Faculty Life Committee
Criteria for Released Time Grants
for Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty
Purpose: To enable tenured and tenure-track faculty to undertake a major scholarly or artistic project and to disseminate the results through significant professional publications, shows, or performances. Examples of appropriate projects include, but are not limited to:
- Significant portions of a book manuscript
- A laboratory or field investigation
- A peer-reviewed electronic publication or portfolio
- A series of paintings or compositions
Eligibility:
Tenured faculty : Tenured faculty with appropriate terminal degree completed by beginning of grant period. Released time will not be awarded during the twelve months immediately preceding or immediately following a sabbatical leave.
Tenure-track faculty : Tenure-track faculty with appropriate terminal degree completed by beginning of grant period. Grant must be completed prior to year of tenure review.
Faculty awarded released time must teach at St. Olaf in the semester preceding and the semester following the receipt of the award, and must not be the recipient of a comparable grant during the period of released time.
Award: Two courses released time, normally during one semester. Recipients are normally expected to be in residence and to continue advising and committee responsibilities, but to be completely released from teaching, during the semester of the award.
Deadline: Deadlines List Applicants should get copies of their application materials to their letter writers two weeks before this deadline, and advise their letter writers to consult guidelines for letter writing in the "General Guidelines for all Grant Categories." In any event, all materials, including supporting letters must be received in the Dean's office by noon on the above noted date. In the past, the committee has chosen to exclude from consideration applications which were not complete by the deadline.
Criteria for review:
Applications should be written in clear, non-technical language accessible to the non-specialist. Workshops clarifying the application process and criteria will be offered in early October, watch your email for an announcement. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a workshop and/or consult with a past grant recipient as they prepare their application.
A. Professional significance of the proposed project . Professional significance is evaluated with reference to:
(1) Contribution of the project to scholarship in the applicant's disciplinary or interdisciplinary field of study or to artistic development in the applicant's performance field. Applicants are encouraged to refer to the Statement of Significant Professional Activity in their department or program to explain why the project matters. Reference to goals or priorities articulated by relevant professional associations (disciplinary or interdisciplinary) would also be helpful.
(2) Breadth, depth, and/or originality of the project. Projects may be of significance by virtue of their scope, their specialization, and/or their singularity.
B. Appropriateness of project design. Project design is evaluated with reference to:
(1) Specificity of project activities. Applicants must identify the overall time frame for the project, describe the activities they will undertake, and indicate an approximate schedule for their work.
(2) Suitability of project activities. Applicants must show that the project activities are appropriate to their preparation for the project, suitable for the proposed time frame and schedule, and likely to accomplish the intended outcomes, particularly those related to dissemination.
C. Plans for Dissemination: Applicants should specify their plans for dissemination to audiences beyond St. Olaf. Examples of appropriate vehicles of dissemination include books, peer-reviewed journal articles, peer-reviewed conference papers, performances, exhibitions and the like. Where appropriate, applicants should describe any progress they have made toward realizing their plans, and provide supporting documentation thereof. In addition, the recipient of a released time grant is expected to make an on-campus, public presentation based on project results. Applicants are encouraged to consult with the Director of the Center for Innovation in the Liberal Arts (CILA) in developing their plans for on-campus dissemination.
D. Significance for the applicant's career. Career significance is evaluated with reference to:
(1) Relationship of the project to the applicant's previous work. Applicants should show how a project builds upon, complements, and/or initiates a new direction in, their prior work.
(2) Contribution of the project to the applicant's future work. Applicants should show how the proposed project will advance their career objectives.
(3) Timeliness of the project . Applicants should show how the timing of the project will advance their career objectives. Applicants who are not full professors should address the timing of the project in terms of their progress toward tenure and/or promotion.
Faculty awarded released time must not be on leave in the semester preceding and the semester following the receipt of the award. The applicant also must not utilize a further (non-Faculty Life funded) released time grant during the period of St. Olaf funded released time. This does not, however, preclude the possibility of stacking other released time (though not full 'leave') opportunities in semesters preceding or following the term of the St. Olaf funded released time grant. Indeed, acquisition of additional grants from external sources to allow travel, purchase of equipment, extension of released time, etc. is strongly encouraged.
