Critical Path Grants

The Critical Path Grants target courses that are most strategic to the university because of the foundational nature and their placement in a curriculum series. In other words, courses that fulfill graduation requirements from either the university, the college or by an individual major. Often, they are large enrollment courses. However, courses in majors with lower overall enrollment numbers still qualify if they are required for graduation.

As a result of these sizable enrollments, faculty can oftentimes struggle to provide significant amounts of student-to-student, student-to-content and student-to-faculty interaction. DELTA staff work with faculty to efficiently provide meaningful interactions and assessments in order to increase student success. Additionally, DELTA staff works with faculty to evaluate these efforts and take a deep dive into research questions that reveal more about the effectiveness of these new course designs.

Who should participate?

Full or 3/4 time faculty

Choose this grant if:

• Your course is at the undergraduate level AND is required for graduation by the major, college or university.
• You have taught the course at least once at NC State University AND are actively involved with teaching the proposed course.
• You seek support for partial or full redesign of a large enrollment or critical path courses.
• You are full or ¾ time faculty.

Award: $8,000 plus, $2,000 for a second year to support data collection, plus a dedicated team of DELTA staff to assist you.

What courses are eligible?

Foundational courses that are required by the university, a college, or a major and are credit-bearing.

Length and Delivery:

The Critical Path course begins in the fall and continues through the end of the summer semester. In addition, there is a follow-up year focused on collecting data to support evaluation efforts to track effectiveness.