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Rule R6-314A: Faculty Sabbatical Leaves

Revision 0. Effective date: April 9, 2024

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  1. Purpose and Scope
  2. Definitions
  3. Rule
    1. Eligibility
    2. Leave Length
    3. Compensation
    4. Purposes
    5. Procedure
    6. Benefits during Sabbatical Leave
    7. Obligation to Return to the University
  4. Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources
  5. References
  6. Contacts
  7. History

  1. ‌Purpose and Scope

    1. Purpose.

      The purpose of this rule is to define sabbatical leaves of absence, including eligibility, compensation, process, and purpose for sabbatical leave.

    2. Scope.

      This rule applies to tenure-line faculty who meet the eligibility requirements.

  2. ‌Definitions

    The definitions provided in Policy 6-314 apply for this rule. In addition, the terms below apply for the limited purposes of this rule.

    1. "Academic Service" means the cumulative time during which a faculty member has been engaged in the performance of services to the university, pursuant to that person's faculty appointment since the appointment date. If the faculty member has had one or more previous sabbatical or administrator leaves, “Academic Service” means the cumulative time during which the faculty member has been engaged in the performance of services to the university since the completion of the most recent sabbatical or administrator leave granted by the university.

    2. "Appointment Date" means the effective date of an appointment of an individual to a tenure-line faculty position.

    3. “Base Salary” is defined in Policy 5-403.

  3. ‌Rule

    1. ‌Eligibility

      1. A faculty member must be tenured prior to the beginning of the sabbatical leave, and must have completed six years of Academic Service in a tenured or tenure-producing faculty position at the University of Utah.

      2. A previous leave of absence other than an unpaid leave, administrator leave, or sabbatical leave may, in the discretion of the university, be considered as a factor relevant to a decision to grant or deny a request for a faculty sabbatical leave.

      3. Upon recommendation of the president, the Board of Trustees may waive the eligibility requirement when unusual conditions exist which justify granting a requested sabbatical leave.

    2. ‌Leave Length

      1. A sabbatical leave may be taken for one or two semesters or for one, two, three, or four half-semester sessions.

    3. ‌Compensation

      1. Sabbatical Compensation for faculty employed on a 9-month contract or equivalent for: one half-semester session shall be at the full base salary

      2. one semester shall be at 95 percent of base salary for the entire academic year;

      3. one semester and one additional half-semester session (or for three half- semester sessions) shall be at 85 percent of the base salary for the entire academic year; and

      4. leave for two teaching semesters shall be at 80 percent of the base salary for the entire academic year.

      5. Sabbatical Compensation for faculty employed on a 12-month bases for:

        1. three months shall be at the full base salary;

        2. six months shall be at 95 percent of the base salary for the entire academic year;

        3. nine months shall be at 87 percent of the base salary for the entire academic year; and

        4. twelve months shall be at 80 percent of the base salary for the entire academic year.

      6. Sabbatical compensation for faculty on phased retirement shall be commensurate with the proportion of full-time service performed by the faculty member, unless otherwise stipulated in a phased retirement agreement.

      7. Limits on Sabbatical Compensation:

        1. If the faculty member obtains a foundation grant or other compensation from non-university sources, including compensation from another academic institution, for the period of the sabbatical leave, the university is not obligated to pay more than that amount of sabbatical compensation that, when added to the non-university compensation, will equal up to110 percent of the individual's base salary for the period of leave. If an allowance for transportation and/or cost-of-living differential is included in the outside compensation, the amount of this allowance will be disregarded in computing the sabbatical compensation to be paid by the university.

        2. A faculty member who is on sabbatical leave of absence may not provide any services to the university for which compensation is paid in excess of the approved sabbatical compensation.

      8. Budget Requirements:

        1. Department chairs and college deans shall include in the budget the salaries of faculty members who will be on sabbatical leave and the salaries for teaching personnel who the departments and colleges expect to employ as temporary replacements.

        2. In order to make as many sabbatical leaves available as possible, the departments normally absorb the teaching loads of faculty members who are granted sabbatical leave.

    4. ‌Purposes

      1. Sabbatical leaves are granted to faculty members only for purposes that will improve the faculty member’s ability to fulfill effectively their research, teaching, and/or service obligations to the university, including:

        1. Research and writing in the recipient's field of specialization.

        2. Dissemination of research results through entrepreneurial activities such as founding a startup company based upon intellectual property licensed from the University.

        3. Regular attendance at classes or laboratories of a university or institution of higher learning.

        4. Pursuance of an advanced degree in the recipient's field of specialization.

        5. Other purposes that would clearly further the objective of improving the faculty member’s ability to effectively fulfill their research, teaching, and/or service obligations.

    5. ‌Procedure

      1. Sabbatical Leaves Applications shall be submitted to the department chair and shall describe the purpose of the leave and how the leave will improve the faculty member’s ability to fulfill their obligations to the university (form included below). The department chair shall forward the application with a recommendation to the college dean. The dean shall transmit the full application, including the department chair’s and their own recommendation to the cognizant vice president. If the cognizant vice president recommends granting of the sabbatical leave, a report including a recommendation shall be submitted to the president for review. If the president concurs, the report and recommendation shall be sent to the Board of Trustees for final approval.

      2. Applications by faculty members holding a shared or joint appointment in more than one academic unit are subject to the recommendations from each cognizant chair, dean and vice president.

      3. Upon the conclusion of a sabbatical leave, the faculty member shall file with the cognizant senior vice president, dean, and department chair a report of the leave activities and how the purposes of the leave were met.

    6. ‌Benefits during Sabbatical Leave

      1. To the extent permitted by law, personnel on sabbatical leave are regarded as in an active university employment status for purposes of benefits and continue to receive and accrue such benefits under applicable university policies as if they were in active university service, except that payments for insurance premiums and retirement contributions that are related to the employee's compensation are based upon actual payments made by the university during the period of the leave and not upon the budgeted salary for the position. Subject to legal restrictions, the individual may make arrangements with Human Resources for personal payment of additional amounts, if necessary, to maintain full insurance and retirement benefits during the leave period.

    7. ‌Obligation to Return to the University

      1. The recipient of sabbatical leave must agree to return to the service of the university at the end of the leave for a period of time at least equal to the length of the leave. If the recipient does not return or returns for a shorter period of service than required under this regulation, the university is entitled to a proportionate refund of the compensation paid by the university during the sabbatical leave. Upon a determination that the enforcement of this obligation will create an extreme hardship or would be seriously inequitable, the president may waive the requirement for a refund in whole or part. For the purpose of this paragraph, "compensation" includes salary plus all payments from university funds for benefits.

        Sections IV- VII are for user information and are not subject to the approval of the Academic Senate or the Board of Trustees. The Institutional Policy Committee, the Policy Owner, or the Policy Officer may update these sections at any time.

  4. ‌Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources

    1. Policies/ Rules.

      1. Policy 6-314: Leaves of Absence for Faculty

    2. Procedures, Guidelines, and Forms.

      1. Sabbatical Application Forms

    3. Other Related Resources. [ reserved ]

  5. ‌References

    1. [ reserved ]

  6. ‌Contacts

    The designated contact officials for this Regulation are

    1. Policy Owner(s) (primary contact person for questions and advice): Associate Vice President for Faculty and the Associate Vice President for Health Sciences

    2. Policy Officer(s): Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences

      See Rule 1-001 for information about the roles and authority of policy owners and policy officers.

  7. ‌History

    Revision History.

    1. Current version. Revision 0.

      1. Approved by -- Academic Senate April 1, 2024, and Board of Trustees April 9, 2024, with effective date of April 9, 2024.

      2. Legislative History

      3. Editorial Revisions

Last Updated: 4/11/24