Following Georgia State University’s (GSU) participation in the launch and implementation of the University System of Georgia’s (USG) High-Impact Practices (HIPs) initiative in 2020, our institution has prioritized HIPs as a key component of its new strategic plan. Moving forward, a formal process for developing new HIPs courses as aligned with institutional criteria will be essential. This proposal seeks funding to train faculty, through fellowships and Teaching and Learning Communities, and to support personnel in developing essential resources to accompany the HIPs course design and development process, including creating pathways for students that align HIPs with the Core IMPACT areas and the Career-Ready Competencies.

To align with these institutional priorities, GSU has drafted a detailed framework for HIPs course evaluation, outlining required elements and faculty expectations for integrating HIP strategies. The framework defines a multi-tiered approach to HIPs, ranging from entry-level strategies (e.g., collaborative assignments and projects) to those requiring specialized coordination (e.g., service-learning) and unit-level implementation (e.g., learning communities). This tiered structure supports a progressive model where entry-level HIPs courses (incorporating at least three elements) ensure a starting pathway in the core for all students to experience HIPs that then sets the foundation for students to be able to engage in more advanced experiences as they continue in their academic journey.

To facilitate the implementation of HIPs in a wide variety of core courses, faculty need clear, accessible resources to guide them in developing courses that meet HIPs standards. This project seeks to bridge that gap by compiling and creating a robust set of online resources to support faculty throughout the course proposal and design processes, as well as providing departments with guidance and support in creating pathways through their core courses and aligning HIPs with the Core IMPACTSs initiative. Because students at GSU go through many of their core courses as connected to meta-majors, we can leverage opportunities to identify HIPs pathways for students by using that existing university structure to bridge their experiences in the core curriculum to future options in their major. In addition, a first step in visualizing HIPs pathways for students could be strengthened as part of the learning community and cohort model connected to GSU 1010/PCO 1020 at the start of every academic year. 

Project Objectives: 

The primary goal of this initiative is to support faculty in successfully developing and launching HIPs courses by creating a centralized hub of instructional resources aligned with university criteria and working with departments to develop pathways to engage students in HIPs at all levels. Faculty leads in the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Online Education (CETLOE) can begin to map entry-level HIPs as connected to meta-majors for all students that can then serve as a starting point for pathways to bridge to HIPs experiences in the major. Specific objectives include: 

* Reviewing existing HIPs resources from institutional, USG, and national sources to identify best practices for faculty support. 

* Developing new materials and highlighting exemplary HIPs models at GSU to align with GSU’s HIPs framework. 

* Piloting these resources with faculty through teaching and learning communities, faculty fellowships, and select academic departments to refine usability and effectiveness. 

* Launching a website with an FAQ and guidance materials, ensuring faculty have on-demand access to the information needed to design and teach HIPs courses successfully. 

* Providing models to departments for creating HIPs pathways, using: 
   - GSU 1010/PCO 1020 as a starting point for exposure to HIPs for all students 
   - Organization of HIPs opportunities to courses packaged for different meta-majors 
   - Alignment of HIPs strategies and elements to Core IMPACTS areas and CRCs 
   - Curriculum maps to serve as a bridge from core curriculum HIPs to the major 

Anticipated Challenges and Mitigation Strategies: 

* Ensuring discipline-specific relevance: Faculty across diverse disciplines have varied course design needs. To address this, a dedicated HIPs strategic planning group (comprising administrators, faculty, and staff from across GSU) will oversee resource development to ensure broad applicability. 

* Supporting portal and website development: Effective implementation requires technological infrastructure. Collaboration across the various teams in CETLOE will leverage existing staff expertise in instructional design and digital learning platforms. 

* Encouraging faculty adoption: Faculty engagement is crucial for scaling HIPs. This initiative will integrate pilot testing and iterative feedback from teaching and learning communities regarding approaches for supporting faculty in the implementation of HIPs and for refining CETLOE resources and ensuring usability for effective adoption. 

* Scalability across the disciplines: Partnering in fall 2025/spring 2026 with five departments representing a variety of meta-majors and different disciplines across the core IMPACTS areas will ensure the scalability of the project to all core courses.

Work Plan and Timeline 

This project will unfold in three distinct phases over the grant period: (1) resource review and development, (2) pilot implementation and faculty engagement, and (3) finalization and dissemination. The work will be led by CETLOE with input from the HIPs strategic plan working group and other institutional partners. 

PHASE 1: Resource Review and Development (Summer 2025 – Fall 2025) 
   Key Activities: 

* Hire a graduate assistant (GA) to support research and resource development. 

* Conduct an institutional review of existing HIPs materials, including: 
   - USG HIPs guidelines and best practices. 
   - Current GSU HIPs-tagged courses and faculty feedback. 
   - Peer institution models and published scholarship on HIPs. 

* Develop draft resources, including: 
   - Guidelines for faculty to evaluate whether their courses have HIPs. 
   - Best practices for integrating HIPs elements across disciplines. 
   - Example course proposals and assessment rubrics. 
   - Sample disciplinary pathways with embedded HIPs and alignment with CRCs 

* Draft maps of HIPs pathways in meta-majors based on existing courses to identify priority areas for expanding access and starting conversations with departments to bridge HIPs opportunities to major courses 

* Begin working with 2-3 departments to explore curriculum models for HIPs pathways  

* Coordinate with CETLOE staff to establish technical needs for website and portal development. 

* Present preliminary resources and sample pathways to the HIPs strategic plan working group for feedback and refinement. 

Responsible Parties: 

* Primary Leads: Faculty champion from CETLOE, HIPs strategic plan working group lead. 

* Support: Graduate assistant, CETLOE instructional designers, assessment specialists. 

PHASE 2: Pilot Implementation and Faculty Engagement (Spring 2026) 
   Key Activities: 

* Recruit faculty to pilot the use of new HIPs resources in course design and development. 

* Integrate faculty feedback from the Faculty Teaching and Learning Community (TaLC) to ensure applicability across disciplines. 

* Host faculty workshops and consultations to refine materials and develop sample proposals. 

* Draft an FAQ and support guides based on pilot faculty experiences and questions. 

* Continue work on curriculum development with departments with goal to provide flexible models for all departments/disciplines. Utilize meta-majors and IMPACTs connections to understand distributional need for HIPs. 

Responsible Parties: 

* Primary Leads: HIPs strategic plan working group representatives, faculty leads from targeted departments. 

* Support: CETLOE educational developers, CETLOE technology staff, participating pilot faculty. 

PHASE 3: Finalization and Dissemination (Summer 2026) 
   Key Activities: 

* Finalize HIPs faculty resources and publish them on the CETLOE website. 

* Conduct faculty training sessions and informational webinars to promote the resources and process. 

* Develop an assessment plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the new resources and pilot departmental initiatives. Work to expand models of pathways with more departments. 

* Share outcomes with other USG institutions, presenting findings at USG teaching and learning conferences and internal meetings (e.g., colleges, department chairs, directors of undergraduate studies, curriculum committees, etc). 

Responsible Parties: 

* Primary Leads: CETLOE leadership, HIPs strategic plan working group. 

* Support: CETLOE communications and web development team, assessment staff, participating faculty. 

Projected Timeline and Milestones: 

* May – August 2025: Hire GA, conduct resource review, develop initial materials. 

* September – December 2025: Refine materials, draft website framework, present to HIPs working group, feedback from faculty fellows and TaLCs, begin work with departments. 

* January – April 2026: Faculty pilots, workshops, feedback integration, initial maps of HIPs pathways, continue work with departments.  

* May– June 2026: Finalize website, conduct training, develop assessment plan, expand models of pathways, plan for sharing resources and findings 

This phased approach ensures a well-structured and realistic timeline, maximizing institutional support and faculty engagement for sustainable HIPs expansion and integration.