Arts & Sciences Summer Online Teaching Innovation Grant

A Call for Proposals

As we seek to advance teaching innovation and to support the development of pedagogical practices that promote learning for students from all backgrounds and of all identities, the College of Arts & Science and its Summer Session are now accepting proposals for courses specifically designed to be taught online in the Summer 2026 term that are informed by our A&S Summer Online Learning Guiding Principles.

This pilot program is intentionally framed to support pedagogically innovative and student-centered online teaching and learning in the context of the A&S Summer Session. In its third year, the pilot aims to give our students access to five to seven additional high-quality online courses during the summer term, provide faculty with structured support in their development and growth as innovative teachers, and create an opportunity for A&S to approach online learning in a way that is coherent with both our pedagogical mission and our commitment to inclusion, equity, diversity, and access. A&S Summer Online courses provide opportunities for students to learn together as an interactive seminar-style cohort in close collaboration with the instructor.

Eligibility

All full-time tenured, tenure-track, or teaching-track faculty in Arts & Sciences are eligible to apply. If selected, participation in a primarily asynchronous, cohort-based Canvas learning community is required as well as contributions to pilot feedback and assessment. As part of this learning community, faculty can expect to design their upcoming summer online course and participate in a mid-November Zoom kick-off, an early December in-person half-day retreat, a virtual workshop in March, and optional individual consultations over the course of the academic year.

Grant Amount & Faculty Support

In addition to compensation for teaching the Summer Session course, chosen faculty will receive grants of $2,500 for developing the online course and participating in official pilot workshops and preparation activities. Faculty will also receive up to $1,000 to use in partnership with Olin's Center for Digital Education (CDE) to create multimedia course content.

Logistical and pedagogical support is available for the design and implementation of the course from Amanda Carey, Dean's Fellow for Educational Initiatives and Teaching Professor of Spanish; Tiffany Lang, A&S Instructional Designer and Canvas Administrator; Ashley June Moore, Director of Summer Session & Programmatic Initiatives; and staff in the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Application Requirements

Please submit the online webform application, which requests the following: 

  • Instructor Information:

    • Name, Department/Program, CV upload
    • Extent of the instructor's interest in online teaching and learning
    • Extent of the instructor's experience using Canvas and familiarity with teaching in a condensed format
    • Link to an existing A&S Canvas course demonstrating implementation of the Canvas Minimum Use Policy
    • A description of the instructor's approach to navigating generative artificial intelligence in the classroom

  • Proposal Details:

    • Course Title, Course #, Curricular Attribute(s), Session Preference
    • Uploaded statement outlining:
      • Instructor's rationale for how the course is suitable for online instruction
      • A plan for how the online modality will be used for this course including, but not limited to, ideas for meeting time-on-task/contact hour expectations in an online format; a tentative course calendar; a plan for incorporating regular, substantive interaction, etc.

Apply Here

Selection Criteria & Timeline

Selection will be based on applicants' interest in and enthusiasm for student-centered online teaching and learning as well as our desire to offer courses that align well with the academic needs and interests of our students in the A&S Summer Session. The goal is to form a thoughtful learning cohort of online pilot instructors while creating a balanced slate of five to seven additional courses suitable to be redesigned for online instruction.

Fall 2025

Call for proposals officially opensSeptember 15, 2025
Deadline for proposal submissionsOctober 15, 2025
Individual submission follow-up conversations/consultations and proposal reviewOctober 16-29, 2025 (or sooner if submitted before the deadline)
Selection decisions releasedOctober 31, 2025
Participation confirmations dueNovember 7, 2025
Summer 2026 Pilot Faculty Welcome (1 hour via Zoom)November 14, 2025
Faculty gain access to Pilot Canvas CommunityNovember 14, 2025 (or sooner by request)
Online course development commences with in-person pilot cohort retreat (2 hours with optional 1 hour for networking and individual consultations)December 8, 2025
Tour of Olin's Center for Digital Education (CDE) completedBy December 17, 2025

Spring 2026

Continue asynchronous course preparation in Pilot Faculty Canvas CommunityOngoing (Jan-May)
CDE-assisted video content recordedBy Feb 27, 2026
Synchronous pilot workshop (1 hour via Zoom)Mid-late March
Optional 1:1 consultationsTBD (based on pilot faculty teaching schedules)
Final Summer 2026 pilot course checksMay 22, 2026
SU26 pilot courses published in CanvasJune 1, 2026
SU26 pilot courses begin (Session 2 & 3)June 8, 2026

 

Ready to Submit a Proposal?

The application is now open for 2026 Summer Online Teaching Innovation Grants. Proposals are due October 15!

Apply Here

More about the Summer Online Pilot

Why summer online learning?

  • Promotes student learning by offering a flexible learning location and access to expanded educational opportunities and pedagogical styles
  • Offers benefits for faculty including pedagogical development and growth as well as innovative instructor-student engagement opportunities
  • Advances the educational mission in Arts & Sciences by continuing to ensure rigor and quality of teaching and learning while promoting educational innovation

Who are ideal A&S Summer Online Pilot instructors?

  • A&S full-time faculty (tenure-track and teaching-track) who are:
    • Enthusiastic about (and have some degree of facility with) online teaching and learning
    • Interested in testing innovative pedagogical strategies, contributing as part of a learning cohort, and providing feedback on their experiences
    • Motivated to design and deliver high-touch and interactive online courses that emphasize student engagement
    • Eager to teach courses that fulfill key elements of the IQ curriculum that students tend to enroll in during the summer term

What will they do?

  • Engage with evidence-based strategies and collaborate with colleagues in a primarily asynchronous, cohort-based Canvas learning community meant to enhance their existing knowledge and skill in online course design, condensed course pedagogy, ed tech tools, and Canvas use (faculty can expect to participate in a mid-November Zoom kick-off, an early December in-person half-day retreat, a virtual workshop in March, and optional individual consultations over the course of the academic year)
  • Thoughtfully redesign and teach a high-quality online course that uses the A&S custom Canvas course template, follows the A&S Summer Online Learning Guiding Principles, and runs during A&S Summer Session
  • Produce media content that enhances student learning using resources available through the pilot (e.g. Olin Business School's Center for Digital Education)
  • Join in Arts & Sciences' shared mission in and value for excellence in education by cultivating and facilitating a student-centered online learning community
  • Contribute to a process of continual discovery and thoughtful innovation by sharing relevant data and honest feedback

FAQs

What if the course I want to propose has never been taught before?

For the purpose of the online pilot, only courses with an existing A&S course number will be considered.

Is it acceptable to simply re-use a previously taught online course?

While certain elements from a previously taught online course (created at WashU during the pandemic or at another institution) may retain their usefulness, the expectation is that faculty selected to be part of the pilot will go through the process of thoughtfully retooling and adapting their course for A&S summer students engaged in a condensed academic experience.

What kinds of course modalities are acceptable for a course in the pilot?

While we expect that courses will feature asynchronous learning activities, we encourage some limited and intentional synchronous engagement, which both has pedagogical value and provides identity verification.

What enrollment numbers can I expect in a course in the pilot?

Summer courses are frequently smaller in size than their counterparts during the academic year. We will typically cap pilot course enrollment at twenty students per section, with priority given to matriculated A&S students. (Some courses may have a lower/higher cap based on department/program policy.) Students from other divisions within WashU, visiting/non-degree students, and pre-college students may enroll as course eligibility and space allow.

What is the tuition for a course in the pilot?

We expect our online offerings to provide the same quality and rigor of instruction as our in-person courses; therefore, the same tuition rate will apply to both in-person and online summer classes.

How will the instructor of a course in the pilot be compensated?

All instructors of Summer Session courses (including courses in the pilot) are compensated on a per-course basis. Such compensation is distinct from salary associated with the instructor's nine-month, academic-year appointment. Faculty members whose appointments extend into the summer may have different arrangements. Please reach out to your department/program's summer course contact or Ashley June Moore for further information.

How will the teaching innovation grants be disbursed?

Faculty are able to choose how they would like their grant allocated: (1) research fund (tenure track) or professional development fund (teaching track); or (2) additional salary. The grant will be disbursed in two equal amounts: $1250 in January (upon successful completion of the CDE tour and Module 1 and 2 in the Pilot Faculty Canvas community), and the remaining $1250 in June (upon successful completion of the remaining modules and course build for the final Summer 2026 pilot course check).

When will applicants for the Summer Online Teaching Innovation Grant be notified of the decision about their application?

Faculty chosen to participate in the summer online pilot will be notified by Friday, October 31, 2025.

Still have questions or want to chat with us before applying? No problem! Join us, along with some of the Summer 2025 pilot faculty, for an informal info session and discussion on the A&S Summer Online Course Pilot.

Friday, September 19, 1-2pm 

TUEsday, SEPTEMBER 30, 3-4Pm (ZOOM)

Thursday, OCtober 9, 10-11am

Please reach out to Ashley June Moore with questions or for further information.

Ready to Apply?