Section 4 - Faculty Personnel Policies and Procedures

XVI. Sabbatical Leaves

1. The sabbatical leave has grown out of a recognition of the need and desirability for each faculty member to have an opportunity at regular intervals for professional growth and renewal. The purpose of the sabbatical leave program is to strengthen the faculty by providing opportunity for tenured faculty members to improve their competence as creative and interpretive teachers. All tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply for sabbatical leaves according to the terms of this policy.
   
2. Each faculty member's sabbatical should be designed primarily to engage the individual with some aspect of current scholarship or professional activity. It should not be used simply to prepare course material or to broaden one's perspective through travel, although such activities may be appropriate as a minor part of a professionally oriented program of research or study.
   
3. Sabbatical salary is based on the length of sabbatical and the average FTE of the faculty member. In this paragraph current salary means the average annual FTE over the period counted toward the sabbatical times the full-time salary in effect during the year of the sabbatical. Sabbatical leaves for one year shall be at 50% of the current salary. A faculty member may apply to the College for an additional grant of up to 20% of current salary provided that no outside funding would consequently be reduced and that the combined total of sabbatical salary, the additional grant, and outside funding does not exceed 100% of full-time salary. The combined total, however, may reach up to 120% of full-time salary when the amount over 100% is for documented sabbatical project expenses. For a faculty member who takes a one-half year sabbatical, the salary for the sabbatical will be 0.5 times current salary plus fractional FTE during the non-leave portion times the full-time salary.
   
4. Eligibility to apply for a sabbatical leave is based on years of service. In this section, a year of service is defined to be an academic year in which a faculty member works at least half-time. An academic year in which a faculty member takes a half-year sabbatical is not counted as a year of service. When a year-long sabbatical leave begins with the calendar year, the academic year in which the sabbatical ends is counted as a year of service toward the next sabbatical, with the FTE for the year being the sum of the FTE's during the non-leave portions of the two academic years in which the sabbatical occurred. Each member of the faculty who holds academic rank and who has been awarded tenure has a right to expect, and is expected to apply for, a sabbatical leave after each six years of service to Saint Olaf College. Such service need not be continuous. Exceptions may be made in the regular schedule of applications for sabbatical leaves for the reasons listed below.
   
   1. For reasons of staffing and planning, a department may request a faculty member to take a sabbatical leave one year earlier or one year later than regularly scheduled. The department chair must obtain the approval of the Dean of the College for such changes in sabbatical schedule. A faculty member who for departmental reasons takes a leave earlier than regularly scheduled may apply for the subsequent sabbatical after six years of service. A faculty member who for departmental reasons takes a leave later than regularly scheduled may apply for the subsequent sabbatical after five years of service.
      
   2. Faculty members who assume college responsibilities such as department chair may request a postponement in their sabbatical leave. If the Dean of the College and the faculty member agree that such a postponement is in the best interests of the College, then the faculty member will be eligible to apply for the subsequent sabbatical at the time he/she would have been without the postponement. If the Dean does not agree that the postponement is desirable, then such a postponement will be treated as in part 3 below.
      
   3. Faculty members may request an advancement of one year or postponement in their sabbatical leaves for personal reasons. Such requests will be reviewed and decided upon, on an individual basis, by the Dean of the College. A faculty member whose leave is advanced for personal reasons may apply for the next sabbatical after seven years of service. A faculty member whose leave is postponed for personal reasons may apply for the subsequent sabbatical after six years of service.
      
   4. Circumstances not covered above which affect the scheduling of a sabbatical leave should be discussed with the Dean of the College. If a change of schedule is approved, the faculty member shall be eligible for subsequent leaves according to a schedule agreed upon at the time the change of leave is granted. A faculty member who receives approval for a change in sabbatical schedule should request confirmation in writing from the Dean's Office of the change and its impact on the timing of the subsequent sabbatical.
      
   5. For reasons deemed significant to the College, the Dean of the College may advance the timing of a particular faculty member's eligibility to apply for a sabbatical leave.
      
5. The right to expect a sabbatical leave is a contingent, not an absolute right. The granting of sabbatical leaves is not, therefore, automatic. In exercising its discretion in deciding whether to grant sabbatical leaves, the College will normally consider, in addition to other factors deemed relevant by the College, the following minimum requirements consistent with the basic intent of the sabbatical leave program:
   
   1. The faculty member must apply for a sabbatical leave in order to be considered. Application forms may be obtained from the Dean of the College. The application is a two-stage process. On or before September 25th of the year preceding the leave, the faculty member must notify the department chair, the Associate Dean, the Dean of the College, and (if applicable) the program director of his/her intent to apply, including the proposed dates of the leave. The final application form will be submitted to the department chair with a request for a recommendation; the chair will then forward the application along with this recommendation to the Dean of the College on or before December 1st for a leave to begin during the following academic year.
      
   2. The applications for sabbatical leave shall be reviewed by the Sabbatical Leaves Subcommittee of the Review and Planning Committee and the Dean of the College. The Sabbatical Leaves Subcommittee shall consist of members of the Review and Planning Committee who shall be appointed by the chair of that committee; these appointments shall be ratified by said committee. The Sabbatical Leaves Subcommittee shall be broadly representative and composed of tenured members who have had sabbatical leaves. Their recommendations shall be made to the Review and Planning Committee which, in turn, makes recommendations to the Dean of the College. Final approval is the prerogative of the President.
      
   3. The Sabbatical Leaves Subcommittee shall satisfy itself that the following minimum criteria are met:
      
      1. The applicant must have a worthy project as attested to by the chair of the department and the Dean of the College.
         
      2. The project must be in harmony with the objectives of the sabbatical leave program.
6. Following the completion of sabbatical leave, recipients shall submit a report of their leave activities to the Dean of the College. These reports are to be made available to the Sabbatical Leaves Subcommittee of RPC for review and shall be placed in the library to be available to the faculty. The approval by the Dean of the College of the report of a sabbatical leave shall normally be a condition for the granting of a subsequent sabbatical leave to a faculty member.
   
7. The period of sabbatical leave shall count towards salary increments.
   
8. Near the beginning of each academic year, the Dean of the College shall make available to the faculty a list of the persons on sabbatical leave during that academic year.