Research Support

Course Reductions for Research

In order to encourage research, the Law School will permit research-intensive faculty members to reduce the number of courses taught in a year, as set forth below. For the purposes of this policy, "course reduction" means a reduction in teaching load in the form of either fewer general demand courses or fewer research seminars than would otherwise make up the faculty member's teaching load.

Law School-Provided Course Reductions
The Law School will provide course reductions as follows:

Untenured, tenure-track, full-time research-intensive faculty receive one general demand course reduction during the first, third, and sixth or seventh year of their appointment at the Law School.
Full-time research-intensive faculty members with tenure, who maintain a high level of scholarly productivity and promise, as determined by the Dean, receive one general demand course reduction once every four years.
If a faculty member resigns from the Law School and such resignation takes effect within the fiscal year in which a Law School Provided Research Course reduction is taken or the fiscal year immediately following, the faculty member will be expected to compensate the Law School for the salary he or she received with respect to each course reduction that year. The amount that must be paid to the Law School will be 1/3 of the faculty member's annual base salary and benefits during the year the reduction is taken for each Law School Provided Course Reduction.

Externally-Funded Course Reductions
The Law School also may provide course reductions if a faculty member obtains adequate funding from a non-University entity to support release from teaching obligations. The funding needed for such reductions is a percent of the faculty members full-time equivalent annual base salary and benefits during the year the course reduction is taken as follows:

50% of the faculty member's Salary and Benefits per reduced general demand course
33% of the faculty member's Salary and Benefits per reduced research seminar

Faculty with a partial appointment in the Law School and a partial appointment in a non-teaching institution that provides course reduction such as the American Bar Foundation or the Institute for Policy Research are not eligible for Law School Provided Course Reductions.

As long as it is consistent with the needs of the curriculum, a research-intensive faculty member may organize his or her teaching obligations into one semester (or quarter) to provide an extended period of non-teaching. Faculty who so organize their teaching, however, will continue to be in residence at the Law School for both semesters and will continue to carry out their University and Law School committee and other assignments unless the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research agrees otherwise in writing.

Notwithstanding a faculty member's qualification for a Law School-Provided Course Reduction or an Externally-Funded Course Reduction, each faculty member is required to teach at least one general demand course per academic year (unless he or she in on a formal leave of absence for the entire academic year). When this minimum teaching requirement prevents a faculty member from taking a Law School-Provided Course Reduction for which he or she otherwise would qualify or an Externally Funded Course Reduction, the faculty member generally will be permitted to reduce his or her teaching load in a future year or years. Such future credit arrangements are decided upon by the Associate Dean for Curriculum Academic Affairs in consultation with the faculty member.

Research Accounts

Research-intensive faculty members receive an annual research account to spend on expenses related to their research or teaching such as travel, books, research assistants, and other expenses. The current annual amounts of such accounts are:

$3,000 for each full-time research-intensive faculty member (prorated for faculty with less than full-time appointments)
$4,000 for research faculty members who hold permanent or rotating chairs

There are additional funds available to support the research expenses of productive faculty members. Such additional sums are allocated by the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research. In particular, the Law School is very liberal with providing support for student research assistants, and travel to present major unsolicited research papers (but not simply to participate on panels or to present small solicited pieces).

Currently, the Law School separately covers telephone, copying, and reprint mailing costs of all faculty.

Summer Research Assistance

Each research-intensive faculty member receives at least 200 hours of research assistance during the summer that is not charged to his or her research account, and can receive more upon application to the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research.

Computing Hardware and Software Support

The Law School provides a standard hardware and software package to all research faculty members along with training on both. Faculty members who have special hardware and software computing needs should discuss them with the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and our Information Technology (IT) Department. Refer to the IT Department for more information on computing policies.

Hardware
The Law School's Information Technology Department provides full-time faculty a choice of two office computer packages, both of which are fully paid for by the Law School:

A laptop computer, docking station, separate flat screen LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse, and Microsoft Office Professional, and upon request a second docking station, keyboard, and mouse for home use, or
A desktop computer, flat screen LCD monitor, and Microsoft Office Professional.

Faculty members are strongly encouraged to select the laptop package as their office computer for the following reasons: 1) laptops are more versatile and can be used in the office, at home, while traveling, and in the classroom, 2) as the Law School upgrades its smart classrooms it is not replacing PCs as they fail or become obsolete, thus making it necessary for faculty wishing to use technology in the classroom to bring a laptop to class, and 3) none of the smart classrooms in Wiebolt have personal computers (PCs) in them. Although the IT department does have a small number of short-term loaner laptops for faculty and student use, the demand for the laptops exceeds the laptops they have available.

Software
All Law School provided computers are preloaded with a standard software package that consists of the latest edition of Microsoft Office Professional (including MS Outlook and MS Internet Explorer), Adobe Acrobat Reader, the Firefox browser, the Eudora email client, and Symantec Anti-Virus. Other packages such as WordPerfect can also be added, if requested.

Faculty wishing to purchase software for their office computer that differs from the standard package must receive prior permission from our Information Technology Department and all purchases and installations must be made through our Information Technology Department.

Printers and Peripherals (eg., headsets, cameras, ergonomical keyboards, etc.)
Purchase of office printers and peripherals must be pre-approved by the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research. All purchases and installations must be made through our Information Technology Department using the faculty member’s research account.

Data Analysis Software and Databases
The Law School and University can provide specialized software packages and databases used for empirical research. The University currently offers STATA, SAS, SPSS, and Mathematica, which can be licensed through the University are deeply discounted prices. All licenses for these packages must be processed through our Information Technology Department. Faculty needing access to specialized databases should contact their Library Liaison for assistance in identifying and accessing these databases.

Hardware support
The Law School provides hardware support for computers purchased under this policy. Because of the increasingly complex interaction between hardware and software, the Law School does not support personally installed software and hardware peripherals.

Software support
Faculty wanting assistance in using Microsoft Word and Excel should contact their Faculty Assistant who can provide basic training on commonly used features. Faculty needing advanced assistance with Microsoft Office programs should contact the Information Technology Department, who can recommend trained software consultants.

Instructional Technology Support
The Law School uses BlackBoard as its course management software and BlackBoard sites are set up for every course offered by the Law School. Faculty wishing assistance in using BlackBoard to distribute digital documents and course packs to their students should contact their Library Liaison who can assist with BlackBoard instruction and training.

Related link to: Hardware and Software Standards

Grants

The Law School encourages faculty to seek and obtain outside funding for their research whenever possible. The Law School will provide faculty members with assistance in applying for such external support. All faculty must administer any grants proposed and received through the Law School unless the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research approves an alternative plan. All proposals and budgets must be approved by both the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research (who will then obtain the approval of the University's Office of Sponsored Research). All proposals and budgets must request overhead consistent with the University's policies.

Consistent with University policy and when such funding includes support for salary or stipends ("incremental compensation support") for the faculty member, the Law School will provide incentives for such funding in either of the following forms:

Enhancements to Research Bonus: The Law School will provide the faculty member with a research bonus that includes an additional increment equivalent of 50% of the external grant support for summer stipends and similar compensation.
Course Buy-Downs: The Law School will allow the faculty member to use external grant funds to "buy down" or reduce his or her teaching load subject to the policies governing Externally Funded Course Reductions.