2022-23 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. The process has changed from previous years in an effort to reduce the administrative requirements on faculty members.

New Registrations and Applications

(Awards starting in AY 2022-23)

• 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 2022 must register to receive this award for the first time in 2022-23.

    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 2022-23.

    Probationary faculty members who are on the RSCA AT program and are up for tenure and expect to receive positive tenure decisions in August 2022 (formerly referred to as Category B) are no longer required to register or apply. Faculty members who will attain tenure in August 2022 will be automatically registered in the RSCA AT program and will receive confirmation shortly after tenure certification.

• Timeline

  • March 17, 2022 - New Applications are due from all faculty applicants to their College Office via electronic submission

    April 21, 2022 - Deans’ recommendations submitted to the Office of Research

    May 19, 2022 - Award notifications from the Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPRI) to successful applicants

    May 27, 2022 - Award acceptance signed by successful faculty via DocuSign

• Required Materials

  • All new registrants (Category A) and applicants (Category C) must submit all the following material by 5 PM on March 17, 2022 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 5-year period

    3. ORCID iD* (with permission granted for institutional access)

    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

• 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 2022-2023 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 2022-23. 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 21, 2022.

    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 19, 2022 and will be required to DocuSign their acceptance of the RSCA AT award by May 27, 2022.

Annual and Three-Year RSCA Productivity Reports

Faculty who had tenure when they started their RSCA AT program in AY 2019/2020 (Cycle 2) must submit a formal three-year report this year. All other probationary and tenured faculty currently participating in the RSCA AT program must submit an annual report.

• Timeline

  • March 17 2022 - Annual and Three-Year Reports due to the College Office

    April 21, 2022 - Dean’s feedback on Three-Year Reports due to the Office of Research

    May 19, 2022 - Three-Year review letters from the VPRI and College Dean sent to faculty

    May 27, 2022 - 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, all probationary and tenured faculty participating in the RSCA AT program are required to submit their Annual RSCA Productivity Reports in their college-specific RSCA Metric Data format by 5 PM on March 17, 2022. 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 2019/2020 (Cycle 2) must submit a formal three-year report by 5 PM on March 17, 2022 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* with permission granted for institutional access.

    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 21, 2022. 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 19, 2022 and will be asked to DocuSign an acknowledgement of the review by May 27, 2022.

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”, or “RSCA Assigned Time Three-Year Report” in the subject line of the email.

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

* For information on how to obtain an ORCID iD and set permissions, see
orcid.org. If you need assistance, please contact Emily Chan at emily.chan@sjsu.edu.

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.