1. POLICY

Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) will provide an opportunity for eligible faculty members to take sabbatical leave. Sabbatical leave provides faculty members the opportunity to periodically renew and update professional qualifications, improve skills, engage in creative or scholarly pursuits, improve teaching and learning, or engage in service opportunities.

2. REFERENCES

Current Guidelines for Professorial Rank Requirements found in the Full Time Faculty Handbook for Compensation and Workload.

3. DEFINITIONS
   1. Annual Base Salary: Remuneration faculty receive for Fall and Spring Semesters, or 30 instructional units, not including the monetary value of benefits.
   2. College Sabbatical Committee: An annually constituted ad hoc committee comprised of the associate provost for Learning Advancement, the chair of the Faculty Senate’s Professional Growth and Faculty Development Subcommittee, and one tenured faculty from each academic school. The Faculty Senate president shall appoint faculty members of the college Sabbatical Committee.
   3. Faculty members: Those appointed to full-time teaching for a nine or more-month annual appointment, or others designated as faculty members appointed to fill temporary special assignments. Faculty members in such special assignments come from teaching and return to teaching. Some faculty members are tenured, some are in departmental tenure-track positions, and others are in non-tenure-track positions.
   4. Sabbatical leave: A paid leave of absence for one appointment year, or portion of one appointment year, to full-time faculty members to permit them to renew and update their qualifications, improve their skills, engage in creative or scholarly pursuits, improve teaching and learning, or engage in service opportunities in ways that ultimately enhance learning at the college.
   5. Satisfactory service: Demonstrated acceptable performance as documented through the college’s current performance evaluation system.
   6. Tenure: The status achieved following the appropriate review period and following a prescribed evaluation that shows that the faculty member fully meets professional standards and is competent in the discipline, competent as a teacher, and competent as a colleague.
4. PROCEDURE
   1. Eligibility for Sabbatical Leave
      1. To be eligible for sabbatical leave, a faculty member must meet the following criteria:
         1. The faculty member must hold a full-time faculty contract of nine or more months per year that includes teaching, professional, or administrative contract duties.
         2. At the commencement of the sabbatical leave, the faculty member must have completed six continuous years of satisfactory service as a full-time faculty member at SLCC or six years of satisfactory service as a full-time faculty member since any previously awarded sabbatical leave.
         3. If a sabbatical cannot be granted with six years of satisfactory service due to institutional needs, any additional years of service before the faculty member is granted a sabbatical will count toward eligibility for a subsequent sabbatical.
      2. The time spent on sabbatical leave is excluded from the six-year requirement.
      3. If a faculty member is approved for only a one-semester sabbatical, the faculty member may reapply for the remaining semester of the sabbatical in the academic year immediately following the year.
      4. If the faculty member does not apply for the remaining semester in the following academic year, the faculty member becomes ineligible to apply for additional sabbatical leave until the completion of an additional six-year period of service at SLCC.
      5. The total number of sabbatical leaves granted in any given academic year shall not exceed 2.5 percent of the total number of faculty members at the college.
      6. The total number of sabbatical leaves granted in any given academic year to the faculty members within a single division or department shall not exceed 14 percent of the total number of the faculty members in the division or department.
      7. Regardless of the number of faculty members, at least one faculty member in each department or division shall be eligible for sabbatical leave each year as long as those faculty members are eligible under this policy.
      8. When calculating percentages, all rounding shall be to the next whole number.
      9. Members of the college Sabbatical Committee may not apply for sabbatical while serving on the Committee.
      10. Sabbatical leave is not a right. It is within the college’s sole discretion to grant sabbatical leave.
   2. Application
      1. Applications for sabbatical leave must be made in writing to the college Sabbatical Committee via the office of the associate provost for Learning Advancement and contain the following:
         1. A detailed description of the proposed sabbatical activity to include:

(1) the manner in which the activity supports SLCC’s mission, vision, and goals; and

(2) the manner in which the project will benefit the college, the faculty member’s academic department, other departments, or students.

2. A clear and realistic timeline demonstrating that the project can be accomplished in the allotted time and that the project requires the allotted time.
3. A plan to recount the sabbatical experience with faculty members, colleagues, students, and the wider community as appropriate.
4. Endorsement letters from faculty colleagues. (Optional)

2. The judgments of the associate dean and dean will be considered by the provost and the president.
3. The college solicits applications that correspond with one or more of the following purposes:
   1. Credentialing

(1) A sabbatical designed to enhance the faculty member’s academic or professionally-recognized credentials.

(2) Such enhancements to credentials benefit students, the faculty member’s department, or other departments at SLCC.

(3) Applications in this category should:

(a) describe the credentials to be received or progressed toward;

(b) the institutions involved;

(c) the subject areas to be studied;

(d) a description of the manner in which the sabbatical is in line with actual credential improvement; and

(e) what will be accomplished during the sabbatical.

(4) Examples of sabbatical leave for credentialing purposes include starting a PhD program or writing a dissertation.

(5) Faculty should be aware that the Faculty Handbook (6.1.4) stipulates that enhanced credentialing must be directly pertinent to one’s departmental teaching assignment in order to be used for pay advancement.

2.  Knowledge/Skill Development

(1) This type of sabbatical improves the faculty member’s knowledge base and skill set, though it does not enhance credentials.

(2) Enhanced development of a faculty member’s skills benefits students, the faculty member’s department, or other departments at SLCC.

(3) Applications in this category should:

(a) describe the knowledge, or skills, or both to be developed;

(b) the plan to ensure knowledge, or skills, or both are developed; and

(c) the mechanisms involved.

(4) This type of sabbatical should inform and enhance teaching.

3. Pedagogically Centered Projects

(1) During a faculty member’s pedagogically-centered, sabbatical leave, the member will complete at least one pedagogically centered project.

(2) Such projects should be directly related to the improvement of teaching and learning at SLCC and have a clear and direct benefit to students.

(3) Examples of sabbatical leave for pedagogically-centered projects include:

(a) the improvement of a specific course or courses;

(b) the creation of open educational resources;

(c) the development of a high-impact practice; or

(d) the completion of a scholarship of teaching and learning project.

4. Creative or Scholarly Production

(1) A sabbatical leave during which the faculty member produces a significant and substantial corpus that either showcases the faculty’s creativity or engagement with a scholarly field.

(2) Projects in this category should enhance the reputation of the individual faculty member. As a result, the faculty member’s department and the college are enhanced. This type of sabbatical should inform and enhance teaching.

5. Scholarship of Engagement and Application

(1) During this sabbatical, a faculty member engages with the community. Using their talents and discipline knowledge, the faculty member addresses social problems, and advances economic, social, and cultural opportunities.

(2) Such projects should enhance the reputation of the faculty, the department, or the college. This type of sabbatical should inform and enhance teaching.

6. Hybrid

Projects that combine elements of more than one type of sabbatical leave.

3. Application Timeline
   1. On the last day of Spring Semester, the associate provost for Learning Advancement issues a call for sabbatical applications for the following year.
   2. On or before the second Friday of September, the faculty member must submit the sabbatical proposal to the dean and associate dean.
   3. On or before the third Friday of September, the faculty member shall submit a completed application to the associate provost for Learning Advancement. If the dean or associate dean wishes to send a letter to the provost, it must be submitted to the associate provost for Learning Advancement by this date.
   4. The college Sabbatical Committee has until the third Friday of October to make recommendations to the provost regarding the sabbatical applications.
   5. On or before the second Friday of November, the provost will review the applications and submit recommendations to the president of the college.
   6. The president will review the applications and submit a decision to the provost by the second Friday of December. The provost will communicate the decision to the associate provost for Learning Advancement.
   7. By the third Friday of December, the associate provost for Learning Advancement will send written notices of the final decisions to the applicants.
4. Criteria for Review of Applications
   1. The college Sabbatical Committee shall consider the following in reviewing sabbatical proposals:
      1.  The overall quality and clarity of the proposal, including supporting documentation.
      2. The degree to which the proposed sabbatical supports department goals, the individual’s goals, and professional development.
      3. The degree to which the proposed sabbatical supports the mission, and values of the college.
      4. The degree to which the proposed sabbatical promises to improve teaching and learning at the college.
      5. The prospect that the sabbatical will successfully achieve its goals.
      6. The potential effectiveness of the plan to share the sabbatical experience with faculty, colleagues, students, and the community.
   2. The president and provost shall consider the factors listed in IV. D. 1, and also the following:
      1. dates of employment;
      2. previous sabbatical leaves granted (considered when more applications have been received than the college can support); and
      3. letters of endorsement or opposition from the relevant dean or associate dean.
5. Compensation
   1. Compensation while on sabbatical leave shall be 75 percent of a faculty member’s base salary whether for one or two semesters.
   2. Remuneration shall be made in semi-monthly payments with appropriate deductions made for all benefits to which the faculty member would ordinarily be entitled.
   3. Sick leave shall accrue as per the Vacation and Sick Leave Accrual Policy.
6. Faculty members who are on sabbatical leave may accept outside compensation without restraint.
7. Sabbatical Agreement
   1. Acceptance of a sabbatical leave by the faculty member means the faculty member will complete the goals of the sabbatical as approved.
   2. If the purpose of the sabbatical leave changes while on sabbatical, the faculty member will request approval of modifications from the dean and associate dean. If approved, the faculty member will communicate modifications to the sabbatical leave to the associate provost for Learning Advancement.
   3. Upon completion of a sabbatical, a faculty member must submit a substantive report to the associate provost for Learning Advancement. Such report should include:
      1. the faculty member’s relevant activities while on sabbatical leave; and
      2. supplementary materials, such as transcripts, creative or scholarly pieces produced, or open educational resources. The associate provost will distribute the report to the president, the provost, and the relevant dean and associate dean.
   4. By the end of the first semester in which the faculty member returns from the sabbatical, the faculty member must complete a formal presentation in an appropriate departmental or college-wide venue. The presentation may be in the form of a workshop or seminar and should detail the educational and professional impact of the sabbatical leave.
   5. The faculty member must return to the college upon the expiration of the leave and complete one appointment year or partial appointment year, in accordance with the terms of the sabbatical leave. Should the faculty member not return to the college at the conclusion of the sabbatical leave, the compensation received from the college while on sabbatical leave shall be repaid immediately.
   6. The provost will submit a sabbatical leave summary report to the board of trustees.
   7. The president, with input from the associate dean, the dean, the associate provost, and the provost, may determine that a faculty member has not fulfilled the goals of a sabbatical.
   8. Failure to complete the goals of the sabbatical as approved or failure to fulfill the post-sabbatical duties will result in a referral to the provost for corrective action. Corrective action may include repayment to the college the compensation provided during the sabbatical.
8. Delaying Sabbatical Leave
   1. A sabbatical proposal may be delayed upon recommendation by the provost for a period of up to one year provided such delay does not result in the loss of the sabbatical opportunity.
   2. Written documentation explaining the reasons for the delay must be provided to the faculty member. Documentation of a request for a delay and the results will become part of the faculty member’s sabbatical leave application. A sabbatical application that is recommended for delay will be considered to have completed the review process.
   3. The final decision regarding the delay of any approved sabbatical is at the sole discretion of the president.
9. Faculty Member Requests Postponement of Sabbatical
   1. A faculty member may request to postpone a sabbatical leave for one year due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the faculty member’s control.
   2.  A request for postponement must be made in writing and to the provost, dean, and associate dean. Copies will also be sent to the Budget Office, the assistant vice president of Human Resources, and the associate provost for Learning Advancement.

3. The request for postponement must include the dates of the revised sabbatical plan.
4. Approval of such postponement must not be withheld unreasonably.
5. The year of postponement will not count as a year of service toward a future sabbatical leave.

10. Faculty Member Requests Cancellation of Sabbatical

1.      A faculty member may elect to cancel an approved sabbatical leave within ten working days after receipts of the sabbatical contract.

2.     Applications for cancellation must be made in writing to the provost, dean and associate dean. Copies will also be sent to the Budget Office, the assistant vice president of Human Resources, and the associate provost for Learning Advancement.

3.     A faculty member who elects to cancel an approved sabbatical request may submit a new sabbatical application by following the procedure outlined in this policy.

4. Cancellation of a sabbatical leave must not prejudice future sabbatical leave applications.

11. Communication While On Sabbatical

While on sabbatical leave, a faculty member will communicate with the member’s respective department. Individual departments will determine to what extent and in what form that communication will occur.

12. Family Medical Leave Act
    1. If, while on sabbatical, a faculty member applies for and is granted leave under the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the faculty member is entitled to interrupt the sabbatical leave for the eligible FMLA term in accordance with the college Family and Medical Leave and Sick Leave Pool Policy.
    2. Sabbatical leave may then resume as though there were no interruption. Application, use of sick time, and continuation of benefits are outlined in the college’s Family and Medical Leave and Sick Leave Pool and Vacation and Sick Leave Accrual policies.