Handbook - prior to January 2019

Loan and Teaching Fellowship Policy [edit]

Eastern Mennonite University supports individuals pursuing advanced degrees by providing financial assistance to those persons who help EMU increase diversity of sex, race, color, and national/ethnic origin or meet a departmental need for a faculty member with a doctorate.

Loans for Prospective Faculty

EMU will provide loans to prospective faculty with an interest in teaching at EMU. A maximum of $75,000 is available for loans. A maximum of $15,000 is available in any single fiscal year. The maximum loan per individual is $6,000 per year and $15,000 total.

To be eligible for this loan, one must:

• meet a departmental/program need to increase diversity (sex, race, color, national/ethnic origin) or meet a departmental/program need for a faculty member with a doctorate AND
• meet the requirements for teaching at EMU AND
• be pursuing full-time doctoral study or other terminal degree as appropriate.

The application process shall include a review of the curriculum vitae, transcripts and references along with a personal interview with the dean and provost. Final loan approval is granted by the dean, provost, vice president for finance and president.

No interest will be charged as long as the individual is enrolled full-time in doctoral studies, up to a maximum of three years. Interest will not accrue on any portion of the loan that is eligible for cancellation. The rate of interest on the loan will be the lesser of 12% or the rate quoted by First Union Bank to EMU for short-term borrowing. The rate of interest will be set annually on June 30.

Upon completion of the doctorate and attainment of a teaching appointment at EMU, up to $3,000 of the loan can be canceled ($1,000 per year for 3 years). Repayment must begin within 12 months of beginning employment at EMU. The payment will be the greater of 5 percent of salary or payments sufficient to amortize the loan over a 10 year period. No interest will be charged on the loan during the first 12 months of employment. If a repayment plan is started within one month after leaving school or coming to EMU, and if payments are current, then interest for the second and third years will be waived.

If EMU decides not to offer a position upon completion of the doctorate, or if the prospective faculty member does not accept a teaching appointment at EMU, or if the individual does not complete the doctoral program, the loan must be repaid on a mutually satisfactory basis within 3 years or less.  Repayment will begin within one month of the occurrence of any of these events. Interest will accrue from this date.

Loans for Current Faculty and Administrators

EMU will provide loans to faculty and administrators to complete doctoral degrees (or other terminal or master’s degrees in selected cases). A maximum of $100,000 is available for loans. A maximum of $15,000 is available in any single fiscal year. The maximum loan per individual is $4,500 per year and $10,000 total.

The dean or provost (for faculty) or president (for administrators) and vice president for finance grant approval for these loans. Current employees or persons who are or will be on official leave of absence are eligible to apply. Application forms are available from the Provost’s Office.

No interest will be charged on the loan while the faculty member is on official leave for the purposes of professional development and for one year after returning to EMU. Interest will not accrue on any portion of the loan that is eligible for cancellation. The rate of interest on the loan will be the lesser of 12% or the rate quoted by First Union Bank to EMU for short-term borrowing. The rate of interest will be set annually on June 30.

Upon completion of the doctorate, up to $3,000 of the loan can be canceled ($1,000 per year for 3 years). Faculty who complete the doctorate mid-year (by January 15) shall be eligible to apply for cancellation of up to $500 the first year, and shall still be eligible to receive cancellation up to the maximum $3,000.

Repayment must begin within 12 months after returning to EMU. The payment will be the greater of 5 percent of salary or payments sufficient to amortize the loan over a 10 year period. If a repayment plan is started within one month after leaving school and returning to EMU, and if payments are current, then interest for the second and third years will be waived.

If the employee leaves EMU employment (for any reason) the loan must be repaid on a mutually satisfactory basis within 3 years or less. Repayment will begin within one month after leaving EMU or cancellation of official leave. Interest will accrue from the date of termination of employment.

For persons not on leave, repayment must begin 24 months after the date of the loan. The payment will be the greater of 5 percent of salary or payments sufficient to amortize the loan over a 10 year period. No interest will be charged on the loan during the 24 month period.  If a repayment plan is started within 12 months after the date of the loan and if payments are current, then interest for the second and third years will be waived.

Considerations in approval of loan requests:

1. Nature of professional improvement activity
2. Projected expenses
3. Length of service at EMU
4. Stated intent to return to EMU
5. Availability of funds and previous amounts borrowed by the applicant.

Teaching Fellowships for Prospective and Current Faculty

A combination of a fellowship and one-half time teaching appointment provides opportunity for doctoral study along with a reduced teaching load, as outlined below. Two $10,000 stipends plus remuneration for a one-half time teaching load are available annually to qualified candidates or employees committed to teaching at EMU for the long term.

To be eligible for this fellowship, one must:

• meet a departmental/program need to increase diversity (sex, race, color, national/ethnic origin) or meet a departmental/program need for a faculty member with a doctorate AND
• meet the requirements for teaching at EMU AND

• be accepted into a  doctoral program or other terminal degree program as appropriate.  Evidence of an approved program shall be submitted with a letter of application indicating field of interest, timetable for completion of the doctorate, a current curriculum vitae, transcripts and a statement of personal and professional goals.

If the applicant is a prospective faculty member, the regular faculty recruitment and appointment procedures are to be followed in hiring.

Applications are due by January 15 preceeding the academic year of the teaching fellowship and are reviewed by the Dean in consultation with the Provost and respective department chair of the applicant’s discipline. The award is announced by April 15 for the following academic year with the half-time teaching appointment to be negotiated with the grant recipient, Dean and department chair.  EMU reserves the right not to make an award in a particular year.

In making this award EMU expects the awardee to continue teaching at EMU three full years beyond the year of the award. If the person chooses to leave EMU before the end of three full years, he or she will be asked to reimburse the institution at the rate of $3,000 per year for each year less than 3 years.

Approved by University Faculty, March 1, 2002

Approved by President’s Cabinet, March 11, 2002

Approved by Board of Trustees, March 23, 2002

ADDENDUM

Special Loan Policy for Current Nursing Faculty (October 2010)

This policy has been established on a temporary basis in order to meet levels of doctorate-prepared nursing faculty required by SACS.  Current SACS guidelines require that 25% of all nursing courses in each undergraduate nursing program be taught by faculty holding an appropriate doctorate.  In order to meet this requirement in a timely fashion, EMU will expedite doctoral education for current nursing faculty until the 25% level is met in all three nursing programs (traditional undergraduate, ADCP in Virginia, ADCP in Pennsylvania).

An employee teaching in the Nursing Department and wishing to apply for a special tuition loan is expected to apply for any available tuition assistance programs offered by the graduate school, or Federal / State grant programs.   The employee may obtain a loan from EMU up to $18,000 for the entire doctoral program.  The amount loaned in any year may not exceed the tuition amount owed after any other loans or grants are taken into consideration.

The loan may be forgiven beginning the first year after graduation at a rate of 20% for each year (2 semesters) of full-time teaching in a Nursing program at EMU.  If the employee does not graduate or does not return to teach at EMU the loan must be repaid as a traditional loan (see Loans for Current Faculty and Administrators, above).

Short term stipends for dissertation work may be arranged with the Nursing Department, if department funds are available for this purpose.

This Special Loan Policy will be evaluated in May, 2015, when it may be extended, modified, or eliminated based on departmental loading needs and available funds.

Considerations in approval of Special Nursing Loan requests:

1. Evidence of high quality teaching in an  EMU Nursing program
2. Stated intent to return to EMU
3. Nature of the academic program pursued
4. Projected need for additional doctorate faculty in the nursing program
5. Availability of funds and previous amounts borrowed by the applicant.

Revised and Approved by Academic Cabinet, October 7, 2010

Approved by President’s Cabinet, October 20, 2010