3.7.3
The institution provides evidence of ongoing professional development of faculty as teachers, scholars, and practitioners. (Faculty development)
Compliance Judgment
X In Compliance Partially Compliant Non-compliant
Narrative
The University provides professional support and encouragement for faculty development through a wide range of recurring programs. Significant contributors to professional development include the following:
- Professional Development Committee
- Departmental Support
- Information Technology Committee
- International Programs
- Faculty Recognition.
Professional Development Committee
The Bylaws of the Faculty Senate published in the Faculty Handbook 2016 establish a Professional Development Committee charged with making recommendations to the Provost for:
- The distribution of funds to the faculty in a way that will provide opportunities for professional development such as awarding sabbaticals, reassigned time, travel grants, and research funds
- The establishment of policies guiding the preceding awards [1].
The Professional Development Committee reviews applications for funds and recommends awards for presentation, workshop or course grants [2], research grants [3], summer research stipends [4, 5], reassigned time, and sabbatical leave. A description of the decision-making process follows:
Presentation, Workshop, or Course Grants, and Research Grants
Each year, the President of the University sets aside a pool of money, with faculty and staff having the right to apply for funding from that pool up to a maximum amount each academic year. In 2016-2017, it was $2,750. The Faculty Development Committee reviews each application, basing its funding decision on several criteria, including primarily: a) whether the application falls under the committee’s umbrella or should be funded through another university grant; and, b) the amount of money the applicant has already received during the academic year.
The Professional Development Committee meets approximately one time each month, or about 3-4 times each semester. Prior to each meeting, the chair of the committee sends e-mails to all faculty and staff reminding them of when those meetings will be held [6]. Attached to the emails are policies and procedures about faculty development opportunities that include presentation grants, workshop or course grants, research grants, summer research stipends, reassigned time, and sabbatical leave [7]. The email includes the due date for applications to receive consideration at the next meeting and copies of the application and instructions for filling it out are attached.
Summer Research Stipends
Each year, the President of the University sets aside a certain number of summer research stipends—in 2017, it was eighteen stipends—for both untenured and tenured faculty. Each stipend is $4000. Applications for the summer research stipends are due the November of the prior year. The Professional Development Committee determines whether to recommend funding for the applicant based on the strength of the application.
Reassigned Time and Sabbaticals
Reassigned time offers a faculty member the opportunity to have a course reduction in his or her teaching load so that he or she may have more time for research, to prepare a new course, or for other academic-related activities. Any applicant must first receive approval of his or her department head before submitting his or her request to the Professional Development Committee.
Each year, the president sets aside a certain number of sabbaticals, which the faculty member can use for his or her research or to improve his or her teaching effectiveness. As with the summer research stipends, the Professional Development Committee will decide whether to recommend approval based on the strength of the application.
Faculty receive email notifications about reassigned time and sabbatical leave [8], including due dates. Application procedures for reassigned time and sabbatical leave appear in the Faculty Handbook 2016 [9].
In all cases—grants, stipends, reassigned time, and sabbaticals—the Professional Development Committee makes recommendations, with the Provost acting on those recommendations.
Tables 1 through 6 below summarize the distribution of awards reported by the Professional Development Committee from 2014 – 2017.
| Presentation Grant Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Faculty Receiving Awards | 100 | 86 | 94 |
| Amount Requested | $176,043.23 | $166,447.66 | $159,733.81 |
| Amount Distributed | $159,267.42 | $154,132.92 | $154,030.38 |
Table 1. Presentation Grant Awards
| Workshop/Course Grant Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Faculty Receiving Awards | 43 | 38 | 45 |
| Amount Requested | $71,259.52 | $66,767.26 | $88,251.43 |
| Amount Distributed | $62,911.58 | $64,059.37 | $77,118.71 |
Table 2. Workshop/Course Grant Awards
| Research Grant Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Faculty Receiving Awards | 38 | 32 | 29 |
| Amount Requested | $80,225.65 | $55,661.98 | $49,022.27 |
| Amount Distributed | $72,746.60 | $52,525.29 | $43,598.64 |
Table 3. Research Grant Awards
| Summer Stipend Information | Untenured Faculty | Tenured Faculty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer 2014 | Summer 2015 | Summer 2016 | Summer 2014 | Summer 2015 | Summer 2016 | |
| Number of Stipends Authorized | 12 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Number of Stipends Distributed | 12 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Table 4. Summer Research Stipend Awards
| Reassigned Time Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Faculty Requesting Reassigned Time | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of Faculty Awarded Reassigned Time | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Table 5. Reassigned Time Awards
| Sabbatical Leave Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Sabbaticals Authorized | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Number of Sabbaticals Awarded | 6 | 7 | 5 |
Table 6. Sabbatical Leave Awards
Departmental Support
Each department/school receives a budget that includes lines to support its activities. Among those budget lines is one for travel, thereby providing additional funds for faculty to enrich themselves as scholars and teachers.
Information Technology Committee
In addition, the University provides support for faculty as teachers and scholars through grants provided by the Information Technology Committee [10]. These grants are provided specifically for information technology needs of the faculty, but include support for research centers and teaching lab equipment. The Information Technology Committee solicits proposals via emails to the general faculty [11], and the Provost acts on recommendations of the committee.
The Information Technology Committee reported grant activity from 2014- 2017 as shown in the table below.
| Information Technology Grant Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Faculty Receiving Awards | 13 | 1 | 16 |
| Amount Authorized | $76,341.83 | $10,000 | $76,194.38 |
| Amount Distributed | $60,997.29 | $10,000 | $76,194.38 |
Table 7. Information Technology Grant Awards
*The Information Technology Committee did not receive any state technology funds from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education in 2015-2016, but some unawarded and unclaimed funds from the previous year were used to grant a request from a faculty member.
International Programs
Francis Marion faculty receive notifications about educational programs and experiences beyond the campus confines [12, 13]. International programs combine academic rigor with experiential learning through immersion in international and culturally significant settings.
International Collaboration Grants
International Collaboration Grants provide opportunities for FMU faculty members to experience international exchange with our partner institutions [14]. The competitive application process awards up to four (4) grants per fiscal year to tenured or tenure-track faculty applicants whose research or teaching projects involve innovative collaborative projects with international exchange partners. Recent examples of such grants include a travel study course to a university in Germany to explore European integration [15], and a trip to Ecuador to develop joint institutional courses [16].
The International Program Committee reported on International Collaboration Grants awarded from 2014 – 2017 shown in the table below.
| International Collaboration Grant Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Grants Authorized | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Number of Grants Awarded | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Table 8. International Collaboration Grant Awards
Faculty International Orientation
Faculty International Orientation’s purpose is to train and mentor faculty members in travel abroad and engagement with unfamiliar cultures toward stimulating intellectual and experiential assessments of their own perspectives [17]. These assessments are then integrated into the educational opportunities of the Francis Marion community. Faculty International Orientation is competitive and limited to faculty who have never traveled abroad on a university research or teaching exchange. Successful applicants are required to integrate aspects of their travel and study abroad into course curricula the following school year toward expanding the global knowledge and experiences of their students and colleagues.
The International Program Committee reported on the Faculty International Orientation opportunities from 2014 – 2017 shown in the table below.
| Faculty International Orientation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty International Grant Information | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
| Number Grants Authorized 0 6 5 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| Number of Grants Awarded | 0 | 6 | 5 |
Table 9. Faculty International Orientation Opportunities
Faculty Recognition
Last, Francis Marion University rewards faculty development by recognizing outstanding academic and professional achievement through annual awards. Nominations for such awards are solicited via emails from the Office of the Provost [18] and the Faculty Development Committee [19]. In 2016-2017, award recipients each received $2,000.
The table below displays recent recipients of faculty awards for outstanding contributions.
| Award | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distinguished Professor | Travis W. Knowles | Jeannette M. Myers | D. Keith Best |
| Scholarship/Research | Nwamaka Anaza | Phillip J. Gardner | William T. Daniel |
| Service | Meredith Love-Steinmetz | Jeremiah Bartz | Lisa A. Pike |
| Teaching | Kathryn G. Haselden | Christopher M. Kennedy | Jeffrey A. Steinmetz |
| Shared Governance | Jo Angela Edwins | Travis W. Knowles | James T. Ramey, Jr. |
Table 10. Faculty Recognition Awards
Award recipients from previous years can be found in the Catalog 2016-2017 [20].
Documentation
- Faculty Handbook 2016, Professional Development, p. 109
- Workshop or Course Proposal
- Research Proposal
- Professional Development Committee Summer Stipend – Tenured Faculty
- Professional Development Committee Summer Stipend – NonTenured Faculty
- Professional Development Email
- Professional Development Committee 2016 – 2017 Policies & Procedures
- Reassigned Time & Sabbatical Email
- Faculty Handbook 2016, Reassigned Time & Sabbatical, p. 61-64
- IT Grant Application
- IT Committee Email
- International Collaboration Grant Email
- Faculty International Orientation Email
- International Collaboration Grant Form
- Sample#1 International Collaboration Grant
- Sample#2 International Collaboration Grant
- Faculty International Orientation Guidelines
- Distinguished Professor Email
- Faculty Life Committee Email
- Catalog 2016-2017, Faculty Awards, p. 203-207