Faculty Renewal Leaves

For scheduling purposes, those intending to apply for a Faculty Renewal Leave should declare in writing their intent to apply to their department chairs no later than the end of the Spring Semester of the academic year preceding the submission of the application. The application (and any supporting documents) must be submitted electronically by the fourth Friday in October to the Office of the Provost, the committee chair and the applicant’s department chair and dean. For example, faculty would notify their chair and dean in the spring of 2028 of their intent to submit an application in October 2028 for a leave to be taken in either the Fall 2029 or Spring 2030 semester. The Chair’s Review Form and Dean’s Review Form are linked in the buttons below and are due electronically on or before the first Friday in November to the FRL committee chair and the Office of the Provost. The independent reviews by deans and chairs are evaluation documents and not approvals. They are confidential and should be submitted separately from the application.

Chair’s Review Form

Dean’s Review Form

The proposed project should involve professional enrichment/renewal resulting in a scholarly product, and equivalent in time, energy, and output to a full-time faculty load (from Faculty Handbook, 1996, page 3.10). The nature of “scholarship” that is eligible for consideration follows the categories listed and defined by Ernest Boyer in Scholarship Reconsidered, Priorities of the Professorate. These are — scholarship of discovery, scholarship of integration, scholarship of application, and scholarship of teaching. (Please review the attached Boyer chapter before preparing your application.) Types of projects include (but are not limited to) pedagogical innovation, technological innovations, curriculum reform, new or revised courses/syllabi, research, publications, presentations, exhibits, recitals, new teaching methods, etc.

Each application will be evaluated by the members of the Faculty Renewal Leave Committee based upon the criteria listed below. Please note that the worth of a project can be judged only by the written proposal.

1. Overall quality of the project (50%)

• Description and rationale of the project
• Contribution to the discipline
• Enhancement of professional growth of the applicant
• Enhancement of ACU’s image and reputation

2. Prior service of the applicant to ACU (25%)

• Total years
• Years of continuous service since last leave or faculty renewal leave
• Nature and quality of departmental and university service

3. Likelihood of successful completion (25%)

In the evaluation process, assuming all other factors are equal, other items that could be considered include: rank, seniority, and projects involving activity outside of Abilene (strongly encouraged). If the proposed work or project is already underway, the proposal should include a statement of the progress made thus far, an estimation of the work left to be done, and the amount of time required for its completion. If the project will not be completed within the Faculty Renewal Leave period, this should be clearly stated in the application. If the applicant anticipates significant intellectual property issues, these should be discussed and arranged in advance of the Faculty Renewal Leave.

Some tangible product (e.g., publication, multi-media, syllabus revision, exhibition or performance) must be produced by the project. Each recipient of a Faculty Renewal Leave will submit a final written report within 60 days after conclusion of the Faculty Renewal Leave term. During the year following the leave, recipients will make a presentation to the faculty based on their Faculty Renewal Leave. These reports are to be submitted to the Provost, Dean of his/her college, Department Chair, and the Faculty Renewal Leave Committee. The final written report of the Faculty Renewal Leave will become a part of the faculty member’s file.

• Name
• Department
• Rank
• Date of tenure
• Semester or semesters for which faculty renewal leave is sought
• Have you ever been granted Faculty Renewal Leave from ACU? If so, when?
• How many years of full-time, tenure track service do you have at ACU?
• How many consecutive years have you served since your last Faculty Renewal Leave?
• Have you applied or are you applying for any other funds to support you while on Faculty Renewal Leave? If so, please specify the source and amount of grant expected.
• If taking a year-long leave, do you plan to teach at another university during your Faculty Renewal Leave? Give details. (Teaching requires advance approval by the Faculty Renewal Leave Committee.)
• Do you plan to pursue any part-time employment during your Faculty Renewal Leave? If so, please specify (including estimated time demands). (Reminder — such employment is strongly discouraged and requires advance approval by the Faculty Renewal Leave Committee and the Provost.)
• Where do you intend to pursue your Faculty Renewal Leave? (Reminder — generally the committee encourages Faculty Renewal Leaves that are removed from ACU.)

• Title
• Background of problem or description of area to be studied (e.g., educational trends related to the project, unresolved issues, social concerns, questions to be answered). A literature survey and/or annotated bibliography is part of this description.
• Purpose of the project
• Procedures (e.g., description of methodology, data collection and analysis, travel locations to be visited, names and positions of potential contact persons involved in the study, space requirements, equipment, laboratory and computing facilities necessary for the project)
• What are the expected tangible products (e.g., book, articles, syllabus revision, exhibition or performance, videos, software) of this project? (Reminder — some tangible product must come out of the project.)
• When do you expect to complete the project? Carefully discuss the process that leads to the stated completion date.

• What is the value of this project to your discipline?
• What is the value of this project to your own professional growth as a teacher/scholar at Abilene Christian University?
• In what other ways will this project enhance ACU’s image and reputation?
• Are there any other expected long-term benefits of this project?
• Are there intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights, royalties, etc.) agreements to be made? If so, please explain.

Please sign the proposal.

Before the Faculty Renewal Leave Committee will consider an application, the Chair’s and Dean’s Review Forms must be in the Office of the Provost by the announced deadline. In addition, the application must include the following:

• Current curriculum vita (including teaching, research, and service)
• Teaching schedule for the previous six years to be considered by the Faculty Renewal Leave Committee as providing for a Faculty Renewal Leave
• University and departmental Committees and service to students
• Other supporting data (e.g., letter[s] from host institution[s], itinerary, etc.)

Faculty Renewal Leave Chair’s Review Form

Faculty Renewal Leave Dean’s Review Form

The Faculty Renewal Leave Committee has determined criteria for Faculty Renewal Leaves as follows:

1. Overall quality of the project (50%)
   1. Description and rationale of the project
   2. Contribution to the discipline
      1. Produces products that peers in the discipline find useful in their work as scholars
      2. Increases faculty member’s depth and/or breadth of knowledge in an academic area
      3. Develops new or improved teaching materials (e.g., multi-media, syllabus, book of readings, computer programs, problem sets, etc.)
   3. Enhancement of professional growth of the applicant
      1. Person gains stature as a “recognized authority” in an area
      2. Relevance to improving teaching (e.g., instructional strategies, new course development, etc.)
   4. Enhancement of ACU’s image and reputation
      1. Direct and indirect benefit to the students
      2. Contribution to ACU’s image as an academic institution
2. Prior service of the applicant to ACU (25%)
   1. Total years
   2. Years of continuous service since last leave or Faculty Renewal Leave
   3. Nature and quality of departmental and university service
3. Likelihood of successful completion (25%)
4. Miscellaneous
   1. Location of the proposed project
   2. Rank and seniority
   3. Effect of person’s absence on teaching load in his/her department
   4. Evaluations of chair and dean

A faculty member is eligible to apply for faculty renewal leave if the individual is currently completing his/her sixth full year of continuous service to ACU. Applicants will normally have earned the rank of Assistant Professor or higher. Only full-time, tenured faculty will be eligible for faculty renewal leave.

The faculty renewal leave year is not to be interpreted as an interruption of “consecutive years of service.” However, time spent on any other leave of absence (other than faculty renewal leave) is not to be counted as part of the six years of service. Faculty members who leave the university for other employment and return to ACU at a later date must begin a new service period in order to establish eligibility. Neither grants for reassigned time, faculty summer grants, nor special assignments by ACU (e.g., Assistant Dean assignments) affect faculty renewal leave eligibility. Any other ACU leaves will be addressed on a case by case basis. A faculty renewal leave may not be used for the purpose of pursuing a terminal degree.