Getting Started
Application & Application Requirements
- Step 1: Review all application requirements
- Step 2: Click here to access the TS-RRP Seed Grants application
- Submission Deadline: Thursday, December 31 at 11:59 p.m. PST
Join us for an information session to learn more!
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 | 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST | REGISTER HERE
Our Research and Grants team will discuss eligibility requirements, the program criteria and structure, award package, budget considerations, deliverables, and more.
About the TS-RPP Seed Grants
The TS-RPP initiative supports collaborative, practice-focused research designed to improve outcomes for transfer students. The University of South Carolina’s Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Success has committed generous funding to support the award packages, putting into action the commitment announced at the 45th Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience in Seattle, Washington, in February 2026.
TS-RPP Seed Grants will support a national cohort of research–practice partnerships led jointly by researchers and campus practitioners. Projects must address a clearly defined problem related to transfer student success and generate actionable findings that can directly inform institutional policy and practice. As a pilot initiative, the program is designed to support a broad range of institutions and partnership models through a combination of one larger “anchor” award and several smaller seed grants. In addition to project funding, grantees will participate in a structured cohort experience that includes technical assistance, virtual learning opportunities, and annual convenings hosted by the National Resource Center beginning in June 2027.
Project Duration
24 months (Summer 2027 – Summer 2029)
Award Package
The Transfer Success Research-Practice Partnership award package includes:
- An award of up to $25,000 (1 Anchor Partnership Grant available) or $15,000 (up to 5 Innovation Seed Grants available)
- Registration and travel costs for National Resource Center Transfer Convenings for the duration of the award for one representative from each awardee institution
- Recognition during the Inaugural Conference on the Transfer Student Experience, held June 29-July 1, 2027 in Charlotte, NC
- Public announcements from the National Resource Center (webpage, social media, press release, etc.)
Eligibility
The TS-RPP Seed Grant competition is open to campus researchers (e.g., faculty, institutional researchers, assessment professionals, etc.) and practitioners who are jointly leading an institutional partnership that pursues new collaborative solutions to improve transfer student outcomes.
- The following individuals are not eligible and may not be included as part of proposed project teams: National Resource Center staff and fellows; current members of our Advisory Board; and students, staff, and faculty of the University of South Carolina - Columbia.
Program Criteria & Structure
*Click to expand out each section to view more detailed information about each grant
The Anchor Partnership Grant is intended to support a high-impact, research–practice partnership focused specifically on transfer pathways between 2-year and 4-year institutions. This award will prioritize collaborative projects that bring together practitioners and researchers across institutional sectors to address systemic barriers to transfer student success, including (but not limited to) issues related to transfer articulation, advising, student support, credit mobility, belonging, persistence, and degree completion. In addition to generating actionable research findings, the Anchor Partnership Grant is expected to produce scalable models, tools, or practices that may inform transfer policy and partnership development across institutions nationally. The Anchor Partnership team will serve as a lead contributor within the TS-RPP cohort, sharing lessons learned and helping to advance the initiative’s broader community of practice.
*At our discretion, applications for the Anchor Partnership Grant may receive consideration for Innovation Seed Grants. Note that only one type of grant will be awarded to recipients.
Proposals will be evaluated according to:
- The extent to which they address a transfer-specific problem
- A firm connection to institutional or higher education research, data, or other evidence
- How well the proposal articulates the project rationale, objectives, and design
- A clear, actionable research approach that includes collecting data or evidence to advance the project’s practical goals
- The potential for improving transfer student outcomes, impacting institutional policy and practice, and/or scaling-up the initiative
- The extent to which the proposal supports a high-impact, research-practice partnership focused specifically on transfer pathways between 2-year and 4-year institutions.
*Please note: Proposed projects should represent original initiatives tailored to the institutions’ contexts and specific transfer population. Please use APA 7 for citations and references.
The Innovation Seed Grants support emerging research–practice partnerships focused on improving transfer student success at either 2-year or 4-year institutions. These smaller pilot awards are intended to help teams explore promising ideas, test innovative approaches, strengthen institutional research collaborations, or generate preliminary findings that can inform future practice and larger-scale study. Projects should address a clearly defined, practice-based challenge related to transfer student outcomes and produce actionable insights that can be implemented or scaled within institutional contexts. Innovation Seed Grant recipients will participate fully in the TS-RPP cohort experience, contributing to shared learning and dissemination activities throughout the initiative.
Proposals will be evaluated according to:
- The extent to which they address a transfer-specific problem
- A firm connection to institutional or higher education research, data, or other evidence
- How well the proposal articulates the project rationale, objectives, and design
- A clear, actionable research approach that includes collecting data or evidence to advance the project’s practical goals
- The potential for improving transfer student outcomes, impacting institutional policy and practice, and/or scaling-up the initiative
- The extent to which the proposal explores promising ideas, tests innovative approaches, strengthens institutional research collaborations, or generates preliminary findings that can inform future practice, program expansion, or broader implementation and larger-scale study.
*Please note: Proposed projects should represent original initiatives tailored to the institutions’ contexts and specific transfer population. Please use APA 7 for citations and references.
Grant Decisions
The staff of the National Resource Center will conduct an initial review of all completed proposals to ensure they meet the criteria guidelines and submission requirements of the TS-RPP seed grants. Proposals that meet the submission guidelines and requirements will undergo a masked review and evaluation process by an external review board of leading research scholars and practitioners in the field of higher education. Decisions are expected to be released to applicants in April 2027.
Budget Considerations
In developing the budget for this project, please note:
- Budgets may only include direct costs
- Payments will be divided into two equal parts and the second payment is contingent upon the successful completion of the required interim deliverables
- We will waive registration and cover travel costs for National Resource Center Transfer Convenings for the duration of the award for one representative from each awardee institution.
Deliverables
Awarded grantees will provide a Year 1 interim brief in June 2028 detailing the early findings from their initiative and implementation insights. Grantees will also deliver a final report of their project and a practitioner-facing product such as (but not limited to) a toolkit, guide, or brief in June 2029 that the NRC will have the right of first refusal to publish. In addition to these documents, each awarded institution’s representative will attend the NRC Transfer Student convenings, and present on findings during the grant duration.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the TS-RPP seed grants and/or the application for them, please contact the National Resource Center's Research and Grants team at NRCRSRCH@mailbox.sc.edu for assistance.