4-VA at UVA

About

4-VA is a collaborative partnership between UVA, VT, VCU, GMU, ODU, JMU, VMI, W&M, Radford, and CNU. The mission of 4-VA is to promote collaborations that leverage the strengths of each partner institution to improve higher education across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The four overarching initiatives of 4-VA are collaborative research, course redesign, expanded learning opportunities, and emerging tools for education, and the 4-VA at UVA office offers institutional grants to support efforts in these broad areas. Please check here to view available 4-VA at UVA funding opportunities, including those listed below.

Collaborative Research Grants

One of the many 4-VA initiatives, Collaborative Research is intended to improve research competitiveness within the Commonwealth by providing funding for faculty teams to engage in pilot research that could be used as a springboard for subsequent external funding.

With access to funding via a Collaborative Research Grant, teams can build evidence to show that their projects will make valuable, impactful contributions to their fields, thereby increasing their chances of winning larger external grants. The collaborative nature of these grants maximizes university resources at the 4-VA institutions and leverages faculty expertise, all while increasing competitiveness and capacity.

Eligibility to serve as a PI on a 4-VA at UVA Collaborative Research Grant is restricted to UVA faculty members and collaboration with a faculty member(s) from at least one other 4-VA partner institution is required. UVA faculty members can request up to $30,000 in primary funding through the program.

Course and Program Redesign

The 4-VA collaborative regularly accepts proposals for an inter-institutional collaborative effort that addresses course redesign and embedded experiential learning. The proposal deadline for 2024 has passed. For more information or to check the availability of future funding opportunities, please click here.

In addition to the above inter-institutional collaborative effort related to course redesign and embedded experiential learning, 4-VA at UVA may be able to support course and program redesign efforts at UVA. Please reach out to the 4-VA at UVA campus coordinator for more information.

Course Sharing

Part of the initiative focused on emerging tools for education, 4-VA leverages the strengths of each partner university by sharing courses to boost efficiency and expand student access. When demand for a course falls below the minimum enrollment at any one institution, 4-VA course sharing can extend the course offering to students at other 4-VA institutions. Using remote access technologies, shared courses allow faculty to teach these courses to students in several different locations at once. By maximizing shared resources, course sharing provides students with greater access to the courses they need without spending extra time or money.