Interdisciplinary Studies and Innovation

Academic Affairs & Student Success

Transformative Learning Course Innovation Program

Call for Course Proposals

A core feature of VCU Undergraduate Education is learning with faculty who invite students into meaningful inquiry, reflection, and engagement with the world beyond the classroom. Transformative Learning is at the heart of VCU’s innovative approach to education, emphasizing reflection, personal growth, and real-world application. Through experiential opportunities such as service learning, research supportive project based learning, vertically integrated projects, undergraduate research, and academic internships, students connect classroom knowledge with lived experience, deepen their critical thinking, and become more active, self-directed learners.

The Transformative Learning Course Innovation program supports faculty in redesigning existing courses to embed high-impact practices in ways that are intentional, scalable, and aligned with course goals. By integrating high-impact practices into established curricular contexts, the program helps faculty create learning experiences that cultivate inquisitive, reflective, socially responsible, and career-ready graduates equipped to address complex challenges in a global society.

Transformative Learning at VCU invites proposals from full-time faculty interested in redesigning an existing undergraduate course through one of two tracks:

Service Learning
 Faculty in this track will redesign a course to incorporate service learning through structured community-engaged experiences that connect academic content with civic learning, critical reflection, and reciprocal partnership.

Research Supportive/Project-Based Learning (RS/PBL)
 Faculty in this track will redesign a course to incorporate research-supportive project-based learning, engaging students in foundational investigation, inquiry, problem-solving, and applied learning around authentic questions or challenges relevant to the discipline or broader world.

In both tracks, the goal is not to create a wholly new course, but to help faculty scaffold high-impact practices into pre-existing courses in ways that are pedagogically meaningful, feasible to develop and sustain, and appropriate to discipline, course level, and student population. Interested faculty who are teaching general education courses should also strongly consider applying!

Program Purpose

The Transformative Learning Course Innovation program is designed to:

  • support faculty in embedding high-impact practices into undergraduate courses;
  • strengthen students’ opportunities for reflection, application, and engaged learning within the curriculum;
  • expand access to transformative educational experiences across disciplines and course contexts;
  • help students connect academic learning to research, community, professional pathways, and real-world problem solving; and
  • cultivate course designs that prepare students for deeper engagement in undergraduate research, civic learning, internships, collaborative inquiry, and other applied experiences.

Faculty Expectations and Compensation

Faculty selected for the program will participate in a structured course redesign process that includes training, collaborative planning, and implementation support. Previous experience with RS/PBL or service learning is welcome but not required.

Faculty participants will engage in a multi-phase course innovation process that includes proposal submission, summer or intersession training, course redesign, and implementation during the academic year. Compensation will support faculty participation in course development activities and implementation.

Participants will be expected to:

  • attend faculty development workshops related to their selected track;
  • revise an existing undergraduate course to incorporate either RS/PBL or service learning;
  • implement the redesigned course during the academic year;
  • include structured student reflection as part of the course design;
  • participate in shared assessment and feedback processes related to student learning and course innovation; and
  • contribute to a faculty learning community focused on transformative teaching and learning.

Faculty will receive guidance on designing assignments, aligning learning outcomes, scaffolding student participation, and integrating reflection and assessment into the course.

Two One-Day SL/RS-PBL workshops during summer 2026.

Course revision, alignment with SLOs

Transformative Learning will provide a $2,000 supplement directly to the TL Faculty Fellow for their commitment to participate in the TL Fellows program and their attendance in the summer workshop. 

TL course implementation as part of regular teaching load.


TL section must be taught at least 3 times following conversion to SL or RS-PBL. TL Faculty must participate in SLO assessment every time the section is taught

Three options for disbursement of a $4,000 stipend ($2,000 to be disbursed at the end of each semester if funds are not a direct supplement or requested prior). (1) Academic Affairs will provide a $4,000 supplement directly to the Faculty Fellow paid as a secondary assignment via bi-monthly direct deposits. (2) Academic Affairs will provide the TL Faculty Fellow’s academic home department with $4,000. The faculty member and their supervisor(s) will decide how the money will be distributed. Some or all of that amount can be (a) a supplement given directly to the Faculty fellow, designated for professional development, travel, research funds, etc. during the two implementation semesters, or (b) provided to the Faculty Fellow’s academic home department to cover any costs associated with the faculty member participating in this program (e.g., course and/or service release). 


Eligibility

The Transformative Learning Course Innovation program is open to full-time faculty from all VCU schools and colleges who plan to teach an existing undergraduate course and are interested in redesigning that course through one of the two program tracks. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss the opportunity with their Chair or Director before applying. Because course redesign and implementation may extend across multiple semesters, departmental support is important to the success and sustainability of the work.

Team applications from two instructors teaching sections of the same course are welcome, especially when there is interest in scaling the redesign across multiple sections.

Course Innovation Tracks

Track 1: Service Learning

Courses in this track will incorporate service learning as a form of community-engaged teaching and learning that connects academic study with meaningful service, reciprocal partnership, and critical reflection. Faculty will be supported in designing learning experiences that help students integrate course concepts with community-based contexts and broader questions of responsibility, systems, and social impact.

Faculty in this track will be supported in designing a course experience that includes:

  • a community-engaged learning component appropriate to the course;
  • intentional integration of service activities with academic learning outcomes;
  • structured reflection that helps students make meaning of the experience; and
  • thoughtful attention to reciprocity, ethics, and the relationship between community engagement and student learning.

Track 2: Research Supportive/Project-Based Learning (RS/PBL)

Courses in this track will use research-supportive project-based learning pedagogy to help students investigate questions, examine evidence, solve problems, and apply disciplinary or interdisciplinary ways of knowing to authentic issues. Depending on the course context, students may work individually or collaboratively on projects that require inquiry, analysis, design, interpretation, or production.

Faculty in this track will be supported in designing a course experience that includes:

  • a substantial project or problem-based assignment;
  • opportunities for students to use research processes, tools, or methods appropriate to the course and discipline;
  • structured reflection on learning, collaboration, or application; and
  • clear scaffolding that helps students build confidence and capacity over time.

Program Structure

Spring
 Proposal submission and selection process

Summer / Pre-implementation Period
 Faculty development workshops by track
 Course redesign and planning
 Alignment of assignments, reflection activities, and student learning outcomes

Academic Year
 Implementation of redesigned course
 Participation in assessment and feedback processes
 Engagement in a faculty learning community

Future Opportunity
 Participants may have opportunities in future cycles to serve as peer mentors, workshop facilitators, or examples of innovative course design across the university

Program-specific details related to stipend amount, timeline, and disbursement schedule may be shared in the application materials or award notification.

Proposal Requirements

Faculty proposals should briefly address the following:

  1. Course Number and Title
  2. Short Course Description
  3. Selected Track
    • Research Supportive/Project-Based Learning
    • Service Learning
  4. Course Innovation Idea
     Describe any ideas you have (however early-stage) to incorporate the selected high-impact practice into the course.
  5. Potential Collaborators or Partners
     Identify any campus/faculty collaborators, or community partners that may connect to the course redesign.

Selection Considerations

Proposals will be reviewed with attention to:

  • the clarity and promise of the course innovation idea;
  • the fit between the proposed track and the course context;
  • the potential for meaningful student reflection, engagement, and application;
  • the feasibility of implementation within an existing course; and
  • the potential for sustainability or future growth.

To Apply

Prospective Faculty Fellows will apply online: TL Faculty Fellows Application

The deadline for applications is January 25th, 2027.

Contact Information

General questions about the Transformative Learning Course Innovation program may be directed to our TLCI Faculty Directors Sarah Golding segolding@vcu.edu and Matthew Vechinski mjvechenski@vuc.edu.  

For administrative concerns, please contact Shanza Isom isomsa@vcu.edu (Service Learning Track) and Herb Hill hhill@vcu.edu (Research Supportive/Project Based Learning Track)