expected learning outcomes (ELOs) are now available in two reports.   The Report of the General Education Implementation Committee includes ELOs for each of the currently proposed Themes.  The Report of the High-Impact Practices Subcommittee includes suggested ELOs for community-based learning/service-learning courses.  Additional materials related to the service-learning in the GE, including ELOs and a rubric for student work, can be found here.  Instructors should use these as guides when developing or redesigning a course intended to be included in the new GE.

Applications are due on by 11:59pm on Sunday, January 22, 2023.

All funded teams are required to:

1. Attend an in-person Course Design Institute in May 2023 to help grantees develop their course structure and content.  Please do not apply for this grant if you are unable to commit to this requirement. Grant recipients will be participating in a special session of the CDI that will specifically focus on designing community-engaged courses.  In addition to offering dedicated, structured time and support for course design, this also helps to build a community of like-minded instructors offering peer support. 

2. Apply for the S-Designation for the funded course when submitting it to the curriculum system.