Changes to the Sabbatical Leave Policy

This message was shared with all faculty by the Provost and Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement on October 25, 2023. 

Dear Colleagues,

The University has updated its Sabbatical Leave Policy with the following key changes, which were approved under the expedited review process by the Office of Compliance, Policy and Privacy Services. The updated policy will undergo the standard review process within a year.

Dean and Committee Review Forms

The Sabbatical Leave Committee and Deans will use new forms when reviewing sabbatical proposals. These forms include the Dean’s Unit Impact Recommendation Form and the Faculty Sabbatical Summary Reports for Deans and the Committee. The forms can be found on the Faculty Lifecycle page of the Office of Faculty Advancement website under the Sabbatical Leaves section.

Ranking Categories

As previously announced, both the Sabbatical Leave Committee and the Dean will independently assign each proposal into one of three categories:

• Group A – Excellent proposals that will clearly benefit the individual and the University.
• Group B – Good proposals that will likely benefit the individual and the University.
• Group C – Proposals not recommended for support.

The Provost’s Office will use the rankings of the Sabbatical Leave Committee and the Deans in making final Sabbatical awards decisions.

Candidate Feedback and Community Reporting

Applicants will receive summary assessment information from the Sabbatical Leave Committee review and the Dean’s review. The Office of Faculty Advancement will also make annual summary statistics on sabbatical awards, including the number of applicants, the number of awards, and a summary of ratings/rankings, available.

Sincerely,

Paul E. Jensen
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost

Erin McNamara Horvat
Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement