Sabbatical Leave Policies
DC Schools & University of Maryland
American University
Compensation: A faculty member will be paid his/her full budgeted
salary during a Sabbatical Leave of one academic session or one-half of the
budgeted salary during a Sabbatical Leave of two academic sessions.
Policy: A full-time tenured member of the faculty who has served
the University for a period during which six years of full-time teaching has
accrued, excluding periods during which the faculty member is on any other approved
types of leave of absence for which there is no accrual of eligibility for sabbatical
leave, is eligible for sabbatical leave. A faculty member may apply for Sabbatical
Leave by addressing a written request to the teaching unit head and dean and
by completing the Sabbatical Leave Form, available from the dean of academic
affairs. The application for a Sabbatical Leave accompanying the Faculty Personnel
Action Form must outline in detail an educational program which the applicant
agrees to follow. This program must be approved by the appropriate departmental,
school, or college committee, and the responsible academic officers as feasible
and consistent with the applicant's professorial responsibilities. Sabbatical
Leave is not granted for the purpose of taking remunerative employment of any
sort, without specific justification of such employment as an educational endeavor,
and approval by the relevant teaching unit council, dean, Committee on Faculty
Relations, and the dean of academic affairs. A Sabbatical Leave is granted for a period of one or two regular academic sessions.
While on Sabbatical Leave, the faculty member accrues time towards promotion.
In unusual cases, a Sabbatical Leave may be authorized for two summers for faculty members appointed for service on a twelve-month basis. The faculty member on
such a Sabbatical Leave receives his/her usual budgeted salary during two summers
and the leave is recorded as a Sabbatical Leave for one academic session. The
two-summer Sabbatical Leave is authorized primarily for the benefit of persons
with administrative duties which make it difficult to release them for purposes
of their own research and study during the fall and spring sessions. The fact
that a faculty member has fulfilled the stated requirements for a Sabbatical
Leave or that the applicant is strongly supported does not guarantee that the
leave can be scheduled at the time preferred by the applicant. The needs of
the University as well as budgetary and administrative considerations are important
factors in the final determination. A Sabbatical Leave cannot be extended beyond
the period for which it was originally granted. A faculty member on Sabbatical
Leave who wishes to extend his/her leave may, however, apply for Leave Without Pay. If that is granted, the faculty member
will be subject to all conditions governing such leaves. Faculty members who
accept a grant of sabbatical leave are obligated not only to pursue the educational
program for which the leave was granted but also to continue in the service
of the University for at least one academic year following the leave period,
unless other arrangements are agreed to by the University. After completing
a Sabbatical Leave, a faculty member will not be eligible for another Sabbatical
Leave until s/he has completed another period of six successive years of full-time service, excluding the periods of leave for which there is no accrual of eligibility
for Sabbatical Leave, and after the faculty member has made application in the
usual way. An exception may be made in the case of a faculty member who has
been requested to defer a Sabbatical Leave for the convenience of the University.
Such a faculty member may be considered for another leave after the expiration
of a period of years following the deferred leave calculated by subtracting
from six years the number of years by which the Sabbatical Leave was deferred
(excluding other types of leave for which there is no accrual of eligibility
for Sabbatical Leave). In order to define clearly the University's position
and to protect the interests of faculty members who are asked to defer Sabbaticals, the provost must approve and confirm
agreements for deferral of Sabbaticals for the convenience of the University.
Requests should be directed to the provost with documentation, including a statement
of the Sabbatical Leave project of the faculty member and a statement by the appropriate
dean of the reason for deferral. Regardless of the total number of years of
service, faculty members who elect not to take Sabbatical Leaves are at no time
entitled to other types of leaves or payments in lieu thereof. Once a member
of the Washington Semester Program faculty has served three years on a multi-year
contract, s/he is eligible for sabbatical under the same terms and conditions
as tenured faculty. After the first sabbatical, a member of the Washington Semester
Program faculty will be eligible for sabbatical leave on the same timetable
as tenured faculty.
George Washington University
Compensation: One semester at half salary or two semesters
at 60% salary.
Policy: Every George Washington University professor, regardless
of rank, is eligible for a sabbatical after six years of full-time service.
The sabbatical can be for all or part of the seventh year. The only restrictions
are 1) workload considerations for the department and 2) legitimacy of work/research/study
to be done on sabbatical. An application must filed during the sixth year detailing
what will be accomplished during the sabbatical, and a written report must be
submitted on those accomplishments upon return. Faculty members are obligated
to teach full-time for at least one full year after the sabbatical.
Georgetown University
Compensation: Normally the terms of sabbatical leave will be
either one academic year at half basic pay or one semester at full salary.
Policy: In the interest of self-improvement, professional advancement,
and productive scholarship, full-time faculty members of the rank of Assistant
Professor and above are eligible for a sabbatical leave after six years or twelve
semesters of service, from the date of initial appointment or following completion
of the previous sabbatical leave. Leaves of absence neither count as semesters
toward sabbatical eligibility nor require the clock for eligibility to restart.
Exceptions to this service requirement (e.g., postponement for departmental
exigencies) must be agreed upon in writing by the concerned parties. Delaying
one sabbatical need not delay eligibility for future sabbaticals for faculty
on the Main Campus, though, in order to bank the time, the faculty member must
first apply for the sabbatical and get it approved. Applications must be made
in writing through the Chair of the Department and appropriate Dean to the Provost
or the appropriate Executive Vice President, not later than December 1 of the
academic year preceding the year of absence. Only tenured faculty members on
the Main Campus are eligible. An application from those faculty for sabbatical
leave will be reviewed by the applicant's departmental Chair, program director, and the relevant Dean (including the Graduate Dean when appropriate). Their
recommendations will be forwarded to the Provost or appropriate Executive Vice
President, who will convene the Council of Deans with the expectation that all
but the most unusual recommendations will be accepted without discussion. In general,
sabbatical leaves will be granted when the University will not suffer undue
academic inconvenience by such absence and when the applicant uses leave for
research or for formal study and not to teach in another college or university. At the
end of the leave period the faculty member is to report in writing to the Provost or appropriate Executive Vice President on
the progress of research or formal study during that time. This report is to
be submitted upon completion (customarily within thirty days) of the sabbatical.
It is evident that the number of leaves granted in any academic year must be
limited. All full-time faculty members of the Medical Center who are on a twelve-month
salary basis are eligible to apply for sabbatical leave for twelve weeks with
full salary. These faculty members are eligible to apply for sabbatical leave
every four years. The above described procedure should be followed accordingly.
Since the award of a sabbatical is an investment which is meant to profit the
institution as well as the individual, faculty are committed by the acceptance
of this award to return to Georgetown after a sabbatical to teach for at least
one year.
Howard University
Compensation: Most sabbaticals will be one year at half salary;
in exceptional cases full salary for one semester may be provided.
Policy: A sabbatical leave is not an automatic right upon completion
of the necessary period of service. The project for which leave is requested
must be beneficial both to the faculty member and to the university. Proposals
to obtain an advanced degree will not qualify for sabbatical leave. Any tenured
faculty member, including one serving in an administrative position, who has served full time for at least six years is eligible. Raises and benefits
will continue as normal. If an outside grant or fellowship is received, the
University share will only be difference between the grant and the faculty member’s
normal salary. A faculty member must submit a formal application for sabbatical
to the department chair. The Chair, along with the departmental Executive Committee
will review the teaching burden the sabbatical will place on other faculty members
before forwarding the request to the Dean. The application will then be forwarded to the Vice President,
then the President, who makes the final decision. The faculty member must agree
to make every reasonable effort to fulfill the terms of the sabbatical leave;
to return to the university for at least one academic year following completion
of the sabbatical leave; and file a report on the leave project with the Chair,
dean, Sabbatical Leave Review Committee, and the Vice President within thirty
days of their return.
University of Maryland
Compensation: One-half of the recipient's annual contract period
at his or her normal compensation or for the full annual contract period at
one-half normal compensation for both full and part-time faculty.
Policy: The President of an institution may grant sabbatical leaves
to faculty members. The primary purpose of such leaves is to provide an opportunity
for a faculty member to conduct scholarly or creative work in order to increase
his or her contribution to the mission of the institution, and to enhance his
or her standing in the discipline or profession. To be eligible for sabbatical
leave, a full-time faculty member shall have been granted tenure and shall have
completed at least six years of service at the time of an initial sabbatical
leave or since the last previously granted sabbatical leave. A part-time faculty
member shall have been granted tenure and shall have completed six or more years
of at least half-time service. Ordinarily, a leave of absence without pay shall
not be regarded as service to the institution for purposes of determining eligibility
for sabbatical leave. As a condition for receiving a sabbatical leave the recipient
shall agree to return promptly to the institution at the termination of the
leave and to serve on his or her normal basis for at least one academic year.
During the period of sabbatical leave, the recipient will be permitted, with
the approval of the President or designee, to accept, in addition to the compensation
he or she receivesfrom the institution, grants, awards, contracts, fellowships,
or other compensation or stipends as may be related to the approved sabbatical
leave project. While on sabbatical leave, the recipient may accept compensation
for consulting services rendered during the sabbatical leave, provided that
such services shall not exceed those allowed by the University System Policy
on Professional Commitment of Faculty, and that they do not interfere with his
or her approved sabbatical leave project. Each institution shall develop procedures
for implementation of this policy, including the requirement of a summary report
on sabbatical activities by the faculty member. These procedures shall be filed
with the office of the Chancellor.
NOTE: Catholic University is in the process of putting their
Faculty Handbook on the Web and University of DC didn’t answer their phone.