Overview
Institutional Grants
The Grants Office
Benefits of Grants
Costs of Grants
Eligibility
Authority for Grants
Academic Department & Division Approval
Grant & Contract Awards
Priorities for Project Development
Regulations & Requirements
Responsibilities of Project. Directors
Grants provide a wonderful opportunity for faculty to pursue their professional interests and become involved in special projects that further the mission of the College. This section provides an overview of the grants process at Bergen Community College.
Institutional Grants
A grant is the financial or material resources bestowed by a funding agency for the purpose of achieving specific, predefined goals and objectives. Institutional grants at Bergen Community College generally come in two forms: entitlement grants and discretionary or competitive grants. Entitlement grants allocate an equitable proportion of available funds to all eligible institutions on the basis of a particular formula. For example, the Perkins Vocational and Technical Education grant is an entitlement grant. Bergen Community College is annually awarded a share of available Perkins funding according to a formula that applies to all eligible educational institutions.
Discretionary grants, on the other hand, are competitive. Eligible colleges and institutions design projects that are consistent with the funding agency's guidelines and develop proposals that are judged by reviewers on the basis of specific criteria. Proposals determined to be of the best quality win the grant award. Recent BCC awards include:
- A multimedia computer center for English Language Minority Students.
- The upgrade of BCC's Surgical Technology program to include state-of-the-art equipment and operating room.
- Curriculum development and laboratory/instrumentation improvement for the interdisciplinary science technologist program.
- Assessment protocol enhancement and curriculum development in the American Language and Basic Skills programs.
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The Grants Office
The purpose of the Grants Office is to facilitate the design, development, and acquisition of discretionary as well as entitlement grants that further the mission and goals of Bergen Community College. Specifically, the Office:
- Assists in identification of appropriate funding sources
- Facilitates planning and budgeting of proposed projects and activities
- Provides technical assistance and support in development of proposals
- Helps ensure project consistency with Bergen's mission and priorities, with funding agency requirements, and with applicable state and federal guidelines
- Coordinates preparation and submission of all proposals for grant funding.
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Benefits of Grants at Bergen Community College
Grant funded programs provide significant and far-reaching benefits to the Bergen Community College community. The College encourages faculty and staff to develop projects for outside funding that further the college's mission and goals. Such projects often secure substantial resources that may not be available through BCC's normal operating budget. They may also provide extraordinary opportunities that:
- Enhance the quality and extend the scope of current programs and activities.
- Enable faculty to create innovative programs and engage in cutting-edge research and scholarship.
- Create new learning opportunities that meet emerging needs of faculty, staff, students, and the community.
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Costs of Grants
While the benefits of grant funded projects and sponsored research are often great, few come without a price. Even the most richly funded project can bring substantial indirect and in-kind costs for the college. Release-time that gives a faculty member the opportunity to work on a special project will require classroom replacement. New or expanded programs may require additional space or facility renovations. Even a small project may require substantial college costs in the form of faculty or staff salaries and benefits; equipment and laboratory use; office or classroom space; counseling, tutoring, admissions, recruiting or other college services; clerical support; and more. Therefore, all proposals and applications for special projects must be carefully considered in the context of financial commitments that will be required by the College.
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Eligibility
Full time faculty and staff of Bergen Community College are eligible to develop grant funded research and project proposals for submission through the Grants Office. Adjunct faculty and part-time staff may participate in the development of proposals and may be included as proposed project staff, with department and division approval.
When a proposal is funded, potential employment will be consistent with terms and conditions of grant project personnel as specified in the Bergen Community College Policy Manual and appropriate employment contract.
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Authority for Grants
The Bergen Community College Board of Trustees is the sole authority for approving the submission of grant proposals for Bergen Community College. The President reviews all proposals and makes recommendations to the Board. The President or her designee is authorized by the Board to execute necessary documents for grant proposals that have been approved.
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Academic Department and Division Approval
It is important to gain institutional approval for your grant idea before you invest too much time in developing the project. A brief description of your concept and a tentative budget must be submitted for review and approval by the relevant department head/coordinator, divisional dean, and the Academic Vice President or Vice President for Student Services before a final proposal is developed. (See Develop Concept and Draft Budget and Gain Department/Division Approval sections for additional information.) The review process is designed to ensure proposed projects are consistent with institutional priorities and will have the support required for success.
(See Authorization to Develop Proposal for External Funding form.)
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Grant and Contract Awards
Grants and contracts are awarded to the Board of Trustees of Bergen Community College or to the Bergen Community College Foundation. They are not awarded to an individual who may be the initiator of the grant. The Board of Trustees of Bergen Community College or the Foundation accepts the programmatic and fiduciary responsibility for all grants and contracts awarded. As such, the College bears ultimate responsibility for fulfilling the objectives of the project and for complying with all fiscal, legal and contractual requirements.
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Priorities for Grant Project Development
Grant projects are most effective when they are developed to address real needs that are consistent with the College's mission and goals. Priority is generally given to projects and activities that support:
- Equipment and resources for programs to which the College is already committed.
- Other elements of programs (e.g., curriculum development, student support) to hich the College is already committed.
- New programs that enhance specific aspects of the College's long range plan or current priorities and are self-supporting for their duration.
- New initiatives that may not be self supporting, but would enhance specific aspects of the College's long-range plan or current priorities. Such projects could be limited to the life of the grant or be designed for integration into the ongoing operation of the college.
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Regulations and Requirements
Proposals must be consistent with the mission and goals of Bergen Community College, policies established by the Board of Trustees of Bergen Community College, laws of the State of New Jersey, the State of New Jersey Administrative Code, and applicable federal laws and regulations. Resources you may find useful include:
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Responsibilities of Grant Project Directors
Project Directors or Principal Investigators have a number of critical responsibilities. These will be detailed in the section dealing with Grants Management. In general terms, however, PD's or PI's are fully responsible for carrying out all the tasks that were specified in the proposal which, when funded, becomes a legally binding contract. Usually these include:
- Implementation of project activities.
- Purchasing and maintaining equipment and supplies.
- Supervising staff and subcontractors, as appropriate.
- Preparing and submitting quarterly, interim, and final reports, as may be required.
- Ensuring project evaluation and quality control.
- Integrating or institutionalizing the project at the conclusion of funding.
However, the PD does not work in isolation; ongoing assistance is provided by the Grants Office, Purchasing, Accounting, Buildings & Grounds, and other support offices
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