4.08 Professional Development Assignment
Leaves of Absence
A. The Board shall grant leaves of absence with full or partial compensation
to staff members to undertake approved programs of study, research, or
other professional activity which, in the judgment of the Board, will
contribute to the improvement of the institutions. Any staff member granted
such leave shall agree either to return to the institution granting such
leave for a period of not less than two years or to repay to the state
of Iowa such compensation as [the staff member] shall have received during
such leave. (Code 262.9 [13])
B. Requests for leaves of absence for personnel covered by Section 4.05
shall be submitted to the Board by the institutional executives for approval.
C. Requests for leaves of absence for personnel covered by Section 4.07,
including retired and emeritus faculty and staff, may be granted by the
institutional executives and reported in the Register of Personnel Changes,
except that professional development leaves shall be submitted to the
Board by the institutional executives for approval.
D. Each request for a professional development leave shall contain information
as to the length of service of the individual and an estimate of additional
net budgetary support necessary to finance all leaves.
E. Each institution shall submit a yearly evaluation and report or discussion
and costs regarding research assignments and professional development
leaves. (Board of Regents Minutes July 14-15, 1966, p. 19; February 9-10,
1967, p. 372; March 14-15, 1968, p. 352; February 14-15, 1974, p. 538-539)
Regents' Procedural Guide, 4.09, pg. IV-5, 5/15/98
Leaves of absence are granted for one academic year dependent upon departmental
needs and policies. Under special circumstances, such leaves may be extended
for one academic year. Leaves of absence are available to non-tenured
faculty members.
University Faculty Senate, 1972-1973
Leaves of absence require approval by the Department Head, Dean of the
College (if appropriate), Vice-President and Provost (or appropriate vice-president),
and the President.
For a more extended discussion of professional development leaves, the
section with that heading should be consulted. Professional
Development Leave
[NOTE: Leaves of absence are a mandatory subject of bargaining under
the Iowa Public Employee Relations Act and therefore there is an Article
(7) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Board of Regents
and UNI--United Faculty (AAUP/IHEA) which contains provisions concerning
Professional Development Leaves. Section 7.1 of Article 7 describes the
terms, conditions, and requirements for Professional Development Leaves
for members of the faculty bargaining unit. In instances where there is
any conflict between the provisions of Article 7 and the following policies
as far as members of faculty collective bargaining units are concerned
the provisions of the agreement are contractually binding. For example,
Section 7.153 of the contract requires that the applications for PDL's
be evaluated by a faculty committee, and this means that only members
of the faculty bargaining unit would be eligible for service on that committee.]
I. Purpose
Professional development leaves of absence (hereinafter abbreviated
as P.D.Lvs.) are for the purpose of encouraging professional growth and
increased competence of the professional staff which will contribute to
the improvement of the University of Northern Iowa. The leaves may be
granted for advanced study at the pre-doctoral or post-doctoral levels,
for research, and for other creative work. II. Eligibility
Except in unusual circumstances, only faculty members who are tenured
at the time they file their application and who hold at least a master's
degree and who have in the past demonstrated a desire for professional
growth and improvement will be eligible. III. Conditions
The staff member on leave must return to his/her position, in accordance
with Iowa law, or repay the full amount of compensation received while
on leave.
At the end of his/her leave, the staff member shall make a report to
the Vice-President and Provost and the Professional Development Leave
Committee summarizing briefly his/her success in fulfilling his/her proposed
program.
The number of leaves authorized annually will be as many as staffing
and appropriations permit, but the total number shall not exceed 8 percent
of the tenured faculty for any single academic year. IV. Compensation
and Benefits
Compensation during the leave period may not exceed one-half of the
staff member's full salary for the 9-month academic year. The leaves will
ordinarily take the form of: a one-semester leave with full salary for
that semester; a two-semester leave with one-half salary for the academic
year.
One-Semester Professional Development Leaves:
A faculty member on a one-semester Professional Development Leave is
a full-time employee of the University and is subject to existing policies
on consulting and extra compensation.
Two-Semester Professional Development Leaves:
Faculty members on a two-semester Professional Development Leave at
half-pay shall not earn total wages in excess of 100 percent of their
UNI salary adjusted for cost of living in the location where they shall
reside. They are considered full-time employees of the University and
are subject to existing policies on consulting and extra compensation.
Faculty members who receive leaves in order to pursue a terminal degree,
whether for one or two semesters, may accept additional compensation in
the form of grants or assistantships, provided these do the not interfere
with the expected progress toward their degree as outlined in their original
proposal.
If the degree is being pursued at the University of Northern Iowa, faculty
members on Professional Development Leaves may not receive Graduate Assistant
Stipends or Tuition Scholarships from this university.
Consequences for Failure to Adhere to the Policy on Extra Compensation:
Faculty members who do not adhere to the policies on consulting and
for extra compensation during a Professional Development Leave will be
ineligible for subsequent Professional Development Leaves or Summer Fellowships.
Violations may obligate the faculty member to pay the University an
amount up to all salaries and benefits received during the period of the
leave.
University contributions to regular retirement, group insurance, and
Social Security benefits, where applicable, are to continue while the
faculty member is on leave. The contributions of both the faculty member
and the university are to continue on the same basis as with full salary.
V. Interview with Committee
Senate action (Minutes 1022, March 22, 1971) provided that applicants
for the P.D.Lv. be granted an interview with the Committee if requested.
VI. Administration of the Program
The authorization of P.D.Lvs. will be dealt with by the university as
an integral part of the total process of recruitment, orientation, assignment,
promotion and compensation of staff. Hence, the P.D.Lv. program will be
administered by the Vice-President and Provost through the usual departmental
and college channels, with the assistance of a special P.D.Lv. committee
whose responsibility it shall be to make recommendations to the Vice-President
and Provost concerning the acceptability of proposals submitted by staff
members desiring leave and the priority among acceptable proposals for
any given semester or academic year. The composition of the Committee
shall be as follows (Senate Minutes No. 1008): (1) Vice-President for
Academic Affairs (now Vice-President and Provost) or his representative,
non-voting; (2) one member of the instructional faculty from each undergraduate
college elected by the member of their college; (3) one member of the
faculty who does not have a college affiliation appointed by the Vice-President
and Provost. Members will serve three-year staggered terms. None of the
members (elected by the college) may succeed him/herself more than once.
A faculty member desiring a P.D.Lv. will submit an application form,
describing his/her proposed program of study or research and carrying
the comments of his/her department head, to the Dean of his/her College
who will refer it to the Vice-President and Provost. All applications
will be referred to the P.D.Lv. committee for analysis and recommendation.
Before the leave is finally authorized it must have been recommended by
the P.D.Lv. committee and approved by the Department Head, College Dean.
Vice-President and Provost, President, and State Board of Regents.
A report will be made periodically to the State Board of Regents concerning
leaves granted and programs carried out during the leave.
Procedure For Handling Professional Development Leaves
1. Applicants pick up application forms for either "advanced degree"
study or for "faculty improvement" leave from the Office of
Academic Affairs. Complete the forms, have each signed by department head
and college dean, and return the applications to the Office of Academic
Affairs.
2. The committee studies the applications over a period of several weeks.
The committee may request additional information from applicants if they
feel the statements on the application forms are incomplete or unclear.
The Vice-President and Provost, non-voting chairman of the committee,
also seeks to gather any additional information the committee members
may wish.
3. Voting members of the committee acting independently place each application
in one of three categories.
Category I--applications which seem to deserve support as soon as
possible.
Category II--applications which are worthy of support but not quite
as deserving as those in the first category.
Category III--applications that the members believe should not be
supported at the time the review is being made.
4. The committee then rank orders all applicants based on the numerical
ratings above.
As a result of budget decentralization, especially "salary savings,"
funds for replacement of faculty members on P.D.Lv are now in the college
budgets in the form of "salary savings". In order to insure
that a college may make reasonable and necessary replacement plans before
knowing what the amount of salary savings will be in the college and when
they will become available, the university underwrites the cost of necessary
replacements in case a college does not generate sufficient salary savings
to offset the cost replacements over the period of a fiscal year. Funding
of the P.D.Lv. replacement has the first claim on salary savings in the
colleges.
The number of leaves granted is ultimately decided by the President
based on the ability of the university to sustain the cost associated
with the leaves. The incremental cost to the university, of course, is
the net cost of replacement since it is a paid leave program for faculty
members.
5. The Professional Development Leave Committee "makes its recommendations
to the Vice-President and Provost concerning the acceptability of proposals
submitted by staff members desiring leave and their priority among acceptable
proposals for any semester, or academic year." (Section 6 of Policy
approved by Faculty Senate and Board of Regents.)
6. The Vice-President and Provost consults department heads and deans
concerning the necessity of replacement of applicants. This information
is forwarded to the president and he informs the chairman of the committee
how far down the list of recommended candidates the funds available will
allow us to go. The number of replacements needed determines the commitment
of funds of the university to support the program.
7. The list of recommended grantees is taken to the Board of Regents
with a description of the project which the faculty member proposes to
undertake. When the Board approves the leaves, faculty members are so
informed. Those who have not been approved for leave are informed and
their applications are returned to them. (Applicants are informally notified
of the recommendations sent to the Board of Regents approximately ten
days before the Board meeting. Each applicant is formally notified by
letter from his or her college dean after Board action.)
The members of the Professional Development Leave Committee review their
procedures every year and make changes which are designed to make the
selection process as equitable as possible.
Vice President and Provost | 
