THE
FACULTY
SENATE
Senate
Document Number 4506S
Date
of Senate Approval
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Statement
of Faculty Senate Action:
FWDC 10: Proposal
to Revise the Policy on Professional Development Leave
(formerly
Off-Campus Scholarly Assignment) (Revision of SD5404S)
(Faculty Handbook
4.1.4)
Effective: Fall 2006
Delete Section 4.1.4 of the
Faculty Handbook and Replace with the following:
4.1.4.1 Purpose
Professional development leaves are a means by which
UNCA supports continued professional growth for its faculty. Such assignments
provide institutional encouragement and support to the faculty in developing,
maintaining, and broadening academic and instructional competencies that are
valued by the individual faculty member, his or her academic program, and by
the university. Given the importance of professional development projects to faculty
renewal/professional growth, Chairs should work with their faculty and their
program area AVC to develop long-term plans for distributing this resource
across all eligible faculty. For the purpose of clarity, the word “Chair”
refers to either a department Chair or Program Director as appropriate.
Because of normal budgetary
limitations, it is assumed that approximately 3% of the total full-time faculty
may be allocated professional development assignments in any given year.
Faculty are encouraged to continue seeking private or federal grant support for
fellowships to support additional faculty development and travel.
The Provost will insure that minorities and women are
not disadvantaged by the established process
4.1.4.2 Eligibility
All full-time teaching faculty members who have
served at UNCA for a minimum of four years are eligible; however, members with
tenure will be given preference. No faculty member will normally be eligible to
receive a professional development assignment more than once every six years.
Exceptions may be negotiated for extraordinary opportunities which may arise.
4.1.4.3 Procedures for Application, Approval, and
Accountability
Planning
Chairs should be involved in all phases of developing
a professional development assignment proposal. Interested faculty members
should initiate the process by discussing a proposed project with their Chair.
Projects should be written as proposals that include a detailed statement of
the activity that the applicant expects to undertake.
A professional development assignment may be granted
for up to one full year. The university will support the recipient with either
one semester at full salary or two semesters at one-half salary. Health
insurance and retirement benefit coverage varies with the conditions of the
professional development assignment. Specifics should be developed in
consultation with the Office of Human Resources.
Most departments will be able to adjust offerings and
assignments to accommodate professional development without significantly
complicating student programs. However, Chairs are encouraged to meet with
their AVC to discuss the need for adjunct faculty to support a professional
development assignment.
Most faculty elect to count this time toward
promotion and tenure. However, an
applicant may consult with the Chair, tenured faculty, and/or the program area
AVC and elect to exclude time (stop the clock).
The written proposal should indicate the manner in which the applicant
wishes the time to be counted.
The faculty member and Chair are strongly encouraged
to review the description of "leaves of absence" in Section 14.2 and to consult with the Provost to
differentiate such leaves from "professional development
assignments."
Before submitting the application, the faculty member
must circulate a draft proposal to the chair/program director and tenured
faculty. These individuals may provide
feedback regarding the benefits to the applicant’s professional development
and/or advice about strengthening the proposal. A final version must be
evaluated by the Department or Program area assembled tenured faculty prior to
its submission to the program area AVC.
Application
Applications for professional development assignments
are evaluated once each academic year.
To be considered for a fall, spring, or full-year assignment,
application must be made by October 1st of the preceding academic year.
Applications are submitted to the appropriate AVC. A
completed application should include
* A proposal for the professional development
project.
* A letter from the department chair, indicating the
department support/nonsupport and any anticipated resource implications
generated by the assignment (e.g. need for adjunct faculty).
The AVC reads the complete application, adds a letter
of support/nonsupport, and forwards the packet to the faculty review committee.
(Note: All letters must be copied to the applicant.)
Evaluation
The program area AVC forwards the completed
application and AVC letter to the faculty committee for review. The committee
will be composed of the two members of University Research Council (URC) and
two members of the University Teaching Council (UTC). Individuals chosen will
be members who are beginning the second year of their 2-year terms. The
committee ranks the proposals based on the following unprioritized criteria:
* feasibility of project (including likelihood of
outside funding, if applicable)
* potential to contribute to faculty
renewal/professional growth
* prior leave awarded to faculty member
* productive use of prior leaves (if applicable)
* resource implications for home department
The committee transmits its ranked list with
supporting comments/suggestions for improvement to the Provost no later than
the end of November.
Decision
The Provost will communicate his or her decisions in
writing to the faculty members by January 15, with a copy to their department
chairs and AVCs. If the Provost approves of the professional development leave,
a contract for such an assignment will be prepared which will designate the
specific conditions and dates for the professional development assignment.
Where the off-campus assignment requires institutional nomination or approval
of the applicant, the Office of the Provost will be responsible for expediting
the process to meet external agency requirements and deadlines. The contract
will also require the faculty member to guarantee as one of the conditions for
the assignment that he or she will return to full-time teaching at UNCA for a
minimum of one full academic year following the professional development
assignment. The Provost has the discretion to defer a successfully
reviewed Professional Development Leave for up to one year, following
Chair/Program Director and program area AVC consultation, without the faculty
member resubmitting a proposal. The Board of Trustees of UNCA must
grant final approval for all professional development assignments.
A proposed negative decision must be accompanied by
brief but specific reasons for rejecting the application and will include
feedback on improving the current proposal, if appropriate, in order to enhance the likelihood of
acceptance in the future. Proposals may be resubmitted the following October.
Accountability
Upon completion of a professional development assignment,
the recipient must prepare a brief written report describing all professional
activities during the period of the assignment, and provide an evaluation of
accomplishments. The report is submitted to the department chair, who adds
evaluative comments and sends these to the Director of Teaching and Learning, program
area AVC and the Provost.
NOTE:
Chairs/Program Directors who wish to apply for professional development
assignments should initiate the process with the program area AVC, but should
otherwise follow the procedures outlined above. In addition, Chairs/Program
Directors are also asked to submit the name(s) of available interim
replacements.
Rationale
The change will provide greater clarification to the
Off-Campus Scholarly Assignment Policy. It also provides for faculty input in
the review/evaluation process.