Members of the faculty in the tenure-track professorial ranks (assistant professor, associate professor or professor) may be granted a sabbatical leave of absence consistent with this policy. Sabbatical leave of absence is granted for the purposes of study, research, or other pursuit of value to the scholarly agenda of the faculty member and the University. The object of these leaves is to enable faculty to increase their effectiveness in teaching and research and their usefulness to the University. Sabbatical leaves are authorized based upon the recommendation of the Chairperson of a department, with the approval of the appropriate Dean, the Provost, the President and the Board of Trustees.

Assistant Professors will be eligible to request their first sabbatical leave with the completion of eight years of service including the one semester of junior paid leave provided by policy 201which governs their appointment. At the time of such first eligibility for sabbatical, the faculty member will be credited with 12 semesters of accumulated credit, and will accumulate credit for subsequent service according to the chart below. Assistant professors who, for whatever reason (such as early promotion), do not take junior paid leave will, after having been granted tenure, be eligible to request their first sabbatical leave with the completion of 12 semesters of accumulated service credit. Assistant professors, associate professors and professors eligible for sabbatical leave will accumulate service credits for continuous service according to the table below. Service credits toward sabbatical leave of absence may only be utilized consistent with this policy and the appropriate approvals.

The department in which the applicants are teaching or working shall arrange, so far as is practicable, to carry on during the absence without increase in the departmental budget such part of their work which the interests of the department and of the University require to be continued without interruption during the period of absence.

Periods of leave with or without salary do not count toward a sabbatical except in the case of paid junior leaves as previously discussed.

Leaves of absence granted in accordance with the foregoing rules, with the privileges pertaining thereto, are given to members of the faculty not as a reward for past service, but rather for the purpose of enabling them to acquire additional knowledge and competency in their respective fields or to complete projects that support the mission of the university. It is not intended that a faculty member should accept full-time employment during the semester or academic year of sabbatical leave.

While fees may be accepted without special approval for a few lectures or a few days of consulting, no substantial work for remuneration should be undertaken during a sabbatical leave without prior approval by the President. There is, of course, no objection to the acceptance by a faculty member while on leave of a scholarship or fellowship carrying a stipend for purpose of study, research, or scientific investigation or the acceptance of a grant of money made for such purposes. However, the acceptance of such a grant must not impose on the recipient duties and obligations which would be incompatible with the pursuit of the general purpose for which leaves of absence are granted.

This statement of the policy normally governing leaves with pay shall not preclude different arrangements under unusual circumstances nor does it supersede any prior arrangements in specific cases.

Additional Applicable Guidelines

• This revised policy is effective with the start of the 2008-09 academic year. In order to comply with, and make a smooth transition from, the prior sabbatical policy, at the time this policy is implemented faculty members are initially credited with the semesters of actually accumulated sabbatical credit, not to exceed twelve (12), unless an explicit exception was already granted, in writing, before the publication of this policy. • Maximum allowed accumulation is 24 semesters of sabbatical-service credit. Absent exceptional circumstances requiring the approval of the President or Provost, no service credit in excess of 24 semesters will be allowed.
• Timing of permitted leave is subject to the department's ability reasonably to meet teaching and other needs.
• Approval of a sabbatical request is subject to satisfactory performance and productivity in scholarship, creative activity and teaching, as appropriate.
• Additional sabbatical leave may be granted in consideration of special service in formal administrative positions or as a college magister as semesters of sabbatical-service credit.
  • In exceptional circumstances approved by the Provost or the President, allocations of sabbatical-service credit may be allowed, for a specified time, to exceed the 24 semester credit maxim

• Unless otherwise agreed by the Provost or the President, a member of the faculty to whom such leave has been granted must return to the University on the expiration of the leave and continue satisfactorily fulfill their professional responsibilities for the University for the period of time set out below. As a condition of taking a sabbatical leave, the faculty member understands and agrees that:
  • A sabbatical leave that draws down 15 or fewer semester-service credits creates a requirement of return to service of at least one full year following the sabbatical.
  • A sabbatical leave drawing down 16 or more semester-service credits requires a 2-year return to service.
• To be eligible for sabbatical leave, a faculty member must have a balance of at least six semesters of accumulated service credit. Six semesters of credit is the minimum draw down for any sabbatical leave. All service-credit draw downs must be made as integer units. Sabbatical leave may not be granted more frequently than every fourth year, and, absent exceptional circumstances, will not be granted more frequently than every sixth year.

Policies for Personal or Professional/Educational Leaves of Absence

Policy History

Issued

January 22, 1965

Revised

January 12, 1967
August 25, 1969
August 2, 1971
December 2, 1974
May 1, 1986
September 9, 1997
January 5, 2009

Clerical Change

January 20, 2021 (updated reference to "college magister")

January 31, 2023

October 11, 2024