Curiosity to Impact Fund

Supporting innovation in academic program development 

Part of the college's Strategic Investment Program, the Curiosity to Impact Fund empowers LAS faculty to transform bold ideas into high-impact academic offerings. Designed to support the creation of new courses, certificates, and programs—especially those with revenue-generating potential—C2I fuels innovation that expands access, deepens inquiry, and drives institutional growth.

This initiative supports a broad range of academic innovations, including:

  • Online Graduate Degree, Non-Degree, and Certificate Programs
    • Stackable Non-Degree Programs
    • Target professionals, lifelong learners, and other non-traditional students
    • Cultivate new or under-utilized revenue streams
    • Platforms: Accredible, Canvas Catalog, Coursera
  • Explore Innovative Ways to Reach New Students
    • Scaling up the NetMath model to other subjects
    • Explore offering dual-credit courses to high-achieving high school students in under-resourced areas in rural or urban communities, where AP and DC options are severely limited
    • Develop a continuing education credit model for professionals
  • Forward Thinking Curricula Innovation
    • Incorporate AI into the classroom
    • Modernize and refresh existing academic programs to ensure they remain relevant, rigorous, and engaging
    • Foster creativity in curriculum design to revitalize majors or programs of study
    • Design new majors that align with emerging fields and student interests
  • General Education Course Development
    • Create new Gen Ed courses that reflect emerging topics, interdisciplinary approaches, or innovative teaching methods to attract enrollment
    • Refresh current GenEds to better meet student interests and needs
    • Engage in formalizing the recommendations of the Liberal Arts Certificate Committee
    • Propose new Gen Ed themes that align with LAS values and strengths 

Proposals are due by March 2, 2026.

Submit a proposal 

Proposal components

All proposals must include the following:

  • Program Description and Objectives
  • Need and Impact
  • Sustainability
  • Budget (attach using the required template)
  • Expected Return on Investment
  • Timeline for submission in the Course and Curriculum Information Management (CIM) system
  • Staffing and administrative support plans
  • Course offering plans and timing

If your proposal involves a new or revised academic program, please also include:

Additional Requirements for New Major Proposals:

  • Evidence of already developed courses relevant to the proposed major.
  • Evidence of student demand through enrollment figures in related courses.
    • Analysis of how the proposed major will compete with peer institutions (UIC, Northwestern, Iowa, UMich, Purdue), including differentiation and attractiveness to prospective students.
  • Discussion of the new major's relationship to existing majors within the department, including plans for maintaining or adjusting enrollment across programs.
  • Assessment of the impact on allied majors and inclusion of letters of support for Senate Approval Process.
  • Historical data on course enrollments and alumni engagement in related fields.
  • Discussion of enrollment planning and potential sunsetting of less in-demand majors.

Optional Guidance for Broader Program Development:

  • Consider proposals for interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, or cross-college majors that leverage shared curricula and resources.
  • Explore opportunities for majors that appeal to students with broad interests, such as merging business and humanities or developing pre-health/pre-medicine tracks.
  • Encourage development of 2-year transfer-friendly majors to support internal and external transfer students, including alignment with programs like Parkland Pathway and Transfer Guarantee.