Non-Instructional Assignment Grants

NIA grants relieve faculty members from all faculty duties for one semester (i.e., full 12-hour instructional release from normal duties) or one academic year (i.e., 6-hour instructional release for both fall and spring), depending upon the nature of the proposal request. NIAs allow faculty time to pursue research, publication, or creative activity opportunities in ways that cannot be accomplished under regular workload assignment.

The purposes of non-instructional assignments are to (1) contribute to the professional growth of the faculty (2) improve the teaching and curriculum across the University and (3) enhance scholarship and academic excellence of the University.

The deadline for applications is October 9, 2026, at Noon.

The signed application and proposal must be submitted to provostgrants@mtsu.edu by the deadline. For more information, please contact our office at (615) 898-5941.

Eligibility

Awards provide a 12-hour reassigned time release for one semester or a 6-hour reassigned time release for fall and spring across one academic year.

To be eligible for an NIA, an applicant must (by the time the award period begins):

1. Hold tenure as a member of the full-time teaching faculty (department chairs and/or school directors included).
2. Complete seven consecutive years of employment at Middle Tennessee State University.
3. Hold the rank of Associate Professor or Professor.
4. Submit an application cover/approval page with the signatures of the department chairperson and dean.

Application Materials

Applications should include the following, with a focus on direct alignment with the purposes of the NIA outlined above:

1. Project Description
   • A clear and structured description of your proposed project.
2. Purpose and Objectives
   • What will you accomplish during the award period?
   • What are your specific objectives?
   • Why does this project require dedicated time outside of your typical workload?
3. Work Plan and Timeline
   • What is the proposed schedule of work?
   • How will you complete the project over the award period?
   • What are the key phases and milestones of this work?
4. Deliverables
   • What specific, tangible deliverables will result from this project?
   • Examples include but are not limited to:
     • Journal/book manuscripts
     • Grant proposals
     • New or redesigned courses
     • Conference presentations
5. Impact and Alignment
   • Discuss/outline how the proposed project:
     • Contributes to the professional growth of the faculty.
     • Improves teaching and curriculum across the University.
     • Enhances scholarship and academic excellence at MTSU.
6. A copy of the applicant’s curriculum vitae over the last seven years.
7. Letters of support and/or endorsement, if desired or appropriate.
8. A letter from MTSU Institutional Review Board (IRB) approving the project, if required.
9. Sources of internal and external funding to supplement the grant, if applicable.
10. Report of completed activity related to any prior award, if the applicant was previously awarded an NIA grant.

Review of Applications

The NIA Committee will evaluate all completed applications submitted by the published deadline and will recommend proposals for award approval by the University Provost. The committee will evaluate applications based on the following and other relevant criteria:

• Project clarity and significance
• Alignment with NIA objectives
• Feasibility of project, timeline, and work plan
• Quality and specificity of deliverables
• Projected impact on teaching, scholarship, creative activities, and/or the University

The NIA Committee will evaluate all applications and make recommendations for approval to the University Provost.

Other Important Guidelines

If a faculty member receives a full academic year NIA, the department chair (or school director) will complete a mid-year performance review and share it with the NIA committee and the Vice Provost for Faculty and Strategic Initiatives. At the end of the NIA, each awardee will submit a written report of the NIA activity to the Vice Provost for Faculty and Strategic Initiatives and forward copies to the appropriate dean and chair/director. The report should include general updates on the status of the proposed work, as well as evidence of work completed such as a copy of or online access to the final product. Failure to submit required reporting could lead to termination of an existing NIA or ineligibility for future non-instructional assignment.

Acceptance of an NIA requires that the faculty member return to MTSU for minimum of two semesters immediately following the award. Summer sessions are not included. Awardees also agree to present their work on campus (typically through the Center for Teaching & Mentoring), if asked to do so. This is to encourage NIA awardees to share their experiences and expertise with other faculty considering a Non-Instructional Assignment. If the faculty member cannot agree to these conditions, the NIA will not be granted.

If materials are published as a result of the NIA, recipients must acknowledge Middle Tennessee State University. All grant recipients are subject to MTSU Policy 140 Intellectual Property and MTSU Policy 140-A Intellectual Property amendment.

A period of seven years must intervene between NIA’s for an individual faculty member. For example, a 2019-20 NIA recipient, who applied during the 2018-19 academic year, may apply again during the 2026-27 academic year for an NIA to take place during 2027-2028.

Approved Proposals for 2025-26

• The Home and the World in (Post)Colonial Print Culture
• Fulfillment of Scholarly Activities Via Collaborative Research and Fulbright S-I-R
• Social Media Literacy and Strategy for Journalists
• Don’t Lose Your Good Thing: Saving America’s Historic Music Spaces
• Environmental Representation of Racialized Minorities in the Rural Rust Belt: Dynamics of Place
• Three Creative Porfolios for Three Major Museum Exhibitions 2025-2027
• Develop Teacher Capacity in Teaching Mathematics Using Technology
• The Classical and Romantic Symphony: Its Development and Origins
• Development of a Novel in vitro Model to Study the Interactions Between Alveolar Macrophages and the Respiratory Pathogen Cryptococcus Neoformans
• Supporting Open Science Through the Curation of Open Government Data (OGD) in Migration Studies
• Active Learning in Remote Chemistry Learning Environments
• In Presence – New Print and Sound Works
• Building OER for Teaching with Science Podcasts and Primary Literature
• The Servant and the Wolfhunter: Labor and Invisibility in the Virginia Colony
• Black Christian Evolution: The Gospel of the Northern Negro in the South
• Collaborative Research on Cycle Double Cover Conjecture and Bouchet’s 6-Flow Conjecture by Topological Approach