Scholarship & Teaching Excellence Program (STEP)

STEP Logo with photo of faculty at tables

New assistant professors at Texas State University are expected to participate in the Scholarship and Teaching Excellence Program. The program consists of sessions dedicated to ensuring a solid foundation for research productivity, strengthening teaching and scholarship, creating an awareness of various university resources, and addressing the tenure and promotion process. The goals of the program are to inspire strong performance as well as to instill a sense of community among the new faculty on campus.

Program Details

Participants will sign an agreement indicating their intent to participate in the program. Upon satisfactory completion of the Scholarship and Teaching Excellence Program, participants will receive a certificate and a $600 stipend. STEP stipends are awarded solely for scholarly activity that will contribute to your career growth at Texas State during the next academic year. 

The sessions take place on Fridays and typically begin at noon and last until approximately 3:00 p.m. To complete the program, you must attend all five STEP sessions listed below. If needed, you may substitute an approved makeup activity for one STEP session by requesting an exception. You will not be eligible to receive the stipend or a certificate of completion if you do not fulfill this minimal requirement.

STEP 1 - September 22, 2023
STEP 2 - October 13, 2023
STEP 3 - November 10, 2023
STEP 4 - February 2, 2024
STEP 5 - March 1, 2024

Please contact our office at facultydevelopment@txstate.edu or 512-245-2112 if you have any questions about the program.

STEP Agreement

Are you a new assistant professor at Texas State University? Complete the Scholarship and Teaching Excellence Program (STEP) agreement.

STEP Exception

If you are unable to attend an upcoming STEP Session and would like to request an opportunity to make it up, please fill out the form below and you will be contacted with the requirements to receive credit for the session.

Stipend Policy and Expenditure

Objective

The Scholarship & Teaching Excellence Program stipend for STEP graduates who completed all eligibility requirements to support scholarly activity that will contribute to their career growth at Texas State. Stipends awarded for completing STEP are different from funds awarded by your department or school. This application does not take the place of travel or purchase approval requests through your department, college, or the university. 

Policies

  • All applications should be completed a minimum of two weeks in advance of the upcoming event or scholarly activity. These funds cannot be used for reimbursements after the fact and must be applied for in advance.
  • Submission of the application does not constitute approval.
  • You must wait for the response approving the activity or purchase before using the funds.
  • All scholarly activity must occur between September 1 of the year the program is completed and August 31 of the following year. 

Expenditure of Funds

Once you know how you would like to use the funds, fill out the application with specific details on how the funds will be used and how it will  benefit your scholarly work or creative activities. If your request is approved we will provide our account information to the admin in your school or department. The admin will be able to use our account information to pay for supplies, a percentage of travel, conference registration fees, or other approved spending up to the $600. Alternatively, based on the needs for your approved stipend, the department admin is able to do an interdepartmental transfer into the department account to assist you with purchases. 

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STEP STIPEND

Please make sure you have read the information above regarding policy and expenditure before completing the application.