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Professional Development Leave

USF Health PDL Application 2022-2023 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: March 20, 2024

2024-2025 Information

Applicability and Eligibility

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:

  • Morsani College of Medicine
    • Non-tenure earning faculty with the title of 9004 Instructor and those non-ranked faculty such as 9115 Coordinator, 9120 Associate In, 9121 Assistant In, 9126 Program Director, 9166 Research Associate, and 9199 Faculty Administrator.
  • College of Nursing and College of Public Health
    • Non-tenure earning faculty (in-unit or out-of-unit faculty) with the title of 9004 Instructor, 9115 Coordinator, 9120 Associate In, 9121 Assistant In, 9126 Program Director, 9166 Research Associate, 9199 Faculty Administrator. Non-tenure earning faculty in these Colleges may also include 9001 Professor, 9002 Associate Professor, and 9003 Assistant Professor.
  • College of Pharmacy
    • Non-tenure earning faculty with the title of 9004 Instructor and those non-ranked faculty such as 9115 Coordinator, 9120 Associate In, 9121 Assistant In, 9126 Program Director, 9166 Research Associate, and 9199 Faculty Administrator. Non-tenure earning faculty in this College may also include 9001 Professor, 9002 Associate Professor, and 9003 Assistant Professor.
  • USF Health, Shimberg Library
    • In addition, faculty members appointed to non-tenure earning (in-unit or out-of-unit) positions such as 9053 Librarian, 9054 Associate Librarian, 9055 Assistant Librarian, and 9056 Instructor Librarian are also eligible to apply.

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.

Policy and Purpose

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.

Types of Leave and and Support Available

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.

Application, Selection, and Notification

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.

Peer Review Process

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.

  • Completeness - The Dean/ designee will determine if the application itself is complete and the application package contains all required documents. If an application is judged to be incomplete, it will be returned to the applicant with a specific written statement of the deficiency. A resubmitted application must be received by the Dean/designee no later than one week from the date of the receipt of the notification of deficiency in order to be reconsidered.
  • Specificity - The applicant should state clearly the nature of the activity for which the leave is requested, what objectives are to be accomplished, how the objectives are to be accomplished, and the professional benefits expected to accrue to the individual and to the unit.
  • Feasibility - Given the nature of the request as outlined in (a) above, the applicant should explain in detail how this activity practically can be accomplished. For example, questions such as the following should be addressed:
    • Can the activity be completed during the term of leave, if granted?
    • Has the funding been secured for any travel (domestic or international), equipment, or supplies, which may be necessary for completion of the proposed activity?
  • Desirability - Information should be provided to enable the Committee to determine whether completion of this activity would be of value to the professional development of the individual and to the University.
  • Productivity Improvement - Statements should be included which identify how the proposed activity is expected to improve the productivity of the applicant's department or function.

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 present or past president of the Faculty Council or Faculty Assembly in each College; and
  • One other current member of the Faculty Council or Faculty Assembly of each College.
  • The committee chair will be elected by the committee members.
  • The seventh member of the committee is the USF Health Associate Vice President for Research who will also serve as the chairperson of the committee..

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.

Terms of Leave

  1. The faculty member must return to University employment for at least one academic year following the conclusion of such leave. Requests for an agreement to the contrary must be requested by the faculty member to the USF Health Office of Faculty Affairs, in writing, prior to accepting and going on the Professional Development Leave. If neither of these requirements are met, the faculty member may be required to return any salary received during the Professional Development Leave to the University.
  2. A faculty member who fails to spend the time as stated in the application shall reimburse the University for the salary received during such leave.
  3. Faculty members shall not normally be eligible for a second professional development leave until three (3) years of continuous service are completed following the previous leave.
  4. The faculty member must provide a brief written report of the employee's accomplishments during the professional development leave to the Dean or, for faculty not appointed within a College, to the Vice President/designee, upon return to the University.
  5. Contributions normally made by the University to retirement and Social Security programs shall be continued on a basis proportional to the salary received. University contributions normally made to employee insurance programs and any other employee benefit programs shall be continued during the professional development leave. Faculty members considering applying for a Professional Development Leave should confirm with the Human Resources Office, (813) 974-5717, that any reduced salary as the result of the Professional Development Leave will not negatively impact their employee-paid benefits.
  6. Faculty members that are awarded a professional development leave shall continue to accrue annual leave (if eligible) and sick leave proportionate to their USF appointed FTE during the leave.
  7. Funding and Salary:
    • No moving expenses or other expenses will be provided by USF Health.
    • While on leave, a faculty member shall be permitted to receive funds for travel and living expenses, and other professional development leave-related expenses, from sources other than the University such as fellowships, grants-in-aid, and contracts and grants, to assist in accomplishing the purposes of the professional development leave. Receipt of funds for such purposes shall not result in reduction of the faculty member's University salary. Grants for such financial assistance from other sources may, but need not be administered through the University.
    • If financial assistance is received in the form of salary, the University salary shall normally be reduced by the amount necessary to bring the total income of the professional development leave period to a level comparable to the faculty member's current contracted base salary. Note: Contracted base salary does not include stipends. In the event that a faculty member receives a reduced pay professional development leave, any salary supplement received through USF (e.g., a grant/contract) must be from participation in an activity that facilitates or contributes to the accomplishment of the objectives of the professional development leave.
    • Employment unrelated to the purpose of the professional development leave is governed by the provisions of USF Personnel Rule 10.107 Employee Ethical Obligations: Conflicts of Interest and Outside Employment; Employment of Relatives; Seeking or Holding Public Office, or Article 22 of the 2014-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the USF Board of Trustees and the United Faculty of Florida, whichever is applicable. If the faculty member engages in any Outside Activity during the Professional Development Leave, it is to be reported in ROAD. Should a faculty member be notified by the University that they are to submit their annual eDisclose report while on PDL, they will be expected to do so in a timely fashion.