RFP is now OPEN
- Interest Form Submission Deadline = September 8
- Incubator Fund Interest Survey
- Contact us for more information or for survey password
About
The Provost’s Incubator Fund is a groundbreaking initiative designed to empower online and/ or hybrid professional programs to create and ignite ideas toward developing pioneering, innovative professional online courses and programs.
The Provost's Incubator Fund invests in the future of graduate professional education by providing financial support for the creation of entirely new online programs or courses that address the evolving needs of students, address current and future market and job demands, and align with the Baylor in Deeds Strategic Plan, 2024-2030.
Initiative Goals
- Expanding and diversifying the online/hybrid program portfolio with high-demand, future forward, revenue generating offerings.
- Encouraging and supporting curricular innovation in graduate professional education, meeting the demands of today and tomorrow's career opportunities.
- Facilitating program renewal and revitalization by providing resources and support for further development of existing programs with the goal of creating new promising online offering.
Eligibility
- Proposals must be for entirely new online/hybrid professional graduate programs or certificates not currently offered by the university.
- Programs must demonstrate alignment with the strategic goals outlined in the Baylor Strategic Plan 2024-2030
- Proposals must demonstrate strong projected enrollment and market demand in order to meet program sustainability goals.
Questions
Email Professional Education with any questions you may have.
Fiscal Year 2027 Application Timeline
This market research of the program idea being considered for submission is a pre-requisite for (a) submitting the Interest Form and (b) the initial consultation with the Incubator Fund committee.
The Incubator Fund Interest Form, along with the secured market research, is due to be considered for this fiscal year’s funding cycle.
The committee will meet with each proposer group, along with their respective business officer, to help proposers think through their full proposal.
Lesa Lawson will reach out to each proposer, their dean, their business officer, and Dean Mike Young to ask for a final decision from the proposer’s dean, in consultation with the proposer group and business officer, on whether the proposed program idea will move forward in the Incubator Fund cycle. Those approved by their dean to move forward will receive the templates for the proposal, executive summary, and pro forma.
All proposal documents (full proposal, executive summary, and pro forma) must be submitted to Lesa by this date.
The committee will review all submissions and prepare questions for proposers.
The committee will meet with each proposer group and their business officer. The proposer will give a quick summary and pitch of their proposal, and the committee will ask questions about the proposal documents.
The Provost will make the decision on which programs to fund and how much to fund them. This will be communicated to each dean and proposer group.
Proposals must be submitted in CIM by this date to be considered for review at the May 2027 Board of Regents meeting. New programs could have an effective start term of Spring or Summer 2028.
Please note that this date is currently tentative since the registrar’s office has not yet set the CIM dates for the next academic year. However, the registrar's office staff have indicated that the dates for the next academic year should be within a day or two from where they were this year. Please consult their webpage for these dates.