Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs
Guidelines for Sabbatical Leaves of Absence for 2010-2011
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Guidelines for Sabbatical Leaves of Absence for 2010-2011
The University of Illinois Statutes, at Article IX, Section 7, provide that members of the faculty "may be granted a sabbatical leave of absence with pay for the purpose of study, research, or other pursuit, the object of which is to increase the faculty member's usefulness to the University." (Section 7.a.) "Leaves of absence . . . are given to members of the faculty primarily for the purpose of enabling them to acquire additional knowledge and competency in their respective fields." (Section 7.e.)
Work toward a graduate degree does not qualify as an acceptable program for a sabbatical leave.
All sabbatical leaves are subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, upon recommendation of the President of the University.
Each Chancellor will issue to campus administrative officers whatever directions might be necessary concerning intracampus handling of applications for sabbatical leave.
I. General Procedures
- The application form is available on the Web at: http://www.vpaa.uillinois.edu/Policies/sabbatical.pdf.
- Applications are prepared by eligible faculty members who seek sabbatical leave and are transmitted through the heads of departments and deans of colleges (or directors of similar units) to the Chancellor.
- The Chancellor forwards the applications to the campus Research Board (or other similar review board authorized by the Chancellor) for evaluation and recommendation.
- In light of these recommendations, the Chancellor transmits the applications, with his/her recommendations to the President.
- After appropriate review of the applications and recommendations from the campuses, the President submits his/her recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
II. Policies and Guidelines Concerning Sabbatical Leaves of Absence
An excerpt from the University of Illinois Statutes giving the complete text of the provision governing sabbatical leaves is enclosed. The regulations and procedures outlined in these guidelines have been established by the President of the University pursuant to statutory authorization.
The sequence of the sections and subsections that follow is the same as on the form:
APPLICATION FOR SABBATICAL LEAVE - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
PROPOSED PERIOD OF LEAVE AND SALARY RATE
A total of 14 possible options (combinations of leave duration and fraction of salary to be paid) is given in Section 7.a. of the University Statutes. Six of the options are available to faculty members on academic-year appointments; eight of the options (Section 7.a.(4)) are available to faculty on 11-month appointments. Generally, other options will not be available.
A sabbatical leave of absence for a specified period of time at one-half pay cannot be changed to leave for a period of time at full pay without prior approval of all recommending officers--unless such option was requested in the original application and subsequently approved by the Board of Trustees.
THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS/ISSUES NEED TO BE ADDRESSED ON THE APPLICATION:
Is leave contingent upon receipt of supplementary aid? If yes, complete the following.
Amount, source of funding (agency), status of funding, and, if applicable, alternative period of leave.
If successful completion of the program of research, study, or travel is contingent upon the applicant's receiving additional financial aid, either from the University or elsewhere, details concerning such contingency and a description of the alternative plan should be included in the Statement of Plans. In no case should an individual delay applying for a sabbatical leave while awaiting word on a grant proposal.
If the individual wishes to combine his or her sabbatical leave and salary with additional leave and salary supported by outside funds administered by the University, the arrangements must be as follows: (a) the combined salary may not exceed the faculty member's 100% salary for the appointment year during which the sabbatical is taken; (b) if sponsored project funds are used in combination with the sabbatical salary, an explicit statement must be submitted with the sabbatical application indicating that the proposed salary payment from sponsored project funds has the approval of the contracting or granting agency, or will have if support from an external sponsor has been requested but is still pending.
The possibility of using such funds to complement sabbatical leave salary does not in any way alter or change the spirit of the statutory requirements. The Statutes provide that a faculty member, while on leave, may give a limited number of lectures or perform a limited amount of work. However, in such cases the approval of the Chancellor to the giving of the lectures or the doing of such work shall be required. The Statutes further go on to permit "the acceptance by a faculty member, while on leave, of a scholarship or fellowship carrying a stipend for the purpose of study, research, or scientific investigation or the acceptance of a grant of money made for such purposes, provided that the acceptance of the grant does not impose on the recipient duties and obligations the performance of which would be incompatible with the pursuit of the general purpose for which leaves of absence are granted." (Section 7.e.)
PURPOSE OF LEAVE AND STATEMENT OF PLANS
Purpose for which Leave is Requested. Concise statement of not more than 25 words in lay language.
The following are examples of the "concise statement, of not more than 25 words, for informational purposes in presenting the application to the Board of Trustees."
"To examine the state of energy conscious architecture, with particular attention to the passive use of solar energy for housing in the Chicago area."
"To complete a major series of paintings that deal with alterations of the rectangle in combination with painted illusions."
"To study feeding mechanisms in carnivores and to develop a graduate course on the physiology of human feeding."
"To learn cereal culturing techniques to be utilized in later research.""To complete research and write a monograph on the theme of the American claimant in 19th Century American fiction, and to read in American literary scholarships."
"To search for production of new particles at 1 TeV accelerator."
"To complete studies of the development of the spatial distributions and morphological structures of American cities, and to continue research on organizational and operational structures of medieval cities of Western Europe."
The following are examples of responses to the query: "Where will leave be used?"
"Work to be done in New York, Paris, and Jerusalem at the major research libraries of Columbia University, the Sorbonne, and the Institute Al-Kazar."
"Work to be done at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden in association with Professor Karl Tiselius, a noted scholar in my field."
"Work to be done on the Urbana-Champaign campus because of its excellent library facilities."
"Work to be done at the British Museum (London) and the University of Lima (Peru) which have important archives."
"Work to be done primarily at CERN-Geneva, which has the world's best laboratories for this kind of investigation."
STATEMENT OF PLANS
Each application requesting sabbatical leave must be supported by a description of the activities to be undertaken during the proposed leave. This description "should explain how the purposes identified above are to be accomplished and how the sabbatical will contribute to meeting the goals of the faculty member's unit and the University. If appropriate, the statement should also say how the proposed sabbatical activity will help the applicant better serve specific needs of the State of Illinois or the nation." It should indicate "where the sabbatical will be taken, the justification for the location, the general plan for the sabbatical and its potential significance or usefulness as a scholarly or creative activity or for the development of instructional material or to increase competence in an area appropriate to the applicant's University duties. The statement should relate the sabbatical activity to other work in the faculty member's field."
The STATEMENT OF PLANS (page 3 of the APPLICATION) will be a statement of not more than 1000 words providing sufficiently detailed information concerning the proposed course of study, travel, research, creative work, or investigation to permit an evaluation of the program to be undertaken in the light of the provisions of Sections 7.a. and 7.e. as reflected in the statements of the APPLICATION form, quoted just above.
Written to be understandable to faculty colleagues in other disciplines, it should include a description of the proposed research or creative work; an explanation of its significance to the applicant and of its possible role in the furtherance of knowledge in his or her field; and, information on the institution or place where the work will be undertaken and reasons for its pursuance there and then. The statement should help the reviewers understand the relation of the proposed activities to the applicant's career in departmental, University, disciplinary, and other appropriate contexts. Please do not include a Curriculum Vitae, research summary, list of publications, or similar career documentation. If additional materials are needed during processing of an application, they will be requested specifically.
STATEMENT OF UNIT EXECUTIVE OFFICER and Statement by the Dean
Recommendations from the head of the department and the dean or director of the college or school concerned must accompany the application, including a statement as to what provision will be made for the workload of the applicant during his or her absence. The statement would cover the direction of graduate theses of students for whom the applicant is an advisor. Furthermore, it should indicate whether or not any additional expense to the University would be involved if the leave were granted.
Applications ordinarily should not be approved if any additional costs to the University are involved. If exceptions to this rule are to be made, a specific request should be submitted through appropriate channels and should have the approval of the Chancellor.
The sabbatical leave options available to faculty are limited to those specified in the University Statutes. No other options should be negotiated or approved. Section 7.f. of the Statutes authorizes the President "to make appropriate adjustments . . . in exceptional cases where special consideration is warranted." Recommendations for such adjustments will require written justification and specific action by the President or the President's designee, the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
The following items are not applicable to completing the sabbatical leave application, but are required at the time the application is submitted or upon the completion of an approved sabbatical leave.
Other Required Approvals
If the applicant is the principal investigator (P.I.) for a federally funded project, and if the P.I. will be unable to actively manage the project for three months or more, the P.I. must designate a substitute P.I. This designation should be done via a letter initiated by the P.I., approved by the department, and processed through Grants and Contracts for sponsor approval.
In addition, if the applicant wishes to take University equipment off campus during the sabbatical, an Inventory Loan Agreement must be completed, approved, and filed in the administrative office of the loaning unit before any equipment is removed.
Required Report
Upon the faculty member's return from sabbatical leave, he or she is required to submit, through the department head and dean (or director) to the Chancellor, a report in duplicate on his or her study and travel during the sabbatical period. The Chancellor will refer the report to the Research Board or other appropriate campus review board for evaluation and comments.
Submission Deadlines
Applications for sabbatical leaves will be presented to the Board of Trustees at its March meeting. Approved applications are due in the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Trustees on February 1, 2010; campus internal deadlines should be established accordingly. Application for sabbatical leave should not be delayed while awaiting grant approval; rather, application for sabbatical leave should be made in time to meet all campus and university deadlines and be contingent upon grant funding.