American College Counseling Association

Research Grant Application 2024-2025

SOURCE OF FUNDING:

The American College Counseling Association (ACCA) announces three research award opportunities for 2024-2025. The research which will be supported by these grants is one that supports and\or advances the work of mental health professionals in colleges, universities, and other higher education institutions. Researchers who will be selected to receive the grants will be encouraged to attend the ACCA annual conference, which will be held from January 30 - February 2, 2025 in New Orleans, LA, and will be asked to submit their results in the Journal of College Counseling and/or as a program for the ACCA annual conference the following year.

The Three Grants are:

·                 1 for $1000: This funded research grant is designed to recognize, honor and financially support individuals who are seeking to complete a comprehensive research study relating to college counseling practices.

·                 2 for $500: These two funded research grants are designed to recognize, honor and support individuals who are seeking to complete a comprehensive research study relating to the provision of professional counseling to college student populations and\or to the mental health professionals who provide them. These funded research grants provide a cash award of up to $500.00 each for two researchers or research teams. One of grants may focus on community, vocational, and technical institutions, while the other may focus on community colleges or 4-year colleges and universities.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

The submission deadline for the Research Grant Proposals and supporting material is due no later than December 15^th, 2024.

WHO MAY APPLY?

The competition is open to professional and student members of the American College Counseling Association (ACCA). Licensed practitioners, as well as students, are encouraged to apply. Individuals may submit, or be a part of a submission team, for only one proposal. Multiple submissions by any researcher, individually or as a part of a research team, will not be accepted.

TOPICS OF INTEREST TO ACCA

1. Topics Likely to be Chosen

·        Topics related to the serving diverse or underserved populations on college campuses

·        Topics related to the practice of counseling on community colleges, traditional college campuses, or other higher education institutions

·        Topics related to the mental health of college students 

·        Topics related to violence, threat assessment, suicide prevention and treatment

·        Topics related to the teaching of counseling theory and practical skills courses to new counselors, as they are related to the work on college campuses

2. Topics Unlikely to be Chosen

·        Very focused academic or statistical studies that have little practical application for college counseling

·        Studies simply replicating existing research or past studies

·        Studies in which the choice of college students as participants is incidental to the main topic

PROPOSAL FORMAT

1.       Application Form: The Application Form should be included with your Research Proposal Application forms may be downloaded in the attached link.

2.       Supporting Letter: Student(s) submitting a proposal must include a supporting letter from a faculty sponsor.

3.       Research Proposal: Please keep under 5 pages, not including Application Form and bibliography

The Research Proposal should cover the following areas:

A.      Statement of Need: Summary of relevant data or other evidence supporting need for the study.

B.      Background Review: Review of selected pertinent research germane to the topic as specified in the purpose of the award.

C.      Research Design and Analysis: Description of the research design and plans for data analysis.

D.      Dissemination of Results: Review of how the results of the research will be disseminated (i.e. ACCA conference presentation, a peer-reviewed journal article, etc.)

E.       Detailed Budget: Included in Application Form. A detailed budget of all expenses is required Examples of expenses might include the following: researchers’ salaries, statistical consultant, compensation for research participants, web services, supplies, salaries for graduate students’ assistance, travel expenses, etc. All existing funding for the project must be disclosed.

CRITERIA:

Research proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

1. Appropriateness and importance of the Research: The appropriateness of the research for the purpose of grants and its pertinence to the work of mental health professionals working in higher education settings.

2. Quality of the Proposed Research: The required documentation of the Research Proposal sections listed above should be thorough and informative. The methodology proposed should follow accepted practice for research of that kind.

3. Ethical Standards: The purpose of the research, as well as its methodology, should adhere to all applicable ethical standards as delineated in the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics.

4. Financial Need: The budget requested for the research project seems sound given the nature and scope of the proposed project.

5. Plans for Dissemination: The researcher(s) offers a feasible and timely plan for dissemination of the results. The researcher will submit manuscripts derived from their research to the Journal of College Counseling and/or propose a presentation for the 2025 ACCA conference.

TIMELINES AND REPORTING RESULTS:

Each of the grant recipients is expected to keep the research committee informed if there is a delay in the proposed timeline and reporting of results.

A brief copy of the results will be e-mailed to the research committee chair once the research is complete. The researchers will retain ownership of all data and results of their research. The researchers will state their willingness to include an acknowledgment of ACCA’s financial support in all reports, publications, and presentations related to the supported project.

NOTIFICATION OF AWARDS:

All applicants will be notified of the selection committee’s funding decisions by December 30^th, 2024. Grants will be awarded during the February 2025 ACCA Annual Conference, which will be held in New Orleans, LA. The recipient(s) of the research grants are strongly encouraged to attend the ACCA national conference, at which they will be recognized.

Proposals and requests for further information should be submitted electronically by email attachment to:

Oren Shefet, PhD

Research Grant Committee Chair

Email: oren_shefet@yahoo.com