Advanced Technological Education (ATE): This program promotes improvement in technological education at the undergraduate and secondary school levels by supporting curriculum development; the preparation and professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; internships and field experiences for faculty, teachers, and students; and other activities. With an emphasis on two-year colleges, the program focuses on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation’s economy. The program also promotes articulation between programs at two-year colleges and four-year colleges and universities—in particular, articulation between two-year and four-year programs for prospective teachers and between two-year and four-year programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (with a focus on disciplines that have a strong technological foundation). The program budget is approximately $51 million per year. Fields supported by the ATE program include, but are not limited to, agricultural technology, biotechnology, chemical technology, computer and information technology, electronics, environmental technology, geographic information systems, manufacturing and engineering technology, marine technology, multimedia technology, telecommunications, and transportation technology.
The ATE program supports proposals in three major tracks.
- ATE Projects adapt and implement exemplary materials, develop new materials, support technical experiences for students and faculty, provide professional development for college faculty and secondary school teachers, and support research on technical education. Changes in program solicitation for FY 2008, 2009, and 2010 include: A new project category "Small Grants for Institutions New to ATE" has been added for institutions that have not had an ATE award in the past 10 years; Program Improvement within the ATE Projects track has an expanded set of opportunities; Institutional-level reform projects should be submitted under program improvement; and Teacher preparation has been rewritten to broaden the types of projects that can be supported.
- ATE Centers provide comprehensive resources, serve as models for other projects, and act as regional or national clearinghouses for educational materials and methods.
- Targeted Research on Technician Education explores employment trends, the changing role of technicians in the workplace, and other topics that advance the knowledge base needed to make technician education programs more effective and forward looking.
The ATE deadline for the next preliminary proposals is April 23, 2009 and is October 15, 2009 for formal proposals. Although not required, we encourage everyone to submit a preliminary proposal because this provides a valuable opportunity for proposers to receive feedback before preparing a formal proposal. Not only does the preliminary proposal get a review by an external reviewer, but an NSF program officer also reviews the proposal and is then available to discuss the proposal. The current ATE program solicitation is available on the Web at http://nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07530. For information about previous awards, visit the ATE Web page at http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5464. Institutions are allowed to submit multiple proposals.
NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM): This program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students, enabling them to enter the workforce following completion of an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level degree in science and engineering disciplines. Grantee institutions are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, reporting demographic information about student scholars, and managing the S-STEM project at the institution. The next proposal deadline for S-STEM is anticipated to be in August 2009. More information about S-STEM can be found on the program's web site: http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5257.
Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI): The FY 2009 solicitation is available at http://nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf09529. The CCLI program is aimed at all types of educational institutions that serve undergraduates. CCLI supports efforts that conduct research on undergraduate STEM education, create new learning materials and teaching strategies, develop faculty expertise, implement educational innovations, and assess student achievement.
Type 1: These projects typically will address one program component and involve a limited number of students and faculty members at one academic institution. Projects with a broader scope or larger scale can be proposed provided they can be done within the budget limitations. Proposed evaluation efforts should be informative, based on the project's specific expected outcomes, and consistent with the scope of a Type 1 project. In order to encourage collaboration between four-year colleges and universities and two-year colleges, projects involving such collaboration may request an additional $50,000 over to $200K/project. The distribution of effort and funds between the four-year institution and the community college should reflect a genuine collaboration.
Type 2: These projects build on smaller-scale successful innovations or implementations, such as those produced by Type 1 projects, and refine and test these on diverse users in several settings. Type 2 projects carry the development to a state where the results are conclusive so that successful products and processes can be distributed widely or commercialized when appropriate. At a minimum, the innovation, if successful, should be institutionalized at the participating colleges and universities (up to $600K/project).
Type 3: These projects combine established results and mature products from several components of the cyclic model. These projects should include an explicit discussion of the results and evidence produced by the work on which the proposed project is based. Such projects include a diversity of academic institutions and student populations. Dissemination and outreach activities that have national impact are an especially important element of Type 3 projects, as are the opportunities for faculty to learn how to best adapt project innovations to the needs of their students and academic institutions (up to $5 million/project).
The proposal deadlines for Type 1 type projects are May 21, 2009 (for submitting organizations located in states or territories beginning with A-M) and May 22, 2009 (for submitting organizations located in states or territories beginning with N-W). The proposal deadline for Type 2, Type 3, and Central Resource Project proposals is January 13, 2010. Information about the CCLI program is available at http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5741.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP): STEP seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within STEM. Type 1 proposals are solicited that provide for full implementation efforts at academic institutions. Type 2 proposals are solicited that support educational research projects on associate or baccalaureate degree attainment in STEM. The next proposal deadline for STEP is September 29, 2009 with an option letter of intent deadline date of August 18, 2009. Information about the program and the current solicitation is available at:
http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5488.
Math and Science Partnership (MSP): The MSP program responds to a growing national concern - the educational performance of the U.S. children in mathematics and science. Through MSP, NSF awards competitive, merit-based grants to teams composed of institutions of higher education, local K-12 school systems, and their supporting partners. Information about the program and the current solicitation is available at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5756.
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship: The Noyce Scholarship program seeks to encourage talented STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 and science teachers. The program provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends, and academic programs for undergraduate STEM majors and post-baccalaureate students holding STEM degrees who commit to teaching in high-need K-12 school districts. A new component of the program supports STEM professionals who enroll as NSF Teaching Fellows in master's degree programs leading to teacher certification by providing academic courses, professional development, and salary component also supports the development of NSF Master Teaching Fellows by providing professional development and salary supplements for exemplary math and science teachers to become Master Teachers in high-need school districts. Information about the program and the current solicitation is available at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5733.