Purpose
Release time appointments are transactions by which a Research Foundation award reimburses the salary and fringe benefits paid to state funded faculty and staff devoting effort to research awards. These funds are transferred as payments on a monthly basis to the appropriate unit's state IFR account.
Policy
All release time appointments must adhere to the following:
- The appointment should be for a SUNY faculty or staff member who specifically commits effort on a Research Foundation award for the specified percentage and time period
- Sufficient funds must be available in the award to support the appointment
- The appointment period on the request must fall within the period of the employee's SUNY appointment and within the award period of the Research Foundation project
- The appointment must comply with all appropriate sponsor terms and conditions
- Release time appointments should be requested within 90 days from the beginning of the appointment period. Any transactions submitted later than 90 days after the start of the period will be considered only on a case by case basis and only with proper justification. SFFM reserves the right to reject any release time appointment which places the university at risk for an audit funding or disallowance.
Form
Release Time Appointment Form
This form can be used to request a new release time appointment, or to request a change in an existing appointment. In order to avoid any delays, please be sure the form is filled out completely (areas shaded in gray are for office use only). Two original signatures are required on all release time appointment forms:
- The Principal Investigator, CO-PI, or other authorized signatory, AND
- The Dean, Director, or Chair
Completed forms should be submitted to Labor Distribution, Sponsored Funds Financial Management, MSC 216. If you have any questions regarding release time appointments, please contact our office by email at (mailto:sffm@albany.edu) or by phone at 442-3196.
