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University policy regarding faculty professional improvement leave
- The university permits a tenured faculty member who has completed at least seven years of full-time service to the university and has the rank of assistant professor or higher to be freed of instructional or official responsibilities and granted a faculty professional improvement leave for purposes of:
- Upgrading professional skills;
- Acquiring new skills; or
- Intellectual and professional development that will be of benefit to the individual and to the university.
- Every possible effort will be made to distribute fairly such leave to all units: departments, schools, independent schools, and library administration. As general rule, the department will absorb the load of the faculty member on faculty professional improvement leave without replacement. However, in extraordinary instances, which will require presidential approval, a temporary replacement may be secured for some portion of the faculty member's load.
- Sabbatical leave shall be governed by the following:
- One semester at full benefits and a uniform rate of not less than one hundred per cent of the faculty member's contractual salary for the semester; or
- Two semesters at full benefits and uniform rate of not less than fifty per cent of the faculty member's contractual salary.
- For faculty on a twelve-month contract, the period between the end of the spring semester and the start of the following fall semester may also be taken as leave under this policy at full benefits and a uniform rate of not less than one hundred per cent of the faculty member's contractual salary for that period.
- It should be clearly understood that the faculty member has an obligation to continue in active service with the university for a period of at least one academic year following the completion of the leave. If the faculty member does not return to the university, then the faculty member may be required to refund any salary received from the university during the period of the leave.
- Any faculty member granted faculty professional improvement leave is not eligible for another faculty professional improvement leave for a period of seven years after the faculty professional improvement leave has been completed.
Policy Effective Date:
Jul 01, 2018
Policy Prior Effective Dates:
3/18/1982, 2/14/1983, 6/11/1986, 6/1/2007, 3/1/2015