A faculty member, who has earned a doctorate from an approved educational institution at his/her own cost and is employed by the university within one year after the degree is obtained, is eligible for a doctoral stipend equal to base annual remuneration for an Assistant Professor I. This sum is payable over a five-year period at 20 percent per year. In the case where other denominational institutions have given assistance toward the expense of obtaining a doctoral degree, the amount of such assistance will decrease the stipend granted by the university.
If the university employs the faculty member at any time within five years after the degree is obtained, the stipend will be reduced at 20 percent per year and paid according to the number of years remaining to complete the five-year period. No stipend is given for a degree earned more than five years prior to the time of employment by the university.
The doctoral stipend is to be amortized over a five-year period at 20 percent for each full year of service at the university and is limited to one doctoral degree per individual. Recipients of a reduced stipend will amortize that amount over the remaining years to complete the five-year period from the time they received the degree. The amortization agreement is not an employment contract, but only relates to the amortization stipend received for doctoral studies.
Recipients of a stipend who cease employment at the university prior to the completion of amortization will be personally responsible for unamortized amounts or will arrange with their new employers to pay the amount owed.
All amortization arrangements must be in writing, and a formal agreement signed by the faculty member and the vice president for Financial Administration, prior to release of funds.
A request for an exception to this policy may be reviewed by the Faculty Affairs Committee.