Eligible full-time faculty may apply for a Difference In Pay (DIP) Leave, which is like a sabbatical, but can be taken with greater frequency. With a similar goal for faculty to focus time and energy on a sustained area of research, scholarship, or creative activity related to their discipline that will bring benefit the University, students, and their own professional development, the DIP provides faculty with monthly pay that is the difference between the faculty’s salary and the minimum salary of the instructor rank. There is an annual application process for submission and review of DIP proposals from eligible faculty.
The below resources provide access to policy and CBA references to DIPs, as well as application to use and rubrics to reference for the submission.
Difference in Pay (DIP) Leave Options
Instructional Faculty
- One semester DIP at difference between the faculty’s salary and the minimum salary of the instructor rank
- Two semester DIP at difference between the faculty’s salary and the minimum salary of the instructor rank
Library and Counselor Faculty (12- month appointments)
- Four-month DIP at difference between the faculty’s salary and the minimum salary of the lowest comparable time base librarian rank or counselor minimum salary of the instructor rank at comparable time base
- Eight-month Sabbatical at difference between the faculty’s salary and the minimum salary of the lowest comparable time base librarian rank or counselor minimum salary of the instructor rank at comparable time base
Difference in Pay (DIP) Eligibility and Additional Considerations
To be eligible to apply for a DIP leave:
- A full-time faculty unit employee shall be eligible for a difference in pay leave if they have served full-time for six (6) years at the campus in the preceding seven (7) year period prior to the leave. Faculty will be eligible for a subsequent DIP leave after they have served full-time for three years after the last sabbatical or DIP leave and has satisfied the obligation of service rendered to the CSU. (For further details, please see Article 28 Difference in Pay Leaves of the CFA-CSU Collective Bargaining Agreement. Eligible faculty will need to submit a written proposal by the posted deadline in order to be considered.
Additional considerations:
- Faculty shall receive health, dental, and appropriate fringe benefits while on an approved DIP leave. They will also accrue sick leave, vacation (as applicable to 12-month faculty), service credit toward service salary increase eligibility, and time towards promotion while on DIP, as applicable.
- Faculty on approved DIP leave shall not be directed to engage in teaching or service to the department, college, or University while on leave.
- Faculty on approved DIP leave shall not accept additional and/or outside employment without prior approval of the President (or designee.)
- Faculty granted a DIP leave are required to provide verification that the conditions of the leave were met. Faculty may use the Sabbatical Leave Report Form for their DIP report and submit to the college no later than the end of the returning term. The college will report to the Office of Faculty Affairs that the report was received.
- Faculty shall render service to the CSU upon return from a DIP leave at the rate of one term of service for each term of leave. A Promissory Note is required as a guarantee.
Difference in Pay (DIP) Leave Application Procedures
Applications are reviewed the year prior to taking leave.
Eligible faculty must submit by the posted due date:
- An application for DIP Leave that includes:
- A detailed outline of the plan of study or experience, research/project, service, and/or travel to be completed during the DIP.
- A statement of purpose that demonstrates the benefits to students, the development of the profession or discipline, Cal State LA, the CSU, and/or the faculty as a teacher scholar or practitioner.
- Evidence that resources needed to complete the play are available.
- An updated curriculum vita.
Application Process
Eligible faculty must submit by the posted due date:
- An application for DIP Leave that includes:
- A detailed outline of the plan of study or experience, research/project, service, and/or travel to be completed during the DIP.
- A statement of purpose that demonstrates the benefits to students, the development of the profession or discipline, Cal State LA, the CSU, and/or the faculty as a teacher scholar or practitioner.
- Evidence that resources needed to complete the play are available.
- An updated curriculum vita.
ETF Processing Resource
1. Enter recipient's email: [email protected] for the Faculty Affairs email box as APPROVER to initial in the page margins next to the signature line where the Fiscal Officer had signed.
2. Enter recipient's email: AVP Dr. Elizabeth A. Heise ([email protected]) as APPROVER to initial inside the Executive Officer signature block where Dr. Bippus will be signing.
3. Enter recipient's email: Office of Planning & Budget: ([email protected]) as APPROVER to initial in the page margins next to the signature line where Dr. Bippus will be signing.
4. Enter recipient's email: Director of Academic Resources, Anna Lim ([email protected]) as APPROVER to initial in the page margins next to the signature line where Dr. Bippus will be signing.
5. Enter recipient's email: VP/Provost, Dr. Bippus ([email protected]) as a SIGNER to sign on the Executive Officer approval line.
6. Click on show CC to enter HRM Faculty Affairs ([email protected]) to receive a copy of the completed document.
7. Click on show CC to enter Faculty Affairs ([email protected]) to receive a copy of the completed document.
8. Click on Show CC to enter College RM / Appropriate Department Administrator to receive a copy of the completed document.
DIP Application Review Procedures
The review process takes approximately three months and is reviewed by:
1. The Department/Division Chair or School Director
2. Department Committee
3. College Dean
4. Provost
The Department/Division Chair or School Director (appropriate signatory for library and counselor faculty may vary) reviews the DIP proposal, considering the effect on the curriculum and operations of the department/division/school. For example, the department chair may receive two proposals for the same term from faculty from a small program and believe that it would unduly impact the ability of the department to offer core courses if both were awarded.
The Department Committee, which is comprised of tenured faculty not applying for a DIP, reviews all DIP proposals from the college or unit. The committee considers the quality of the DIP proposal based on the requirements delineated in the application and using the published rubric. Once the committee has reached a consensus on the rubric of the evaluation form, the committee chair completes the evaluation form, representing the consensus of the committee. Comments are added to provide the faculty with further input on the quality of the proposal. The names of all committee members are included on the form and the committee chair signs the form. The recommendation is forwarded to the college dean or unit head.
The College Dean or Unit Head reviews all DIP proposals from the department/division/school or unit. The dean reviews the recommendations of the department committee. The dean also considers the approvals and non-approvals from department chairs, other campus needs, and college budget implications. The dean completes an evaluation for each proposal.
The Provost reviews sabbatical submissions, the evaluations of committees and college deans, and considers the rankings of those sabbatical proposals that were recommended, along with budgetary and programmatic needs of the university when making sabbatical awards. Two-semester sabbaticals at half pay may be awarded if recommended by the college and provost, as budgetary and programmatic needs of the university allow. The number of college-recommended sabbatical applications typically well exceeds the number that can be funded. The Office of the Provost informs faculty who were awarded and those who were not awarded and provides the faculty with the college committee and dean's evaluation forms. These evaluation forms may be helpful when a faculty who was not awarded a sabbatical decides to resubmit in a subsequent year.
Note: The Office of Faculty Affairs prepares the college packets for the provost’s review. The Office of Faculty Affairs also supports the Provost’s Office in ensuring that award letters and letters for proposals not awarded are sent to the faculty. The office also maintains a DIP tracking spreadsheet to ensure that each faculty is notified of the status of their proposal, that promissory notes are received for those with DIPs awarded, and verifies with the college deans’ office that the reports were received upon return to service. It is important that departments and colleges submit sabbatical ETFs in a timely manner for the start of the sabbatical and return from the sabbatical.