Sabbatical Leave
The purpose of a sabbatical leave is to enable faculty members to devote full time to study, research, or other academic activities that will enhance their scholarly and teaching competence and capabilities and will enable them to make greater contributions to their disciplines, their students, and 草榴社区. 草榴社区 offers two sabbatical programs, a standard sabbatical for tenured faculty and a one-semester leave for untenured faculty that is based on a favorable third year performance review, as described in the Rank and Tenure Policy.
The standard sabbatical may be (with the approval of the chair, the dean and the Provost or designee) taken either for a semester at full pay or a year at half pay. With permission of the Provost or designee, a faculty member may count the spring term of one year and the following fall term as one year for purposes of this sabbatical policy. Untenured faculty sabbaticals are only for a semester. An explicit condition of any sabbatical leave -- unless waived by the Provost or designee-- is that the faculty member will return to and teach at 草榴社区 for one full year after the completion of the leave. Non-fulfillment of this condition for reasons other than disability will result in the faculty member鈥檚 having to repay the University for all compensation received during the sabbatical period. During sabbaticals the University will continue its contribution to insurance and other benefits.
Outside teaching or other employment during a paid sabbatical, including teaching in an 鈥渙ut of load鈥� 草榴社区 program, is subject to this Handbook鈥檚 policies on 鈥淐onsulting, Outside Teaching, and Professional Work鈥� and on 鈥淭eaching Load, Overload, and Out-of-Load Teaching.鈥�
To be eligible for the one-semester leave for junior faculty, a faculty member must:
- Have completed three full years of service on the tenure track (which may include one year of tenure credit from another institution or from teaching at 草榴社区 in a non tenure-track position if that year immediately preceded one's assumption of a tenure-track position);
- Have successfully undergone a third year review by their department and have been recommended for continuation on the faculty and for the one semester leave;
To be eligible for a regular sabbatical leave, a faculty member must:
- Have served the University in a tenured or tenure-track position for a period of six full academic years (which may include up to three years of tenure credit from another institution or from teaching at 草榴社区 in a non tenure-track position, as stipulated in the appointment letter);
- Hold tenure;
- Have not been the recipient of a sabbatical or junior faculty sabbatical leave within the prior six academic years; and
- Have demonstrated that previous sabbaticals, if any, led to concrete achievements of benefit to the faculty member and the University.
- Have submitted to his chair and dean a detailed proposal describing sabbatical activities and rationale, including a timetable and a description of expected results.
No academic year which includes an unpaid leave of absence for a period of a semester or more is included in computing years of service for purpose of sabbatical eligibility. Moreover, faculty members who commence service after the conclusion of the first semester of an academic year will not have that year count toward the six years for sabbatical eligibility. The one semester sabbatical for the junior faculty is considered to be part of the probationary period.
If a junior faculty member taking the one semester sabbatical, above, requests an extension for purposes of scholarly endeavors by means of an unpaid leave of absence for the other semester of the academic year of the sabbatical, the Provost or designee, following the policy on unpaid leaves, may elect to provide University coverage of its portion of the faculty member's benefits for that semester on leave.
Eligibility does not confer a right. Sabbatical leaves are granted only when faculty members meet the above criteria, when their sabbatical plans are judged clearly meritorious, and when the financial resources and staffing needs of a college or department permit. The University will attempt to make sabbatical leaves available to the largest possible number of faculty, consistent with its financial resources and its ability to meet instructional obligations.
Each recipient of a regular or junior sabbatical leave must submit to his/her chair and dean a written report of activities during the leave. This report should be made within three months after returning to the University and should describe the activities undertaken, the location of those activities and the results (e.g. papers written, delivered, or published; skills developed, etc.).
Deferring a Sabbatical Based on Senior Administrative Service and Earning a Sabbatical based on Senior Administrative Service
Tenured faculty may apply through the normal process defined in the Sabbatical Leave policy for a one semester research sabbatical while serving in senior administrative positions (i.e. Department Chair, Assistant/Associate Dean, Assistant/Associate Vice Provost).
If their proposal is supported by their dean and approved by the Provost (or designee), the faculty member may take their research sabbatical while serving in the senior administrative position. While on sabbatical, an 鈥渁cting鈥� administrator will be appointed to serve until the faculty member returns to the administrative position. The faculty member will be paid only their base salary while on research sabbatical. The acting administrator will be compensated with the prorated administrative stipend. The administrator returns to work in January (after a Fall Sabbatical) or June (after a Spring Sabbatical).
Upon the recommendation of their Dean and with the approval of the Provost (or designee), the faculty member may defer taking the research sabbatical until the end of their continuous administrative service in a senior leadership position (or continuous series of positions). At the completion of administrative service, the faculty member with two deferred research sabbaticals may take them as one year at full base pay or stagger them over a two-year period as one-semester research sabbaticals. At the completion of the research sabbatical leave, the six-year sabbatical clock begins again.
In the case of a faculty member in a senior administrator position who is no longer research active, and therefore will not submit a research proposal to apply for a research sabbatical, they will earn a one semester administrative sabbatical at full base pay after six years of continuous service in a senior leadership position (or continuous series of positions), and after twelve years of continuous service, they will earn a second one semester administrative sabbatical at full base pay. The faculty member is expected to use the sabbatical leave to re-start their research and prepare courses. At the completion of administrative service, the faculty member with two deferred administrative sabbaticals may take them as one year at full base pay or stagger them over a two-year period as one-semester full base pay administrative sabbaticals. At the completion of the administrative sabbatical leave, the six-year sabbatical clock begins again.
Faculty may combine one deferred research sabbatical with one administrative sabbatical earned through service in a senior administrative position. Faculty who have deferred two one-semester sabbaticals may continue to serve in a senior administrative position, but they will not be able to obtain additional sabbaticals. No faculty member may accumulate more than two one-semester sabbaticals, regardless of the time elapsed since taking their last sabbatical or the reason those sabbaticals were earned.
Consistent with the Sabbatical Leave policy, within three months of returning from either type of sabbatical leave, the faculty member must submit to their Dean and the Provost (or designee) a written report of activities undertaken, the location of those activities and the results. Consistent with the Sabbatical Leave policy, an explicit condition of all sabbaticals is that the faculty member will return to and teach at 草榴社区 for one full year after the completion of the leave.
One deferred sabbatical (research or administrative) may be combined with retirement incentives defined in the Steady State Retirement Plan. A faculty member with two deferred sabbaticals must complete those sabbaticals and return for a minimum of one year of full-time service before the faculty member will be eligible for the incentives defined in the Steady State Retirement Plan.
This section of the policy does not apply retroactively and is effective for eligible faculty serving in senior administrative position during the 2020-2021 academic year and thereafter. Eligible faculty who began their appointments prior to the 2020-2021 academic year will have those continuous years of service counted toward earning an administrative sabbatical.
Application Guidelines
All applications for sabbaticals and unpaid leaves of absence should begin at the local (departmental or, in Nursing, college) level. Faculty seeking sabbaticals or unpaid leaves of absence should prepare their applications and submit them to their chairs for their evaluation and recommendations, following any specific directives the deans may issue. The chairs then forward the applications with their recommendations to the deans, who will undertake the usual procedures for reviews of leaves. The deans, taking into consideration the question of staffing courses left vacant by leaves, then will forward their recommendations to the Provost or designee for approval.
Please remember that all proposals and submissions for an external grant, a fellowship, or other extramural support must be processed through the Office of Grants and Contracts even if the grant is made directly to the faculty member. It is very important that OGC be informed of all such applications. This is always the case, including when the extramural support is sought in connection with a sabbatical or leave of absence. Please see Sponsored Research in the Faculty Handbook.
Sabbatical/Unpaid Leave of Absence deadlines for 2025-2026 are as follows:
Submission of application to chairs: September 23, 2024
Submission by chairs to deans: October 21, 2024
Submission by deans to Provost: December 2, 2024
It is understood that unforeseen events and opportunities for grants and fellowships may occur after these deadlines. They will be handled following the same procedures but with due consideration for the varying times and deadlines.
Please note that sabbatical reports, prepared after one's sabbatical is completed, are to be submitted directly to one鈥檚 dean and department chair, not to the Office of the Provost.