Cato College of Education Faculty Research Grants (FRGs)

Overview

The Cato College of Education (CoED) sponsors the Faculty Research Grants (FRG) Program, an internal seed grant designed to support well-defined, purposeful, and new research. The program’s goals are:

  • To provide initial support for research projects.
  • To strengthen and incentivize competitive external funding proposals.

The CoED Research Advisory Council (RAC) reviews all proposals and recommends awards strictly on merit. No effort will be made to distribute awards among departments, units, or centers. Proposals must fully comply with FRG guidelines, procedures, and deadlines—noncompliant proposals will be returned without review. The RAC anticipates awarding approximately 3-4 proposals per funding cycle (July 1-May 15).

New Assistant Professor Proposal Development & Resubmission Program:

  • All faculty (new and continuing) who wish to apply for a CoED FRG must submit their proposals by the initial funding deadline in January.
  • New assistant professors (within their first three years at UNC Charlotte) whose initial submissions are not funded will receive feedback from the RAC and may revise and resubmit their proposals for a second review in March, with support from their mentor and/or the Office of Research Development.
  • One-third of the FRG budget (approx. $8,000) is reserved for resubmissions by new assistant professors.
  • If no resubmissions occur, or if resubmissions do not meet RAC standards, funds may go to unfunded but meritorious proposals from the first round.
  • If multiple resubmissions are strong, funds may be split.
  • New assistant professors collaborating with senior faculty who serve as a PI or Co-PI on the proposed project lose resubmission eligibility.
  • Unused FRG funds each year are redirected to other CoED research initiatives.

Award Information

  • Award Period: 11 months (July 1 – May 15).
  • Budget: Maximum $8,000 per project, including up to $4,000 stipend.
  • Joint Proposals: Allowed, but stipend ($4,000 max) must be shared. All funds will be assigned to one department. The Assistant Dean of Budget and Personnel will transfer the full budget amount to the lead department of the Principal Investigator and allow the administrative staff in that department to process the stipend to the PI and the co-PI. Faculty who receive a stipend must be in the Cato College of Education.
  • RAC may reduce budgets or fund fewer proposals depending on available funds and the merit of the proposals submitted.

Eligibility

Eligible:

  • Full-time faculty (assistant professor or higher).
  • Includes tenure-track, tenured, and clinical faculty.
  • 12-month faculty are not eligible to receive a stipend, but can still apply for the full $8,000 award. 9-month and 11-month faculty are eligible to receive a stipend.
  • Faculty (9-month and 11-month) who are awarded an FRG grant and who requested a stipend as part of their approved budget are eligible to receive a stipend (on May 15 of the budget year) upon submission of an approved progress report illustrating completion of the tasks outlined in the Work Plan section of the application. The report must be submitted by April 15 (1 month in advance of the May 15 payment) to provide enough time to review the progress report and process the payment. Complete the Progress Report on this Google form.

Not Eligible:

  • Part-time faculty, EHRA staff, lecturers, visiting or adjunct faculty, postdocs, or those in phased retirement.

Limits:

  • One proposal per faculty member per cycle.
  • Only one FRG award may be held in a two-year period.

Call for Proposals (2026–2027 Cycle)

  • Deadlines:
    • January 9, 2026 (all faculty – new and continuing) by 5 pm
    • March 27, 2026 (resubmissions by new assistant professors only) by 5 pm
  • Submission: Email as a single PDF attachment the completed application template to the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education.
  • File naming: LastName_FirstName (or both names for joint proposals).
  • Requirement: Since a goal of FRG funding is to promote the pursuit of external awards, all FRG-funded faculty must submit an external funding proposal before applying for another CoED FRG, with the understanding that only one FRG may be held in a 2-year period. The external proposal does not have to be funded or related to the CoED FRG project.

Contact: Dr. Scott Kissau, Associate Dean of Research (spkissau@charlotte.edu)

Applications

Applications must be merged into one PDF; no appendices allowed.

  1. Application Face Page.
  2. Project Description (max 5 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt, 1” margins):
    • Introduction (accessible to non-specialists).
    • Significance and context.
    • Objectives.
    • Methods/Steps.
    • Dissemination plan.
    • Detailed work plan with start and end dates for project milestones.
    • References (1 page, single-spaced allowed).
  3. Budget & Justification.
  4. Biographical Sketch (2 pages; required form; one per PI). Use the form in the application package.
  5. Efforts to Secure External Funding (1 page; past 5 years + future plans; one per PI). If your history of proposal activity does not fit on one page, please limit your description to the last three years. Effort to secure funding does not have to pertain strictly to the proposed CoED FRG project.

Budget Guidelines

  • Award Cycle: July 1 – May 15 (funds cannot carry forward).
  • Maximum: $8,000 per proposal; stipends capped at $4,000 for faculty with 9- and 11-month appointments.
  • Faculty stipends, where appropriate, will be included in the grantee’s May 15 payroll check of the year indicated on the budget.
  • Joint Proposals: Whether submitting an individual or joint CoED FRG proposal, the maximum amount of funding you may request is $8,000. You may request up to $4,000 for a stipend. Faculty stipends on joint proposals are limited to a total of $4,000 (e.g., $2,000 each if shared evenly). PIs on joint proposals must produce one budget request document and designate one department to receive the funds.

Budget Justification

To justify your budget, you must include precise documentation for items such as travel and equipment. Describe how you arrived at your cost estimates. If faculty from more than one department are involved, specify which department is the home department for budget purposes.

Allowable Expenses include the following:

  • Stipends: Faculty with 12-month appointments may not receive faculty stipends (they may still apply for the entire $8,000). For faculty with 9- and 11-month appointments who receive a stipend, the stipend is treated as salary and is subject to state and federal income tax, as well as social security tax and retirement deductions. You are not required to request a stipend, in which case you may still request up to the full $8,000. Stipends are paid upon demonstration of completion of the agreed-upon work via the CoED FRG Progress Report that is due April 15 (one month before the May 15 payment date). 
  • Graduate Student Salaries: Applicants who wish to hire a Graduate Assistant should first consult with their Department Chair or Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education to ensure this is a feasible expense. College funds cannot be used to pay student tuition and health insurance, which may limit Graduate Research Assistant support to the summer months, when tuition and health insurance are not included in the GA Compensation Packages for our doctoral programs. Applicants who propose paying more than 50% of the budget funds to student salaries should carefully explain how the graduate student’s work will advance the faculty member’s research agenda. Graduate student salary amounts should be consistent with graduate student compensation packages (in accordance with Graduate School policy).
  • Special Pay to Faculty other than Grantee: Fees for normal peer consultations will not be paid to UNC Charlotte faculty. Budgets may include resources allocated to UNC Charlotte faculty other than the proposers, but such allocations must be specifically justified and are subject to special scrutiny by the RAC. Such allocations must be justified in terms of specialized expertise. In each case, you must identify the UNC Charlotte faculty member(s) who will provide the service and attach to the proposal a statement of his/her ability and agreement to provide the service, along with documentation of how the service will be provided and how it differs from the normal scope of peer consultation.
  • Student Temporary Wages (Graduate or Undergraduate): Funding for undergraduate and graduate student support is allowed. Note that graduate students intended to support research should be hired as Graduate/Research Assistants, and their compensation would need to align with our approved GA compensation package. If the work is intended to be strictly administrative, a graduate student can be hired as a student temp.
  • Applicants are encouraged to provide an exact hourly rate for all student help. Generally, undergraduate students are paid at a rate of not less than $10 per hour. An investigator who proposes to pay a higher wage rate should justify this, as well as the amount of student time required, in the budget justification. All investigators who propose hiring students should specify what duties the students will carry out.
  • Non-Student Temporary Wages: If you employ someone who is not currently enrolled at UNC Charlotte, including a recent graduate, that employment assignment is subject to policies relating to non-student temporary wage employment (PIM-8). Hourly pay rates are determined by the type of work performed and the candidate’s experience, based on the current N.C. state grade and salary schedule. Non-student temporary wage employees are typically paid at the minimum of the grade level considered by Human Resources to best match the level of the duties performed. A rate above the minimum of the salary grade level may be approved provided the rate is justified, does not create salary inequity with other current employees doing similar work, and the candidate qualifies for the rate requested. Investigators needing assistance in estimating hourly rates for temporary employees should contact the staff employment manager in Human Resources.
  • Honoraria: Consultants may be included, if justified and if the expertise is not available at UNC Charlotte.
  • Participant Incentives for payments to human subjects.
  • Travel: The CoED FRG Program will fund foreign and/or domestic travel to libraries, archives, museums, laboratories, computer facilities, natural settings, government agencies, corporations, etc. that are essential to the research. The CoED FRG Program does not fund travel to conferences to disseminate the results of the research. You must fully justify the need for travel and explain what materials and/or facilities you will use, and you should document travel expenditures as completely as possible with price quotations from specific vendors. Airfares must be tourist class, with every effort made to obtain the most economical rates. Mileage and subsistence expenses are normally allowed up to the state guidelines for in-state and out-of-state or foreign travel; requests for subsistence expenses in excess of these limits must be fully documented.
  • Communication and/or Printing (and photocopying).
  • Supplies and materials.
  • Computing Equipment: This program funds project-specific software and subscription fees, but does not fund computer equipment (that is the responsibility of your department). Note that any software and subscription purchases would be for the CoEd faculty members only (no external collaborators), limited to the budget period (July 1 – May 15), and must go through the software request process and be approved by the Office of OneIT.  
  • Educational Equipment required for the proposed project. Equipment purchased with CoED FRG funds belongs to the University.
  • Other Contracted Services include payments to the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute or Conference Services.

Unallowable expenses include the following:

  • Academic-year release time or reduced teaching loads
  • Research that informs curriculum, teaching, or retention at the local (course, department, college, University) level. These proposals must be submitted to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) Program. 
  • Preparation of textbooks or other manuscripts with a primarily pedagogical purpose
  • Projects conducted primarily to produce a financial reward for the investigator
  • Production and publication costs for books or other manuscripts, including manuscript preparation or evaluation, copyediting, page charges, and illustrations, and open access fees.
  • Travel to conferences for disseminating research results
  • Computers (expected through departmental funds)
  • Food

Proposals are reviewed using a rubric aligned with the following criteria:

  • Significance & contribution to the field
  • Placement in existing scholarship
  • Alignment with research questions
  • Applicant’s qualifications
  • Clarity of methods, goals, and design
  • Advancement of the applicant’s research agenda
  • Budget justification and cost-effectiveness
  • Past/future efforts for external funding
  • Availability of funds

Fund Release & Compliance

  • Funds are released only after compliance approvals (IRB, IACUC, etc.) are submitted.
  • The Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education will offer feedback from the RAC to all FRG applicants whose proposals are not selected for funding.

Final Report

  • Due: Two months after the award period ends.
  • Required for future eligibility.
  • Must include:
    • PI details
    • Abstract
    • External funding efforts
    • Publications
    • Future plans
    • Feedback

Complete the Final Report on this Google form.

Acknowledgment

Publications supported by FRG funding must include the following statement:

“This work was supported, in part, by funds provided by The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.”

Frequently Asked Questions for CoED FRG Budgets

  1. What do I need to know about spending FRG funds?
    • FRG funds are awarded with state funds; normal state purchasing procedures apply.
    • Faculty should work with their department administrative assistants to understand UNC Charlotte purchasing regulations.
  2. When can I start spending my FRG money?
    • Expenses can be incurred during the budget year (July 1 – May 15), once you have a fund number.
  3. How will I get my fund number?
    • You will receive your fund number via email from the College’s Assistant Dean of Budget & Personnel.
  4. Do I need compliance approval before spending my money?
    • Yes. If your project requires approval from any UNC Charlotte compliance committee (Human Subjects, Animal Subjects, Radioactive Materials, Biological Hazards, Chemical Hazards), funds will not be released until the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education receives a copy of your approved protocol.
  5. Once I have compliance approval, how can I pay research participants?
    • You can pay participants by check or cash equivalent (gift cards).
  6. How are travel funds handled?
    • Except for prepaid items, travel funds are used when the Travel Expense Report is submitted in Concur.
    • Travel must occur within the budget timeline (July 1 – May 15) of the fiscal year.
  7. What do I have to do to get my FRG stipend?
    • Work with your office administrator.
    • Faculty stipends for the PI and Co-PI (if applicable) will be included in the May 15 paycheck for the fiscal year.
    • The Department of the PI should process all stipends, even if the Co-PI is in a different department within CoED.
  8. Do I have to include fringe benefits in my budget?
    • No, but taxes and fringe benefits will be deducted from your stipend.
  9. I have a Special Payment to another UNC Charlotte faculty member. How is it made?
    • Your department administrative assistant will make the Special Payment.
  10. Can I pay someone not on UNC Charlotte payroll?
    • Yes, but you must follow all Human Resources regulations for non-student temporary wage employment (PIM-8).
    • Hourly pay rates are based on N.C. state grade and salary schedule.
    • Temporary employees are typically paid the minimum of the grade level considered appropriate by HR.
    • The employee cannot begin work until all paperwork is complete.
  11. Can I move money between budget lines?
    • Yes. Work with your department administrative assistant to make changes.