Differential Allocation of Effort (DAE)

The University of Kansas normally expects tenured and tenure-track faculty to devote 40 percent of their effort to teaching, 40 percent to research, and 20 percent to service to the University, community, and profession. For librarian faculty, these weights are generally 80 percent for professional performance, 10 percent for research, and 10 percent for service. These weights are applied in the annual evaluation process. However, the University recognizes that the specific contributions of tenured faculty members to a unit’s mission may vary depending on individual strengths, career stage, performance, or unit needs. Accordingly, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, permits Differential Allocation of Effort in accordance with Regents policy and University policy on faculty evaluations, and in response to changing circumstances for faculty members or units.

The guidelines and procedures that follow outline the principles and process for approval of Differential Allocation of Effort (DAE).

Guidelines

1. A DAE may be short-term (one academic year or less) or long term (more than one academic year). Proposals for DAE may be based upon a short-term change in focus, e.g., the need to concentrate on a funded research project or to assist the unit in meeting unanticipated instructional demand, or on a long-term change, e.g., an ongoing focus on research or a change in emphasis related to the faculty member’s career stage or performance.
2. Only tenured members of the faculty are eligible for long-term DAE.
3. A proposal for a change in the standard 40/40/20 or 80/10/10 allocation of effort may be initiated by the faculty member or unit chairperson/director.
4. The unit’s needs take precedence over individual preference when making decisions to alter a faculty member’s allocation of effort; such redistribution must be consistent with the best interests of the unit.
5. The DAE agreement must reflect changes both in workload and in evaluation criteria. A reduction of effort in one area—teaching, research, or service—must be offset by augmentation in another area.
6. In order to increase the percentage of effort in an area, the faculty member must have a satisfactory record of performance in that area, as reflected in annual evaluations.
7. Normally, faculty members on DAE agreements may not reduce either their teaching or their research obligation to less than 10 percent. The reduction of library faculty obligations will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the Dean of the Libraries.
8. DAE adjustments should be reflected in annual evaluations and merit salary recommendations, but do not affect application of unit criteria for promotion and tenure reviews. Because KU is a research-intensive university faculty members who enter into a long-term DAE with a reduced focus on research must be informed specifically of the potential consequences that such a reallocation of effort may have on building a scholarly record for a future promotion review.
9. Schools and the College may adopt school (college)-specific DAE guidelines and procedures for approval consistent with those outlined here.

Procedures

1. Either the faculty member or the chair may initiate a discussion about a proposed DAE. Often, the meeting between the individual faculty member and the chairperson/director (or dean in schools without departments or in the Libraries) that follows the annual written performance evaluation provides the opportunity for such discussions. However, a discussion about DAE may be initiated at any time that the faculty member’s or the unit’s circumstances change. For example, a faculty member who receives a new grant with funds to buy-out teaching may request a DAE to increase the allocation of effort for research, or a chair facing unanticipated instructional needs may ask a faculty member to assume additional teaching responsibilities. In any case, discussions should occur at the earliest possible time so that appropriate arrangements can be made by the unit and/or faculty member for covering course offerings or other obligations.
2. Any changes in faculty allocation of effort must be approved by the chairperson/director or dean, as appropriate, and must be documented in the faculty member's personnel file.
3. If a faculty member and chairperson/director (or dean in a school without departments or in the Libraries) disagree about DAE, the faculty member may request a review by a faculty committee designated to hear such matters in the school. The review committee will issue a non-binding recommendation on the appropriateness of the allocation to the unit administrator. The administrator may change the allocation after receiving the committee’s decision or may choose not to do so. In any event, the report of the committee and the determination of the administrator will become a permanent part of the faculty member’s personnel file within the academic unit and shall be available to the faculty member.
4. For short-term DAE agreements (one academic year or less), the DAE is approved by the chairperson/director of the unit.
5. Long-term DAE agreements (lasting beyond one academic year) require the approval by the dean of the school or the appropriate contact dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
6. Elements of the DAE request shall include: the current and proposed FTE for teaching, research, and service; rationale for the reallocation of effort; an effective time period; and the endorsement of the appropriate administrator(s). All short-term DAEs are reported annually to the Dean's Office of the school or the college. For long-term DAEs, the supporting documentation is also provided to the School or College and the Provost's Office.
7. Agreements for long-term DAEs must be reviewed every three years, although either the faculty member or chairperson/director (dean in schools without departments) may request an earlier review in response to changed circumstances or performance. At that time the agreement may be revised, terminated, or continued. The selection among these options should be made following the guidelines and process for approval of long-term DAEs contained in this document.