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Salary Release (buyout)
Faculty who have excessive research responsibilities may request to buyout of their teaching assignments for one semester per year. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requires that the cost of the buyout be a fixed percentage of the faculty member's semester salary. Buyout requests must be submitted with a brief written justification and be approved by the Dean and the DEO. The teaching buyout policy:
Scholarships
Scholarships are competitive and awarded on merit. View the online list of departmental graduate scholarships/awards and undergraduate scholarships/awards. Visit the Department's General Office (203 Van Allen Hall) for more details.

  1. Eligibility for graduate scholarships and fellowships will include: (a) registration in the Graduate College, (b) cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0, (c) a GRE score or a GMAT score above a point to be designated by the Graduate College dean, (d) a satisfactory rate of progress in completing the program for the degree.
  2. Recommendations for graduate scholarships may be made to the Graduate College by the appropriate department executive, director, or dean. A graduate scholarship may be awarded whether or not a student holds an assistantship. The amount of scholarship for the academic year may vary, but in no case exceed the comprehensive fee assessed. Scholarships will be credited to the student's University account.

Section Changes (make-up labs)
Students are not allowed to attend lab sections they aren't registered for, except under the following conditions.

  1. The student must have permission of the professor, both TAs involved, and the lab coordinator. Permission must be requested at least one week in advance.
  2. No student can go into a section that is already full.
  3. No more than one "visiting" student in any lab section.

Permission is not automatic and may be denied due to a lack of equipment, experiments requiring close TA scrutiny, or other circumstances.

As stated in the University's Course Exam Schedule Conflict Policies: "When there is a conflict between an exam scheduled outside of class time and a regularly scheduled course, the regularly scheduled course will take precedence." It is up to the instructor of an exam scheduled outside of regular class hours to arrange a makeup exam for the students who have a schedule conflict.

Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is not tolerated. The University defines sexual harassment as unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. For more information on the University's policies regarding sexual harassment, go to the UI Operations Manual section II-4.

Signature Authority
For state accounts, grant accounts, and human resources forms, see Aaron Votroubek (211 Van Allen Hall); Andrea Shaevitz (Room 210-B) and Joe Loria (Room 210-C) serve as back-up if an emergency arises.

Smoking Policy
The University is a smoke-free environment. Smoking is not permitted in any University buildings.

Society of Physics Students (SPS)
SPS is an undergraduate student organization that develops programs in Physics and Astronomy enhancing and promoting the undergraduate experience. For more information visit the SPS web site.

SPS Advisor
Professors Cornelia Lang and Vincent Rodgers are the SPS Advisors.

Space Policy
The department's space policy is intended to help the DEO determine priorities for research and instructional space. Full details of the space policy can be found here.

Start Up and Lab Renovation
See Aaron Votroubek, 211 Van Allen Hall.

Start Up Funds
Requests for start up funds are normally a part of a new faculty member's offer letter that outlines specific equipment needed to start his/her research program. If a faculty member with start up funds wants to change or extend this agreement, a request must be made in writing to the DEO who will make a decision regarding the request. If the DEO supports the request, it is forwarded to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for approval.

State Accounts
Purchases from any state account require Aaron Votroubek's permission.

Storage
Anyone needing storage space should review the Department's space policy. Items should not be stored outside your assigned work area without previous arrangements. (Carts are available for loading and unloading. They are kept outside the machine shop (116 Van Allen Hall). Please tell Mike Fountain if you are going to borrow a cart and return it. Carts are not to be used for storage.

Student Awards (financial assistance) from Graduate College
Scholars, fellows, and research assistants on the Graduate College budget must be registered as regular students in good standing in order to hold such appointments. Appointments will be terminated when registration and/or student status is terminated. In no instance may a student be promised or tendered an appointment until after approval for admission to the Graduate College by the director of Admissions.

Student Records
Debbie Foreman, Room 203, maintains the student records, University regulations and deadlines affecting students, and types exams.

Student Shop
Only qualified machinists are permitted to use the 1st floor machine shop. The student shop is located in 107 Van Allen Hall. Qualified faculty, students, and staff may use the student shop but must be certified by Mike Fountain.

Subdepartment Listing
Physics and Astronomy has a listing (pdf) of subdepartments which categorizes faculty and research staff by different areas of research.

Summer Graduate Student Support
During the summer, there are a few teaching and research assistant positions. There will be an announcement of opportunities in the spring as stipulated in the COGS contract. Students appointed as RAs or TAs are not required to enroll in summer courses. Students appointed on Graduate College funds are required to be registered for classes.

Summer Research Support
Faculty may elect to pay themselves for two or three months of the summer from 510 grant monies. Faculty can not pay themselves for personal vacations from contracts and grants. Faculty can not charge summer salary to an 050 state account with prior approval from DEO.

Summer Teaching Support
The compensation for teaching a course in the summer is tentatively a flat fee of $11,000. This is considered a 50% appointment so faculty members are able to charge the other 50% of appointment to a grant or contract. The total dollar amount of the two appointments can not exceed 3/9th of academic year salary. Faculty members receive first priority for summer teaching. Priority is given to those with the most seniority or to those who have not taught recently.

Supplies
See Joe Loria, 210-C Van Allen Hall.

Support
Internal Funding Support:
Application information is available at the University's Internal Funding Sources web site for Central Administration for the programs listed below:
James Van Allen Natural Sciences Fellowship
Faculty Scholar
Global Scholar
Old Gold Summer Fellowship
Mathematical and Physical Sciences Funding Program (MPSFP)
Carver Scientific Research Initiative Grant (CSRIG)
Special Support; see Vice President for Research -- http://research.uiowa.edu/
Bridging support -- funding for "bridging" salary support between grants; additional bridging support information is available on the UI's Vice President for Research web site
Matching/cost sharing support -- when a funding agency requires that the UI "match" funding for a project, or share part of the project cost; additional cost sharing information is available on the UI's Division of Sponsored Program's web site
(bridging and matching support must be approved by the DEO)

Syllabus
Required for all offered courses and are filed in Debbie Foreman's office (203 Van Allen Hall). All faculty are required to provide a copy of their syllabus to Debbie at the beginning of each semester. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has requirements for class syllabi, and a sample template can be found at this link.

Last updated August 30, 2007.
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