Sabbatical Leave for Faculty & Professional and/or Research Leave For Faculty Members Engaged Exclusively or Primarily in Library Services
BOR II-2.00 and BOR II-2.01
The President of Salisbury University may grant sabbatical leaves to faculty members and professional and/or research leaves to faculty members engaged exclusively or primarily in library services. The primary purpose of such leave is to provide an opportunity for faculty members to conduct scholarly or creative work that helps implement the mission of the University and enhances their standing in their disciplines or professions.
At SU, scholarly work is defined by the Boyer Model of scholarship which categorizes scholarship in four areas: discovery, integration, application, and teaching. The first category, discovery scholarship, refers to increasing the knowledge base with new information. Integration scholarship relates (or integrates) the new knowledge into the academic realm. The third category of the Boyer model, applied scholarship, means demonstrating the application of the new knowledge to and engagement with the world at large. Finally, the scholarship of teaching is devoted to furthering student learning within the specific discipline.
All four areas of scholarship serve Salisbury University’s mission in important ways. In particular, the traditional and continuing strength of SU’s teaching depends on faculty willing and able to devote themselves to the scholarship of teaching. Sabbatical projects devoted to all four areas of scholarship‐‐discovery, integration, application, and teaching‐‐are valued at Salisbury University. In addition, multiple disciplines may expect evidence of creative activity as a measure of professional development. In the arts, for example, performance, direction, production and creation of art work are the means by which faculty members advance professionally. As with scholarship, peer review is the means by which these activities contribute to the advancement of the profession.
Guidelines
- To be eligible for sabbatical or professional and/or research leave, a full-time faculty member must be tenured as a full professor, associate professor or assistant professor or have permanent status as a Librarian II, Librarian III, or Librarian IV. They must also have at least six academic years of service since either returning from the most recent sabbatical or beginning service as a full‐time SU faculty member. A part-time faculty member must also be tenured or have permanent status as Librarian II, Librarian III, or Librarian IV and have completed six or more years of at least half-time service. (Unpaid leaves of absence will not be regarded as service for the purposes of determining sabbatical or professional and/or research leave eligibility.) In exceptional circumstances approved by the President, a faculty member at the rank of instructor who is tenured and has completed at least six years of service may be recommended as eligible for sabbatical leave.
- Sabbatical and professional and or/ research leave decisions must be made in the economic reality of a given year, but it is important that individual faculty have equitable opportunity for leave and that the multifaceted mission of SU be reflected in sabbatical priorities. For these reasons, the following considerations are recognized in sabbatical funding decisions: a. First leaves are valued as an important means of faculty development. First-time applicants generally receive priority; b. For subsequent leave requests, successful earlier sabbatical projects are valued and considered; c. A leave that has been deferred due to service to the University (e.g., to teach critical courses or to serve as department chair) has priority; d. Leave requests for faculty to prepare to take on a new role in the department such as developing a new area of study or new course are valued; e. Sabbaticals and professional and or/ research leaves that are especially designed to further the University mission in serving the wider community or academia (e.g., working with a non-profit organization, an educational organization or an academic association) are also valued.
- Full-time faculty members applying for sabbatical or professional and/or research leave must agree as a precondition to receiving such leave to return promptly to the University at the termination of the leave and to serve on a normal basis for at least one academic year. Library faculty must agree to return to the University on their normal basis for at least one full annual contract period. The same conditions apply to part-time faculty; however, part-time library faculty must agree to return to the University for the equivalent of one year of full-time service.
- Ordinarily, sabbatical and professional and/or research leaves will be granted for a period equal to one-half of the recipient’s annual contract term at normal compensation, or for the full annual contract term at one-half normal compensation for both full- and part-time faculty. Library faculty can apply for summer leave which will be compensated for a thirteen-week period in the summer equal to one-fourth of the recipient’s annual contract term at normal compensation for both full and part-time library faculty (see Sabbatical or Professional and/or Research Leave Table at the end of this policy). All faculty members who are considering a sabbatical leave for the full annual contract term, at one-half normal compensation, should contact Human Resources regarding the impact this may have on their retirement program.
- During the period of sabbatical or professional and/or research leave, the recipient will be permitted, with the approval of the President or designee, to accept, in addition to the compensation received from the University, such grants, awards, contracts, fellowships or other compensation or stipends as may be related to the approved sabbatical leave project. The recipient may also accept compensation for consulting services rendered during the sabbatical leave, provided that such services do not exceed those allowed by the USM Policy on Professional Commitment of Faculty and Salisbury University’s Policy on the Conflict of Commitment/Interest, and that they do not interfere with the approved sabbatical or professional and/or research leave project.
- All benefits and privileges of faculty members who are on sabbatical or professional and/or research leave will continue during the period of the leave. These include, for example, employee benefits, merit increases, and opportunities for promotion.
Procedure
- The procedures for applying for sabbatical or professional and/or research leave are the same for all faculty. All faculty applying for sabbatical or professional and/or research leave obtain two forms from the Faculty Handbook: the Sabbatical Form Part A-Application and Sabbatical Leave Form Part B-Final Report that appear in Appendix G . Faculty members initiate their applications by completing Part A. They retain Part B for submission within six months following sabbatical or professional and/or research leave. Faculty planning on residencies at other institutions during their sabbatical leave are encouraged to include a letter of support from the hosting institution or organization.
- Completed applications (Part A) are submitted to the applicant’s department chair/CHHS school director/immediate supervisor two semesters in advance of the proposed leaves. The deadline is August 1 for fall sabbatical leaves and March 15 for spring sabbatical leaves. For example, the deadline for a fall 2019 sabbatical would be August 1, 2018 and the deadline for a spring 2020 sabbatical would be March 15, 2019. Procedures for library faculty applying for summer leave are the same as those for half-year and full-year applications. Summer professional leave requests follow the fall submission schedule, but commence after graduation. Chairs/Directors/Supervisors recommend or do not recommend sabbatical or professional and/or research leave applications. (In the event that the applicant is a department chair/immediate supervisor, the dean will make a recommendation about the sabbatical application.) If a sabbatical application receives a recommendation from the chair/director/supervisor, it is forwarded to the dean of the school/college who then recommends or does not recommend the sabbatical leave application. Recommended fall sabbatical leave applications that have been received by the chair/director/supervisor by August 1 are forwarded to the dean by September 1 and to the Provost by October 1, and recommended spring sabbatical leave applications that have been received by the chair/director/supervisor by March 15 are forwarded to the dean by April 15 and to the Provost by May 1.
- Applications for sabbatical or professional and/or research leave are recommended or not recommended or recommended for resubmission by the Provost and approved or disapproved by the President of the University by January 31 for fall sabbatical leaves and August 31 for spring sabbatical leaves. The President of the University then notifies applicants, their chair/director/supervisor, and their dean. The Provost may recommend an application for resubmission when the number of applications results in worthy sabbatical applications being denied. These applicants should be encouraged to apply again.
- A faculty member on sabbatical may not perform any SU duties during the sabbatical including teaching, serving on or chairing committees, or completing assigned administrative tasks except in the case of a critical need for the unit. Approval to perform any such tasks must be provided by the chair/director/supervisor, and their dean. However, such service will not negate any obligation with regard to completing the sabbatical project or returning to campus at the end of the sabbatical.
- When faculty have completed a sabbatical or professional and/or research leave, they submit the completed original of Sabbatical Leave Form Part B-Final Report to their department chair/director/supervisor who signs it acknowledging its receipt and forwards it to the dean of the school/college. The dean signs and forwards it to the Provost. The Provost sends the document to the President for its final signature. Completed Sabbatical Leave Forms Part B must be received by the Provost by October 15 for spring sabbaticals and March 15 for fall sabbaticals.
- Once a sabbatical or professional and/or research leave is approved by the President any subsequent substantive change to the project or its funding plan, if applicable, must be approved by the department chair/school director, dean, and Provost.
Sabbatical or Professional and/or Research Leave Table
- 10-month Faculty: August 15 - January 15 (Fall Semester); January 15 - June 15 (Spring Semester)
- 12-month Faculty: July 1 - December 31 (Fall Semester); January 1 - June 30 (Spring Semester)
- Library Faculty: July 1 - December 31 (Fall Semester); January 1 - June 30; Summer Professional Leave for Library Faculty Only: Commencement to August
The President may grant professional and/or research leaves to faculty members including library faculty. The primary purpose of such leave is to provide an opportunity for faculty members to conduct scholarly or creative work that helps implement the mission of the University and enhances their standing in their disciplines or professions. These leaves may include Fulbright fellowships and/or similar leaves.
The University recognizes the value of research and travel fellowships in support of tenured/tenure-track faculty development, and specifically to achieve the outcomes we expect of colleagues with respect to publications and creative work. Deadlines for application and notices of awards vary greatly, but faculty members are expected to pursue these opportunities in close communication with their department chair or school director to ensure that disruptions to the unit’s operations are minimized and that the positive benefits these opportunities offer are maximized. Faculty are encouraged to work with the Office of Sponsored Projects on their application to better understand University policies, funding allocation, etc.
The awardee must request leave associated with fellowships immediately upon notice of award (and decision to accept). The president grants (or denies) leave, based on recommendations from the chair/school director, dean, and Provost. Under normal circumstances, the requests for leave should originate no later than May 1 for fall leave, or December 1 for spring leave.
The award notice should specify the amount of the stipend associated with the fellowship which will displace that amount of the faculty member’s salary with the goal of no detrimental impact on overall salary and benefits. Travel fellowships (e.g., Fulbright) include amounts for travel, housing and other expenses that do not displace salary. The stipend amount will be credited to the department’s budget and must support , first and foremost, any replacement instruction the department may need. Normally the University will not provide additional funding for replacement instruction.
In recognition of the potential value of these experiences in building a strong professional record for tenure and promotion, faculty members may hold these awards prior to being eligible to apply for tenure and promotion or eligible for sabbatical. One semester of leave per award may be counted as service toward sabbatical eligibility. Faculty members may also pursue awards as a means of offsetting the reduced income associated with a full-year sabbatical. As is the case for approval of sabbatical leaves, leaves for competitive fellowships should not negatively impact unit operations and are contingent upon adequate financial resources.
In alignment with the requirements of the fellowship program, awardees must share with the University evidence of outcomes achieved within three months of return to campus. As with sabbatical, awardees must agree to return to fulltime service for a minimum of one year.
Transitional Terminal Leave
BOR II-2.10
Transitional terminal leave is defined as a leave of absence with pay extending over a period that terminates on the effective date of a faculty member’s separation from employment with Salisbury University (the “University”). Under special circumstances, transitional terminal leave may be granted by the President of the University as a means of early retirement or to avoid or assist in a retrenchment effort. The President has the discretion to grant transitional terminal leave to a faculty member upon application by a faculty member and with the consent of the faculty member. The procedures below reflect the USM BOR Policy II-2.10 on Transitional Terminal Leave for Faculty (“Policy”). The Policy contains additional terms that should be consulted by faculty members requesting transitional terminal leave.
Procedures for Transitional Terminal Leave
- Eligibility: Tenured faculty members, which include permanent-status library faculty, are eligible for transitional terminal leave.
- Request for Transitional Terminal Leave: A faculty member seeking transitional terminal leave shall submit a request, in writing, to the department chair/school director/immediate supervisor (Chair/Director/Supervisor). The request must specify whether the faculty member is seeking one semester, one academic year or two academic years of transitional terminal leave. If the faculty member has a joint appointment that is funded by more than one department or unit, the request must be filed with the Chair of each department or unit.
- Review by Chair/Director/Supervisor: The Chair/Director/Supervisor shall review the request and provide a recommendation to their Dean who, if approves, forwards to the Provost with their endorsement. The recommendation of the Chair/Director/Supervisor will include:
a. a determination of support or non-support of the faculty member’s request for transitional terminal leave;
b. the length of the transitional terminal leave period, which shall be for either one semester or one academic year; and
c. a description of the duties the faculty member will perform during the transitional terminal leave period. Over the entire transitional terminal leave period, the faculty member’s duties must continuously represent at least 25% (i.e., each semester) of the effort or workload that the faculty member normally performed during the prior 36-month period (or as otherwise deemed by the Internal Revenue Service to constitute full-time employment).
- Approval by Chair/Director/Supervisor: If the Chair/Director/Supervisor and the faculty member agree to the transitional terminal leave period and the planned duties, the Chair/Director/Supervisor shall submit a short memorandum of support to the appropriate Dean. If the appropriate Dean agrees to the plan for transitional terminal leave, the Dean shall submit a short letter of support and the Chair/Director/Supervisor’s memorandum of support to the Provost.
- Transitional Terminal Leave for Joint Appointments: If the faculty member has a joint appointment that is funded by more than one department or unit, the faculty member must consult with the Chair/Supervisor of each unit, and both must submit memoranda of support to the appropriate Deans. If the appropriate Deans agree to the plan for transitional terminal leave, the Deans shall each submit a short letter of support along with the Chairs/Supervisors’ memoranda of support to the Provost.
- Approval by Provost: The Provost shall determine whether to approve the recommendation of the Dean(s) and make a recommendation to the President regarding approval/non-approval. If approved by the President, the Provost shall prepare a Transitional Terminal Leave Agreement (“Agreement”), which must include a waiver by the faculty member of all claims arising out of their employment, other than those specified in BOR Policy II-2.20, and also must contain a waiver of all claims to employment at the University subsequent to the transitional terminal leave period.
- Acceptance by Faculty Member: A faculty member who accepts the terms of the Agreement shall sign and return it to the Provost, who shall forward it to the President for signature. The faculty member will receive a copy of the fully executed Agreement.
- Payment for Transitional Terminal Leave: If transitional terminal leave is awarded, payment for such leave shall be as follows:
- For twelve month faculty, up to full pay for a period not to exceed twelve months, or with half pay for a period not to exceed twenty four months; or
- For nine- and ten-month faculty, up to full pay for a full academic year, or with up to half pay for two full academic years.
- For faculty members employed on a part-time basis during the academic year preceding the leave, “full pay” means the full rate of pay earned for such part-time service, and half pay means half of the rate of pay earned for such service.
- Deadlines for Requesting Leave: Unless an exception is approved by the Provost, the deadline for submitting a request for transitional terminal leave for a full academic year or for the fall semester is January 15 in the semester prior to the start of the requested leave. The deadline for submitting a request for transitional terminal leave for the spring semester is August 15 of the semester prior to the start of the requested leave.
- Status of Faculty Member While on Leave: A faculty member on transitional terminal leave shall:
- Remain an employee of the University, subject to all policies of the University and the Board of Regents;
- Receive a salary up to that which would have been accorded the faculty member had they remained at the University, as described in Section 8 above;
- Retain eligibility for all benefits normally associated with full-time or part-time employment (as applicable), with the exception of annual leave.
- Be required to perform only those duties described in the Agreement.
- Required Documentation of Duties: During the transitional terminal leave period, the faculty member must document the amount of time worked and the duties performed, as well as produce any work product required by the Agreement. The faculty member’s Chair/Director/Supervisor is responsible for reviewing and approving the documentation of time spent and the submission of work product of the faculty member and placing such documentation in the faculty member’s departmental file.
- Duties Not Performed During Transitional Terminal Leave: Consistent with IRS requirements, if a faculty member does not meet the service requirement described in Section 3(c) above:
a. The duration of the faculty member’s fully paid transitional terminal leave will be limited to a period of time within 2.5 months of the end of the calendar year in which the faculty member and the University entered into the transitional leave agreement, using normal applicable payroll schedules; and
b. The level of compensation shall be set forth as in Section 8; and
c. The faculty member’s active employment will cease effective on the beginning date of the transitional terminal leave period, as will eligibility for all benefits normally associated with employment.
Leave Without Pay for Faculty
BOR II-2.20
A leave of absence without pay, for purposes of study, to serve as an exchange faculty member, or for other purposes, may be granted to a faculty member who has been on active, full-time service with the university/college for a period of at least three years. The President or their designee may modify the three-year requirement in unusual circumstances.
- The faculty member applying for a leave of absence without pay must submit, at least six months prior to the start of the proposed leave period, a formal written request to the President of the University, setting forth clearly the reasons for the proposed absence.
- Leave of absence without pay generally shall not exceed a period of one year.
- The Maryland State Retirement System provides that a faculty member on leave of absence without pay loses time of service to the State, except for a faculty member on leave without pay for military service. The faculty member on leave of absence without pay, in order not to lose service to the State, may pay directly to the Retirement System, in a lump sum, the retirement contribution, with interest, upon return from leave.
- If the time of leave is to be credited to the accrual of the faculty member’s requirements for tenure, it should only be done with the approval of the President or their designee.
- Other privileges, benefits and opportunities of a faculty member on leave of absence without pay, shall be granted only upon recommendation of the President. See BOR Policy II 2.20.
Sick Leave for Faculty Members
BOR II-2.30
In the matter of accident leave and creditable and non-creditable sick leave for faculty, Salisbury University operates under USM BOR Policy II-2.30.
Parental Leave
BOR II-2.25
In order to support faculty with families, the University supports parental leave for new parents and the provision of lactation facilities under USM BOR Policy II-2.25 which describes the parental leave policy.
Family and Medical Leave for Faculty
BOR II-2.31
In the matter of family and medical leave for faculty, Salisbury University operates under USM BOR Policy II-2.31.
Accident Leave for Faculty
BOR II-2.32
In the matter of accident leave for faculty, Salisbury University operates under USM BOR Policy II-2.32.
Annual Leave for Faculty
BOR II-2.40
All university employees are to enter their time in GullNet on a biweekly basis. The timesheets are set to a default of duty days, so faculty only need to enter deviations from this for sick, bereavement, collegial coverage, and other types of leave. In the matter of annual leave for faculty, Salisbury University operates under USM BOR Policy II-2.40.
Jury Service for Faculty Members
BOR II-2.50
In the matter of faculty on jury service, Salisbury University operates under USM BOR Policy II-2.50.
Salisbury University Faculty Handbook ©
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