Sabbatical Leave

Sabbatical Leave Policy and Procedures (as outlined in Section 18, Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement)

• Sabbatical Application Form

Section 18.1

The University recognizes the value of Sabbaticals in the Professional Development of Faculty Members. Each Member will be eligible to apply for a Sabbatical after completion of six (6) years of acceptable employment by the University provided that the Member’s Personnel File reflects that the Member has had favorable Periodic Reviews, and if the Member has Tenure, Post-Tenure Reviews.  Each Member will be eligible to apply for an additional Sabbatical after completion of each six (6) years of University employment after the last Sabbatical.  All Sabbaticals will be subject to the conditions and limitations set forth in this Article 18. 

Section 18.2

Time that a Member has been on Bereavement Leave, Medical Leave, and Family Leave, will not be counted toward accumulation of service required by the University as a condition of eligibility for Sabbatical. 

Section 18.3

A Member who desires to apply for a Sabbatical must give notice of the Member’s intent to apply for Sabbatical to the Member’s Department Chair, Associate Dean, and Dean no later then September 1st for any Sabbatical sought for the following Academic Year. An acceptable Sabbatical Plan must be submitted in writing by the Member to the Member’s Department Chair no later than October 1st.  The Department Chair will review the Sabbatical Plan and forward it, together with the Department Chair’s recommendation to the Member’s Associate Dean/Dean.  The Member’s Dean will present the Member’s Sabbatical Plan to the Provost no later than October 15th for a Sabbatical the Member proposes to take during the following Academic Year.  The Provost will seek a recommendation from the Personnel Panel which, after its review of the Sabbatical Plan will submit its recommendation on Member’s Sabbatical Plan to the Provost no later than November 15th.  Sabbatical Plans approved by the Provost and President will be submitted to the Board of Trustees at the January meeting of the Board of Trustees, and the Provost will communicate the decision of the Board of Trustees to the Member no later than February 15th .

Section 18.4

A Sabbatical will be granted only upon approval by the Board of Trustees after consultation with the Provost, who must have consulted with the Personnel Panel, the Member's Department Chair, Associate Dean, and Dean. Upon completion of each Sabbatical, the Member who took the Sabbatical will prepare a written synopsis (“Sabbatical Report”) of the professional accomplishments achieved by the Member during the Sabbatical and submit the Sabbatical Report to the Member’s Department Chair, Associate Dean, Dean, the Provost and the Personnel Panel.  See bottom of page for information on the Sabbatical Report.

Section 18.5

The term of a Sabbatical will be limited to one (1) full Academic Year at one-half (½) Annual Salary or one (1) full Semester or two (2) consecutive Terms at full Annual Salary. All Sabbaticals are expressly conditioned upon the University’s ability to reduce the Member’s Teaching schedule to accommodate the Sabbatical or to spread the Member's Work Load among other Faculty Members without undue cost to the University and upon the approval by the Board of Trustees.

Section 18.6

Each Member who takes a Sabbatical must return to the University for one (1) Academic Year of full-time Teaching or assigned Administrative Duties after completing the Sabbatical.  If the Provost, after consultation with the Member’s Department Chair/Associate Dean/Dean and the Personnel Panel, determines that Member has failed to meet the obligation set forth in the Sabbatical Plan, the Salary paid to the Member during the Sabbaticalwill be considered to be a loan by the University to the Member, and the Member must repay that loan with interest at prime no later than one (1) year after the date that Member was scheduled to return to full-time University Teaching employment.  By acceptance of a Sabbatical a Member will be subject to all conditions imposed by the University; the University and the Member will execute an amendment to that Member’s Reappointment Letter that sets forth the terms and conditions of the Sabbatical.

Section 18.7

A Member while on Sabbatical will retain the Member’s rights to participate in the GM Insurance, the DCR Plan and the RA Plan.

Sabbatical Report

According to the Faculty Manual, “Upon completion of each Sabbatical, the Member who took the Sabbatical will prepare a written synopsis (Sabbatical Report) of the professional accomplishments achieved by the Member during the Sabbatical and submit the Sabbatical Report to the Member’s Department Chair, Associate Dean, Dean, the Provost and the Personnel Panel.”

The report should be submitted, at the latest, two months following the end of the sabbatical.  This narrative should include all of the following sections:

• A brief chronological outline of time spent during the sabbatical.
• Goals
  • List goals provided on the sabbatical application.
  • List goals achieved during the sabbatical.
  • Describe additional achievements beyond those planned, or reasons why certain proposed goals were not met.
• Describe how your sabbatical experience will benefit your work at Park University.
• Describe how you plan to pursue other benefits or outcomes from your sabbatical experience (such as conference presentations, publications, new courses, etc).
• Describe how you plan to share, or have already shared, your sabbatical experience with the Park University community (e.g. Academic Conversations, Faculty Lecture Series, Faculty Senate Report, etc.).
• Provide a brief evaluative narrative of your sabbatical experience, including anything that you would have done differently. 

Approved Academic Cabinet
March 2, 2006

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