Tenured Faculty Enhancement Leave

This competitive program, funded by the President and Provost, is intended to assist tenured faculty in devoting an entire semester to research and/or creative activity. 

The Tenured Faculty Enhancement Leave (TFEL) program provides the recipients’ department with funds for faculty instructional replacement costs. During the leave, recipients will continue to draw their full salary and fringe benefits for one semester (either Fall or Spring) in the next academic year. They must devote the entire semester to their research project and not teach any courses or participate in other KSU-related activities.   

Proposals must focus on projects that result in scholarly and/or creative activity products that help move the university toward national prominence at an R2 standard that warrant 100% Research workload and are beyond the expectations of a typical 30% research workload.  

As per section 4.2.5 of the Faculty Handbook and in compliance with USG policies, a leave with pay may be granted only for the purposes of promoting scholarly work and encouraging professional development. TFEL falls in this category. In addition, the faculty handbook also specifies that recipients of leaves must return to KSU for a minimum of twelve months after the semester in which they take the leave. 

Application Deadline 

The deadline for the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 leave cycle is October 1, 2024. 

Amount 

This program does not provide additional financial incentives for participating faculty. While on leave, they will simply continue to receive the salary and fringe benefits specified in their contract. The department will hire part-time instructors to cover the faculty member’s courses. The associated instructional replacement costs will come from the part-time faculty pool. 

Proposal Questions and Assistance 

  • image of two individuals editing a document on a table between two laptops with pens

    Tenured Faculty Enhancement Leave Application Workshop

    The Tenured Faculty Enhancement Leave is a competitive award program intended to assist tenured faculty in devoting an entire semester to foster their professional development through research and/or creative activity.   This workshop will review these updated eligibility and submission requirements, key components of the application, and strategies for constructing a compelling proposal to enhance a faculty member’s research and/or creative activity that aligns with the university’s goal of becoming an excellent R2 institution.

Because this is a highly competitive program, we strongly suggest attending one of the CETL workshops on preparing an application (see above). If you have any questions concerning the application process or the suitability of your proposal, contact cetl@kennesaw.edu.

    • Applicants must be tenured at the time of their application
    • Applicants must be in at least their 7th year of full-time employment at KSU and have completed at least 6 consecutive years as a full- time faculty member at KSU at the time of the application.
    • Faculty are eligible to apply for a subsequent TFEL in the 6th year after the completion of a previous Leave. 

  • Uses and Limitations 

    • Awards are available for either fall or spring semester. They are not available during the summer because faculty are not under contract, though the summer may be used to extend the program experience in the narrative of the proposal
    • Accepting the Leave means that a faculty member will take a full leave from all KSU responsibilities during the entire semester, except for activities consistent with these guidelines. The intent of this program is to enable faculty to focus on the project described in their application. Accordingly, recipients will work exclusively on their research project.  During the leave, faculty members should continue to follow KSU and Board of Regents policies on outside activities and conflicts of interest. 
    • Recipients will receive their regular salary and benefits during the leave period.
    • Leaves cannot be used to accept a temporary teaching appointment at another university unless that appointment contributes directly to a project designed to expand the faculty member’s skills (e.g., temporary appointment at a foreign university, Fulbright).  Such teaching appointments must be disclosed in the application. 

    Program Requirements 

    The recipient is expected to: 

    • work on the project full time and suspend KSU-related responsibilities and activities unrelated to the project during the term in which the leave takes place, except as allowed by the TFEL Guidelines;
    • conduct a presentation  or seminar for colleagues on the outcomes of the leave research project within 6 months of the end of the leave;
    • submit a report to the Executive Director for Faculty Development, Recognition, and CETL no later than 6 months after the completion of the leave with an update on the status and outcomes of the research project;
    • submit a report with updates on the status and outcomes of the research project every 6 months until completion of the project;
    • connect with the Office of Research to better understand how KSU's Intellectual Property policy applies to the scholarship I plan to engage in during this leave.
    • credit the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Kennesaw State University in every published work (e.g. papers, posters, book chapters, blogs, websites, event programs, etc.) resulting from their participation in TFEL. 

  • The evaluation of the proposals follows a two-step process. As part of the review process, the review committees look for evidence of longitudinal research productivity. In the first step, proposals are reviewed on a competitive basis by the Faculty Development Committee, a standing committee of the Faculty Senate. The committee makes recommendations to Academic Affairs. The following criteria guide the committee’s evaluation of proposals: 

    • The quality and significance of the project relative to an R2 institution. 
      The extent to which the proposal articulates specific measurable outcomes/products.
    • The extent to which the proposal clearly demonstrates how the leave will ultimately contribute to departmental, college, and university mission and goals as aligned to KSU’s strategic goals.
    • The extent to which the proposal includes an explicit action plan and timeline for completion of the project.
    • The extent to which the applicant has an established record of excellence in research and/or creative activity relative to the years of academic experience presented in the applicant’s CV.
    • The extent to which there are departmental and college support and resources to sustain resulting initiatives of the applicant after the leave. 

    In the second step, proposals are reviewed by the Provost, the Vice President for Research, and the designated Vice Provost. 

  • The program runs by fiscal year. Applications are accepted each Fall for leaves in the following fiscal year (Fall or Spring). Decisions are then announced by early December. 

    • For Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 leave, apply in Fall 2024. 
    • For Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 leave, apply in Fall 2025.
    • For Fall 2027 or Spring 2028 leave, apply in Fall 2026. 

  • Proposal Submission Guidelines 

    • Compile all the required information from the Proposal Format section below into a single PDF
    • Complete the InfoReady Application, attach your combined PDF, agree to the Faculty Member Commitments, enter the email addresses of your chair(s) and dean(s), preview your application, and click submit.  
    • You will receive an e-mail confirmation upon successful submission. If you do not receive the confirmation e-mail, please contact CETL. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the proposal was received by the deadline.
    • Once you submit your application, it will be routed to your chair and dean for their signature and approval. In addition, the chair will be asked to provide a letter of support addressing the following:
      • impact of the leave on the faculty member's research or creative activity and their qualifications and expertise vis-à-vis the research project;
      • applicant’s ability to successfully complete the project's goals and outcomes;
      • department or college support and resources are available after the leave to sustain the faculty member’s activities and initiatives that were started during the leave; and
      • impact act of the leave for achieving department/college/university strategic goals.

    Proposal Format

    In order to facilitate and expedite the review of proposals, proposals must be submitted in the following format (i.e., order of content) and explicitly address all specified proposal elements listed below. Proposals that are not consistent with the following formatting instructions or missing required content are not considered. 

    • Abstract (No more than 100 words).
    • Narrative (No more than 5 (five) double-spaced pages, 12 point font in Times New Roman or LaTeX, 1 inch margins) NOTE: reference/citation pages do not count as part of the 5 page limit. 
      Describe in detail your proposed project using the following framework and specifically addressing all the items listed. The reviewing panel is composed of one representative per college and does not likely include experts in your specialized field of scholarship. Therefore, it is important to write the narrative in clear, direct language. Make it "reader friendly" by eliminating jargon and clichés and avoiding acronyms whenever possible.  
      • Project Description Provide a clear and documented overview of the rationale, purpose, and outcomes of the proposed project. Your overview must include: 
        • a clear description of the project itself, including rationale and methodology;
        • measurable outcomes/products for the research project; 
        • how the project relates to your contribution to department, college or university strategic goals; 
        • a description of any other funds or resources that you will have available during the leave (e.g., travel and accommodations). Also, address whether you are collaborating or working with others and what you expect to gain from the collaboration.  
      • Sustainability - Most projects will continue beyond the semester of leave. Provide an action plan and timeline for the completion of the research project. Identify departmental and/or college support and resources where applicable.
      • Dissemination - Provide a plan for disseminating the results of your project through presentations, exhibitions, publications, or other disciplinary equivalents.  
    • Timeline 
      Delineate a realistic and achievable project schedule that indicates how you will accomplish the desired outcomes/products and the specific activities both during the leave and beyond it.
    • Current Condensed Curriculum Vitae (Maximum of 5 pages including highlighting 5 of the most relevant publications to the proposal) 
    • Letters of Support 
      • Letters of support from those familiar with the proposed activities. If the applicant’s plan includes a partnership with colleagues at a research lab, educational institution, or professional organization, provide at least one support letter from someone at that setting. If the applicant's plan includes a deliverable of a book, include a letter indicating you are in a contract or there is strong interest from the publisher. 
    •  
  • Decisions are announced to the faculty member, as well as their chair and dean, in early December.  
     
    Upon notification of being accepted for TFEL, recipients must work with their chair to change the faculty member’s Faculty Performance Agreement (FPA) in the system to reflect their TFEL project. For the semester of the leave, the revised FPA should be: Teaching, 0%; Research: 100%; Service, 0%. 

 

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