University Faculty RSCA Assigned Time Program (Cycle 2)

Academic Year 2019 - 20 (Cycle 2)

The program was introduced in Fall 2018 (see cycle 1 webpage) and covered Spring 2019 assigned time. This webpage provides information specific to cycle 2 of the program, covering AY 2019-20 assigned time (Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters). Additional detailed information is provided by the documents accessed at the following three links: information for cycle 2 [pdf], changes in cycle 2 [pdf], and FAQ-Cycle 2 [pdf]. Please note that the University program is administered by the individual colleges. This page is intended to provide summary information about how cycle 2 of the program is implemented in the College of Engineering (CoE).

Application Deadline

March 28, 2019, for Academic Year (AY) 2019-20 RSCA assigned time awards (cycle 2).

Application Procedure

Faculty applying to the program for the first time need to submit online completed Application Packet – Cycle 2 [docx] (AP below, for short) by 3/28/2019 The packet includes the following four sections:

  1. Cover Page Information – including name, rank, department, college, and date of initial appointment 
  2. Scholarly Agenda – describing forward-looking RSCA goals, activities, and expected outcomes/products for the coming 5-year period (tenured faculty) or until tenure (probationary faculty). The scholarly agenda should be concise (no more than two pages; see the AP for specific word count requirements) and must include a brief summary aimed at an educated lay audience describing the importance of the proposed line of inquiry. Note that this agenda is forward-looking and complements the CoE RSCA metric data (see below), which only looks at past activity.
  3. Current Curriculum Vitae (CV) not exceeding 4 pages. 
  4. The CoE specific RSCA metric data in the requested CoE format. The data includes extramural grants, journal publications, and conference publications meeting the requirements stated in the CoE RSCA Guidelines AY2019-20 [docx] document. Supporting information and required documents should be uploaded to the CoE online database using the CoE RTrack Web-based App [docx].

Faculty already admitted to the program in cycle 1 need only complete sections 1, 3, and 4 of the packet. Because of some non-uniformity in providing the cycle 1 data for section 4, ALL cycle 2 applicants are required to complete section 4 of the AP for the period stated below. Please update your 4-page CV (section 3).

The CoE RSCA metric data entered online and documented in Section 4 of the AP should cover the following periods: for all tenured faculty and probationary faculty in their 5th year and beyond, the 18 months period from 6/1/2017 to 12/31/2018; for probationary faculty in their 3rd or 4th year of service in Fall 2019, from the appointment date until 12/31/2018. Information for these periods not already in the online database should be added by 3/28/2019. Any claimed paper should have been published or granted final acceptance, and a grant notification of the award should have been formally received by the Research Foundation, during the time window above to qualify for this cycle.

The Applications Packet is to be uploaded online. Use the following link Submit-Application-Packet-Cycle2 to upload it. 

Who Should/May Apply in Cycle 2?

All probationary and tenured CoE faculty seeking research support assigned time in AY2019-20 should do so by applying to the SJSU RSCA Program. The CoE will no longer grant assigned time to faculty not in the program. Prior years CoE research support release time initiative has now merged with the University program; see the CoE RSCA Guidelines AY2019-20 [docx] document. 

Please note the following:

  • Probationary faculty in their first two years of service are receiving assigned time through another mechanism and are not eligible to apply in cycle 2 of this program.
  • All probationary faculty in the 3rd year of service at the start of AY2019-20 should apply.
  • All probationary faculty and tenured faculty who were admitted to the university program in cycle 1 are required to complete and submit sections 1, 3, and 4 of the Application Packet to continue eligibility for support.
  • Any non-FERP tenured faculty member may apply.
  • Faculty administrators (i.e. department chairs, program directors, and associate deans) may apply starting this cycle 2.

Selection Process

The Provost will grant the RSCA Assigned Time Awards based on recommendations from the deans. In the CoE, Dean Sheryl Ehrman will make those recommendations based on evaluations of the Scholarly Agenda by the CoE Research Committee and reported CoE RSCA metric data. For cycle 2 applications assessment, the Scholarly Agenda and CoE RSCA Metric Data components will be weighed 60% & 40%, respectively. The weighting is the same for probationary and tenured faculty. The percentages may differ in future cycles as more experience is gained with the program. The Provost’s office is expected to review the dean’s recommendations and provide final notice of award by May 13, 2019.

Duration of Award, Reviews, and Reporting Requirements

Each award will be for a 5-year period for tenured faculty or until the tenure decision for probationary faculty. There will be annual update of the CoE RSCA metric data and a formal review after year 3 of the award. Faculty receiving the award must submit information about their yearly RSCA productivity by completing the CoE RSCA metric data section of the application package in March, and providing supporting information and uploading relevant documents to the CoE online database. Faculty who do not submit their yearly data will not be eligible for continued award.

In most cases the outcome of the formal review will be that there is no change in the award. If, however, in the Dean’s opinion, there has not been adequate progress on the RSCA agenda nor adequate productivity according to the CoE-specific RSCA metric, then the Dean may recommend to the Provost that the remaining years of the Faculty RSCA Assigned Time award be rescinded.