The CU System Sprint Grant: AI for Teaching & Learning is focused on improving course outcomes using AI with goals of supporting and accelerating innovative teaching practices that leverage AI to enhance student learning. This grant is designed to provide faculty with the resources and time needed to develop and implement AI-driven pedagogical strategies for the specific purpose of increasing student performance relative to the learning goals/outcomes of a single course. The 'sprint' structure is designed to meet the pace of AI evolution, and in doing so, foster an environment of experimentation and growth with meaningful, of-the-moment outcomes toward improving student learning.
Award Details
Grantee Eligibility:
- Tenure or tenure-track faculty and full time and Instructional Series faculty are eligible to apply.
Grant Amount:
- Proposal budgets have a maximum of $20,000 to cover expenses, which can include support toward a course buyout. Up to ten grants will be awarded per round.
Grant Length:
- The grant must be executed with two standard academic semesters of receipt. This allows potential development activities in one semester and execution in their course the subsequent semester.
Grant Structure:
- There will be three rounds of grants: the first call in spring 2026, the second call in fall 2026, and the final call in spring 2027. A faculty member may only be awarded one grant across the three rounds, but, until awarded, may apply in each round.
Course Eligibility:
- The grant is open to any academic discipline but must be in regular courses - special topics, independent study, honors thesis, graduation thesis and dissertation hours are not eligible.
Grant Final Report:
- The final requirements will consist of a digital poster and a short final report, which will be hosted on the CU System website. Additionally, the awardee must present a seminar on their work for their campus. the report should contain evidence of the seminar completion, a budget report, and a summary of impact and outcomes.
Grant Proposal Submission:
- A call for proposal with specific guidelines and evaluation criteria will be posted on the CU System website and communicated through CU Connections.