Post-Tenure Reassigned Time Award Pilot Guidelines

The Post-Tenure Reassigned Time Award is a pilot program (“the Pilot”) that provides course release(s) for tenured Assistant and Associate Professors to engage in meritorious research, scholarly, and creative activity. The Pilot shares the same objectives and will enable the same types of faculty research projects as the PSC-CUNY Research Awards program. Pilot guidelines are identical to PSC-CUNY Research Award guidelines unless otherwise specified. Proposals are invited from all academically relevant disciplines. Supported activities (enabled by course release) may include diverse research forms and methods; efforts to start, continue, or finish a project; and/or pursuit of external grant awards. The Pilot will span Academic Years 2025-2026, 2026-2027, and 2027-2028, at which time the Pilot may be continued, modified, or terminated. The Pilot’s terms are codified by the 2023-2027 collective bargaining agreement between CUNY and the PSC.

The CUNY Office of Research implements the Pilot in accordance with its terms. The University Committee on Research Awards (“UCRA”), a faculty group, adjudicates proposals for merit. RFCUNY administers both programmatic and fiscal aspects of the grant lifecycle. CUNY’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and PSC-CUNY’s President make all final award decisions. All academic materials created through Pilot Awards must include the acknowledgement: "Support was provided by a Post-Tenure Reassigned Time Award from The City University of New York".

The annual application deadline is December 15. Applications submitted after December 15 will be rejected.

Eligible submissions must occur through the RFCUNY Grants Proposal system. 

Post-Tenure Reassigned Time Awards will provide the following based on an eligible Principal Investigator’s (“PI”) institution of employment:

• CUNY Community College: one (1) 3-credit course release or two (2) 3-credit course releases at the Adjunct Replacement rate as of December 15 of the application year.
• CUNY Senior College, Comprehensive College, or Professional School: one (1) 3-credit course release at the Adjunct Replacement rate as of December 15 of the application year.

These rates are the “Instructor, Lecturer, Adjunct Lecturer, Adjunct Lecturer (Doctoral Student)” single rate in Article 24.6 as of December 15 of the application year. Exact rates during the Pilot duration will be:

• For Academic Year 2025-2026: $6,024.60 (3-credit); $12,049 (6-credit)
• For Academic Year 2026-2027: $6,986.40 (3-credit); $13,972.80 (6-credit)
• For Academic Year 2027-2028: $7,100 (3-credit); $14,200 (6-credit)

All PIs must obtain prior approval from the college or school for reassigned time to be eligible for an Award. Approval of all reassigned time must comply with the college or school’s course release policy. Colleges and schools are not required to accept course release at the Adjunct Replacement rate, regardless of Award status.

All tenured Assistant and Associate Professors are eligible to apply.

Each eligible PI may receive only one (1) Award during the Pilot duration (2025-2028).

Each proposal must include documented approval for reassigned time from the PI’s Department Chair and College President or their designee (i.e. Dean or Provost). Chairs must approve (or decline) course release based on the operational needs of their Department, and Presidents or designees must also consider sufficiency of institutional funds. Each PI must also submit a copy of their Pilot proposal to their Department Chair and College President or designee. See below for more details.

PIs must submit a Final Project Report within 60 days of the Award period end. The Report will document how the course release was used to achieve progress toward stated research goals. The PI’s Department Chair and the CUNY Research Foundation must each receive a copy of the Report. See below for further details.

PIs who possess, or subsequently receive, external grant direct costs of $100,000 or more in the year of their submission are not eligible. Submissions that do not adhere to this requirement will be rejected or subsequently withdrawn.

Out-of-cycle or emergency proposals will not be considered, and deadlines will not be extended. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

If a PI is eligible for both a Research Award and a Post-Tenure Reassigned Time Award, they may submit a separate application for each program type but may only receive one (1) Award. The same panelists will adjudicate both applications.

Date of application submission may play a role in the final determination of Awards per the Review Process.

All eligible Pilot applications in the Grants Proposal system must include 1) a completed My Profile section; 2) a completed Applications section; and 3) an attached Project Description. My Profile describes important information regarding the PI’s institution, educational background, tenure status, recent publications, and grant award track record. Applications captures basic information about the intended project activities. The Project Description describes the specific scholarly or creative activities for which the Award is being sought. Supplemental materials, such as portfolio samples, may be included in the creative, visual and performing arts fields, and must be included for creative writing.

All eligible Pilot applications must also include documented approval for reassigned time from the PI’s Department Chair and College President or their designee (i.e. Dean of Provost). These documented approvals must be letters and/or emails placed after Project Description in the PDF upload. These documented approvals in the PDF will not count against the Project Description page limit.

PIs are strongly encouraged to seek these approvals from both their Chair and President (or designee) no later than November 15 of each Pilot cycle. PIs should request a formal response from each approver no later than December 1. Each PI must also transmit a copy of their Pilot proposal, as submitted, to their Department Chair and College President (or designee) on or before December 15.

Please contact your Grants Officer if you have any questions about the appropriate Presidential designee for reassigned time approval at your college or school.

Co-Principal Investigators are not allowed.

The Project Description must place the project in the perspective of the discipline; provide a detailed description of the project’s method and importance; and articulate the need for reassigned time to achieve the project’s aims and outcomes. If pursuit of external grant awards is an anticipated project activity, there must also be significant discussion about the external opportunities being pursued and a feasible roadmap for proposal development/submission. Write the Project Description as a direct response to the Evaluation Criteria in these guidelines (see below). The Project Description (including tables, literature reviews, references, etc.) is limited to three (3) pages. The Project Description may be single or double spaced, but formatting must include one-inch margins and a font of 10-12 points. The document must be in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If the Project Description does not adhere to these requirements, the application will be rejected.

Proposals involving Human or Animal Subjects must check the applicable boxes in the Grants Proposal system. Relevant proposals must seek and receive IRB/IAUCUC approval prior to the start of the award period. All proposed activities and expenditures must occur within the IRB/IAUCUC approval period. Any activities or expenditures that occur outside of the IRB/IAUCUC approval period will become the sole responsibility of the PI.

Supplemental materials must be included for creative writing proposals and may be submitted for proposals in the creative, visual, and performing arts. Supplemental materials attached to proposals in any other discipline will not be reviewed. If a PI intends to submit supplemental materials, “Supplemental Materials” must be checked in the Grants Proposal system. Materials up to 2MB may be attached.

All PIs must submit a Final Project Report within 60 days of the Award period end. The Report will document how the course release was used to achieve progress toward stated research.

Disciplinary panels will use the following criteria to consider the scholarly or creative merit of proposals:

• Does the proposal clearly state its aims?
• Does the proposal clearly state its outcomes?
• Do the proposal’s aims and outcomes demonstrate scholarly or creative merit?
• Do the proposed activities follow a well-conceived and feasible design?
• Do the proposed activities show potential to attract other grant awards?
• Is the proposed budget accurate, appropriate, and justified?
• (as relevant) Did the immediate prior Research Award achieve its stated aims and outcomes?

Review for Pilot Awards will adhere to the following procedure each cycle. All proposals that lack Department Chair and College President (or designee) documented approval for reassigned time will be rejected prior to review.

1. Each application will be assigned to and reviewed by the appropriate discipline panel-based from the PSC-CUNY Research Awards. Each application will be reviewed by two panel members who will employ the same Evaluation Criteria as the PSC-CUNY Research Awards (see above).
2. Panels will select the applications that are meritorious according to the Criteria. Any application that is not deemed meritorious, or does not comport with the stated guidelines, will be rejected. Deliberations of the panels will not be disclosed to PIs.
3. Panel Chairs will send all meritorious applications to the Research Foundation. The Research Foundation will then prioritize these applications by: A.) number of years since tenure; B.) college; C.) application date.
4. CUNY’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and PSC-CUNY’s President will then receive this prioritized list of meritorious applications. They will jointly select the final award recipients for the cycle. Awards will be granted until funds for the cycle are exhausted.

All Pilot Awards will provide 3 or 6 credits of course release, depending on the PI’s stated need and institution. No other budget requests or categories will be considered. Course release must be justified as necessary for the project’s stated aims and outcomes in the Project Description. Consult with your CUNY Grants Officer for further guidance.

• Course release(s) received via an Award must be utilized within two (2) academic years following Award receipt in accordance with the Department and College’s approval. No extensions are permitted.
• If Award is not used for course release within two (2) academic years following Award receipt, any unused Award funds will return to the Research Awards Excess Fund account for use in the following Pilot program cycle.
• If any PI changes their status as an eligible member of the CUNY faculty, they must promptly notify RFCUNY. Both pending and current Awards will terminate. Awards are not transferable.
• Award decisions are final. College decisions are final, including acceptance or rejection of Award amount for course release. No appeals or requests for reconsideration will be entertained. Neither Award nor college decisions regarding course release are grievable or subject to informal complaint procedures of Article 20 of the PSC-CUNY collective bargaining agreement.