Kelly Funds are available to facilitate research on improving student retention by exploring new instructional approaches or supports for specific courses that are critical for student success. The call for proposals was issued by the University of Nebraska system's Office of the Provost.

The Fred J. Kelly Fund, established by Mabel Elizabeth Kelly in memory of her late husband, is funding up to $75,000 total across a period of two or three years. Proposals impacting larger numbers of students will be given priority, as well as those for "bottleneck" courses, i.e., courses that reduce or limit progress toward graduation because of student readiness issues or high DFW rates (the number of students withdrawing from a course or receiving grades of D or F).

Proposals must request funds for research that aims to improve teaching by making significant, transformative changes to the design, pedagogy, learning materials, or special supports associated with existing courses. Proposals may involve one faculty member or a team; co-principal investigators may be from more than one NU institution.

There is also an expectation that an additional $25,000 (over the grant period) match is provided locally by the unit or college. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln's $25,000 match will be provided to the top two proposals selected by the NU system using grant funds from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor.

Kelly Funds for Research on Teaching applications are due via NuRamp by 5 p.m. Oct. 31. It is anticipated that award notifications will be available prior to Dec. 1 with funding to commence on Jan. 1, 2023.