Sabbatical Leave Policy

Sabbatical leaves of absence for members of the Faculty will be administered in accordance with the following general policies:

1. Tenured members of the Faculty shall be eligible to take a sabbatical leave after at least six years of full-time teaching at the College. Members of the Faculty whose positive tenure decision is announced in the spring of their sixth year of service are eligible to apply at the beginning of their seventh year of service for sabbatical leave in their eighth year. Members of the Faculty whose positive tenure decision is announced in the spring of their fifth year of service or earlier are eligible to apply at the beginning of their sixth year of service for sabbatical leave in their seventh year. Staffing pressures or too many applicants may, however, require the administration to delay some requests. A faculty member accepting such an administrative delay should have the time between the next sabbatical and the one following it correspondingly reduced. This should be put in writing at the time of the delay requested by the administration. The time between the next sabbatical and the one following it will not be reduced for delays that are not the result of an administrative request.

   Leaves may be either a full year (6 courses) at half pay, or a long term and a short term (3 courses) at full pay. Subsequent sabbaticals may be awarded after completion of six full-time years of teaching at the College.

2. The granting of sabbatical leaves depends on the determination by the Dean of the College and the President that the period of leave will be used for research, study, or other pursuits appropriately designed to provide professional development, and subject to the determination that adequate arrangements can be made for carrying on the normal responsibilities of the Faculty member during the period of his or her absence.
3. Not more than 15% of the total number of tenured members of the Faculty shall be absent on sabbatical leave concurrently.
4. As a sabbatical leave is for professional development, it is expected that a Faculty member will return to the College for at least one year following a leave. Except as may otherwise be determined by the Board of Trustees, no person shall request, and the College shall not grant, a sabbatical leave within one year of the date of his or her anticipated or scheduled retirement.
5. The following guidelines should be followed:
   1. The Dean sends a notification letter to all eligible Faculty members, including those being considered for tenure, at the beginning of the spring term 18 months prior to the sabbatical year.
   2. Intent to submit a proposal must be made to the Dean by the first day of classes after the spring break approximately 18 months prior to the sabbatical year. Sabbatical proposals should be submitted to the Division Chair, the Dean, and the chair of the Faculty development committee by August 15, prior to the start of the academic year before the proposed sabbatical.
   3. Proposals should include the following information: dates of last sabbatical leave, if any; a description of the work or project to be undertaken; expected outcomes from the work; how the work fits into the longer range professional goals of the Faculty member; a three- to four-sentence abstract or summary of the proposed work; the term or terms for which the sabbatical is requested; and what courses will not be offered as a consequence of the leave. Under the six-course (or 18 hours) teaching load, persons granted a fully-paid sabbatical leave will be relieved from teaching the equivalent of three courses. The Dean will ask the advice of the Faculty Development Committee to help assess the merits of the proposals. After consulting with the President and other administrative colleagues, the Dean will inform each applicant of the outcome by the end of the fall term. All sabbatical leaves are granted only with the approval of the President and the Board of Trustees.
   4. A sabbatical report must be submitted through Moodle at the beginning of the academic year following the sabbatical year. The final report should include an explanation of expenses and should reference the original proposal. The final report should include a three- to four-sentence abstract or summary of the project outcome.