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Provost

Revised April 14, 2025; Revised July 24, 2006; Revised May 10, 2000; Adopted January 18, 1994; supersedes former Academic Affairs Policy ‘UNCW Faculty Development Awards’

UNC Policy Manual, Section 300.2.6[G]

Academic Affairs Policies and Guidelines

Academic Affairs

Policy Details:

Purpose

Faculty Reassignment Awards provide faculty with a semester in which all other duties are reassigned so that they may devote full time to a significant research or artistic project.

1. Award and Activities

   The award provides for the reassignment of other duties for a period of one semester at full salary and fringe benefits. During the period of the award, the faculty member devotes full time to a significant research or artistic project expected to result in the publication of one or more peer reviewed articles or of a book, or in the production of a significant artistic endeavor. If the faculty member receives external funding for the project, total compensation shall not exceed the faculty member's annual UNCW salary rate. Compensation for salary and expenses from all sources must be addressed in the proposal and approved before the leave is granted. If the amount or source of compensation changes, this change should be approved by the appropriate administrators through the External Professional Activities for Pay policy. A person on reassignment may not receive supplemental salary funds through the university.

   In some instances, an award may be for one academic year at half pay, particularly if the faculty member receives external funding. In such case, the university will make application to the appropriate state offices for an exception to allow the recipient continued enrollment in health insurance and retirement programs, although there is no guarantee that these benefits will be covered. If the exception is granted, the university will pay its usual share of health insurance and TIAA/CREF or the State Retirement for the full salary, provided that the faculty member agrees to pay his/her share.

2. Eligibility

   A full-time continuing tenured faculty member is eligible to apply for a reassignment when engaged in a significant scholarly or artistic endeavor that can make an important contribution to the individual's discipline. Faculty holding administrative appointments as directors or department chairs, and others of higher administrative rank reporting to the provost are ineligible to apply. A recipient is not eligible to apply again for a period of five years following the reassignment.

   A non-tenured assistant or associate professor is normally ineligible to apply. An exception may be made only under extraordinary circumstances when, in the judgment of the department chair/school director and the dean, the project is of truly exceptional merit and an award would be demonstrably in the best interest of the individual, the department, and the university. The faculty member must be in the last probationary year, and, if the proposal is approved, the reassignment will be contingent upon the applicant receiving tenure.

   Reassignment time will count as time toward promotion and post-tenure review. The applicant agrees, should a reassignment be awarded, to the following:

   1. To devote full time to the proposed endeavor during the period of the award, whether in residence at UNCW or elsewhere.

   2. To remain on the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ faculty for at least one year following the reassignment or to repay the salary received during the period of reassignment.

   3. To provide future service, if asked, on the Faculty Reassignment Awards Committee, which is composed of prior recipients of the award.

3. Application Deadline

   By October 1 of the academic year prior to that in which the reassignment is requested, the applicant must submit a completed application to the department chair or school director.  If this date (or any other deadline described in the following) falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is changed to the next business day.

4. Application Proposal

   The application must be written for a multi-disciplinary audience and shall consist of the following:

   1. An abstract of the proposed project (maximum 175 words).

   2. A narrative (maximum 1000 words), which describes in detail the proposed project and expected results, with emphasis on benefits of the project to the faculty member, the member's department, the university, and the applicant's discipline. The narrative should also describe the steps and activities the faculty member would undertake to complete the project, and the impact of a reassignment of duties upon the department.

   3. Supporting documentation if the project will take place at another institution, laboratory, or industry.

   4. A curriculum vitae.

5. Selection of Recipients

   1. Procedures

      By October 15, the department chair/school director will forward to the dean those applications which the chair/director considers most deserving of the award. Each forwarded application will include a supporting letter from the department chair or school director. In forwarding the application, the chair/director affirms that the department can forgo the applicant's regular services during the period of the proposed reassignment.

      The dean will convene the appropriate College or School Faculty Reassignment Awards Committee and submit applications to the committee for review. After consultation with this committee, the dean will announce award recipients by December 15. The committee consists of prior recipients of the award, appointed by the dean to serve two-year rotating terms. For the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, & the Arts and the College of Science & Engineering, the Committee will consist of 5 faculty members, including at least one representative each from each of the college's departments; deans of the Cameron School of Business, the Donald R. Watson College of Education, and the College of Health and Human Services will appoint Faculty Reassignment Awards Committees each consisting of at least three faculty members and a representative from each of the College or School's departments.

   2. Criteria

      Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria:

      1. The proposal must be in keeping with the mission and policies of UNCW.

      2. The committee will assess the significance of the project and its potential contribution to the applicant's discipline; its potential for resulting in the publication of one or more peer-reviewed articles or of a book, or in the production of a significant artistic endeavor; the benefits of the project to the faculty member, the member's department, the university and its students; and the potential of the project for completion, with considerable weight given to the applicant's prior research/artistic record.

      3. Decisions will be based entirely on the merits of proposals and will not necessarily result in a proportionate distribution among departments.

   3. Appeal

      An unsuccessful applicant may appeal the committee’s decision only on the grounds of a procedural error. The written appeal stating the perceived error must be sent to the appropriate dean within 30 days of the announcement of the awards. An applicant who is not satisfied with the dean’s decision may send a written appeal to the provost within two weeks of learning the dean’s decision. The provost’s decision is final.

6. Subsequent Responsibilities

   If circumstances require that a substantial change be made in the project after it has been approved, the faculty member should obtain approval of the changes from the appropriate dean.

   A recipient has the following responsibilities following the reassignment:

   1. Within three months after the conclusion of the semester or year for which the award was given, the recipient will submit a report of accomplishments to the department chair/school director. The chair/director will forward the report with the chair/director's comments to the dean.

   2. Within a year after the conclusion of the semester or year for which the award was given, the recipient is required to conduct a seminar or other appropriate means of presentation of work accomplished during the reassignment. The seminar/presentation will be open to the recipient's peers and to the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ community.

   3. Applicants who have not fulfilled subsequent responsibilities for previous awards will not be considered.