The General Education Faculty Assistance Program (GEFAP) was established in 1990 to provide funds for General Education faculty to enhance the course experience for students in their classes. The goal of the program is to ensure that faculty teaching General Education courses have the time and resources to deliver quality instruction to their students, especially for larger sections of courses. Since its inception, the program has disbursed close to $1,000,000 in funding.

GEFAP awards continue to be an integral part of the success of the General Education Program. The awards are competitive, with priority for funding going to professors teaching large and/or multiple sections of courses, as well as to instructors who consistently demonstrate that their use of teaching assistants furthers the goals and mission of the General Education Program and directly benefits their students. The most common use of GEFAP funding is as wages for a student assistant. Such “GEFAP assistants” are not traditional Teaching Assistants; they do not take over the work of classroom teaching in order to further the scholarly interests of professors, but rather they serve to connect with students in the class by leading discussion groups, acting as writing coaches, monitoring online discussion groups, and other appropriate activities that enhance understanding of the subject material and fulfill General Education Program goals. GEFAP assistants may be either graduate or undergraduate students, but preference is given to applications requesting funding for undergraduate students. These are often students who have previously taken the class, have a deep understanding of the course material, and possess the maturity to assume a position of leadership among their peers.

Awards are generally granted for up to $600 per semester, and new GEFAP assistants must attend an orientation session that helps to prepare them for their duties. Faculty hire their own assistants directly through their respective departments, and the General Education Program deposits student wages directly into the department’s student wages account.

For almost twenty years, the General Education Faculty Assistance Program has been facilitating better, more engaged and rewarding teaching through this innovative program that benefits both faculty and students. For more information about the program, please contact the General Education Program at gened@american.edu.

If you are interested in applying for a GEFAP grant, please review the terms below and proceed to the application form.

Applying for GEFAP

The General Education Program is pleased to announce the availability of awards from the General Education Faculty Assistance Program (GEFAP) for Spring 2013. Electronic applications must be submitted by April 1. to be considered for an award. Funding decisions will announced by April 15.

Application for GEFAP implies acknowledgment of the following guidelines:

• GEFAP applications must articulate the relationship of the assistant's work and the General Education objectives and goals both program-wide and within the specific Foundational Area. Descriptions of those objectives and their relationship to the course should already appear in the syllabus.
• The General Education Program does not sanction the use of GEFAP assistants for grading purposes and discourages their use for correcting of papers, or exams. Under no circumstance should undergraduate students grade student work.
• All faculty who teach General Education courses, both full-time and part-time, are eligible to apply. Undergraduate students are compensated at $10/hour, graduate students at $12/hour.
• Factors influencing the award and the number of hours awarded include the quality of the application, the proposed activities of the assistant, the connection to and enhancement of General Education objectives, the course's likely enrollment (and enrollment history), and the amount of GEFAP budget available.
• Awards are limited to 60 hours of student wages per General Education course. Additional sections of the same course may be awarded additional hours.
• Individual faculty members select GEFAP assistants.
• Faculty may request either undergraduate or graduate student assistance although requests for graduate students must indicate in specific terms why an undergraduate assistant would not suffice. The ineligibility of undergraduates to evaluate peers does not constitute reason for requesting a graduate student.
• Faculty members who have received awards in prior semesters must complete a full application with revised statements on the relationship and effectiveness of GEFAP to the course.