Success Through Academic Research (STAR) Project
The OIP administers the Success Through Academic Research (STAR) Project: The Independent Study Scholarship Program for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). The STAR Project provides Alabama teachers (K-12) with an opportunity to engage in an independent study program to enhance their understanding of the classroom subjects they teach.
Administered according to a process similar to that of the well-known Fulbright Program, the STAR Project awards a limited number of scholarships to teachers who have been nominated by their principal or superintendent, and who have then submitted a meritorious proposal for independent study (excluding graduate courses). The proposals are evaluated by subject-matter specialists, who forward their recommendations to a final selection committee. The committee then makes scholarship awards based on these recommendations and other criteria approved by ACHE.
Since 2003, 21 teachers have been awarded an STAR scholarship and pursued independent study in one of the nine core subject areas recognized by the state: mathematics, science, English, civics and government, foreign languages, arts, geography, history, and economics. Teachers who have participated in an independent study program bring diverse domestic and international experiences and improved subject area understanding to enhance their classroom.
For more information about the nomination process, please contact the OIP.