General guidelines

For Leaves in Academic Year 2014-2015

1. 
   A proposal submitted to the applicant's college dean according to the deadline established by the Office of the Provost and using the guidelines described below.
   
2. 
   A statement by the head of the academic unit explaining how the applicant's teaching and other professional responsibilities will be covered by the unit during the time period in which leave is sought. If the head of the academic unit is not able to provide coverage, he or she should document why that is the case.
   
3. 
   A recommendation by the head of the academic unit that includes an evaluation of the quality of the scholarly proposal.
   
4. 
   A recommendation by the dean of the applicant’s college in which these criteria are addressed:
   

• 
  the intrinsic value of the applicant’s proposal;
  
• 
  the value of the proposal to the applicant’s career;
  
• 
  the significance of the project to the academic department or academic discipline;
  
• 
  the benefit to the College and/or the University resulting from successful completion of the leave project.
  

1. 
   Application materials will be submitted to the provost and vice president for academic affairs, who will solicit evaluation of the proposal by the Research and Scholarship Committee.
   
2. 
   Following that evaluation the vice president of academic affairs will review the applicant's eligibility, the quality of the research proposal in light of the scholarly product promised by the proposal, and the completeness of the application. The provost and vice president for academic affairs must also take into consideration the effect that the leave will have on the applicant’s academic unit. The provost and vice president for academic affairs will communicate his or her recommendation to the president.
   

1. 
   Faculty members on a one-semester Advanced Academic Leave will receive full salary and benefits for the project period. (Faculty members on a two-semester Advanced Academic Leave will receive half-salary during the leave.)
   
2. 
   While on Advanced Academic Leave, a faculty member may not accept additional remunerative employment without written permission from the president or his/her designee.
   
3. 
   Faculty are encouraged to apply for external grants to supplement their funding. Their leave pay will not be decreased if they secure such funding, except, however, that faculty cannot receive more than one hundred percent of their annual equivalent salary while on leave. Funds provided for travel, housing, and other living expenses are not considered to be “Salary.”
   

Within the first month after returning from paid leave, the faculty member must submit, for evaluation by the university, a report of what was accomplished during the leave and how it contributed to the university's mission. The documents submitted requesting leave and the subsequent report and evaluation of the leave will become a part of the faculty member's permanent record.

1. 
   Within two months following the period of Advanced Academic Leave, the faculty member must present a report of the project conducted to the head of the academic unit, dean of the college, the provost and vice president for academic affairs, and the president.
   
2. 
   Any faculty member who has completed an Advanced Academic Leave and who has failed to submit a report is ineligible to apply for a subsequent leave until such report has been filed.
   

The Board of Regents’ policy states, in part: Leaves of absence of one year or less with or without pay may be granted by the institution’s president and reported to the Chancellor. Extensions of such leaves, or the initial granting of leaves of more than one year, require the approval of the Chancellor or his/her designee.

Any employee who has been granted a leave of absence with pay shall be required, before beginning the leave, to sign an agreement indicating that:

1. 
   For a leave with pay of less than one year, the employee will return to the institution at the termination of the leave for a period of at least one (1) year;
   
2. 
   For a one-year leave with pay, the employee will return to the institution at the termination of the leave for a period of at least two (2) years; and that,
   
3. 
   If the employee does not return to the institution for the full amount of time specified in the agreement, the employee will reimburse the institution for the amount of compensation received while on leave, as well as any other expenses paid by the USG during the leave, including all benefit costs.
   

1. 
   Cover Sheet (form attached) – Signatures of the Department Head and College Dean are required.
   

2. 
   Application Form (attached)
   

3. 
   Summary/Abstract: A description of the leave activity and anticipated results in non-technical terms not to exceed 300 words.
   

4. 
   Detailed description of the leave.
   
   1. 
      Plans for study and background investigation to be completed prior to the start of the leave. Include previous work by the applicant that is related to the proposal.
      
   2. 
      Brief literature review of similar works or pedagogical approaches (with appropriate references) and a description of how this proposal relates to existing work in the field.
      
   3. 
      Detailed account of the primary activity to be undertaken during the leave. The discussion should be written in a formal style consistent with the applicant's discipline, but should incorporate necessary definitions, explanations and illustrations so that it can be understood by persons outside the applicant's own specialty.
      
   4. 
      Criteria for judging the professional merit of the project. (What will be the final product of the leave? How could an observer determine after the fact whether the project was a success?)
      
   5. 
      Anticipated schedule of leave activities, including the anticipated date when the leave project will conclude.
      
   6. 
      Plans for travel to other locations. Identify the connection between the destination and the leave project. List names of individuals with whom you anticipate meeting, and for what purpose, during your visit to other locations. Describe arrangements made with colleagues/contacts at locations you plan to visit and provide available documentation.
      

5. 
   Plans for disseminating the results of the project or applying information acquired during the leave.
   

5. 
   Significance of the project to the academic department or academic discipline and plans (if any) for extending the investigation beyond the immediate project.
   

5. 
   Benefit to the College and/or University and students resulting from successful completion of the leave project.
   

5. 
   Other sources of funding, which have been realized or anticipated for the research project under consideration.
   

5. 
   List and briefly describe summer research fellowships, leaves, and funded research completed during the past seven years. Clearly describe outcomes of the research such as presentations, publications, creative works, or pedagogical applications that have resulted from previous Armstrong Atlantic State University grants, fellowships or leaves.
   

5. 
   List all external grants applied for in the past seven years, and indicate if funded or not funded in each case.
   

5. 
   Current vita of the applicant.
   

Submitted Fall 2013 For Academic Year 2014-2015

Projects must comply with all federal regulations and institutional policies. Please check if your project has human participants, utilizes animals, or deals with biohazards and thus will require review by one of the following Armstrong Atlantic State University committees:

(Refer to http://www.armstrong.edu/Departments/grants/grants_section_3_compliance for further information.)
Human Participant Protection Ins. Review Board



Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee
A project having any of these issues cannot be implemented until the appropriate committee has reviewed and given approval to the project.

TO BE COMPLETED BY THE DEPARTMENT HEAD
Please evaluate this application. Department Head comments carry particular weight in evaluating non-research proposals.
1. I believe that this proposal is: (circle your response)

Very Strong Strong Weak Very Weak

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Submitted Fall 2013 for Academic Year 2014-2015

Last Degree Received/Date Awarded: ___________________________________________________

leave?

Reviewer Comments: