Sabbatical Leave Procedure Procedure Number 6.3P Effective Date September 2, 2008 1.0 PURPOSE The purpose of this procedure is to assure Laramie County Community College encourages eligible faculty, professional staff, and administrators to continue their professional growth through academic, scholarly and professional endeavors that will enhance the service of the employee and will benefit the students and the College. This procedure outlines the process used for considering and authorizing sabbatical leave for eligible employees. 2.0 REVISION HISTORY Adopted on: 9/2/08 (Originally Part of Procedure 4120 Leaves of Absence) 3.0 PERSONS AFFECTED Full time Faculty Members, Professional Staff and Administrators 4.0 DEFINITIONS A. Employee Classifications 1) Full time Faculty Persons identified by the College as such and typically those whose assignments are made for the purpose of conducting instruction and are employed on a nine to twelve month contract. 2) Professional Staff Employees of the College with appointments to positions requiring advanced specialized academic or professional training. 3) Administrator Employees whose primary function has been identified by the College as administrator. B. Sabbatical A leave often granted for enhancing professional capacity through study, travel, research, or other approved activities. 5.0 PROCEDURE Sabbatical leaves are authorized for the primary purpose of increasing the value of the recipient s sustained contribution to the College by providing the individual a significant opportunity for professional growth. Sabbatical leave may be granted for study, research, writing, field observations, additional training, improving skills, for maintaining currency in the field, or other suitable purposes. Sabbatical leaves are not to be anticipated on the basis of longevity or seniority. Sabbatical leaves should relate to the goals of the strategic direction of the College. Each applicant must initiate the sabbatical leave application with his/her dean, director, or immediate supervisor. Each applicant and respective supervisor will follow the prescribed timetable as outlined. The granting of a sabbatical leave should not create undue hardship for students or faculty members, and it should not unduly limit College functions, e.g., course offerings, student services, College operations, etc. 6.3P Sabbatical Leave Procedure Page 1 of 6
A. Eligibility 1) A faculty member, professional staff, or administrator must be employed for six consecutive years as a full time benefited employee to be eligible to apply for sabbatical leave. However, time is not accumulated during a sabbatical leave for a future sabbatical leave. A person on sabbatical leave is eligible for earned advancement and/or special adjustments in salary received by other personnel at the College. 2) The Human Resources Office will verify years of service and certify that an employee is eligible to apply for sabbatical. 3) An employee who has received a sabbatical leave must complete six additional years of qualifying service before being eligible to apply for another sabbatical leave. (An employee would be eligible to reapply in the seventh year following a sabbatical leave.) B. Activities 1) The employee on sabbatical leave should not engage in other activities for remuneration that would intrude on his/her sabbatical project. (See Section E for exceptions.) 2) Sabbatical time must be used effectively to foster growth and development of the individual s career and the academic excellence, operation, and/or learning environment of the College. C. Application Eligible employees applying for sabbatical leave must complete the application process by responding to all items on the application form and attaching all requested documentation. Application forms can be requested from the Vice President of Instruction s office. D. Sabbatical Leave Period and Compensation Employees awarded sabbatical leave will receive the following payments, payable in equal monthly installments in accordance with existing pay procedures during the term of leave: 1) Full time faculty on full year sabbatical will receive eighty percent (80%) of contractual annual salary. 2) Full time faculty members on half (½ ) year sabbatical will receive one hundred percent (100%) of contractual salary for the half (½) year while on leave and are entitled to their full contractual salary for the half (½ ) year which they are not on leave. 3) Full time professional staff and administrators may be granted leave for up to four (4) consecutive months at the regular salary rate or up to eight (8) consecutive months at onehalf of the regular salary rate. 4) Employee s sabbatical leave salary will be determined by using the average number of contracted days during the six (6) years immediately prior to taking sabbatical leave and applying this to the employee s regular pay anticipated for the year of leave. E. Grants and Employment A College employee on sabbatical leave may accept a grant for study, research, or travel from any institution of higher education; or from a charitable, religious, or educational corporation or foundation; from any business enterprise; or from any state, federal or local government but may not accept employment of any kind except as may be specifically approved by the College President. The application must address any expected outside employment that may occur during the sabbatical leave. 6.3P Sabbatical Leave Procedure Page 2 of 6
F. Number of Sabbaticals to be Granted The total number of sabbatical leaves that shall be granted in any given academic year shall not exceed: 1) Five (5) percent (rounded up to a whole number) of the total number of qualified full time faculty members. 2) Three (3) percent (rounded up to a whole number) of the total number of qualified professional staff and administrators. G. Expectation of Future Service 1) Sabbatical leave shall be awarded with the provision that the recipient will be expected to continue in service at the College. 2) Employees who receive a sabbatical leave are required to return to the College on a fulltime basis for a period of at least three (3) times the amount of time of the sabbatical leave immediately following the date when the employee completes his/her sabbatical leave. 3) Failure to return for all or part of the required period will make the person liable for the return of all, or part, of the sabbatical stipend in proportion to the percent of time not completed. H. Extenuating Circumstances and Consequences 1) If extenuating circumstances significantly delay leave activities or make it impossible for the employee to complete the sabbatical, the employee must meet with the College President, supervisor, appropriate vice president, and a representative from the Sabbatical Leave Committee to determine an appropriate leave of absence or other mutually agreed upon solution. 2) During the course of the sabbatical leave, the College President may request interim reports from the employee as deemed necessary. If the College President determines that the employee is not carrying out the approved sabbatical leave proposal, the employee shall be contacted and granted ten (10) working days to respond to the evidence. If a response deemed satisfactory cannot be obtained by the College President, the President shall terminate the sabbatical leave and the employee will be ordered back to a regular assignment. Economic sanctions can be levied up to and including reimbursement to the College of sabbatical leave compensation received. 3) If, at the conclusion of the sabbatical leave, the College President finds that the approved activities and/or report have not been satisfactorily completed, suggestions for improvement may be made. These may include an extension of time (at the recipient s expense) to complete a specific performance objective as stated on the approved or modified application. If the suggestions are not implemented, economic sanctions, up to and including full reimbursement to the College of sabbatical leave compensation, can be levied. I. Additional Sabbatical Leave Stipulations 1) Applicants for sabbaticals may not currently serve as members of the Sabbatical Leave Committee. 2) Within sixty (60) calendar days after completion of the leave, a Sabbatical Leave Report must be submitted (see Section J) to the a. Employee s dean/director/ immediate supervisor b. College President c. Sabbatical Leave Committee d. Human Resources Office 3) Recipients will not serve on College task forces, committees, etc., or accept other similar assignments during the time of their leave. 6.3P Sabbatical Leave Procedure Page 3 of 6
4) Acknowledgement of sabbatical assistance shall be given in any publications, exhibits, performances, or other public presentations resulting from work accomplished during the sabbatical leave. 5) College policies, procedures and guidelines on intellectual property rights apply to all persons on sabbatical leave. Any request for exception to the intellectual property rights policies/procedures/guidelines must be submitted to the College President, in writing, prior to commencement of the sabbatical for review and consideration. 6) College employees shall be eligible to retain state paid insurance benefits for which s/he is otherwise eligible while on sabbatical. 7) There is no accrual of vacation or sick leave while on sabbatical leave. 8) Those on sabbatical leave will receive any regularly scheduled salary increases granted in their absences. J. Sabbatical Leave Reporting Completion Report 1) Within sixty (60) calendar days of completion of the sabbatical leave, the employee shall submit to Sabbatical Leave Committee and the College President evidence of compliance with the terms and conditions as specified in the Sabbatical Leave request. Included in the report should be evidence and supporting documentation such as copies of transcripts, copies of work completed, travel itineraries, etc. 2) The report and all supportive data will be reviewed to ensure compliance with the original plan by the Sabbatical Leave Committee. Any discrepancies or failures to comply with the proposed plan and activities in the approved sabbatical leave proposal will be noted, and any action necessary as a result of the sabbatical will be recommended to the President. 3) Final sabbatical reports and comments from the Sabbatical Leave Committee are subject to future review by the immediate supervisor and future Sabbatical Leave Committees. K. Sabbatical Leave Review Process and Timeline 1) Each sabbatical leave applicant must initiate the process by submitting the completed application packet to the Human Resources Office prior to November 15. The Human Resources Office will verify the years of service for each applicant and return the application to the applicant. 2) If the applicant meets eligibility requirements according to the Human Resources Office, the candidate must submit completed application materials to his/her immediate supervisor for signature and approval no later than December 1. 3) The immediate supervisor is expected to certify whether or not the work of the department can be carried on substantially as it would have been had the leave not been granted. It is not expected that sabbatical leaves will be granted if they must be taken at the expense of the students or the regular departmental program. The supervisor indicates on the application whether he/she does or does not endorse the employee s application and, in the latter case, the reasons for non endorsement. If the application is endorsed, it is forwarded to the next appropriate level. If it is denied, the application is returned to the applicant. 4) If the applicant s immediate supervisor reports to a division dean, the immediate supervisor forwards the application to the appropriate division dean. The division dean indicates on the application whether he/she does or does not endorse the employee s application and, in the latter case, the reason for non endorsement. If the application is denied, it is returned to the applicant. If it is endorsed, the application is forwarded to the appropriate vice president no later than December 20. 5) The appropriate vice president indicates whether he/she does or does not endorse an employee s application and, in the latter case, the reason for non endorsement. A positive 6.3P Sabbatical Leave Procedure Page 4 of 6
endorsement is forwarded to the Sabbatical Leave Committee no later than January 10. If the application is denied, it is returned to the applicant. 6) Only those supported sabbatical requests will be forwarded to the Sabbatical Leave Committee, who will meet to discuss and make recommendation(s) no later than February 15. a. At the discretion of the Sabbatical Leave Committee, some candidates may be interviewed for clarification about their requests. b. All of the applications meeting the sabbatical leave policy s purpose and criteria will be evaluated by Sabbatical Leave Committee using the criteria set forth in the Application for Sabbatical Leave. 7) The Committee s recommendation(s) will be submitted to the President by February 15. The recommendation pertaining to one of the following categories will be sent to the College President. a. The committee recommends that a sabbatical leave be granted; or b. The application was acceptable and of relative merit, but the applicant did not receive a high enough evaluation by Sabbatical Leave Committee; or c. The number of allotted sabbaticals has been met; or d. The application was not of sufficient merit to warrant a sabbatical leave. L. Appeals 1) If the division dean/director/supervisor denies an employee s request, the employee can forward an appeal to the appropriate vice president. The vice president will consult with the division dean/director/supervisor and may interview the employee for clarification of his/her request for sabbatical. If the vice president endorses the sabbatical application, the process then continues as in Section K, step 5. The vice president has five (5) working days in which to make his/her recommendation. 2) If the vice president denies an employee s request, the employee can appeal to the College President. The College President may consult with the division dean/director/supervisor and/or the vice president. If the College President endorses the sabbatical application, it is forwarded to the Sabbatical Leave Committee as in Section K, step 6. If the College President denies the appeal, the process concludes. The decision of the College President is final. The College President has ten (10) working days in which to make his/her decision known to the applicant. 3) If the Sabbatical Leave Committee denies an employee s request, the employee can appeal to the College President. If the College President denies the appeal, the process concludes. The decision of the College President is final. M. Sabbatical Leave Committee 1) By the middle of September each year, the Director of Human Resources office will submit to the President a list of employees who will serve as a committee to recommend sabbatical leaves for the next academic year. 2) The seven member committee will be chosen by Human Resources as follows: a. An administrator b. Five faculty members c. A professional staff member d. The Director of Human Resources and the Vice President of Instruction will serve in an ex officio capacity 3) Excluded from consideration for voting membership on the committee are: a. Members of President s Cabinet b. Individuals paid from the Restricted Fund (grants and auxiliary services) 6.3P Sabbatical Leave Procedure Page 5 of 6
c. Individuals with less than five years of full time service at the College d. Individuals on, or applying for, sabbatical leave, personal leave, retirement, or extended sick leave e. Individuals who have served on the committee in either of the two previous years. 4) By October 1, the President will designate a chair from the committee membership and will notify each member, in writing, of the committee appointment, with a copy to each vice president, the Director of Human Resources, and the committee member s immediate supervisor. REQUIRED APPROVALS NAME/SIGNATURE DATE Originator(s) Name(s) Academic Standards Committee February 2008 Approval by Learning Leadership Team Learning Leadership Team 8/27/08 Approval by President's Cabinet and President (Signature) 9/2/08 6.3P Sabbatical Leave Procedure Page 6 of 6