Requesting an Exception to the Faculty Recruitment Allowance Guidelines

The Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program is restricted to recruits in an Academic Senate series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, or Clinical X) and limited to the program limit set by UCOP ($73,600 as of July 1, 2019). Departments may request payments via PeopleConnect. If the total to be disbursed exceeds the program limit or if the candaite is in a non-eligible title, a signed exception approval letter must be attached to the request.

Exceptional Amounts

Departments, with the concurrence of their academic dean, may request exceptions from the Vice Provost Academic Affairs to offer up to $150,000 under this program. Per the APM, exceptions may be considered on an individual basis.

To request an exception to the FRAP guidelines to offer an amount above the program limit up to $150,000, the department chair can submit a letter addressed to the VPAA requesting the exception and submit this to their academic dean’s office for review and signature of concurrence. School of Medicine requests should be submitted to Bonnie Johnson. Exceptions for the schools of dentistry, nursing, and, pharmacy can be submitted to Phillip Babcock.

Sample language:

Brian Alldredge, PharmD
Vice Provost Academic Affairs
Box 0652

We have recently completed the recruitment of Dr. Anna Graham, MD, PhD, to join the Bioscience faculty as Assistant Professor In Residence, Step 3, effective July 1, 2021, where she will be responsible for the Miracles lab and leading research pertaining to transfiguration. This recruitment is essential to the department as we develop our program in [area of scientific impressiveness].

Considering the exceptionally difficult housing market in the San Francisco Bay Area and the importance of this recruitment, the Department of Bioscience requests an exception to the Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program guidelines to allow the department to offer a program payment in the amount of $150,000 to Dr. Anna Graham, MD, PhD, as part of her recruitment to the position of Assistant Professor In Residence in the department [and as director of such-and-such or other title, if any].

Sincerely,

Phictional Naame, MD
Chair, Department of Bioscience
School of Medicine

I concur,

Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH
Vice Dean, Academic Affairs School of Medicine

Exceptional Timing: Disbursing funds before an appointment is fully approved or effective

Often the Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program payment is used to assist in a home purchase. In some cases, the department may need to disburse the FRAP funds to the incoming faculty member prior to the full approval of the appointment or prior to the effective date of the eligible appointment. If the incoming candidate is already in the UCSF payroll system under another title, the department may also request and exception for the FRAP payment be made in advance of the pending appointment.

The request for this exception can be included in the same letter requesting an exception to the program limit as demonstrated above. Sample language for this request is as follows:

Dr. Graham's appointment to the In Residence series is [currently under review] or [has been submitted] by the department for academic review. In addition to the exception to the program limit, the department requests an exception to the Program guidelines to allow the FRAP payment to be made in advance of the full approval and/or effective date of the In Residence appointment. The department has every expectation that the appointment will be fully approved at all levels of review by September 30, 2020.

Candidates must be onboarded and in the UCSF payroll system in order to receive funds under the Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program.

Exceptional Titles: requests for ineligible titles

The Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program is restricted to recruits in an Academic Senate series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, or Clinical X). However, in special cases of recruitment, departments may request an exception to the eligibility requirements for recruits into the Adjunct or Health Sciences Clinical Professor series if the recruitment meets the following three criteria:

They will be providing both a unique and a mission-critical contribution to the University;
A Senate-qualifying candidate cannot be identified; and
The recruitment is deemed essential by the department and the dean.

The APM allows for the chancellor to approve such essential, individual exceptions on a case-by-case basis. At UCSF, this review and exception authority has been delegated to the Vice Provost Academic Affairs. If there is a truly unique (no one else can do this) and essential recruitment need (you cannot fulfill your mission without it) the dean's office may request a special exception regarding eligibility by sending a similar exception request letter to the VPAA.

Sample language for ineligible titles:

We have recently completed the recruitment of Dr. Minerva McGonagall, PhD, to join the Bioscience faculty as an Associate Adjunct Professor, effective July 1, 2021, where she will be responsible for the Miracles lab and leading research pertaining to transfiguration.

[Include a brief description addressing the unique ability or contribution of the candidate, and that a candidate who could qualify for a Senate series could not be identified during the search process.] This recruitment is essential to the department as we develop our program in transfiguration.

Considering the exceptionally competitive nature of this recruitment, the Department of Bioscience requests exceptions to the Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program guidelines regarding eligibility and program limit to allow the department to offer a program payment in the amount of $75,000 to Dr. Minerva McGonagall, PhD, as part of her recruitment to the position of Associate Adjunct Professor in the department [and other title, if any].

Considering their temporary nature by definition, exceptions cannot be considered for appointments to Health Sciences Clinical Instructor titles.

Departments submit requests for exceptions to the academic dean's office of their school. Once reviewed, the Director of Academic Affairs in the school secures the signature of approval from the academic dean, and the request is then submitted to Home Loan Program Manager Wilson Hardcastle in the Office of the Vice Provost Academic Affairs. The school-level contacts are as follows:

School of Medicine: Oriol Zales
Schools of Dentristy, Nursing, and, Pharmacy: Phillip Babcock