Information about the Faculty Realignment Incentive Program at ECU

The UNC Board of Governors has established the Faculty Realignment Incentive Program (FRIP). This program is voluntary and is intended to be a management-directed initiative addressing the following legislatively imposed criteria:

1. Long-term (recurring) cost savings of a FRIP offer to the institution.
2. Positive long-term impact of a FRIP offer on institutional efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Total one-time cost of contemplated FRIP offers to the institution and its ability to fund.

The Board of Governors established minimum eligibility requirements for employees who are currently employed as a permanent, benefits-eligible tenured faculty at a UNC system institution with a full time equivalent (FTE) of 0.75 or greater, a minimum age of 55, and at least 10 years of continuous service to UNC institutions. Tenured faculty members currently holding a primarily administrative role (e.g. Assistant/Associate Deans whose primary job classification is EHRA non-faculty) are not eligible for this program.

At East Carolina University, eligible tenured faculty members will be invited to electronically submit a FRIP Interest Form to begin the process of being evaluated for FRIP participation.  Those approved for FRIP participation will be provided a one-time severance payment in exchange for leaving their tenured position and retiring from ECU. FRIP participants must also agree not to apply to or accept any employment at a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System for 12 months following participation in the FRIP program. After the applicable 12-month period, individuals who participated in the FRIP program may only apply to, or accept employment at, a UNC constituent institution in a non-tenured faculty or a staff position.

ECU’s process for considering faculty who meet the minimum program eligibility requirements established by the Board of Governors of the UNC System for FRIP participation, will depend on actions from the Provost’s Office in consultation with the relevant Deans, the VC of Administration and Finance, and the Department for People Operations, Success, and Opportunity.   Examples of institutional considerations that may be weighed as part of ECU’s assessment process for offers for FRIP participation include long-term recurring savings to ECU, decreasing trends in program’s enrollment and SCH productivity, individual contributions to institutional efficiency and effectiveness details associated with teaching, scholarship, and service based on institutional data.

Based on the assessment results, the Provost will send approval letters and release agreements for FRIP participation to ECU faculty by December 1, 2024 or sooner. It is estimated that faculty approved for FRIP participation will separate from ECU by June 1, 2025.