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USF Health PDL Application 2019-20 USF Health Guidelines for Professional Development Leave for Non-Tenure Earning Faculty, Non-Ranked Faculty, and Faculty Instructors in the Morsani College of Medicine and In-Unit and Out of Unit Faculty in the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health and the College of Pharmacy
(Authority: Faculty Rule 10.104, Faculty Benefits and Hours of Work, and Article 22.1 of the USF/USF Collective Bargaining Agreement, 2016-2019)
EFFECTIVE: September 16, 2020
2020-21 Information
Application
Timeline
This policy/procedure is applicable to fulltime, regular (Temporary [previously OPS] and Visiting are not eligible) non-tenure earning faculty in USF Health who are appointed as follows:
To be eligible, faculty members must have a minimum of three (3) years of fulltime service with the University in a faculty classification. Faculty members who have given notice of resignation or retirement that will occur in the next year, whose soft money funding is ending or being reallocated, or who have received a notice of non-reappointment are ineligible for Professional Development Leave. A faculty member who is compensated through a contract or grant may receive a professional development leave only if the contract or grant allows for such leaves and the faculty member meets all other requirements.
Professional development leave shall be made available to fulltime, non-tenure earning faculty members described above who meet the requirements set forth below. Such leaves are granted to increase a faculty member's value to the University through enhanced opportunities for professional renewal, educational travel, study, formal education, research, writing, or other experience of professional value, not as a reward for service.
Professional development leaves are considered assigned duties. Faculty members should be evaluated while on such leave in a manner appropriate to the assigned duties involved. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to provide data for evaluation of his/her performance while on leave, consistent with the purpose of the leave and as may be required by the faculty member's department.
Within 30 days after returning from the leave, the faculty member must provide to the Dean or, for faculty not assigned to a college, the Senior Vice President a concise written report of accomplishments during the leave. This report shall include information regarding the activities undertaken during the leave, the results accomplished during the leave as they affect the employee and the College, and research or other scholarly work produced or expected to be produced as a result of the leave.
USF Health will make available at least one professional development leave at full pay for up to 19.5 weeks or its equivalent (for example, leave at half pay for two semesters, or a total of up to 39 weeks), for each 20 eligible faculty members, subject to the conditions set forth below.
Professional Development Leave awards will provide 100% of University of South Florida contracted base salary support for up to one semester or the equivalent (19.5 weeks) or 50% of this University contracted base salary support for up to two semesters or the equivalent (up to 39 weeks).
Note: Contracted base salary does not include stipends.
Compensation from the Academic Support Fund and related UMSA benefits are not covered by Professional Development Leave Policies and must be arranged by the faculty member before submitting the application with his/her department Chairperson or program on an individual basis relative to contributions to the Department or program and are not considered an entitlement or guarantee.
The chairperson will provide a memorandum for the personnel file if ASF support will be provided during the sabbatical and outline the amount and duration of such support. A copy of this memorandum will be included with the application package.
Faculty members considering applying for a Professional Development Leave should confirm with the USF Human Resources Benefits Office, SVC 2172, (813) 974-2970, that salary adjustments that result from the Professional Development Leave will not negatively impact their employee-paid benefits.
All applicants will complete the designated Professional Development Leave Application, available on the web.
Eligible faculty complete a USF Health Application for Professional Development Leave form, including a detailed outline of their planned professional development program with a time line and other required documentation/verification through appropriate channels to their College Dean/designee.
When the professional development leave involves assignment at another institution or organization, include a letter of acknowledgement from a designated representative of that institution or organization verifying the availability of the proposed assignment.
Eligible faculty member should submit the complete application and required attachments to the College Dean no later than 5:00pm on the date indicated in the time table.
No more than one (1) faculty member in any department/unit need be granted Professional Development Leave at the same time.
Each application for Professional Development Leave will be evaluated by a Professional Development Leave Committee established within each college/unit with applicants for a professional development leave. A faculty member who is applying for a professional development leave may not serve on a Professional Development Committee. This committee shall be established by the mechanisms stipulated for creating faculty committees via the faculty governance documents of the colleges/units. If no such procedure exists, the Dean shall select a committee based on nominations received by the faculty. For an application from the Senior Vice President's staff or a unit that reports directly to the Senior Vice President, the Senior Vice President/ designee will appoint a committee of the applicants' peers to review the application. These committees will evaluate each application based on the following criteria.
The college review committees submit their recommendations to the Dean for endorsement or non-endorsement. For an applicant not appointed within a college, the appropriate review committee submits its recommendations to the head of the applicant's unit for endorsement or non-endorsement. When the Professional Development Leave involves assignment at another institution or organization, ensure that a letter of acknowledgement from that institution or organization verifying the assignment is included with the application package.
The Deans and heads of non-college units submit only fully completed and endorsed applications with their letter of endorsement and the review committee's recommendation to the USF Health Office of Faculty Affairs by 5:00 pm on the date indicated in the timetable. All applications forwarded to the USF Health Office of Faculty Affairs must contain a letter of endorsement by the College Dean/designee or unit head/designee, including a statement regarding the impact on the department/unit staffing conditions. If ASF support is to be provided a memorandum, outlining support, the amount, and duration of such support, and signed by both the supervisor and CFO of the practice plan must also be included with the application.
When there are more applications than there are professional development leaves to be awarded, the USF Health Senior Vice President/designee will convene a USF Health Professional Development Leave committee to review and rank the applications. The committee will consist of the following:
The Committee Chair submits the ranked applications to the Office of Faculty Affairs by the date indicated on the timetable.
The USF Health Office of Faculty Affairs submits the endorsed and ranked applications from the Professional Development Leave Review Committee to the Vice President for consideration. The Vice President/designee notifies the award recipients in writing as soon as possible after receiving the recommendations.
The faculty member's department submits the appointment status form to USF Health Office of Faculty Affairs no later than the date indicated by the timetable.