Faculty Development Leave Guidelines

Faculty Development Leave (FDL) Overview

As defined in the Texas Education Code, an FDL is a leave of absence for a faculty member to dedicate time and effort "for study, research, writing, field observations, or other suitable purpose."

All FDLs must follow Texas Education Code and the following UT Austin FDL requirements: 

1. To be eligible for any kind of FDL, the faculty member must have served as a full-time faculty member of UT Austin for at least two consecutive full academic years at some point before the start of the FDL. 
2. Not more than 6% of each CSU's faculty can have FDL each academic year (based on the previous academic year's headcount of tenured/ tenure-track faculty).
3. Applications for any kind of FDL must be reviewed by a committee that includes elected faculty.
4. Upon completion of an FDL, the faculty member has a return obligation such that they must either:
   1. Return to work at UT Austin for the fall and spring terms following conclusion of the FDL, or
   2. Repay UT Austin for all the costs of the FDL (the total compensation including fringe benefits)

*Note that FDLs are distinct from course releases that result in 0-teaching loads. FDLs release faculty from normal University obligations so they can focus solely on research. Course releases that result in 0-teaching loads are for teaching release only; faculty are expected to fulfill other University obligations and duties. 

Submissions

Applications will open September 5 - October 3, 2023 for FDLs to occur the following AY 2024-25.

More information about the FDL process can be found on the EVPP website.

Updated Guidelines can be found here:

FDL Guidelines_COLA.pdf

UT-FDL Criteria and Application Materials

UT-FDL Core Eligibility Criteria

• Core timing (6 full academic years including two consecutive full-time years at UT Austin),
• Title series/ranks (applicants must be already tenured when applying),
• Demonstrated excellence in history of and trajectory in research, scholarship, and creative endeavors, and that
• Recipients must have met or exceeded expectations in at least three of the most recent academic years preceding the application for the FDL.

UT-FDL Application Materials

• Short CV (limit: four pages)
• FDL Proposal that includes:
  • Abstract (limit: 100 words) that briefly summarizes the purpose of the proposed FDL. The Abstract should not use unnecessary acronyms and should include the following informationL
    • The location where the faculty member will engage in the FDL activities.
    • Research, scholarship, and creative endeavors that will occur during the FDL.
    • Benefits and anticipated impact of the FDL on the 
      • Faculty member's professional development with regard to their research/scholarly/ creative endeavors, and on the 
      • Faculty member's department, college/school and the university.
    • Leave Proposal (limit: 2,000 words) that describes and justifies the proposed research, scholarship and creative endeavors and the need for the FDl. the location where the faculty will do the work during the FDL, which type of FDL is requested (full-time for one long semester or half-time in each of two long semesters), details about the planned leave activities and how the leave activities will contribute to the further development of the candidate's research/ scholarship/ creative endeavors. 
    • Bibliography (optional; limit: two pages)
    • Letter of Invitation required only if the FDL is to be hosted elsewhere (e.g., national lab, another institution of higher education, etc.)