Scholarly Assignments Off Campus
REG 05.20.24
January 21, 2004 Archived Version (Effective January 21, 2004 through June 5, 2006)
Authority: Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
History: First Issued: January 1, 2003. Last Revised: January 21, 2004. Additional History Information.
Contact Info: Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (919-515-2194)
1. Scholarly Assignments Off Campus
1.1. It is essential that faculty members maintain high competence as professionals
in their fields and keep abreast of the most recent developments in their special
areas of scholarly interest. Recognizing that the pursuit of these scholarly
interests often requires concentrated efforts which are not usually possible
during long periods of heavy teaching loads and other campus responsibilities,
the administration encourages the colleges and departments to foster, when possible,
scholarly assignments off campus for their faculty members at intervals of about
seven years.
1.2. On the recommendation of a department head and with the approval of the dean,
and the provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, a nine-month
faculty member may be granted a scholarly assignment off campus for one semester
at full salary or for one academic year at half salary. A 12-month faculty member
may be granted a scholarly assignment off campus for 6 months at full salary
or for 12 months at half salary. In general, during the period the university
contributes to the salary of the faculty member, that salary should not exceed
a regular full-time salary. Funds obtained by the faculty member for travel,
per diem, housing, and similar expenses are not considered as salary. In requesting
an off-campus scholarly assignment a faculty member must complete a Scholarly
Assignment Form and must provide a statement describing the expected
benefits from the leave to the university.
1.3. In accepting a scholarly assignment off campus with full or partial compensation
from university sources, the faculty member will be asked to indicate intent
to return to his or her regular assignment and duties for at least one academic
year following the termination of the scholarly assignment, to prepare and submit
a written report based on the results of the leave period to the department
head, and to prepare and present a seminar to the department, college, university,
or community upon completion of the leave period.
1.4. Before a faculty member without permanent tenure can be given permission either
to take a leave of absence or to accept a scholarly assignment off campus, he
or she shall request of the department head approval in writing of whether or
not the time on leave or assignment is to be considered as a period of "full-time
service to the university." After agreement is reached, the department
head will forward a statement signed by the faculty member along with the Scholarly
Assignment Form for approval by the dean and the provost and executive
vice chancellor for academic affairs. "Full-time service" in this
case indicates that the time spent on leave counts as a portion of the existing
appointment period of the individual faculty member. If no request for "full-time
service" is made, the existing appointment period would be extended by
an amount of time equal to the period of the leave.
1.5. The determination of whether the time spent on leave without pay or leave with
partial pay counts towards retirement is made by the Board of Trustees of the
North Carolina State Retirement System[1].
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[1] The State Retirement System provides that an employee can have a career
total of up to six (6) years of approved leave which can be counted as creditable
service towards retirement. The provisions of G.S
135-8(b)(5) allow employees (employers) to continue contributions to
the Retirement System while on educational leave of absence. However, members
of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System must return to contributing
service within 12 months after the completing the leave and must contribute
for an additional three years. In the event either of these conditions are not
met, the provisions require the refund of the contributions made during the
educational leave and cancellation of the service credits attributable to those
contributions.
