Recommendation 8.34: NCSU should find better ways to communicate the value and benefits of off-campus scholarly assignments and other professional-development activities, both institutionally and to the public.
Off-campus assignments must be approved by the department head, dean, provost, the chancellor, and the NCSU Board of Trustees. Such assignments extend for a period of six months at full salary or twelve months at half-salary. When a faculty member takes an off-campus assignment, he or she must agree to return to NCSU and continue service for a period equivalent to the length of the scholarly assignment. The Faculty Senate maintains a Faculty Housing Exchange file to facilitate the leaves by faculty. Under some circumstances faculty can modify teaching and other responsibilities to allow for a professional-development opportunity without leaving NCSU; such opportunities are coordinated at the departmental level.
The administration recommends that departments foster scholarly assignments off-campus for faculty members at intervals of about seven years. However, as reported in the chapter on Research, Outreach, and Extension, NCSU faculty participate in this activity at about 10 percent of the rate that would be implied by a seven-year interval. The actual average is 29 per year rather than 242 per year. A significant increase in the use of scholarly leaves is needed. It should be noted, however, that faculty families often now include spouses with professional responsibilities inconsistent with a traditional study leave. Creative measures should be found to facilitate alternative arrangements in such cases to achieve the goals of taking scholarly leave.
Recommendation 8.35: NCSU should find creative alternatives to six- or twelve-month study leaves to accommodate the needs of faculty who have family responsibilities and constraints.
In addition, NCSU faculty are permitted to perform external professional activities for pay. Current NCSU policies provide guidance on how this activity may be pursued (Faculty Handbook, pp. 95-97).
Campus faculty in the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service are eligible to participate in the Specialist Leadership Development Institute, and field or county faculty in the Executive Development Institute. These programs are designed to improve and foster leadership, professional, and administrative competencies among extension faculty.
To enrich professional experience of faculty by providing opportunities for observation and experience in academic administration, NCSU offers an Administrative Fellowship Program. Participants in this program work closely for up to one year with an NCSU administrator. Eligible mentors are the chancellor, provost, vice-chancellors, and the ten college or school deans. This program is open to all tenured associate professors and professors, and the applicant must obtain the nomination of his or her dean.
Opportunities also exist for professional development of faculty through lecture and seminar series such as the Nusbaum Symposia, Watauga Seminars, DuPont Lectures, Barkalow Lectures, and others. These seminars typically recruit nationally and internationally known professionals to visit NCSU, make a formal presentation, and interact with faculty, staff, and students.
Given all the opportunities for professional growth that exist, new faculty may find it difficult to take the time to get the full view of opportunities for professional development at NCSU. A general University orientation program for incoming faculty could address this concern while also providing a means of orienting new faculty to the various other features and services of the University. The University could easily expand its annual new-faculty hospitality function to include an orientation that provides this information.
According to the Self-Study Survey of Faculty, the majority of NCSU faculty are satisfied (44.2 percent) or very satisfied (22.7 percent) with professional-development opportunities. Satisfaction is highest among professors (75.6 percent), followed by associate (63.4 percent) and assistant (63.0 percent) professors. Only 50.0 percent of instructors were satisfied or very satisfied. However, only 39.8 percent of the faculty feel that support for professional development is adequate.
Recommendation 8.36: NCSU should specifically designate support for improved professional development funding with particular attention to travel.
Recommendation 8.37: NCSU should require all faculty to develop individual plans for professional development; such plans can also be a basis for evaluation.
Recommendation 8.38: NCSU should regularly include in a comprehensive orientation program to acquaint newly appointed faculty with the professional-development opportunities and other services available at the University.
