Support for Scholarly and Creative Activities

Issue No. 01 

Effective Date: September 1, 2024 

Next Review: September 1, 2029 (E5Y) 

Senior Reviewer: Dean 

01. PURPOSE 

01.01 The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the College to use its funds (mostly indirect cost return fund) to support faculty who are pursuing sponsored programs (as defined in UPPS No. 02.02.01 Applying for Sponsored Programs) and other types of scholarly and creative activities. 

01.02 The College encourages faculty to pursue external research funding or sponsored program activities in their areas of expertise. Because scholarly activities augment teaching, faculty are expected to participate in activities that promote scholarship and creative work, including applying for and administering sponsored programs. 

02. DEFINITIONS 

02.01 “The College” in this document refers to the College of Liberal Arts, Texas State University. 

02.02 The College follows university policy on Applying for Sponsored Programs (UPPS No. Applying for Sponsored Programs) by defining sponsored programs or projects as “activities sponsored, in whole or in part, by sources external to the university for which there is an expectation on the sponsor’s part for deliverables or project specific outcomes.” Sponsored programs include all external funds faculty may receive to support instruction, public services, or research activities. 

02.03 “Faculty” in this document refers to full-time faculty of the College and who are hired into a permanent faculty position. 

03. SOURCE OF COLLEGE FUNDING 

03.01 With every external grant or sponsored program awarded to our faculty, if a charge for Facilities and Administration Costs (F&A) is allowed by the grant, the College receives a certain portion from the F&A revenue per the distribution procedures listed in UPPS No. 03.04.05 Facilities and Administration Costs (F&A or Indirect). 

03.02 At the beginning of each year, the Dean will work with the College Council to determine the total amount of funding for that year to support faculty research activities covered by this policy. 

04. COLLEGE SEED GRANT FOR RESEARCH PROJECTS 

04.01 The College provides seed grants to support faculty who are conducting feasibility studies or preliminary research that has a high likelihood of advancing research, scholarship, and creative activity. Since the College relies on a faculty member’s success in earning external grants to fund this program, requests that will lead to proposal submission for external funding are strongly encouraged. The College seed grant cannot pay salary. 

04.02 Applying for Seed Grant: Faculty wishing to apply for College of Liberal Arts Research Seed Grant should confer with their chair to discuss the feasibility of their plan. With chair’s support, a faculty member (PI) will submit their Seed Grant request package by the deadline. A complete application includes 1) a 2-page description of the project (including a title), 2) a project budget request of up to $3,000, and 3) a plan for future grant application. 

04.03 There will be two rounds of seed grant completion each year, one in the fall semester and one in the spring semester. The Dean will work with Associate Dean of Research to form a COLA Seed Grant Request Review Committee. The Committee will review the applications submitted by the deadline and make recommendations to the Dean for funding. 

04.04 Report: PI must submit a report at the end of the research project detailing the related research outcomes and future plans. A general budget report should be included. PI is expected to acknowledge the College’s funding for their relevant publications or other means of research dissemination. 

04.05 Although not required for a request to receive college funding, department funding support for partial of the proposed research is strongly encouraged as it is an indicator for the quality and potential of the project. 

04.06 A faculty member can be funded by this Seed Grant no more than once every three years. 

05. COLLEGE SUPPORT FOR SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS 

05.01 The College will provide partial funding to help cover publication fee when funding is available. This support is intended for research, scholarly, and /or creative works that are peer-reviewed and recognized as important to a faculty member’s development and productivity. Publication of textbooks, translations of previously published books, or book reprints will not be funded through this program. This support is for initial publications only, not for subsequent or re-issued editions. 

05.02 Faculty members can only apply for the College publication support if they are the sole or primary author /creator and are employed in a position that requires research, scholarly and/or creative activities. 

05.03 Before committing to works that incur publication fees or Article Processing Charge (APC), faculty members are advised to 

a. research the various publication options if applicable, including those incur publication fees and those do not; 

b. check the University Libraries website (Does the library help faculty pay for Article Processing Charges (APC)?) for the updated lists of journals that waive APC or charge reduced APC for TXST faculty based on agreement the University have with publishers; and 

c. consult with chairs about options and possible departmental funding. 

05.04 Faculty wishing to apply for college funds for open access publication should confer with their chair to discuss their need and secure a level of departmental support. With departmental support, the chair should forward the request to the College. If applicable, the College will work with faculty and chair to seek further support from the university. 

05.05 A faculty member who receives support through this college program is required to acknowledge the College in the respective publication. 

05.06 Each faculty member, regardless of authorship, is eligible for college publication support no more than once every three years. 

05.07 reference is given to faculty members who are on the tenure-track or those who have not been previously funded. 

06. LIST OF REVIEWERS OF THIS LAPPS 

06.01 This PPS has the following reviewers and cycle. 

07. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT 

This LA/PPS has been approved by the following in their official capacities and represents College of Liberal Arts policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded. 

Liberal Arts Council 

Dean, College of Liberal Arts