Research Time for Kent Campus Faculty

Tenure track University Libraries faculty members are evaluated in part by the contributions they make in job performance/teaching, scholarship, and service. All areas are components of University librarianship and as such are factors in reappointment, tenure, and promotion decisions and merit recommendations. While it is ultimately the decision of individual faculty members as to how best to maintain a balance among these areas, it is incumbent upon Kent State University and University Libraries to provide the environment and opportunities conducive to scholarly contributions.

 

Research time is provided to support Faculty scholarship, including that required for reappointment, tenure, and promotion, in spite of the constraints of a twelve-month contract that includes maintaining library operations during weekends, evenings, summer, seasonal breaks, and intersessions.

 

The following categories of University Libraries faculty are eligible to use research time. Research time shall not carry over from one fiscal year to the next. At the end of a given fiscal year, research time not used is forfeited

CATEGORY
MAXIMUM HOURS OF RESEARCH TIME AVAILABLE PER FISCAL YEAR
1. Full-time tenured or tenure-track Faculty.
200 hours; time prorated in the first
year for those hired after July 1

2. Full-time tenured or tenure-track administrator with faculty rank.
100 hours

3. Those in categories 1 or 2 on 136-day or one semester of professional improvement leave.
50 percent of normally allotted time

4. Those in categories 1 or 2 on a 272-day or two semester of professional improvement leave.
No research time for that year

5. Those in categories 1 or 2 on other types of authorized leave (i.e., University Child Care Leave, Family Medical Leave Act, leave without pay), excluding sick leave.

Hours reduced proportionately (e.g. Taking 12 weeks of University Child Care Leave would proportionally reduce Research Time to 150 hours for that year)

 

Research time shall be used by eligible faculty of University Libraries to support activities related to scholarship.

Research time is to be used to support work along a research path from preliminary exploration/investigation toward an intended final product.

Step One: Complete a Research Time Request form. Faculty may complete one Research Time Request form at the beginning of the fiscal year to request all of their research time for that academic year.

A. In addition, research time may be used for the following:

1. for dissertation and thesis work, as well as for course-related research papers
2. voluntarily for work-related projects designed to create, improve upon, test, or otherwise study work methods, policies, or new service initiatives
3. external grant commitments that are in compliance with the Guidelines on Participation in Externally Funded Projects

B. Research time shall not be used for the following activities:

1. attendance at meetings or conferences of professional associations
2. professional service (see Handbook section on Professional Development Leave Policy)
3. performance of routine job duties or work related to other paid jobs, including course preparation for adjunct teaching appointments
4. class attendance
5. file preparation for reappointment, tenure, promotion

The application process is intended to insure the faculty member's eligibility, compliance with approved use guidelines, and provision of project description and time estimate. faculty members who wish to use research time should follow these steps:

Step One: Complete a Research Time Request Form, including specific project description(s) and estimate(s) of time to be used. Any amount of available time may be specified. Multiple forms may be submitted in one year.

Step Two: Faculty member submits the Research Time form to the Dean's Office for placement on the College Advisory Committee meeting agenda.

Step Three: The College Advisory Committee will review the application to confirm that it is complete and meets the criteria for use of research time.

Step Four: The Dean makes the final decision, and the faculty member and supervisor are notified. The faculty member schedules the research time with the supervisor to minimize impact on the unit.

 

It is the faculty member's responsibility to track the number of hours of research time used each year and to file an annual report as specified in the Handbook section on Annual Faculty Research Time Report.

Approved by the UL Faculty 9/11/01
Revision approved by the UL Faculty on 5/6/08
Receipt acknowledged by the Provost's Office on 5/12/08
Final approval, 9/24/08
Revision approved by UL Faculty, 9/14/10

Receipt acknowledged by the Provost's Office, 9/1710

Final approval, 8/31/11