Pathways to Tenure Grant

The Pathways to Tenure Grant is supported by the Division of Academic Affairs and administered by the Office of Faculty Development. It is designed to assist tenure-track faculty in their first through fifth years in meeting the qualifications for retention, tenure, or promotion. Each awardee will select one of two options:

• Option 1: Coaching through the Faculty Success Program with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)- download application
• Option 2: Reassigned Time- download application

If you have questions, you may contact Faculty Development at facdev@csun.edu

 Tuition for Coaching with the Faculty Success Program (FSP)

This option supports faculty members who have a project at the stage where they can write every day and are interested in changing their approach to time management. The Faculty Success Program (FSP) is a 12-week online program designed to help faculty develop “the skills necessary to increase research and writing productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.” FSP participants attend weekly small-group meetings with a certified coach and complete learning modules and mini tasks in line with their research goals. They can expect to dedicate 4-5 hours per week to meet the program requirements. You can learn more about the program on their website. CSUN faculty who completed this program reported transformational impact such as: 

• “At the beginning of the semester (and in reality, the whole time I’ve been at CSUN) I was feeling pretty disillusioned with my role as an assistant professor even though there are parts of the job that I enjoy. Writing has always been one of the more difficult aspects to find time and motivation to do, but the program provided me with tools, such as weekly planning meetings and a semester strategic plan, that made me feel like I was no longer stuck.”
• “The strategic plan (SP) and weekly plans (WPs) were transformative in helping me actually get writing and other tasks done. I didn’t realize how inefficient I was in completing writing goals on time. As a testament to how well the SP and WPs worked for me, I submitted a manuscript I had been working on the last year/year-and-a-half!”

Reassigned Time (3-units)

This option supports faculty members who have a clearly defined research plan, a clear pathway to implement it and can protect and need roughly 8-10 hours weekly to execute their proposed plan. The proposed plan, time off from teaching a course and successful outcome should help tenure-track faculty meet the qualifications for retention, tenure, or promotion. CSUN faculty who selected this award option shared sample impact such as:

• “This award provided the time required to research, write, and revise a chapter for publication. I could not do this work while teaching four courses per semester.”
• “Having time to work on new projects and catch up on old projects that are foundational to said new projects, is critical for RTP purposes. Simply having the time helped a lot, particularly in the context of the COVID pandemic. This award allowed me to get back into writing, which feels impossible when teaching a full load.”

Select the arrows at the bottom to flip through the slides.

Tenure-track faculty in their first through fifth years are eligible to for this award. Those requesting reassigned time and in their third through fifth years are particularly encouraged to apply. Those in their first-third year can especially benefit from the FSP award option. 

Individuals in their first and second years and those who have received awards under this program may receive awards, but priority will be given to those in their third through fifth years and those who have not yet received a Pathways to Tenure Grant (or its predecessor, a Probationary Faculty Support Program Grant).

Proposals will be evaluated by the Pathways to Tenure Grant Selection Committee, consisting of CSUN faculty from each college and former Faculty Success Program awardees. The committee recommends projects for funding to the Director of Faculty Development.

The proposed project should initiate and make progress towards scholarship, research, publications, creative works or any project that the department & college personnel committee will value as an artifact counting towards the area Section 600 describes as Scholarly Contributions to the Field of Study. 

 It must meet one of the following objectives:

• To develop/complete research the applicant has already initiated; or
• To initiate research and publication projects, including pedagogical research.
• Use of reassigned time to develop pilot data and a proposal for a larger extramural grant is also eligible for support through this program.

NOTE: Because the FSP training helps faculty members cultivate a daily writing practice, proposed projects for applicants requesting FSP tuition must involve developing research the applicant has already initiated.

Significance and broader implications:

• Does the proposal provide evidence that the project will make a significant contribution to the faculty member’s success (i.e. does the faculty member clearly demonstrate how this project with contribute to their RTP)?
• Does the proposal provide evidence that the project will contribute to the applicant’s field of study and/or the field of pedagogy?
• Does the proposal provide evidence on how this project can benefit CSUN students’ learning (directly or indirectly)?

Prospects for success:

Does the applicant’s submitted CV provide evidence of the applicant’s ability to conduct the project?

If applying for release time:

• Are sufficient resources available to the applicant to effectively conduct the project?
• Is the methodology and timeline appropriate to achieve the expected outcome(s)?
• Does the project contain adequate dissemination plans?

If applying for the Faculty Success Program:

• Is the project developed significantly enough to be able to commit to a daily writing practice related to the project?
• Is the timeline realistic for substantial progress to be made on the project?
• Does the project contain a plan for future publication, submission and/or peer review plans? 

If the applicant has received previous support from this program (or its predecessor, the Probationary Faculty Support Program), did they utilize the award effectively? Did they complete the requisite report(s)?

Presentation:

• Is the problem the scholarship direction address clearly presented (e.g., strong rationale, significance of the problem)? Hint: strong proposals are easily understood by your colleagues outside your department/college/discipline.
• Are the project’s outcomes clearly identified?
• Are the format requirements met?
• Is the application cover sheet complete, including requisite signatures?

Faculty development has several offerings aimed toward faculty grant winners on topics relevant to your work, including writing productivity, grant-writing workshops (for both CSUN and external grants), faculty writing communities, and one-on-one consulting on projects. While not required to attend, grant winners are encouraged to take advantage of the resources we have and will be given “first option” when we are signing up participants.

March 5, 2024

• Application materials must be submitted by email to facdev@csun.edu by 4:00 PM.
• Please send one email that contains two PDF documents:
  • One file containing a completed cover sheet with required signatures
  • One file containing your proposal narrative. This file should contain your Project Title but not your name or any other identifying information.

Early-April 2024     

• Awards announced

Fall 2024 OR Spring 2025         

• Reassigned time used to carry out proposed project, or
• Faculty member participates in FSP training in the Fall or Spring. Evaluations are due within one month of the end of the training.

June 16, 2025

Final report due final report due for awardees who chose reassigned time

Sample Proposals (all reassigned time option)

• RFP Sample #1
• RFP Sample #2
• RFP Sample #3

Awardees for 2024-2025

Recipients who receive reassigned time are required to complete a final report by June 16, 2025. Recipients who receive tuition for FSP are required to complete an evaluation within one month of the end of the training.

Awardees for 2023-2024

If you received an award during the 2023-2024 award cycle, you should complete this google form report by the respective due date. Your detailed report aids us in providing context, stories and evidence about the impact of this internal campus resource which is intended to support and retain tenure-track faculty in their journey of achieving success at CSUN.