Questionnaire Invitation Email

Attachment 5d:

Questionnaire Invitation for Potential Principal Investigators (Original Contact - Non-Noyce Institutions)

Subject: Help us improve STEM teacher preparation and leadership – Noyce Program Evaluation

Dear [NAME],

We hope you are doing well. We are contacting you on behalf of WhitworthKee Consulting (WKC). The WKC Evaluation Team was contracted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to evaluate components of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (the Noyce Program).

Why are we reaching out?

The Noyce Program provides funding to higher education institutions via (a) scholarships, (b) stipends, and (c) other means of programmatic support to recruit and prepare science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and other professionals to become K-12 STEM teachers and teacher leaders. The Noyce Program evaluation's purpose is to (a) understand overall perceptions of the Program from both individuals who have applied for and/or received a Noyce award and those who have never applied and/or been awarded and (b) identify what is working well and growth opportunities.

During the evaluation of the Noyce Program, the WKC Evaluation Team will conduct interviews with faculty and staff at institutions who are eligible for Noyce Program funding but have not received Noyce Program funding in the past 10 years. This includes institutions that have applied for Noyce Program funding but not received it and institutions that have never applied for Noyce Program funding.

You are receiving this email because you have been identified as a Dean, Program/Department Head, faculty member, or other college leader at an institution that is eligible for the Noyce Program but has not received any Noyce grants in the past 10 years. We would like to invite someone from your institution to participate in our evaluation (this could be you or one of your colleagues). We are especially interested in speaking with someone who has applied for a Noyce grant in the past or may be interested in applying for a Noyce grant in the future.

What does participation entail?

Participants in the evaluation will first be asked to complete a questionnaire that asks about their educational and professional experiences and any involvement they have had with the Noyce Program (estimated time commitment: 20 minutes). Later in the evaluation, between Fall 2024 and Summer 2025, participants may receive information about participating in an interview to provide their perspectives on STEM teacher preparation/leadership and the Noyce Program.

If you choose to participate, we will do everything we can to keep your responses confidential, and we will not share individually identifiable information with anyone (including NSF staff or Noyce project members) outside of the WKC Evaluation Team. If you would like additional information about the evaluation, please visit the evaluation website at this link: https://whitworthkee.com/nsf-noyce-program-evaluation/. If you’d like to learn more about WhitworthKee Consulting, you can find more information at the WKC website, here: https://whitworthkee.com/.

What do we need from you?

If you would like to participate in the evaluation, please use the following link to complete the demographic questionnaire at your earliest convenience: [LINK]

or

If you think someone else from your institution would be a better fit for the evaluation, please forward this email to a colleague who may be interested and copy us ([email protected]).

We appreciate your consideration and assistance.

Sincerely,

The WhitworthKee Consulting Evaluation Team