Combined Fellowship and Off-Campus Duty Assignment Support

Updated June 17, 2025

Arkansas State University encourages its faculty to apply for prestigious fellowships to further their research efforts. This procedure outlines the circumstances in which a faculty member can apply for off-campus duty assignment (currently referred to as compensated leave in the Faculty Handbook) while also accepting a prestigious fellowship that requires their leave of absence from their academic appointment.

The purpose of off-campus duty assignment is to provide opportunities for eligible faculty members to engage in professional activities that enhance their tenure at A-State while receiving regular salary. Such activities, in turn, also enhance the faculty members’ service to the university. In accordance with the stated purpose, off-campus duty assignment may be granted for research, writing, other professional creative activities, graduate study leading to advanced degrees, travel for student/research, retraining tenured faculty members who teach in programs being phased out, or for further study to upgrade specific program(s). Eligible faculty are encouraged to apply for off-campus duty assignment to initiate, continue, or complete research or creative activities. For more information, please visit the Faculty Research Awards Committee website or the Faculty Handbook.

Timeline for University Off-Campus Duty Assignment Requests:

August: Off-Campus Duty Assignment solicitation is announced
October: Faculty Research Awards Committee (“FRAC”) deadline
Late October/early November: FRAC meeting, discussion of expectations
November: FRAC application review
December – January: Decisions announced
August or the following January: Off-Campus Duty Assignment begins. See below for more information.

Off-Campus Duty Assignment Cycle:

October – Applications received in October should be made for the next Fall semester (August, 10 months in advance) or Spring semester (January, 15 months in advance).
Approved requests provide salary support to faculty at a rate of half-pay for an academic year or full-pay for a semester.

Combined Fellowship and Off-Campus Duty Assignment Principles:

• The expectations of faculty member’s off-campus duty assignment request must align with the fellowship sponsor guidelines.
• The purpose is to promote professional development and success of faculty and to raise the research profile of the institution.
• All fellowships with an anticipated external funding source or commitment outside of faculty contractual obligations must go through FRAC for approval as an off-campus duty assignment request.
• Off-Campus Duty Assignment requests can be reviewed and considered by FRAC outside of the standard annual review cycle when a sponsored fellowship is awarded that provides support for the faculty member’s research or creative endeavors. External funding of a fellowship with fixed dates will be considered by FRAC when they are notified of the award. Faculty members should work with Research and Technology Transfer (“RTT”) staff to load fellowship applications into Cayuse so there is a record of internal approvals for fellowships awarded to individuals.
• All requests, questions, and consideration for off-campus duty assignment should go through the RTT office. If appropriate, RTT will delegate the request to Advancement for further assistance.
• If a faculty member is approved for off-campus duty assignment in conjunction with a sponsored fellowship, there are several circumstances for which flexibility can be granted with approval from the chair, dean, and RTT:
  • Proposed start and end dates. If the fellowship is awarded on a timeline that does not align with university fiscal year, the period of off-campus duty assignment can be adjusted to align with the fellowship.
    • If the off-campus duty assignment request will be dependent upon the faculty member acceptance of a sponsored fellowship, this request can be deferred for up to two annual review cycles while a faculty member awaits a response from the fellowship sponsor.
  • Scope of work. The scope of work for the off-campus duty assignment request can be adjusted if there are discrepancies with the expectations of the sponsored fellowship program.
    o These requests should be initiated with RTT to facilitate the process.
• Teaching reassignments are made at the department and college level and are not reviewed as part of the FRAC process.