Faculty Development Leave Information
Fall 2024 Application Cycle
for
Fall 2025 and/or Spring 2026 Faculty Development Leave
Important dates
- By September 15 and prior to application, faculty must discuss FDL proposals with department chair/school director.
- Applications must be submitted via the Faculty Requests portal, which will be active for faculty 8:00 am, August 15 through October 04 at 5:00 pm.
- Chairs/Directors must review and route applications to the college dean via the Faculty Requests portal by October 11, at 5:00 pm
- Deans must review and route applications to the Faculty Senate via the Faculty Requests portal by October 18, at 5:00 pm
Eligibility
- Faculty must be tenured by the time leave begins.
- At the time the development leave period begins, first time applicants must have completed at least six years of full-time Texas State University service, at least two of which are consecutive.
- At the time the development leave period begins, faculty with prior development leave(s) must have completed at least six years of university service since their last development leave.
Eligible faculty may apply for either a one-semester leave (Fall 2025 or Spring 2026) at full salary, or for one academic year (Fall 2025 and Spring 2026) at one-half of regular salary. An academic year is defined as the nine-month regular session with a fall and spring semester, as no leaves are authorized during summer sessions. Faculty may choose:
a. one semester at full pay, full benefits, and full-time assignment on FDL; or
b. two semesters at 50 percent pay, 50 percent benefits, and full-time assignment on FDL.
Faculty with prior development leave(s) may apply for: Fall 2025 leave, Spring 2026 leave, or the 2025-2026 academic year if the last development leave was taken during academic year 2019-2020 or earlier.
Application Process
Applications must be submitted via the Faculty Requests portal by October 04, 5:00 pm.
The Faculty Senate strongly recommends that applicants contact the senator(s) from their college prior to initiating the application process in order to receive assistance in developing an effective proposal, as well as for explanation of the review procedure. List of Faculty Senators
The online application includes:
1. A completed application form
2. A brief abstract (approximately 100 words, 650-character limit, including spaces) indicating the specific goals of the leave period.
3. The development leave proposal narrative: a description, in language appropriate for a generalist audience, of planned leave activities and the methodology for achieving the project goals. (2000-character limit, including spaces)
4. a list in table or bullet point format of anticipated outcomes from the requested leave and anticipated new scholarly achievements and research proposals. (500-character limit, including spaces)
5. a related letter of support if an off-site entity or collaborator is involved in the proposed developmental leave project. (uploaded as a pdf to the Faculty Requests system)
6. a brief description of the substantial expected impact of the developmental leave on the applicant’s research or scholarly activity. (2000-character limit, including spaces)
7. An up-to-date curriculum vitae in Texas State format (uploaded as a pdf to the Faculty Requests system).
8. If an applicant has previously received a development leave, he/she must also upload a copy or abstract of the most recent written report submitted to the provost after that leave. (pdf to be uploaded to the Faculty Requests system)
9. If an applicant is applying for the supplemental award, he/she must complete the supplemental award questions stated in the online application.
The online application will enforce character limits, will not allow additional documents to be submitted, and will not accept applications after 5 pm on October 04. Additional information may be found in AAPPS 04.02.02
Evaluation Process
Submissions will be electronically routed to the applicant’s chair/ director. After the chair/director has provided the information requested on the application, by 5 pm Friday, October 11 the chair/director will electronically forward the application to the college dean. The dean will route the application to the Faculty Senate for review by 5 pm Friday, October 18.
Applicants are encouraged to meet with their respective senator(s) prior to October 18 to assure that their senator fully understands the proposed project, and to provide any needed clarification.
The senate, in a closed meeting, will briefly discuss the merits of each application. Each senator will evaluate all applications using the following rubric.
| A. Applicant’s proposal clearly describes in language appropriate for a broader university faculty audience activities that will enhance teaching, scholarly/creative activities, or service. These activities should be beyond the scope of what can be achieved while carrying out the regular duties of a non-leave semester. | 0-5 points |
| B. Applicant has described expected transformative impact of the development leave on the applicant’s research or scholarly work. | 0-3 points |
| C. Applicant has described anticipated outcomes that will benefit the University, such as scholarly publication, presentation of creative work, enhanced teaching skills, or exceptional service accomplishments.1 | 0-5 points |
| D. Applicant has secured necessary financial, scholarly, technical, and other resources or agreements needed within the leave period to carry out the project. If applicable, provide evidence of support by an off-site entity or collaborator for completion of the proposed work. 2 | 0-3 points |
| E. Applicant has provided a curriculum vita that indicates a sustained record of achievement. | 0-2 points |
| F. Applicant has attached the report to the Provost from the most recent development leave (or if not available, a one-page summary), which includes the abstract from the leave proposal application, a list in table or bullet point format of outcomes from the requested leave and new scholarly achievements and research proposals submitted, and justifications for any outcomes not accomplished, and additional outcomes not anticipated during the prior leave. 3 | 0-2 points |
| Total Score4 |
1 Provide a bulleted list of anticipated outcomes. 2 Upload an email or letter from the off-site entity. Projects that do not require off-site agreements will be provided full points in this category. 3 Upload the report or summary. Applications that are from faculty without prior leaves, will be assigned full points in this category. 4The average of all Senators' ratings on each applicant will determine whether the application merits the Senate’s recommendation for approval. Recommendations will be sent to the Provost for approval.
The Senate Chair will inform each candidate of the Senate’s decision regarding his/her application no later than December 1, 2024. In the event that a proposal is not recommended, the letter will include rubric scores to assist the applicant in understanding the reasons for the decision. Except as provided above, the Senate's discussion and rankings are confidential and will not be released to other parties.
Supplemental Funding:
Pending the availability of funds, ten Supplemental Awards of $20,000 each are available to faculty who receive Development Leaves. These awards are provided to assist faculty in their research efforts, and can be used to:
fund travel and lodging costs associated with research expenses during the Faculty Development Leave
purchase equipment or materials needed for research during the leave, OR
supplement salary for those who select both the fall and spring semesters for their leave
In the latter case, the supplemental award may be combined with other funds from the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs to provide up to 100% of salary for an academic-year leave.
A committee appointed by the Provost, and including representation from the Faculty Senate, will review all requests for these awards from faculty who have been approved by the President for Faculty Development Leaves.
Criteria for selection include:
a. Overall Quality of the Proposal - The proposal is well organized and clearly written.
b. Importance to the Field - Publication and dissemination of results represents a significant contribution to the discipline and/or field of study.
c. Scope - The activity described in the proposal is beyond what can be achieved in one semester of development leave.
d. Potential for External Funding - There is a prospect for leveraging the project to obtain external sponsored funding.
The committee will recommend ten award recipients to the Provost, who will make the final decisions. Award notifications will be made by the Provost in January, 2025.