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National Science Foundation CISE Pathways to Revitalized Undergraduate Computing Education (CPATH)
Internal Deadline: Jan. 14, 2008 (Monday) 5 p.m.
No Cost sharing required in proposals submitted under this Program Solicitation.
NSF-08-516 ANNOUNCEMENT
(http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08516/nsf08516.htm)
Major changes in CPATH solicitation:
- Elimination of CISE Distinguished Education Fellow (CDEF) component;
- Streamlined award structure into two distinct tracks, Community Building and Institutional Transformation;
- Addition of a Conceptual Development and Planning (CDP) grant category in the Institutional Transformation track;
- Combination of former Evaluation, Adoption, and Extension (EAE) and Transformation (T) award categories into a single grant category, Transformative Implementation (TI) in the Institutional Transformation track;
- Inclusion of enhanced language on CPATH evaluation requirements;
- Addition of an emphasis on computational thinking approaches; and
- Addition of language to clarify issues identified in the first competition.
Limit on Number of Proposals:
For CDP and TI proposals: an academic institution may submit or participate in no more than one TI and one CDP proposal. There is no organizational limit for CB proposals.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI: 2
An individual may participate as PI, Co-PI, or Senior Personnel on at most one CDP or TI proposal. An individual may also participate as PI, Co-PI or Senior Personnel on at most one CB proposal.
Synopsis of Program:
Computing has permeated and transformed almost all aspects of our everyday lives. As computing becomes more important in all sectors of society, so does the preparation of a globally competitive U.S. workforce with the ability to generate and apply new knowledge to solve increasingly complex problems and understand human behavior. Unfortunately, despite the deep and pervasive impact of computing and the creative efforts of individuals in a small number of institutions, undergraduate computing education today often looks much as it did several decades ago.
The field of computing has broadened to include applications that often require integration of multidisciplinary domains to support computationally intense e-science environments. Emerging information technology disciplines offer unique opportunities to develop the next generation of computing education models that respond to technological trends and that meet many stakeholdersÕ needs and expectations. At the same time, new transformative educational models have the potential to respond to current challenges such as addressing fluctuating enrollments in undergraduate computing, increasing relevance of educational experiences through industry connections, developing leaders and communities to foster revitalization efforts, and integrating fast-paced computing innovations into the curriculum.
Future students will expect to see academic pathways that allow them to pursue careers that require blended experiences in multiple disciplines with a strong computational and computing core of knowledge. Models and methods based on computational thinking offer particular promise in meeting these expectations. Computational thinking involves solving problems and designing complex systems using a range of mental tools reflecting the breadth of the fields of computer science and computing. Computational thinking has already influenced the nature of many scientific disciplines and the range of scientific challenges that can be realistically conquered. Thus, computational thinking skills can provide the basis for transformative models for undergraduate computing education that offer exciting, relevant academic pathways in which students and faculty can thrive.
Through the CISE Pathways to Revitalized Undergraduate Computing Education (CPATH) program, NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is challenging its partners Š colleges, universities and other stakeholders committed to advancing the field of computing and its impact - to transform undergraduate computing education on a national scale, to meet the challenges and opportunities of a world where computing is essential to U. S. leadership.
The CPATH vision is of a U.S. workforce with the computing competencies and skills crucial to the NationÕs health, security and prosperity in the 21st century. This workforce includes a cadre of professionals with the computing depth and breadth needed for sustained leadership in a wide range of application domains and career fields, and a broader professional workforce with deep knowledge and understanding of critical computing concepts, computational thinking methodologies and techniques.
To achieve this vision, CISE is calling for colleges and universities to work together and with other stakeholders to formulate and implement plans to revitalize undergraduate computing education in the United States. The full engagement of faculty and other individuals in CISE disciplines will be critical to success. Successful CPATH projects will be systemic in nature and will demonstrate significant potential to contribute to the transformation and revitalization of undergraduate computing education on a national scale.
CPATH will support three types of projects in two major track categories:
- Community Building Track
- Community Building (CB) Grants
- Institutional Transformation Track:
- Conceptual Development and Planning (CDP) Grants
- Transformative Implementation (TI) Grant
UM INTERNAL ABSTRACT DEADLINE: Jan. 14, 2008, (MON.) 5:00 P.M.
If you are interested in claiming the one (1) Proposal slot for either CDP or TI proposal please provide.
- A estimated cumulative budget:
- No more than a Five (5) page summary covering the following:
- Explain how the proposed project will address the program objectives
- Indicated type of proposal you are submitting
- Project Outcomes
- Any peer review comments received on this application from any other submission
The summary should be submitted by the internal deadline above to the following email address:
fastlane-admin@umich.edu
with a copy to mgparnes@umich.edu, and Dave Plawchan at davedrda@umich.edu.
We request that an electronic copy of each summary submitted for review be submitted to the appropriate Research Dean by the Project Director / Principal Investigator.
The Office of the Vice President for Research, in consultation with others, will decide which proposal should be developed for submission to NSF.
The finalist for this competition will be notified no later than (Friday) January 31, 2008.
If you have any questions about project eligibility, please direct them to Dave Plawchan, fastlane-admin@umich.edu, in DRDA.You can also retrieve an electronic version directly from NSF by following the directions on the NSF website: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06608/nsf06608.htm
NSF-08-516 Full Proposal Deadline: March 11, 2008
Current limited submissions opportunities