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Academic Senate

Exceptional Service Awards

Overview 

The 2022-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the California Faculty Association and the Board of Trustees of the California State University provides for assigned time (in the form of Weighted Teaching Units, WTUs) to Unit 3 faculty employees (including Lecturers) 鈥渨ho are engaged in exceptional levels of service that support the CSU鈥檚 priorities, but who are not otherwise receiving an adjustment in workload to reflect their effort鈥xceptional service awards are intended to recognize faculty who have a demonstrated commitment to working on issues faced by our diverse student population.鈥 (CBA provision 20.37).  

Eligibility & Restrictions 

  1. All Unit 3 faculty employees are eligible to submit a proposal to request assigned time for exceptional levels of service to students. 
  2. Faculty who have previously received assigned time under this program and have not filed a final report on their activities are not eligible to apply again until their final report has been received. 
  3. Faculty members already receiving assigned time for the same general category of activity (e.g., assigned time for excess enrollments, assigned time for committee service) shall not be eligible for support from this program. 

Supported Activities 

The following activities may be supported: 

  1. Student mentoring, advising, and outreach, especially as these activities support underserved, first-generation, and/or underrepresented students. 
  2. The development and implementation of high-impact educational practices; curricular redesign intended to improve student access and success. 
  3. Service to the department, college, university, or community that goes significantly beyond the normal expectations of all faculty. 
  4. Assignment to courses where increases to enrollment have demonstrably increased workload. 
  5. Other extraordinary forms of service to students. 

Review Criteria 

  1. Demonstrated or hypothesized impact on student success and/or educational experience; impact includes the quality of the activity as well as the number of students served. 
  2. Demonstration that the impact on and/or quality of student experience could not be maintained without an increase in workload and that it is above and beyond the faculty member鈥檚 work assignment/regular duties. 
  3. Demonstrated impact on historically underserved populations. 
  4. Quality of the letter of support. 

Timeline and Review Process 

As of January 2025, there will be one application and review process per academic year. This ensures that applicants can anticipate a consistent timeline every year and departments/programs have adequate time to fill teaching assignments. Applicants will apply in the spring for assigned time in the next academic year fall or spring term. 
 
  • Spring Schedule for Exceptional Service Awards (class weeks) 
      • Weeks 1-2: Senate office sends out email to all faculty members with call and deadlines.
      • Week 6: Applications鈥痙ue by 5:00 PM, Monday, 2/24/2025. 
      • Weeks 7-8: EATC鈥痳eviews applications.
      • Week 9: Provost notifies applicants the week of 3/17/2025.
      • 3/21/2025: end of schedule build period
  • The number of WTU available is nine awards of three (3) WTU (as of 2/7/25).
  • Completed applications with all signatures is due via email to the Academic Senate Office (academicsenateoffice@csusm.edu) by 5:00 p.m. on Monday 2/24/2025. A complete application consists of:
      • A signed coversheet ()
      • A two-page narrative (as detailed on the cover page form)
      • A letter of support
  • The Exceptional Assigned Time Committee (EATC), a subcommittee of the Faculty Affairs Committee will be responsible for evaluation of applications and making recommendations of awards to the Provost.
  • It is anticipated that the standard award will be for three (3) WTU. The semester the release time is to be taken will be decided by mutual agreement of the Department Chair and the award recipient.
  • When obtaining signatures from the Department Chair or Program Coordinator, it is recommended that the applicant discuss teaching assignments should they receive the award. 

FAQ 

How do awardees report their workload? 

Tenure track faculty will report the WTUs awarded for Exceptional Service in the TT Faculty Assigned Time Submission through InfoReady. Lecturer faculty will report the WTUs awarded to their Department Chair. 

Do awardees receive assigned time? 

Yes, all awardees receive assigned time. In unique circumstances where assigned time is not possible due to the nature of the awardee鈥檚 appointment, alternative compensation will be awarded. 

Do the awards affect lecturer entitlements? 

No, lecturer entitlements will be preserved in their entirety. According to Section X.B of the EAT policy , 鈥淎 lecturer with an assignment less than 15 WTUs may receive the assigned time as a release from coursework assigned by their department or in addition to coursework, up to 15 WTUs. When a lecturer takes the assigned time in addition to departmental coursework, this assigned time will not increase their entitlement. In unique circumstances where assigned time is not possible due to the nature of the awardee's appointment, alternative compensation will be awarded.鈥 

What is required after I receive an award? 

Awardees will provide a final report to the EATC no later than one semester following the award of assigned time. Email to the Academic Senate Office (academicsenateoffice@csusm.edu). The report shall provide evidence that the proposed activities were completed and that the impact on the students was as claimed in the original application. Faculty are ineligible to receive further assigned time from this program until their report is received. 

Can I apply for this award for exceptional service work that I conducted last year (anytime in the past)? 

No, the award does not apply retroactively (i.e. where the work has already been done and then the WTUs given). As a CSU policy, all work needs to be approved in advance of the assigned time being given. Under the CBA and policy, assigned time must be taken 鈥渄uring the academic year in which the activities occurred.鈥  

Can I defer or 鈥渂ank鈥 my award? 

Yes. The rationale for banking is that the activity will occur during the next year and the WTUs be taken at that time (i.e. the time the faculty member is doing the exceptional service). 

Can I apply for exceptional service work that is done during the summer?

The award is for work that will occur during the fall or spring semester. You may apply based on exceptional service work to students that occurs during the academic year based on summer research or field experiences (i.e. research mentoring and dissemination).