Faculty & staff resources

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.