2023-24 Faculty RSCA Assigned Time Program Registrations, Applications, and Reports

The University Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (RSCA) Assigned Time (AT) Program has been a fruitful investment and an effective mechanism to support the RSCA efforts of our faculty members. Please note this year's timeline, process, and requirements for the new registrations, applications, and productivity reports.

New Registrations and Applications

(Awards starting in AY 2023-24)

• Eligibility

  • There are two categories of faculty who are required to register/eligible to apply for the RSCA AT Program: 

    Category A - Probationary faculty whose contractually-awarded RSCA AT expires in Spring or Fall 2023 must register to receive this award for the first time in 2023-24.

    Category C - Currently tenured faculty members who have not been on the RSCA AT program may apply to receive this award for the first time in 2023-24 for five years through AY 2027-28. Also, tenured faculty members who are currently in the RSCA AT program and reaching the end of their five-year award (Cycle 1) may reapply to renew their award for an additional five years, from AY 2023-24 through AY 2027-28 by submitting the materials required for the five-year RSCA productivity report (refer to the Annual, Three-Year, and Final/Five-Year RSCA Productivity Reports section below).

    Probationary faculty members who are on the RSCA AT program and are up for tenure and expect to receive positive tenure decisions in August 2023 (formerly referred to as Category B) are not required to register or apply. Faculty members who will attain tenure in August 2023 will be automatically registered in the RSCA AT program for five years from AY 2023-24 through AY 2027-28 and will receive confirmation shortly after tenure certification.

• Timeline

  • March 16, 2023 - New Applications are due from all faculty applicants to their College Office via electronic submission

    April 20, 2023 - Deans’ recommendations submitted to the Office of Research

    May 18, 2023 - Award notifications from the Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPRI) to successful applicants

    May 26, 2023 - Award acceptance signed by successful faculty via DocuSign

• Required Materials

  • All new registrants (Category A) and applicants (Category C - new applicants only) must submit all the following material by 5 PM on  March 16, 2023 to their College Office (see “Submission Details” section below for the respective college contact information).

    1. Cover Sheet – including name, rank, department, college, and date of appointment to the University

    2. Scholarly Agenda – Two pages describing your RSCA goals, activities, and expected outcomes/products for the coming five-year period

    3. ORCID iD* – You must make your profile and citations public

    4. Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)

    5. RSCA Metric Data – An email message from your college will follow to provide college-specific guidance on how to submit RSCA Metric Data

    6. Final Five-Year Report (Category C renewals only) - see report content description below

• Selection of Awardees

  • Category A - The Dean will provide the VPRI with the list of new registrations for assigned time under the RSCA AT program for AY 2023-24 for probationary faculty members meeting the college-specific standards.

    Category C - The Dean will recommend to the VPRI which eligible tenured faculty members are to receive assigned time under the RSCA AT program for AY 2023-24. The Dean determines the process for the selection within their college and may consider specific components of the application or the entire packet holistically. The guidance from the VPRI is that the recommendation be made with substantial consideration of the faculty member’s prior RSCA productivity. To assure transparency, the Dean’s office will publish, such as on the college web page, the methodology and the selection criteria. The Dean’s recommendation list must be submitted to the Office of Research in the Division of Research and Innovation (with a copy to the Office of the Provost), along with all candidates’ complete application packets, by April 20, 2023.

    The decision of which eligible faculty will receive assigned time through the RSCA AT program will be made by the VPRI in consultation with the Provost, weighing the Dean’s recommendations. The VPRI and Provost may, at their discretion, review the Dean’s recommendations and process to assure that the selected faculty members’ RSCA productivity meets university-wide standards. Faculty receiving RSCA AT awards will be notified by email by May 18, 2023 and will be required to DocuSign their acceptance of the RSCA AT award by May 26, 2023.

Annual, Three-Year, and Final/Five-Year RSCA Productivity Reports

Faculty who had tenure when they started their RSCA AT program in AY 2020-21 (Cycle 3) must submit a formal three-year report this year. 

Faculty who had tenure when they started their RSCA AT program in AY 2018-19 (Cycle 1) must submit a “final” five-year report this year.

All other probationary and tenured faculty currently participating in the RSCA AT program must submit an annual report.

• Timeline

  • March 16, 2023 - Annual and Three-Year Reports due to the College Office. Final/Five-Year Reports should be submitted along with the faculty member’s RSCA AT renewal application to the College Office. Otherwise, the Five-Year Reports should be submitted separately.

    April 20, 2023 - Final/Five Year Reports and Dean’s feedback on Three-Year Reports due to the Office of Research

    May 18, 2023 - Three-Year review letters from the VPRI and College Dean sent to faculty

    May 26, 2023 - Acknowledgement of the three-Year review letters due from faculty via DocuSign

• Annual RSCA Productivity Reports

  • Except for those who are submitting a formal three-year report and for those at the end of their five-year award (Cycle 1), all probationary and tenured faculty participating in the RSCA AT program are required to submit their Annual RSCA Productivity Reports to the College Office in their college-specific RSCA Metric Data format by 5 PM on March 16, 2023. An email message from your college will follow to provide college-specific guidance on how to submit RSCA Metric Data. No formal feedback will be provided on Annual Reports.

• Three-Year RSCA Productivity Reports

  • Faculty who had tenure when they started their RSCA AT program in AY 2020-21 (Cycle 3) must submit a formal three-year report to the College Office by 5 PM on March 16, 2023 consisting of all the following items – your college will provide additional information about these components and writing prompts:

    1. Statement of Achievements: One-page narrative describing RSCA progress covering the three-year period

    2. RSCA Productivity Report: RSCA Metric Data covering the three-year period in college-specific format

    3. Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)

    4. Scholarly Agenda – Two-page ongoing/planned RSCA Agenda for the remainder of the program. Attach original RSCA Agenda for reference and explain the Agenda change(s) for the remainder of the AT period, if any. Articulate how the ongoing agenda will result in products that are measurable by the college-specific RSCA metrics.

    5. ORCID iD* – You must make your profile and citations public

    The Dean’s feedback on the three-year reports will be submitted to the Office of Research in the Division of Research and Innovation by April 20, 2023. All reports, along with the Deans’ feedback, will be reviewed by the VPRI. Faculty will be notified of the VPRI’s and Dean’s review at the same time by email by May 18, 2023 and will be asked to DocuSign an acknowledgement of the review by May 26, 2023.

• Five-Year RSCA Productivity Reports

  • Faculty who had tenure when they started their RSCA AT program in AY 2018-19 (Cycle 1) must submit a formal final/five-year report to the College Office by 5 PM on March 16, 2023. Faculty applying for RSCA AT Program renewal must submit their Five-Year Report along with their renewal application.

    Final/Five-Year Reports consist of all the following items - your college will provide additional information about these components and writing prompts:

    1. Cover Sheet - including name, rank, department, college, date of appointment to the University, and an explicit statement of whether you are applying for a five-year renewal or not

    2. Statement of Overall Achievements: One-page narrative describing RSCA progress covering the five-year period

    3. RSCA Productivity Report: RSCA Metric Data covering the five-year period in college-specific format

    4. Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)

    5. Scholarly Agenda (if applying for renewal) – Two-page ongoing/planned RSCA Agenda for the next five years of the program, if awarded. Attach original RSCA Agenda for reference and explain the Agenda change(s) for the next AT period, if any. Articulate how the ongoing agenda will result in products that are measurable by the college-specific RSCA metrics.

    6. ORCID iD* – You must make your profile and citations public

Submission Details

Completed applications and reports (with the exception of RSCA Metric Data) should be compiled into one PDF file and must be submitted electronically to your college office (see email address below). RSCA Metric Data should be submitted in your college-specific format following your college guidance.

Please use the keywords “RSCA Assigned Time Registration”, “RSCA Assigned Time Application”, “RSCA Assigned Time Annual Report”, “RSCA Assigned Time Three-Year Report”, or “RSCA Assigned Time Five-Year Report” in the subject line of the email.

Please refer to the RSCA Assigned Time Program FAQ for answers to common questions. You may also contact officeofresearch@sjsu.edu or your College Associate Dean for Research (or equivalent position) for any questions or further clarification.

* For information on how to obtain an ORCID iD and make your profile and citations public, see orcid.org. If you need assistance, please consult the University Library's ORCID iD webpage.

Intellectual/Creative Property

The funding for this award is provided as “substantial support” for your RSCA and that, under University Intellectual/Creative Property Policy (F98-3 [pdf]) (IP Policy), the University has certain rights to intellectual property resulting from your work under this award. You will abide by the terms of the University IP Policy and cooperate with efforts to protect and promote any intellectual property related to this award. If an invention or discovery is made or a Creative Works is developed, a Disclosure describing the discovery (invention, creative works, or software) shall be prepared and forwarded to the SJSU Office of Innovation.

Conflict of Interest

As an SJSU employee, you are not permitted to have any personal financial interest that would violate California Government Code Section 1090 et seq. or that would result in a Conflict of Interest, as that term is defined in the Political Reform Act, California Government Code Section 81000 et seq. If you receive extramural grant support, you must disclose personal financial interests as required by the laws, regulations, and sponsor/SJSU [pdf] policies governing conflict of interest in research.