P16: Sabbatical Leave Procedures
Effective Date: March 23, 1987
Revised Date: July 1, 2011
Application Deadlines
Applications for a sabbatical leave for either or both semesters of the following year must be filed with chair/director/head by the deadline established in the college on the forms provided by the academic unit. Applications may be withdrawn without affecting subsequent applications.
The chair/director/head shall file applications in the dean/university librarian’s office by the fall deadline established by the college. Applicants will be notified of the dean/university librarian’s action no later than December 15. If an applicant for a sabbatical leave withdraws the application or changes the period of leave after approval, the academic unit chair/director/head must be notified immediately and in sufficient time to make necessary adjustments in the teaching or other programs of the unit. The dean and executive vice president and provost of the university must also be notified of any changes.
Each dean/university librarian will send a list of the applicants for sabbatical leave from his or her college to the executive vice president and provost of the university by the first week of January. This list will include each applicant’s department, approval or disapproval of the application, and the period of the sabbatical leave (fall semester, spring semester, academic year, fiscal year, or half fiscal year). Any new requests for sabbatical leave added to the list after the January submission must receive approval from the executive vice president and provost of the university.
Application Submissions
Academic Unit Evaluation
The applicant will submit to the academic unit chair/director/head a sabbatical application, a curriculum vitae, and any supporting data the academic unit or college requires.
The application will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- potential value to the teaching program of the department
- probable enhancement of the applicant’s effectiveness
- potential value to the reputation of the institution
- contribution to knowledge
- provision of outstanding public or professional service at a local or national level.
The chair/director/head with the counsel of the appropriate unit committee will review the materials and recommend the leave if:
- the application is judged worthwhile
- there is a high probability that the applicant will succeed as proposed
- the department’s program of teaching and advisement will be maintained during the applicant’s absence.
The chair/director/head shall submit with each application for sabbatical leave a letter to the dean/university librarian indicating how the integrity of the teaching, advisement, graduate research supervision, research, position responsibilities, and/or administration of the program within the unit will be maintained during the applicant’s absence and whether the unit can do this without additional funding.
College Evaluation
With the counsel of the appropriate college committee, the dean/university librarian will review all the recommendations in approving or denying the application.
If the academic unit or college recommendation is adverse, the applicant must be informed of the reasons for the recommendation and afforded an opportunity to respond. If the applicant responds, the dean/university librarian will reconsider the recommendation. Following reconsideration, the dean/university librarian will inform the applicant of the final decision and the reasons for it.
During the final probationary year, approval of a forthcoming sabbatical leave will be contingent upon the applicant receiving tenure or continuing status.
The dean/university librarian sends a list of the college’s applicants for sabbatical leave to the executive vice president and provost of the university (including each applicant’s department affiliation, approval or disapproval of the application, and the time period for the sabbatical).
For information concerning changes to sabbatical leave applications, see ACD 705, “Sabbatical Leave.”