Funding Opportunities
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ALE Incentive Grants
Guided by the university's Next-Gen K-State strategic plan, recurring Applied Learning Experiences, or ALE, incentive grants are now available to support, expand, deepen and scale applied learning experiences at K-State.
In this round of recurring grants, a pool of $250,000 is available. Two grant categories are available to support the integration of Applied Learning Experiences into courses.
Description: Seed funds for the purpose of supporting a unit to explore curriculum changes for a program which enhances applied learning. These grants help a unit to explore adding or enhancing applied learning in new or existing degree, certificate or micro-credential programs.
Grant information
Eligibility: Faculty member(s) with program chair and department head support.
Funding Range: Up to $20,000.00
Funding Period: A one-time grant will be awarded by January 2026. Funds are to be utilized for implementation of the experience by the 2028-29 academic year.
Matching Funds Required: No matching funds are required, but applicants should demonstrate reasonable support for continuation two years beyond the grant period.
Creativity in the utilization of funds is encouraged and could include:
Academic materials or supplies
Student transportation
Student resources
- Safety gear
- Fees or professional dues
Hosting events to bring groups of learners together
Guest speakers, external consultants, facilitators, other professional services.
Add-pay for faculty designing courses over the summer (Faculty pay not to exceed $3,000 per person, or $5,000 total add pay)
- Add pay does not include guest speakers, external consultants, facilitators, or other external professional services.
- And more!
Description: Funds to catalyze transdisciplinary applied learning across at least two units at K-State to launch pilot programming. This opportunity is an excellent way to bring teams from across the university community to generate answers to our world's most difficult challenges, while providing excellent learning to our students.
Transdisciplinary Definition
"Experiences designed and implemented by faculty from different disciplines working jointly to create new applied learning opportunities that integrate and move beyond discipline-specific pedagogies."
Grant information
Eligibility: Faculty member(s) with program chair and department head support.
Funding Range: Up to $20,000.00
Funding Period: A one-time grant will be awarded by January 2026. Funds are to be utilized for implementation of the experience by the 2028-29 academic year.
Matching Funds Required: No matching funds are required, but applicants should demonstrate reasonable support for continuation two years beyond the grant period.
Creativity in the utilization of funds is encouraged and could include:
Academic materials or supplies
Student transportation
Student resources
- Safety gear
- Fees or professional dues
Hosting events to bring groups of learners together
Guest speakers, external consultants, facilitators, other professional services.
Add-pay for faculty designing courses over the summer (Faculty pay not to exceed $3,000 per person, or $5,000 total add pay)
- Add pay does not include guest speakers, external consultants, facilitators, or other external professional services.
- And more!
The ALE Faculty Workshop series is designed to provide faculty support in designing their courses to meet the ALE Graduation Requirement (in draft). The series of 4-5 sessions will give context and background of applied learning as well as support within the specified categories. The workshop series has been submitted as a micro credential (awaiting approval) for those who complete the series and a stipend of $500 is available for faculty who complete a workshop and submit a course for the Applied Learning Experiences course tag. Additionally upon completing the workshop there is an opportunity to apply for financial support for your course to include transportation, equipment, etc.
Application Process
All applications will be accepted through the relevant Microsoft Forms linked above. A PDF/Word list of questions is available for download for applicants' convenience.
- Submission deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 15, 11:59 p.m.
- Review period: Oct. 15 - Nov. 7
- Award announcements within the week of Dec. 1.
- Funds awarded by January 2026
A panel of reviewers will be selected from across the University and approved by the University Steering Committee for Applied Learning Experiences.
Scoring Criteria
All applications will be evaluated for alignment with the ALE Framework. Criteria are clearly outlined below. Applications that are transdisciplinary in nature will also be evaluated for committment to movement beyond discipline-specific pedagogy.
It is recommended to use this budget template and this timeline template with the application.
Supporting Documentation
Items in this section are required. Failure to meet these criteria will result in disqualification.
| Criteria | Present (1) | Not Present (0) |
| An itemized budget was uploaded and included a "cost per learner" estimate. | ||
| A timeline for the experience was uploaded. | ||
| The applicant indicated an intended learner population. | ||
| The experience has required support and potential to be sustainable beyond the grant period, as evidenced by letter(s) of support from department head or other administrator. | ||
| An abbreviated CV was submitted for each applicant. | ||
| The applicant shared if they had or had not applied for or received other funding. | ||
| Document Score (Scores less than 5 result in disqualification of application): __ of 6 | ||
Need and Learner Impact
| Criteria | High (2) | Moderate (1) | Low (1) |
| Need within department or unit. | No Applied Learning Experiences currently exist within the proposing unit | Few Applied Learning Experiences currently exist within the proposing unit | Many Applied Learning Experiences currently exist within the proposing unit |
| Number of learners impacted. | 41+ learners to be served per semester | 11-40 learners to be served per semester | 1-10 learners to be served per semester |
| Impact Score: ___ of 4 | |||
|
Criteria |
Exemplary (3) |
Present (2) |
Developing (1) |
Not Present (0) |
|
Engagement: The experience is equivalent in time and intensity to a one-credit-hour course, or 45 hours. |
Clear and specific examples demonstrate how learner engagement fosters deeper learning. |
The application clearly outlines learner engagement expectations. |
The application attempts to outline engagement expectations. |
Engagement expectations are not clearly outlined. |
|
Guidance: The activity and mentorship is designed to target skill development with agency given to the learner to self-direct learning. |
Specific skill development is clearly accounted for in experience design and the inclusion of mentorship. |
Specific skills are targeted in experience design. Learners have agency. |
Either specific skills are targeted in experience design or learners have agency. |
Specific skills are not targeted and learner agency is not considered. |
|
Purposeful Experience: The experience is connected to a community which extends relevance to authentic scenarios. |
Learners engage with communities in specific ways, leading to clear application beyond the experience. |
The experience is authentic and connects to community. |
The experience is authentic or connects to community. |
The experience is not authentic and does not connect to community. |
|
Active Engagement: The experience aids in a learner's sense of belonging and being within relevant communities or within their desired career path. |
Examples of learners exercising independent judgement within the experience, leading to ownership and a sense of being, are clearly stated. |
Learners develop a sense of belonging and being within their communities and career paths. |
Learners develop a sense of belonging or being. |
Belonging and being is not developed. |
|
Critical Reflection: The experience requires learners to self-reflect in an ongoing and meaningful way. Group reflection is used when needed. |
Multiple modes of reflection are present throughout the experience. New understandings are shared formally. |
Reflection is meaningful and ongoing. |
Reflection is somewhat meaningful and ongoing. |
Learners do not engage in reflection. |
|
Transdisciplinary Commitment: Transdisciplinary experiences designed and implemented by faculty from different disciplines working jointly to create new applied learning opportunities that integrate and move beyond discipline-specific pedagogies. |
|
Present (Up to 5) The experience is deeply transdisciplinary. Only relevant for transdisciplinary applications.
|
Developing (2) The experience is somewhat transdisciplinary. Only relevant for transdisciplinary applications.
|
Not Present (0) The experience does not align with the definition of transdisciplinary. Only relevant for transdisciplinary applications.
|
|
Framework Score: _____of 15 |
||||
|
Total Score: ______of 25 or 30 |
||||
|
Reviewer Recommendation: Acceptable Acceptable with Reservations Not Acceptable |
||||
Previous Grant Awards
Activity Pilot:
- Student Employment Pathways to Career Readiness, Kerri Keller, Ph.D., executive director, Career Center
- Applied Health Behavior Counseling, Emily Mailey, Ph.D., associate professor, Kinesiology
- Designing and Simulating Automated Guided- Vehicle (AGV) Systems for Warehouse Material Flow, Saurav Kumar, Dubey, Ph.D., associate teaching professor, Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Reimagining Kansas City's Historically Black Neighborhoods: A Placemaking Research and Design Project, Gabby Coleman, visiting assistant professor, Architecture
Activity Expansion:
- Metal Fab Bootcamp: An Immersive Applied Learning Experience to Build Confidence and Competence in Pre-service Agriculture Teachers, Brandie Disberger, Ph.D., associate teaching professor, Department of Communication and Agrictultural Education
Curriculum Exploration:
- Undergraduate Certificate and a Minor in Instrument Repair for Music Educators, Ben Worcester, M. Mus., academic advisor and undergraduate program director and Joshua Cook, B.S., instructor and director of instrument repair, Department of Music, Theater, and Dance
- The Wildcat Mobile Theatre Unit, Shannon Skelton, Ph.D., associate professor and advisor, Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance
Transdisciplinary:
- Spot Fire Press: A Creative Undergraduate Student Publishing Initiative, Jason Scuilla, MFA, professor, Art, Traci Brimhall,Ph.D., University Distingiushed Professor and graduate faculty, Department of English, Mervi Pakaste, MFA, professor, Art, Dan Warner, MFA, associate professor, Art, Jon Hunt, MLA, professor, Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning, Anthony Warnick, MFA, assistant professor, Art, Daniel Ireton, MLS, associate professor, Libraries, Jeffery Sheldon, BFA, director, Sunderland Innovation Lab and Anne Oswald, director, University Printing
- Bridging Disciplines and Campuses: A Collaborative Boot Camp in Design, Drawing, and Diorama Modeling, William Genereux, Ph.D., professor, School of Integrated Studies, and Katrina M. Lewis, MCRP, associate professor, Interior Architecture and Interior Design
- Research and Extension Applied Learning (REAL) Program, Rick Peterson, Ph.D., associate director, Extension Programs,and Kari Morgan, Ph.D., teaching associate professor, Applied Human Sciences
- Reimagining Kansas City: Collaborative Strategies for Urban and Ecological Resilience, Lauren Harness,AIA, director, Kansas City Design Center, professor of practice, College of Architecture, Planning & Design, Stacy Hutchinson, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Ph.D., GISP, professor, Department of Geography & Geospatial Sciences
Applied Learning Experiences
appliedlearning@k-state.edu
103 Leadership Studies Building
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6087