Committee for Faculty Excellence
(Formerly the Teaching Excellence Committee)
Click for Deadlines / Committee Members / Guidelines and Forms / Sabbatical Requests
The Committee for Faculty Excellence (CFE) (formerly called the Teaching Excellence Committe) supports and promotes faculty excellence and faculty development in the areas of teaching and productive scholarship. The committee
TAPS Grants
The purpose of the USC Upstate Teaching and Productive Scholarship (TAPS) Fund is to promote good scholarship including original research projects, programs that support curriculum development, and travel for presentation of scholarship. Funded projects will support the scholarship process with the goal of formal presentation and/or publication, improve pedagogy and curriculum development to contribute to the USC Upstate mission, and/or enable major service projects which require application of scholarly and/or professional knowledge. A list of recent recipients of TAPS grants can be found here.
TAPS Grant Criteria
(Approved by Faculty-Senate, March 2009)
- Successful proposals include a narrative with clear organization, cohesion, and a clearly-defined statement of purpose, goals, and objectives.
- Successful proposals support institutional and/or unit goals and objectives.
- Successful proposals demonstrate the proposed project's potential to contribute to the individual's professional development and/or scholarly/creative agenda.
- Successful proposals demonstrate the significance and/or potential of the proposed project to contribute to the field, the knowledge domain, and/or society.
The guidelines and forms for TAPS submissions can be found at the bottom of this page. Please submit your signed cover sheet and application materials to the Faculty Senate Committee Assistant, Renee O'Brien, Academic Affairs, Administration 224. Please submit at least one month prior to travel; TAPS grants cannot be awarded for travel that has already occurred.
NOTE: All recipients of TAPS grants are required to submit a completed final report form to the CFE chair (electronic is fine) and an electronic copy to Renee O'Brien (Faculty Senate Committee Assistant) within 30 days of the recipient’s return from a trip. For recipients of TAPS grants who fail to do so or who fail to notify the committee of cancellation of a trip within 30 days after the scheduled trip, the unreported amount will be deducted from the maximum amount the recipient will be eligible to receive in the next fiscal year. Appeals to the Committee for Faculty Excellence (formerly the Teaching Excellence Committee) will be decided based on their merits.
TAPS Deadlines
Faculty members who are applying for travel funds are encouraged to apply early, at least one to two months prior to travel. Applications for conference travel will be accepted as soon as you have received notification of acceptance to present. In accordance with University policy, TAPS grants cannot be awarded for travel that has already occurred.
| Application Due at 4:00 pm | Committee Decision 4pm | For Travel On or After |
| September 16, 2010 | September 23, 2010 | September 24, 2010 |
| October 14, 2010 | October 21, 2010 | October 22, 2010 |
| November 11, 2010 | November 18, 2010 | November 19, 2010 |
| December 9, 2010 | December 16, 2010 | December 17, 2010 |
| January TBA, 2011 | January TBA, 2011 | January TBA, 2011 |
| February TBA, 2011 | February TBA, 2011 | February TBA, 2011 |
| March TBA, 2011 | March TBA, 2011 | March TBA, 2011 |
| April TBA, 2011 | April TBA, 2011 | April TBA, 2011 |
CFE Committee 2010-2011
Please contact Dr. Laura Jennings, CFE Chair, or your unit representative for questions about TAPS grants or other CFE issues.
Guidelines and Forms
NOTE: Forms were updated in 2010. Please use the most recent application and report forms.
- TAPS Guidelines and Application Form (Word)--Please note required documentation of hotel fees, conference registration fees, rental car fees, and/or airfare costs. Applications will be delayed until fare and fee statements from conference Web sites, hotels, airlines, or car rental companies are included.
- TAPS Guidelines and Application Form (PDF)*--Please note required documentation of hotel fees, conference registration fees, rental car fees, and/or airfare costs. Applications will be delayed until fare and fee statements from conference Web sites, hotels, airlines, or car rental companies are included.
- TAPS Final Report Form (Word). Email reports to CFE Chair and Faculty Senate Committee Assistant
- TAPS Final Report Form (PDF)* Email reports to CFE Chair and Faculty Senate Committee Assistant
- USC Upstate Annual Award for Scholarly and/or Creative Pursuits Guidelines
- Nominations due to CFE Chair by Feb. 15. Electronic nomination letters are preferred.
- Portfolios of candidates due March 15
- A list of recent recipients of faculty excellence awards in teaching and scholarship can be found here.
- Sabbatical Leave Policy
- Electronic submissions only
- Sabbatical Proposals due to CFE chair by first Monday in October. See Faculty Manual for guidelines.
- Final Sabbatical Reports of accomplishments are due to CFE Chair two months after start of semester in which the faculty member returns. Electronic reports are preferred.
*These documents are Adobe Acrobat PDF files. If you do not already have the free software required to view and print these files, download it now.