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Timeline for 2023-24

(For FDLs effective in 2024-25)

Overview - Faculty Development Leave (FDL)

The Provost's Faculty Development Leave program provides tenured faculty members the opportunity of paid leave from teaching and service responsibilities to allow them to focus on research, scholarship, and creative endeavors. At other universities, this type of leave is commonly called a "Sabbatical". The FDL replaces the former Faculty Research Assignment (FRA) program.

The FDL may be taken as either:

• Full-time leave for one semester in either the fall or spring long semesters, or
• Half-time leave during each long semester during the nine-month long session

The number of FDLs to be awarded per year is limited, and faculty to receive FDLs will be selected through a review process outlined below.

Guidelines

UT Austin guidelines

• 2023-24 UT FDL Guidelines

College of Education guidelines

• EVPP: Faculty Development Leave > "College and School FDL Guidelines" in right-hand side bar > "College of Education." 
• Guidelines include:
  • Formation of committee
  • Application materials
  • Criteria for selection
  • Eligibility

Conditions for recipients

1) UT-FDL is given in support of the activities described in the recipient’s application. Any major changes in the proposed activity require prior approval from the Provost's Office. Requests for changes should be first approved by the UT-FDL recipient’s supervisor (department chair, where relevant, and dean), and then submitted to the EVPP’s Faculty Affairs team for EVPP approval.

2) A faculty member on faculty development leave may not accept employment from any other person, corporation, or government, unless the governing board determines that it would be in the public interest to do so and expressly approves the employment.

3) Upon completion of the FDL the faculty member must submit a report documenting FDL activities and products (where relevant) and the impact of the FDL on the faculty member’s professional development. A failure to submit the report will make the faculty member ineligible to receive another FDL.

4) The recipient of an UT-FDL during the academic year 2023-2024 is expected to return to normal fulltime professional duties at the University of Texas at Austin for at least the academic year (fall and spring long semesters) of the following Academic Year. A recipient who elects not to return to the university after holding an UT-FDL is obligated to reimburse the university for funds (gross salary plus fringe benefits) expended in support of the UT-FDL. This applies even when the recipient chooses to retire, or to resign from the university for some reason. (See Section 2-2210 of the Handbook of Operating Procedures).

5) Based on Section 51.105 (b) of Texas Education code, a faculty member on FDL “may accept a grant for study, research, or travel from any institution of higher education, from a charitable, religious, or educational corporation or foundation, from any business enterprise, or from any federal, state, or local governmental agency”. Such funding must be approved by the Dean and governing board.

Eligibility

Faculty are encouraged to confirm their eligibility by carefully reviewing (1) the "Eligibility" section of EVPP: Faculty Development Leave, (2) UT FDL Guidelines for the appropriate Academic Year, and (3) this Wiki page prior to applying. 

• Link to 2023-24 UT FDL Guidelines

To be eligible to apply for an FDL, a tenured faculty member must meet all of the following criteria:

• Must have met or exceeded expectations in at least three of the most recent full academic years preceding their FDL application.
• At the start of the UT-FDL, the faculty member must have already completed at least six full academic years employed as a full-time faculty member by UT Austin, with the six years including at least two full academic years of consecutive full-time service at UT Austin, and have received no other FDLs (or their predecessor, FRAs) during that six-year period.
  • The two full academic years of consecutive full-time service do not have to immediately precede the application nor award of FDL.
  • Leaves related to parental and paid sick time off policies do not interrupt the count of consecutive years.
• Faculty must be tenured at UT Austin when they apply for and have a UT-FDL.

Examples of timing for FDL

Source: 2023-24 UT FDL Guidelines FINAL.pdf

How to apply

1. Review eligibility

Before applying, please carefully review the "Eligibility" and "Conditions for recipients" tabs on this page.

2. COE application process

Processes for awardees

To accept the FDL

1) The Provost's Office will notify awardees via email just prior to the winter break. Notification emails will include an attachment: page 1 will be the award letter, and page 2 will be an Acceptance Form.

2) Recipient should sign the Acceptance Form and return to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu. Please note the deadline to return the form, stated on the form itself.

3) COE Faculty Affairs will obtain the Senior Associate Dean's signature, record relevant award info, and add the fully-signed form to the faculty member's Dean's Office personnel file on Box.  

4) COE Faculty Affairs will forward the fully-signed form to the Provost's Office, and will cc the recipient's department Chair and Administrative Manager.

Upon completion of the FDL

The faculty member must submit a report documenting the following:

• Activities and products
• Impact of the FDL on their professional development
• Accounting of all grants supplemental to the FDL

A report template is available at EVPP: Faculty Development Leave > "Post-FDL Requirements."

Failure to submit the report by the deadline will make the faculty member ineligible to receive another future FDL.

For fall FDLs, the report prompt will come no later than the start of the following spring term. 

Information for administrative staff

A faculty member on FDL remains on the instructional budget. No Faculty Request for Leave form is required, and no costing allocation change is needed.

APS will record FDLs in the faculty member's Workday profile. Go to "Academic" > "Current Appointments." In the "Identifier" column, look for FD (Faculty Development). "Track Type" will be FDL (Faculty Development Leave).

Frequently Asked Questions - FDL

Q. Is FDL new?
A. FDL replaces the FRA (Faculty Research Award) program, and will take its first applications in fall 2022, for awards beginning in AY 2023-24. Any prior FRAs awarded will be counted as FDLs for purposes of eligibility.

Q. When should a faculty member apply for FDL?
A. Apply during the Academic Year prior to the one in which the FDL would be taken. Example: apply in fall 2022-23 for an FDL that would be taken in AY 2023-24.

Q. How much of a faculty member's regular salary is covered by FDL? 
A. All salary is covered, unless the faculty member has an external fellowship covering some portion of salary.

Q. Can an FDL be combined with an external fellowship to create a year-long research leave?
A. Yes, it can.

Q. Is a course release the same as FDL?
A. A course release is not an FDL in and of itself. Faculty with approved course releases, for instance, are still expected to be available for service and research responsibilities.

Q. If an FDL is taken as half-time leave during each long semester, what would service expectations be?
A. Service should be proportional to the remaining half-time appointment.

Q. How does FDL work for faculty with joint appointments?
A. Joint-appointed faculty will follow the rules and programming for their primary department.

Q. Can FDL be deferred if circumstances change?
A. Deferrals, with justification, are at the discretion of the Dean.