5.0 Faculty Benefits

5.1 Faculty Scholarships

Annual scholarships covering tuition and special course fees shall be awarded to such sons, daughters, and spouses of tenured faculty members as fulfill the admissions requirements of Providence College. The annual renewal of such scholarships shall be contingent upon the recipient’s continuing in good academic standing and the faculty member’s continued employment at the College. Sons, daughters, and spouses of deceased tenured faculty members who were members of the faculty at the time of death are entitled to receive this benefit. Sons, daughters, and spouses of retired tenured faculty members who were members of the faculty at the time of their retirement are entitled to receive this benefit. Sons, daughters, and spouses of disabled tenured faculty members who were members of the faculty at the time of their disability are entitled to receive this benefit. The aforementioned qualified faculty member may apply for a tuition exchange scholarship benefit to the extent available through the Tuition Exchange Committee. It should be noted that laboratory and studio fees are waived for those receiving faculty scholarships in the regular undergraduate programs of the College. All other fees and charges must, however, be paid in full. All members of the Ordinary Faculty, the retired tenured faculty, and the disabled tenured faculty are entitled to a full remission of tuition for courses in the regular undergraduate program; they may also be granted full remission of tuition for courses in graduate programs and the School of Continuing Education, including the Summer Session. Immediate members of their families are eligible for full remission of tuition for courses in the School of Continuing Education including the Summer Session, and half remission of tuition for courses in graduate programs. Immediate family members of tenured faculty are eligible for full graduate school tuition remission.

5.2 Leaves Of Absence

Applications for leaves of absence or release time, which may be granted to members of the faculty for a variety of professional or personal reasons, shall be reviewed by the department chair, who shall forward such applications to the school dean. School deans, upon endorsing the request, will forward it to the provost who, in consultation with the school dean, will approve or deny the request. The provost may authorize replacement faculty in consultation with the school dean. The College policies regarding extended sick leave, maternity leave, and child care leave for full-time faculty members, including coverage under the long-term disability insurance plan, are set forth in the Policy and Informational Documents for the Faculty of Providence College.

5.3 Sabbatical Leaves and Pre-Tenure Research Leaves

5.3.1

Sabbatical leave for the purpose of professional development is considered an integral part of the College’s fulfillment of its educational mission.

1. Probationary members of the faculty are eligible to apply for a single one semester pre-tenure research leave after a minimum of three years of service as a member of the Ordinary Faculty.
2. Tenured members of the Ordinary Faculty are entitled to apply for a sabbatical leave after intervals of no fewer than six years of service as members of the Ordinary Faculty.

5.3.2

Normally, eligible faculty should submit applications for a pre-tenure research leave or for a sabbatical leave, including a proposed plan for activities leading to professional development, to their department chair. Professional development includes any activity whose purpose is to enhance the teaching and scholarship mission of the College and of the individual faculty member.

Applications shall be submitted by October 15 of the year preceding the academic year for which such leave is requested. The department chair, after reviewing the application and accompanying proposal, shall forward these documents to the school dean by November 1; the dean shall make a decision on this matter by November 15.

5.3.3

Should a request for a sabbatical leave be denied:

1. The faculty member shall receive written explanation, based on professional development considerations.
2. If the faculty member is dissatisfied with the explanation he/she may appeal the decision as a minor grievance according to Appendix G .

5.3.4

Should the request for a sabbatical leave or pre-tenure leave be approved:

1. For tenured members of the Ordinary Faculty, the sabbatical leave shall be granted for two semesters of an academic year at half salary, or for one academic semester at full salary. For probationary faculty members, only the one semester option is allowed for the pre-tenure research leave. Full fringe benefits shall be continued during the leave. Full fringe benefits means that all benefits shall be provided and will be calculated on the basis of the salary the faculty member would have received had he or she not been on sabbatical leave or the pre-tenure research leave. Further, the faculty member is entitled to all rights and privileges stated in the Faculty Handbook for faculty members not on leave, including the eligibility to request funds for professional travel and research funds from the Committee on Aid to Faculty Research.
2. A replacement to cover the faculty member’s teaching duties shall be provided where necessary. This decision shall be made by the provost after consultation with the school dean and department chair.
3. Prior to the mid-semester date after the completion of the leave, the faculty member shall submit a full written report to his/her department chair and to the school dean, if applicable.

5.3.5

An administrator who is a member of the Ordinary Faculty whose contract contains no specific provisions for teaching may be granted a sabbatical leave under administrative procedures.

5.3.6

An administrator who is a member of the Ordinary Faculty and whose contract contains specific provisions for teaching may be granted a sabbatical under the usual procedures with the recommendation of his/her supervisor. Such a sabbatical shall be pro-rated for the amount of time specified in the contract for teaching (or any other position that carries faculty status).

5.3.7

A faculty member who holds a part-time administrative position, e.g., Dean, department chair, program director, would be considered on the same basis as a full-time teaching faculty member.

5.4 Faculty Exchange Policy

5.4.1

A tenured member of the Ordinary Faculty may, where appropriate, initiate a process leading to a faculty exchange with another accredited institution of higher education of equivalent standing. Such exchanges which offer an option for faculty development shall normally be granted for one contractual year. In all cases such exchanges shall be a direct one-for-one exchange where the incoming faculty member shall assume the duties of the Providence College faculty member as prescribed by the department chair. All incoming exchange appointments must be recommended by the Committee on Academic Rank and Tenure. It is expected that the incoming faculty member shall possess rank and experience equivalent to the outgoing faculty member and that the incoming faculty member shall accept the educational objectives of the College and the responsibilities and obligations of faculty members at the College as set forth in the Faculty Handbook. All contractual compensation (salaries, fringe benefits) remain the responsibility of the home institution, though the salary payment must be processed through the appropriate financial office of the host institution under the guidelines, both administrative and legal, of the host institution.

5.4.2

Eligible faculty shall submit an application for a faculty exchange, including proposed assignments for the incoming faculty member, as well as the professional development benefits expected to accrue to the submitting faculty member, to the department chair. Applications shall be submitted prior to December 15 of the year preceding the academic year for which such leave is requested. The department chair, after reviewing the application and the accompanying proposal, shall within ten (10) business days forward these documents to the school dean, who shall make a decision on this matter within ten (10) business days.

5.4.3

A request for faculty exchange may be denied by the department chair or the school dean on the basis of professional development considerations, needs of the department or needs of the College as determined by the department chair or the school dean.

5.4.4

The specifics of any agreement between the exchange institutions shall be made according to a format approved by Providence College and the letter of agreement shall be prepared by and executed through the Office of Academic Affairs.

5.4.5

The College may participate in exchange program consortia that are consistent with the guidelines and intent of this policy.

5.5 Professional Travel Expenses

5.5.1

The College’s policy on travel set forth in the Policy and Informational Documents for the Faculty of Providence College is applicable for all travel using College funds. The College aids faculty members in meeting travel expenses involved in attendance at professional meetings under certain conditions. It also reimburses them for expenditures resulting from travel on official business of the College.

Faculty members may use grant or contract funds for travel in accordance with the provisions of the grant or contract and of the corresponding budget.

5.5.2

All requests for travel expenses to be paid by the College must be authorized in advance of travel and shall proceed through these channels: the department chair, the Office of Academic Affairs. If approved, a written authorization shall be sent to the faculty member and the department chair within ten (10) business days.

5.5.3

The following regulations shall be observed:

1. Authorized travel expenses shall normally be charged to the department travel budget, unless they relate to items covered under the budget of another administrative unit, e.g., the Office of Academic Affairs.
2. Normally no faculty member should receive full travel expenses more than three times in any fiscal year.
3. Full travel expenses shall be authorized within annual budget guidelines:
   1. For a faculty member who presents an invited and/or contributed paper based on scholarship performed at Providence College;
   2. For the department chair who attends professional meetings for purposes of recruitment of faculty or for faculty members designated by the department chair for that purpose;
   3. For the department chair and one faculty member designated by the department as its official representatives at a major professional meeting.
4. Partial expenses may, in certain approved instances, be paid for faculty members who may wish to accompany the official representative of the department at a professional meeting. Such considerations as distance and the number of faculty involved shall affect the determination of policy in such cases.

5.6 Professional Development Fund

Every member of the Ordinary Faculty will be eligible for reimbursement of up to established limits of personal professional discretionary development expenditures for items that have not been previously reimbursed by the College.

5.7 Financial Aid

Faculty members are entitled to make use of a small loan fund provided by the College to aid them in meeting emergency situations. Those with three or more years of service may, under certain circumstances, apply for an appropriate recommendation from the College to support their applications to banks for home mortgages.

The College is prepared to aid faculty members in bearing the costs of scholarly publications from which no remuneration is to be received by the author. Such aid will not be given if the publication is intended for sale. The costs of preparing and/or publishing doctoral dissertations will not be supported by the College in the case of salaried faculty members engaged in completing their graduate work.

All applications for the types of aid described above must be approved by the provost and, if approved, shall be sent to the vice president for finance and business and the treasurer for approval and processing.

5.8 Insurance Plans

Descriptive overviews of the health, dental, life insurance, flexible benefits, and long-term disability plans of the College are provided in the Policy and Informational Documents for the Faculty of Providence College.

5.9 Retirement and Savings Plans

Descriptive overviews of the retirement and tax-deferred savings plans of the College are provided in the Policy and Informational Documents for the Faculty of Providence College.

5.10 Social Security

Faculty members employed by the College participate in the Federal Social Security program under the usual conditions prescribed by law.

5.11 Athletic Facilities and Tickets

All members of the faculty hold membership in the Providence College Athletic Association
and are entitled to the appropriate identification. They are also entitled to a fitness center membership. Tickets to home basketball and hockey games are made available to the faculty on preferential dates, which are published by the assistant vice president for athletics.

5.12 Vacations

Professional personnel who are members of the Ordinary Faculty are entitled to twenty-two (22) business days vacation with salary during the contract year.