12.18 Faculty Fringe Benefits

Faculty Professional Development Opportunities

1. Wilmington College seeks to help faculty and administrators grow professionally and develop new skills that add to the effectiveness of the overall College program. To this end, the College provides a variety of faculty development activities discussed in this section. Faculty development opportunities currently available to faculty members include: Professional activity fund: It is the policy of the College to promote interest and participation among faculty members in learned, scientific or professional societies appropriate to their teaching fields. The Higher Learning Commission suggests three memberships per faculty member as a reasonable average and it is generally agreed that every faculty member should belong to at least one such association. Payment of membership dues is the responsibility of the faculty member, however, and not the College. Professional memberships related to a teaching field can be paid for by annually budgeted faculty professional development funds. The College does encourage attendance at the meetings of such associations within the limits of its budget and with the following stipulations:
   1. Each faculty member is entitled to at least a basic level of support ($600 in 2016-17) per year to cover expenses in attending professional meetings or other professional development activities. This amount is announced at the beginning of each academic year. Faculty should request the use of funds by December 15 of the academic year. All requests for actual reimbursement must be submitted by June 15. After December 15, the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty will use non-requested funds to augment the basic amount for faculty who have submitted requests for funding in excess of the basic amount. The Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty may reserve a small amount of funds to award faculty who identify opportunities later in the spring semester; however, every attempt should be made to award all available development funds to faculty each year. Funds or reimbursements requested after June 15 will be applied to the next academic year’s budgeted amount.
   2. On completing an activity, the faculty member should submit a request for reimbursement to the Office of the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty, itemizing expenses, and including receipts where possible (the "Travel Expense Report" should be used). Travel by car should be calculated at the authorized rate. Requests for an advance, before attending a meeting, should be made through the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty to the Business Office, and requests for reimbursement should show the amount of the advance, if any, and the difference.
2. Faculty development funds: From time to time money, in addition to travel allowances and sabbaticals, will be available for faculty development. This money must be requested from the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty. In some cases money from this fund will be offered to faculty members to undertake a particular type of development activity.
3. Classroom visitation: See Peer Classroom Visitation Guidelines.
4. Use of outside evaluators: Under certain circumstances, the faculty member may choose to bring in a person from another college to conduct an evaluation of his/her performance. It is the responsibility of the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty to secure a satisfactory evaluator. In rare instances a faculty member might request that the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty engage an individual from another school to provide formative advice to the Wilmington College faculty member. The Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty will decide if such a request is justified and will, if s/he decides it is, secure the outside reviewer.
5. Videotaping classroom teaching: This technique can be used under the same constraints as in-person classroom visitation. Any faculty member can use this process informally with other colleagues or even students. Workshops, seminars, conferences: From time to time the College offers in- house workshops, seminars or conferences on a variety of topics.  Such events are not mandatory, but faculty members are encouraged to attend. Many organizations such as the Southwestern Ohio Council of Higher Education (SOCHE) and the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities (GCCCU) also offer programs to which Wilmington College sends faculty members. Usually the College covers the expenses to these conferences. There are many national organizations-- the American Council of Education, the American Association of Higher Education, the Council of Independent Colleges, as well as regional organizations, that also offer programs to which Wilmington College faculty members are occasionally sent. Faculty members can also use their funds under 1, 2, and 3, above to attend these events.
6. Advanced coursework: Under certain circumstances (the faculty member does not have a terminal degree or is being retrained in another field) faculty members should consider coursework either without the intent of a degree or to achieve a degree as a form of faculty development. Usually such course work is at the expense of the faculty member, but under some circumstances money from item one above can be designated for specific coursework. Work to obtain the appropriate terminal degree is usually not considered faculty development work per se as it is designed to make an individual qualified for an initial faculty appointment (see Qualifications for Initial Appointment to Academic Ranks).
7. Wilmington College is committed to fostering innovation through the Merrill Evans Endowed Innovation (MEEI) Fund.  See Merrill Evans Endowed Innovation Fund.  
8. Sabbatical Leaves: After every six-year period of full-time service, any full-time faculty member, whether or not on the tenure track, is eligible for a sabbatical leave. The administration must identify a yearly budget for sabbatical leave by September 15 and alert the Tenure, Promotion and Review Committee to the amount of potential funding for sabbaticals before applicants have submitted proposals. To promote the College’s academic excellence, increase its exposure, and support the professional development of its employees, faculty are encouraged to apply for sabbatical leave when eligible, on a regular basis. 
   
   Proposals for sabbatical leave should be filed with the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty by November 15 of the academic year prior to the year for which the sabbatical leave is requested. 
   
   Faculty who have more than six years of service since their last sabbatical leave may apply their additional years to the subsequent six-year periods. Leaves of absence do not count toward the six-year period. A one-semester leave followed by one-semester teaching duties shall count as half a year of service. 
   
   Computation of sabbatical leave eligibility is illustrated by the following example: Professor A begins full-time service in 1990. S/he has seven years of full- time service and then takes a sabbatical leave in 1997-98. Since s/he has earned an extra year of service beyond the requisite six years, s/he may apply for sabbatical leave in academic year 2002-03 and be eligible for leave in academic year 2003-04. 
   
   The sabbatical leave proposal must outline the project the faculty member will undertake, its significance in his/her discipline and its significance for the faculty member's teaching mission at Wilmington College. The above factors (and only these factors) will be used to rank applications. First-time sabbatical proposals should be afforded preferential treatment by the committee.  
   
   The Tenure, Promotion, and Review Committee shall make a decision about which candidates have been awarded sabbatical by January 30. Upon approval of a sabbatical request by the TPR Committee, the faculty member, the area coordinator, and the Academic Dean/Dean of the faculty will work together to draft a detailed staffing plan for course coverage during the time of the sabbatical leave. 
   
   Sabbatical leaves are granted for one semester at full salary or for one year at half salary. Full salary is the amount the faculty member would normally receive for a full academic load during the sabbatical leave year. Administrative payments are not made during a sabbatical leave unless otherwise negotiated. Half salary divides the previous figure by two. All benefits continue while on sabbatical leave. 
   
   Sabbatical leaves are not automatic entitlements but are granted when the project is mutually beneficial to the College and the faculty member. Staffing arrangements may affect the timing of the leave. If an applicant's request for sabbatical leave is denied by the TPR Committee, s/he may refer the matter to the Dean of Faculty and finally to the President. If candidates are denied sabbatical due to insufficient funding and not due to merit, their applications will have first priority for sabbatical leave the following year.
9. At the conclusion of the sabbatical leave experience, a report is to be submitted to the Academic Dean/Dean of Faculty indicating the results of the sabbatical leave, primarily emphasizing the value of the sabbatical leave to the faculty member’s research, teaching, and professional development. This report should be submitted to the Academic Dean/Dean of Faculty within 3 months of the end of the sabbatical leave. Failure to submit a sabbatical leave report may result in the faculty member being ineligible for further sabbatical leaves.  
   Educational Leave: This type of leave is designed to allow a faculty member to complete an advanced degree necessary for continued employment or to improve the teaching competence of a faculty member. It may take the form of work toward a conventional doctorate, a period of work in an applied setting, such as an industrial laboratory, a public school, a welfare agency or job rotation to another College area (administration, student services or maintenance). It may also include service on a state, national or international basis (such as the American Friends Service Committee). Usually educational leave does not carry any salary with it, but it normally does allow the retention of limited benefits. There are occasions, however, where salary might be continued. Each educational leave is designed to fit individual circumstances and it will have to be negotiated between the faculty member and the Area Coordinator and the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty.