1.1 The Board of Trustees authorizes the Administrative Board to establish Professional Development/Training policies.
1.2 In accordance with BOT V.B.2 and USY V.B.2.1, the University System and each of its component institutions shall establish policies and procedures to promote growth for staff.
1.3 The component institutions shall have prime responsibility for establishment of professional development, training and funding.
2. Professional Development and Training
2.1 Goal. Staff development is intended to be a continuing responsibility of both the individual staff member and the institution. The goal is to encourage individual growth and improved productivity, and to provide a means of reinforcement and reward.
2.2 Staff and supervisory training will be conducted as determined by the institution.
2.3 The institutional office responsible for training will determine attendance policies, such as mandatory or optional participation. Staff members taking advantage of the tuition benefit will normally be expected to make up the time or use Earned Time/vacation for time taken to attend courses during the work day. Time spent by staff members attending work-related workshops or seminars shall normally be considered time worked. In all cases such time will be accounted for in compliance with the definition established by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
2.4 Funding. Professional development training and/or travel shall be subject to availability of funding. Each institution shall define the approval process for funding.
3.1 Faculty Exchange Programs. Full-time faculty are eligible for exchange programs with faculty at other institutions of higher education when the experience will be mutually beneficial to the participant and the institution, endorsed by the appropriate administrator, and approved by the Chief Executive Officer.
3.1.1 While on exchange, the faculty member will be considered on full time appointment at his/her home institution with salary, benefits, and all rights and responsibilities retained.
3.1.2 Exchanges may be for any period of time up to one calendar year. Time spent on exchange will count as time in rank toward mandatory tenure decision and as time toward eligibility for a subsequent leave for professional improvement.
3.1.3 Performance evaluations will be requested from the host institution and a post-exchange evaluation of professional activities will be required from the participant, to be included in subsequent considerations for promotion and salary adjustments.
3.1.4 Faculty on exchange will be obligated to return to their institutions for a period of one year following the exchange.
3.2 PAT Exchange Programs. PAT staff members who are employed in status positions are eligible for exchange programs with staff at other institutions of higher education when the experience will be mutually beneficial to the participant and the institution, is endorsed by the appropriate administrator, and approved by the Chief Executive Officer.
3.2.1 While on exchange, the PAT staff member will be considered on regular appointment at his/her home institution, with salary, benefits, and all rights and responsibilities retained, including use and accrual of vacation and sick leave.
3.2.2 Exchanges may be for any period of time up to one calendar year.
3.2.3 Performance evaluations will be requested from the host institution and a post-exchange evaluation of professional activities will be required from the participant, to be included in subsequent considerations for promotion and salary adjustments.
3.2.4 PAT members on exchange will be obligated to return to their institutions for a period of one year following the exchange.
3.3 Other procedures and/or contractual relationships will follow guidelines and legal requirements adopted by the host institution.
4. Professional Development Leave
4.1 Goal. Faculty and PAT staff are eligible for leave for professional improvement that will result in specific benefit to the institution and/or the University System. Such leave shall be available as a matter of privilege rather than right and shall be granted to an eligible faculty or professional staff member only in those cases where the criteria set forth below are met.
4.2 Leave Conditions -- General. Recipients of paid leaves for professional improvements are permitted to receive income for professional activities without prejudice to their receipt of income from the University System, provided the activity is approved by the appropriate dean or supervisor. In no case may the faculty or professional staff member undertake full-time paid employment while on leave for professional improvement. Upon return from leave the faculty or professional staff member is expected to submit a report summarizing the professional activities of his/her leave. The individual's campus may require that he/she return to service for a specific period after a professional development leave or reimburse the institution the full amount of salary and benefits paid during the leave.
4.3 Leave Approval -- General. All paid leaves for members of the faculty or PAT staff require approval of a specific proposal for professional improvement that outlines the benefits expected for both the individual and University System. Applications for leave are submitted to the Chief Executive Officer through the appropriate academic/administrative officer who should be given reasonable notice of the date the leave is to begin. Each application is judged upon its individual merits and availability of funding. The Chief Executive Officer or his/her designee must approve all paid leaves.
4.4 Sabbatical-Faculty
4.4.1 Eligibility. Faculty members with the rank of assistant professor and above shall become eligible for sabbatical leave upon the completion of six years of full-time service at the institution. Years of service shall count from the date of full-time appointment to the rank of instructor or above or from the ending date of the previous leave for professional improvement. All leaves of absence (with or without pay) shall be excluded in determining years of service for this purpose, as shall all years of less than full-time service. Sabbatical leaves are ordinarily reserved for those members of the faculty who have completed advanced academic preparation. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the CEO if: (1) completion of formal advanced study will strongly promote interests of the college/university and (2) the person has shown substantial progress toward completing such study while employed by the institution.
4.4.2 Duration of Leave. For faculty on an academic year appointment, one semester at full salary or two semesters at half salary. For faculty on fiscal year appointments, it shall be up to six months at full salary or 12 months at half salary. In exceptional cases, shorter leaves at more frequent intervals may be granted or even requested by the University System to allow for greater flexibility than is attainable under the normal circumstances. For leaves at half pay the college/university will maintain its full contribution to benefits if the faculty member makes the applicable contributions. See USY V.F.10 for payroll information and USY V.A for specific information regarding benefit contributions.
4.5 PAT Professional Development Leave
4.5.1 Eligibility. PAT staff members who have been employed with the University System for at least three years in a status position may apply for a leave for professional improvement. Each application is reviewed on its own merits.
4.5.1.1 Subsequent Leaves. If a faculty/staff member has been on either a full or partial leave of 120 days or more or a professional development leave, s/he is not eligible for a professional development leave again until serving in a status position for at least 24 months after returning from leave, unless the most recent leave was for FMLA reasons.
4.5.2 Duration of Leave. The leave may be of varying duration depending upon the number of calendar years of service not to exceed one month at full pay or two months at half pay per calendar year of service up to a maximum of six months at the employee's full pay or 12 months at the employee's half pay. See USY V.F.10 for payroll information.
4.6 Executive Officer Professional Development Leave
4.6.1 Eligibility. Executive Officers are eligible for leave that will enhance their professional growth and improve the quality of higher education within the University System. It is anticipated that professional improvement/development leaves will be for projects focused upon such things as organizational problems and the management procedures needed to solve them, cost effectiveness of campus/system operations, collective bargaining and its effects on higher education, data processing systems and how they can serve administrators, coordinated academic programming within a diversified university system, and long-range budget or physical plant planning. Such leaves shall be available as a matter of privilege rather than right and are subject to the criteria set forth below.
4.6.2 Application. Approval is required of a specific proposal for professional development leave which outlines the benefits expected for both the University System/campus and the Executive Officer. Leaves of absence for professional development are granted by the Chief Executive Officer of the institution or, in the case of Chief Executive Officers, by the Board of Trustees.
4.6.3 Duration of Leave. Leave for professional development may be granted after three years of full-time service as an Executive Officer in the University System. Such leave may be of varying duration not to exceed one month at full pay or two months at half pay per year of service up to a maximum of six months at full pay or 12 months at half pay.
4.6.4 Conditions. Executive Officers who receive approval for professional development leave will normally be expected to return to employment within the University System (to the same or a higher position) immediately following the expiration of the leave. The Executive Officer, upon return to the University System, will be expected to submit a report summarizing the professional activities of his or her leave to the institution's Chief Executive Officer, or in the case of Chief Executive Officers, to the Board of Trustees.
4.7 Benefits
4.7.1 Vacation/Sick Leave Accrual. Fiscal year faculty, PAT staff members and Executive Officers continue to earn vacation/sick leave at the normal rate of accrual while on a sabbatical/professional improvement leave.
4.7.2 For specific benefits coverage policy see USY V.A.
5. Memberships in Professional Organizations
5.1 The University System and the component institutions encourage staff members to join professional organizations in their respective field. The University System and the component institutions hold institutional memberships in some organizations.
6.1 The University System of New Hampshire is committed to the concept of promotion of its staff, both status and adjunct as defined in USY V.E.6.1.1. The intent of the internal promotion and hiring guidelines is to:
6.1.1 Enhance upward mobility opportunities by providing an exclusive internal posting for USNH status employees and adjunct employees who have been employed within USNH for at least twelve (12) months in total and have worked at least 1,250 hours or half-time (as defined in this paragraph) during the 12 month period preceding the posting. Half-time will mean half of the hours that are normally the base full-time hours (e.g. 2080.0, 1957.5, etc.) as determined by policy. Final determination of eligibility will be made by the campus HR Office.
6.1.2 Provide status USNH staff with the opportunity to be considered for position openings that could result in enhanced personal advancement opportunities.
6.1.3 Advance qualified employees (especially women, minorities and those with disabilities) into executive, administrative, supervisory, and other upper-level management positions.
6.2 Criteria/Conditions. Departments are encouraged to elect exclusive internal posting of all Operating Staff, PAT, Academic Administrator, Extension Educator, or Executive Officer positions when the following conditions exist:
6.2.1 There are a sufficient number of qualified internal candidates from which to select.
6.2.2 The potential applicant pool of eligible employees includes a sufficient number of qualified women and minorities to match availability guidelines established in the Affirmative Action Plan.
6.2.3 Internal promotion will benefit both the institution and the University System as determined by the Chief Executive Officer or his/her designee.
6.2.4 If these three criteria/conditions do not exist, or if, upon internal posting, no qualified candidates apply, then the department will consider external candidates.
6.3 Procedures
6.3.1 The component institutions shall establish procedures to conduct internal job postings. Those procedures shall include (a) a formal request to the office responsible for personnel to post internally; (b) a means to designate the position as an internal promotional opportunity; (c) a minimum posting notice that complies with policies established in USY V.C.
6.3.2 Where an internal candidate exists within the department the posting may indicate "internal candidate exists as of this posting date" if a candidate has indicated a desire to apply.
6.3.3 Applications, resumes and appointments will be reviewed using the same process as any other selection procedure.
7.1 Goal. The appointment types of apprentice or trainee are established to promote staff development and recruiting.
7.2 Individual staff members may be assigned to either of these categories through either internal advertising or through reclassification. Upon approval of the campus Human Resource Office, internal advertising may be restricted to the hiring institution. The determination to restrict advertising will be made only where conditions of reallocation, upward mobility, reorganization or reductions-in-force exist and such advertising will facilitate the effort. Compensation policy is included in USY V.C.6.5.12 and USY V.C.6.5.13.