With funds now exhausted for the 2024-2025 academic year, the application is currently closed. The application will open again ahead of the Fall 2025 semester.
The Virginia Sapiro Academic Enhancement Fund (AEF) enables CAS faculty members to build experiential learning (EL) into undergraduate CAS courses, using historic and contemporary Boston as an extended classroom and taking advantage of the city and University as magnets for leading academics, artists, industry professionals, and experts in diverse subject areas.
The activities supported by the fund will complement or enrich students’ experience in your course, giving them the opportunity to apply material from class and to learn by doing.
Award amounts are typically determined by course enrollment and capped at $45 per student. Current fund levels allow the AEF to support EL activities for approximately 200 students each semester (across multiple courses, if applicable). As of Fall 2024, faculty members receiving awards will be asked to have their students complete a short reflection on their experiential learning activity.
Funding is reserved for new or pilot EL initiatives; activities that are a required part of the curriculum and those integral to the course design will not be supported. AEF funds are intended for one-time purposes only. (Requests for recurring funding should be made as part of the annual budget submission process. Please work with administrators in your department or program to prepare the request.) View a list of activities previously funded by the AEF.
Examples of ways the funds may be used to support experiential learning include:
- Cultural experiences and events
- Site visits to meet with practitioners in the field
- Live performances, artist talks, symposia
- Visiting exhibitions
- Travel to locations not accessible by the T or bus lines for research or fieldwork
- Software licenses or other tools for course projects
- Honoraria for guest speakers (not to exceed $250/speaker)
Funds may not be used for:
- Local transportation expenses for locations that are accessible by the T or bus lines
- Standard course materials (materials needed every semester)
- Recurring activities (e.g., activities that are an established part of the curriculum or required every semester)
- Activities that have occurred before the submission of the funding request
The fund is administered by the CAS Experiential Learning Connector. Each request is evaluated on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted for the semester. Please be sure to allow ample time between your funding request submission and the date on which you will need the funding. Funding requests submitted too close to the date of an activity are not guaranteed to be reviewed, and funding requests submitted for activities that have already occurred will not be granted.
If your request is approved, the College will require the submission of a usage report that describes:
- How the funds were used
- The benefits derived by use of the funds, as well as photos, when applicable.
Additionally, fund recipients will be asked to have their students complete reflections about the activity.
Submission for reimbursement is required within two weeks of the funded activity .
The AEF does not provide funding for summer classes or graduate-level classes. This application process is for undergraduate CAS courses only.
Questions may be directed to Erin Salius, director of the CAS Experiential Learning Connector.