Advancing Developmental Education Reform by Building Faculty Capacity, Scaling Evidence-Based Models, and Supporting Continuous Assessment Project

The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is offering the Advancing Developmental Education Reform by Building Faculty Capacity, Scaling Evidence-Based Models, and Supporting Continuous Assessment Project to support Illinois community colleges in strengthening developmental education reform. The project is intended to enhance faculty development related to developmental education instruction and help colleges assess and scale equitable, evidence-based reform efforts consistent with the Developmental Education Reform Act (DERA), which is part of Illinois Public Act 101-0654. ICCB expects the funded work to build faculty capacity around developmental education models and best practices, support continued scaling of reform required by DERA, and strengthen evaluation of developmental education efforts as part of a continuous improvement cycle. The NOFO provides an estimated $475,000 in total program funding and anticipates at least nine grants, with awards of up to $50,000 per institution. Awards are Fixed Amount Awards, meaning the grant agreement will provide a specified level of support without regard to actual costs incurred, although reporting remains required. No cost sharing or matching is required. Indirect costs are allowed but capped at 15 percent of the budget, with the applicable rate applied to eligible categories up to the total award cap. Allowable activities depend on the selected objective and may include personnel or consultants supporting developmental education data capacity, development and analysis of data dashboards, professional development for faculty including adjunct faculty, professional development travel and materials, work with campus stakeholders and external partners to scale evidence-based practices, and expansion of academic support services. Student stipends, gifts, giveaways, and swag are not allowable, and all costs must be reasonable and necessary to achieve program objectives. Applicants must engage in at least one of three objectives. Objective 1 focuses on expanding data capacity and knowledge to evaluate existing developmental education reforms and guide continued scaling, including staffing, consultants, data organization, dashboards, performance measurement, and analysis of equitable outcomes. Objective 2 supports faculty development and expansion of faculty capacity to provide evidence-based developmental education learning opportunities, with capacity building for adjunct faculty specifically encouraged. Objective 3 focuses on assessing and scaling reform by using data to demonstrate what is successfully moving students through developmental education and into and through gateway courses, followed by scaling those successful approaches. Objective 3 explicitly precludes further piloting and instead requires a focus on scaling existing efforts. Eligibility is limited to community colleges in the State of Illinois, and only one grant application may be submitted per college. Applications must be submitted electronically through Amplifund; paper applications are not permitted. The application package requires the GATA-Exempt Grant Application, a cover page containing institutional and designated leadership and project contact information and the required institutional authorization statement, an abstract of no more than one page, a project narrative of no more than six pages, letters of commitment from external partners when applicable, and the State of Illinois Uniform Grant Budget Template with appropriate cost narratives and line-item breakdowns. The project narrative must address basic project information, statement of need, program justification, fiscal need, measurable project goals and objectives with short- and long-term indicators, project activities and timeline, applicable partnerships, a project work plan, desired impact, organizational capacity and experience, scalability or replicability, and a contingency plan. Resources and products developed with grant funds must be provided to ICCB for sharing with the field. Applications are competitively reviewed through a merit-based process using the requirements in the NOFO and a scoring rubric. Application, Cover Page, and Abstract are worth 10 points; Basic Project Information, Statement of Need, and Fiscal Need are worth 10 points; Measurable Project Goals and Objectives and Indicators of Performance are worth 25 points; Project Work Plan, Partnerships, and Desired Impact are worth 35 points; Capacity, Scalability or Replicability, and Contingency Plan are worth 15 points; and the Uniform Budget is worth 5 points. Funding decisions and award levels will be determined based on compliance with the NOFO requirements and proposal scoring. Grantees must carry out their approved scope of work, work toward identified performance indicators, participate in required professional development or technical assistance, and submit quarterly programmatic, performance, and expenditure reports. Final programmatic and fiscal closeout reports are due 60 days after termination of the award period. The NOFO was posted November 6, 2025, and applications were due December 10, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. A bidder's conference was scheduled for November 10, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.; attendance was not mandatory and a recording was to be made available. Questions were required to be submitted electronically to deana.schenk@illinois.gov using the specified organization and project subject line, with responses posted in an FAQ on the ICCB website. The NOFO does not state that the funding opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule, so no recurrence is established. All applicants were to be notified after finalization of allocations. The summary information lists the grant period as January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, while the Funding Information section states January 1, 2026 through December 30, 2026; this internal source discrepancy should be verified rather than silently resolved. The agency contact is Deana Schenk, Senior Director for Student Success, at deana.schenk@illinois.gov and (217) 524-5502.

Prioritize the Project Work Plan, Partnerships, and Desired Impact because they carry 35 points, and measurable goals, objectives, and indicators because they carry 25 points. Use institutional data to substantiate need and student impact, explicitly address fiscal need, connect every activity and responsible person to the selected grant objective, provide measurable short- and long-term indicators, and ensure the budget narratives demonstrate that all costs are reasonable and necessary.