Barb,

We mail proposals for faculty, but the volume of proposals is not
very high at this point.  We also help with editing and formatting
of proposals if needed. In other words, we do (within reason) everything
that needs to be done in order to get the best proposal out the door.
(Many of our faculty are not experienced grant writers.) Given this
context, here are the pros and cons.

The major advantage is that proposals are better organized, better
looking, and have all the pieces. In brief, we can help faculty
generate better proposals in many cases.  The faculty member
also sees this service as a real help and relief after having
finished the writing.

The downside is that faculty tend not to understand what it takes
to compile the proposal and want to keep working right to the deadline.
(We also make the copies of the proposals and provide the mailing
boxes, etc.). This places more of the burden on our office to pull
things together and get the proposal mailed on time.  Since we are
doing our best to encourage faculty to write grants, I would not
change the system  at this time, but I can foresee a time when
faculty take on more of the responsiblity for compiling and mailing
their grants.

Donna Berger
Marist College
e-mail: xxxxxx@maristb.marist.edu