Policy Library

Sabbatical leaves are granted to faculty members for the purpose of enhancing professional skills and knowledge to better enable them to contribute to the mission of the University.  Leaves may be for professionally-related activities, including but not necessarily limited to, advanced study, scholarly travel, research, writing, creative performance, service, development of new skills, or a combination of these. 

A sabbatical leave may be for either a fall or spring semester at full pay, or for one (1) academic year (fall and spring semesters) at 60 percent pay.  Sabbatical leave for a full calendar year can be granted to those on academic year appointments, with a 60 percent pay calculated separately for the spring and subsequent fall semesters of the leave period.  In those cases, the University will provide no summer compensation.  A faculty member holding a fiscal year appointment shall be granted special leave for six (6) months at full pay or twelve (12) months at 60 percent of the fiscal year pay.  Benefits calculations during a sabbatical leave will be based on the amount of the base appointment salary earned.

335.3.1  Limitation on Leave.  A sabbatical leave may not be preceded or followed by any other leave of absence with pay, with rational exceptions, such as medical leave.

335.5.1  Department Review.  By September 1, any special needs or priorities of the department, college, or university affecting approval of sabbaticals will be communicated by the appropriate unit head or heads to individual faculty members eligible to apply for sabbatical. 

335.5.1.1  Notification to Department.  By September 15 of the year prior to the academic or fiscal year during which the requested sabbatical is to begin, an eligible faculty member must notify the department chairperson of the intent to file for a sabbatical leave.

335.5.1.2  Application Deadline.  On or before November 5, the actual application for sabbatical leave must be submitted to the department chairperson.  Until the application is delivered to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, a faculty member has the opportunity to withdraw the application.

335.5.1.3  Review and Recommendation by Faculty Governance Committee.  Departments are permitted to have a faculty governance approved committee participate in the review process.  Following review of a proposal, the committee must present its written recommendation to the applicant and department chair.  The recommendation must address the same criteria used by the department chairperson, and accompany the proposal throughout the review process.

335.5.1.4  Review and Recommendation by Department Chairperson.  The department chairperson reviews the leave proposal for the following:  the overall quality of the proposal, how the proposal contributes to the overall professional development of the applicant, and how the proposal contributes to the mission of the department.  After reviewing each proposal, the department chairperson provides each applicant with a written recommendation.  If the chairperson has questions about the proposal, he or she should seek clarification from the applicant.  The applicant has five (5) working days to respond to the chairperson’s recommendation and/or provide additional documentation to strengthen the proposal. 

335.5.1.5  Submission to College.  By January 10, the department chairperson forwards all proposals and recommendations to the dean for review.  Any faculty response is forwarded with the proposal.  In addition, the chairperson must indicate the costs and benefits associated with the proposed leave and explain how the responsibilities for each faculty member on leave will be met by the department.

335.5.2  College Review. 

335.5.2.1  Review and Recommendation by Faculty Governance Committee.  Any college is permitted to have a faculty governance approved committee participate in the review process.  Following the review of the proposal, the committee must present its written recommendation about a particular proposal to the applicant, the department chair, and the dean of the college.  The recommendation must address the same criteria used by the dean and accompany the proposal throughout the remainder of the review process.

335.5.2.2  Review and Recommendation by College Dean.  The dean reviews each sabbatical leave proposal forwarded by a department chairperson for the following:  the overall quality of the proposal, how the proposal contributes to the overall professional development of the applicant, and how the proposal contributes to the mission of the college.  Following the review, the dean provides each applicant and his or her department chairperson with a written recommendation regarding the proposal.  The applicant has five (5) working days to respond to the dean’s recommendation and/or provide additional documentation to strengthen the proposal. 

335.5.2.3  Submission to Provost.  By February 1, the dean forwards all proposals, along with faculty responses and recommendations from the department and college, to the Provost.

335.5.3  Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Review.  The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs reviews recommendations accompanying each forwarded proposal and make decisions concerning approval.  In cases of inconsistency among the recommendations from the department chairperson, the dean, and any departmental or college committees, before making a decision the Provost shall consult jointly with the concerned department chairperson and dean.  In cases where the recommendations are consistent at the previous steps but the Provost intends to disagree, the Provost shall consult, as above, with those who made the recommendations. 

335.5.3.1  Time for Decision.  By March 1 the Provost provides each applicant, his or her dean, department chairperson, and the chairperson of the University Leaves Oversight Committee with a written recommendation and rationale for approval or disapproval of the proposal.

335.5.3.2  Approval of the Board of Trustees.  All approvals of sabbatical leaves are contingent upon the final approval of the Board of Trustees of the University.