Professional Development Leaves: Principles and Policies

Timing

Faculty are eligible for a PDL after receiving CFS. Requests for PDLs prior to CFS are usually denied at the university level. Faculty can apply for a PDL once every seven academic years (six years in between leaves). When anticipating a leave, faculty should discuss possibilities with their chair/director as early as possible. One deciding factor in approving leaves is the ability of the unit to cover courses, so letting leadership know about plans can help facilitate that part of the process.

University policy allows for a leave of six months that includes a semester and a term (for example, Summer term and Fall semester, or Winter semester and Spring term). Though unusual, faculty may apply for a leave of a full year, but note that year-long leaves come with only 50% salary. Year-long leaves are therefore generally only taken by people who have a supplemental salary offer (a Fulbright Award, etc.).

Complete PDL applications should be submitted by December 1 to help facilitate getting university approval and managing the College PDL budget. However, faculty may submit an application for a PDL at any time, especially if unusual opportunities arise “off cycle.” Be aware that applicants who submit after December 1 may find that the College has already committed all annual PDL funding.

NOTE: proposals will not be submitted to the AAVP until all details, including budgets, are completely finalized. This means that proposals that include activities such as a Fulbright or other circumstances where another institution provides support will remain in limbo until all details of such support are finalized.

Funding

We are fortunate at BYU that the university provides some funds to support PDLs. These funds can be used for travel to and housing in leave destinations, archival fees, student research support, and more. Per diem is allowed for trips that fit the usual mold of faculty travel (attending a conference or statistical training for a few days, for example); per diem for extended stays is not supported. This financial support is NOT a stipend.

These funds are limited, however. Please ask for what you need, but keep in mind that our funds must support all applicants taking a leave in the same year. There will likely be a back-and-forth process of discussing funding options before settling on the final amount. We seek to give preference to proposals that have some kind of additional support, including from the department/unit or other university entities, but especially to external support. Once a budget is set, it cannot be revised upward. Faculty members may need to adjust their plans if the cost exceeds the original budget. Please confer with the Associate Dean about these issues, as it may alter College budgeting as well. Revising a budget downward is always welcome.

University and College funds can provide limited support for families to accompany faculty members on extended leaves. Given that the focus of a PDL is the faculty member's development, the budget cannot be predominantly focused on family travel and lodging, but we do try to help. Budget requests for family support must be accompanied by justification and a Family Travel Substantiation form (see here for both the form and information on whether family travel support may be taxable: https://finserve.byu.edu/family-travel_).

Once you are approved for the leave, work with your department manager and College financial specialists to understand how to manage payments and receipts that involved PDL support funds.

Other Practical Help

The Faculty Center has a page that gives additional practical guidance for planning leaves, including advice and links on storage, online schooling opportunities for children, etc.: https://facultycenter.byu.edu/professionaldevelopmentleaves

Application Process

• Complete the University Professional Development Leave form, which can be found under the Leave Request Forms tab here: https://avp.byu.edu/fac-dev/leaves. PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM USING THE FILLABLE PDF FORM; DO NOT PRINT AND SCAN THE FORM.
• Complete the College Professional Development Leave application, which can be found HERE. This form often needs to be revised to address budgeting issues and should be completed in Word.
• Submit both forms to chairs/directors for their signatures/recommendations.
• Chairs/directors submit both forms, with their signatures/recommendations, to the Associate Dean for Faculty.
• The Associate Dean may discuss required revisions of the leave proposal, especially concerning budget, with the applicant. 
  
  • The final budget on these forms must be the actual amount agreed upon, so these forms often change. Minor changes like updating the budget numbers do not require the forms to go back to the chair/director.
• The Dean signs the appropriate forms and submits them to the office of the AAVP for Faculty Development. 
• The AAVP office sends a memo of approval and returns a copy of the documents with the AAVP’s signature.

NOTE: proposals will not be submitted to the AAVP until all details, including budgets, are completely finalized. This means that proposals that include activities such as a Fulbright or other circumstances where another institution provides support will remain in limbo until all details of such support are finalized.