VIP teams can be requested by tenure and non-tenure-track faculty qualified to teach courses in the area of the project. Prospective instructors can request a new team at any time, though VIP staff typically begin the approval process during the second month of the semester. See the timeline below for suggested deadlines.
Process
1
Faculty: Fill out the a team description form. Also known as a team info sheet, the contents of the form will become your team info page once the team is launched. Note that there are word limits for descriptions and that these descriptions should be geared towards recruiting undergraduate students. Projects should have an initial scope of 3-5 years with a project description general enough to last many semesters.
2
VIP Staff: Will review your application, paying particular attention to whether you have addressed the questions listed as Project Parameters [insert anchor link]. If we still have questions or suggestions, we will follow up with you. We reserve the right to not approve proposals that do not fit the VIP model.
3
Faculty: Once your team is approved, you will need to complete an additional form that requests logistical information for the team. Teams that have made it to this stage will appear on our online team listing.
4
VIP Staff and Faculty: VIP staff host VIP Rush [insert link], our poster recruitment fair, during Phase I registration to recruit students for the following semester. We provide an optional poster template based on team information sheets, though teams are welcome to design their own posters. VIP staff will print the first recruitment poster, and instructors can then keep it for future use. At this stage, faculty should register and plan to attend VIP Rush to recruit students for their teams.
5
VIP Staff (initially) and Faculty (after two semesters): In a team’s first one or two semesters, VIP staff will handle student applications. Once comfortable with the general VIP format, instructors usually prefer handling their applications. This is usually in their second semester or year.
Preferred Timeline
Because VIP is offered as a course, students will join your team at the beginning of the semester. The timeline below is built around the student registration schedule, and it allows enough time for course creation prior to student registration and VIP recruiting efforts. However, prospective instructors can submit a team request at any time, and we’ll work together to determine the best semester for start-up.
| Spring Semester team start | Fall Semester team start | |
|---|---|---|
| Team description form | September 30 | March 1 |
| Team logistics form | October 14 | March 15 |
| Phase I registration begins | Early November | Mid March |
| VIP Rush I | Tuesday afternoon (usually from 4-5) in early November | Tuesday afternoon (usually from 4-5) in mid March |
| Phase II registration ends | January (usually Friday after class begins) | August (usually Friday after class begins) |
| VIP Rush II | Tuesday afternoon during first week of classes in January (usually 4-5) | Tuesday afternoon during first week of classes in August (usually 4-5) |