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History
- Policy Number: SP.11.015
- Version: Revision 2
- Drafted By: Rian Medlin with support of the Professional Leaves Committee 2011-2012: Sean Anderson, Minder Chen, Stephen Clark, Jeanne Grier (chair)
- Approved By: Richard R. Rush
- Approval Date: 6/13/12
- Effective Date: 6/13/12
- Supersedes: SP.08.014 and SP.05.034
Purpose
Policy on Paid Professional Leaves (Sabbatical & Difference-In-Pay)
The guidelines for sabbatical and difference-in-pay leaves in the CSU are set forth in Article 27 & 28 of the Unit 3 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Changes in the CBA supersede this policy.
Preamble
CI regards paid professional leaves as an investment in its faculty that will assist the campus in fulfilling its mission. All sabbatical and difference-in-pay leaves shall be for purposes that provide a benefit to the CSU, such as research, scholarly and creative activity, instructional improvement or faculty retraining, or professional development. It is the intent of this policy that eligible CI faculty who meet the conditions of this policy receive their paid professional leave.
Background
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Policy
Accountability
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Applicability
All CI Full-time Faculty
Definition(s)
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Text
Eligibility
A full-time faculty member shall be eligible for an initial paid professional leave (either sabbatical or difference-in- pay leave) if s/he has served full-time for six (6) years at CI in the preceding seven (7) year period prior to the leave. Credit granted towards the completion of the probationary period for service elsewhere shall also apply towards fulfilling the eligibility requirements for a paid professional leave. (Article 27.2/28.4)
A leave of absence without pay or service in an academic administrative appointment excluded from the bargaining unit shall not constitute a break in service for eligibility requirements. However, per Article 22.8 of the CBA, faculty members on a personal leave of absences without pay, which may be for purposes of unpaid sick leave, outside employment, maternity/paternity, family care leave, or other purposes of a personal nature, shall not accrue service credit toward sabbatical eligibility during the term of the leave without pay.
A full-time faculty member will be eligible for a subsequent sabbatical leave after he/she has served full-time for six years after the last sabbatical or difference-in-pay leave and has rendered service to CI upon return from prior sabbatical and difference in pay leaves at the rate of one semester of service for each term of leave (Article 27.2).
A full-time faculty member will be eligible for a subsequent difference-in-pay leave after he/she has served full-time for three years after the last sabbatical leave or difference in pay leave (Article 28.4) and has rendered service to CI upon return from prior sabbatical and difference in pay leaves at the rate of one semester of service for each term of leave (Article 28.4/28.16).
Percentage of Full-Time Faculty on Sabbatical Leave
The campus shall grant one-semester sabbaticals at full-pay to no fewer than twelve percent (12%) of the total number of faculty members eligible to apply for such leaves in that year. This is in addition to those faculty members approved for a sabbatical leave at one-half (1/2) of full salary or a difference-in-pay leave. All applications for sabbatical leave at one-half (1/2) of full salary shall be approved if they meet the criteria set forth in the memorandum of understanding. (Article 27.10.b)
Length of Leave and Work Status, Salary and Benefits During Leave
Per Article, 27.11, a faculty member may be granted a sabbatical leave for:
- one (1) semester at full salary; or
- two (2) semesters at one-half (1/2) of full salary.
A librarian faculty member may be granted a sabbatical leave for:
- four (4) months at full salary;
- eight (8) months at one-half (1/2) of full salary.
A faculty member may be approved for a difference-in-pay leave for one (1) or more semesters (Article 28.2) The salary for a faculty member for a difference in pay leave shall be the difference between the faculty member’s salary and the minimum salary of the Instructor rank, or the lowest comparable Librarian/Counselor rank (Article 28.3).
A paid professional leave of two (2) semesters may be implemented within a two (2) consecutive year period, subject to the recommendations of the Professional Leave Committee and the Provost or the Provost’s designee and the approval of the President. (Article 27.12)
Faculty on a paid professional leave shall be considered in work status and shall receive health, dental and appropriate fringe benefits provided by the CSU in the same manner as if he/she were not on paid professional leave. (Article 27.13/28.12)
Faculty on a paid professional leave shall be entitled to accrue sick leave, vacation, and service credit toward merit salary adjustment eligibility, eligibility toward promotion, if applicable, and seniority credit. (Article 28.13)
Faculty on a paid professional leave shall not accept additional and/or outside employment without prior approval of the President. (Article 27.14/28.14)
The Application and Review Process
The Professional Leave Committee (PLC) shall consist of tenured faculty employees and shall be elected by probationary and tenured faculty members to review sabbatical applications. The election of the PLC shall take place at the same time as the election of other Academic Senate standing committees. The PLC shall include representation by faculty from each of the major disciplinary areas within the university (i.e., Arts & Humanities, Math and Sciences, Behavioral & Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Library/Counselors, and Education).
A departmental Program Review Committee consisting of at least two tenured persons elected by the tenure track program faculty may be created as needed to review difference in pay leaves applications. In the event there is an insufficient number of tenured faculty in a program area to staff the Program Review Committee, or the program faculty vote to defer the decision to the PLC, the applications may be reviewed by the PLC at the request of the program chair. The Program Review Committees shall follow the same procedures regarding review and notification as the PLC, as stipulated in this policy.
To be considered for a paid professional leave, a faculty member must submit an application. The application shall include:
- a statement of the purpose of the leave;
- a description of the proposed project;
- the CSU resources, if any, necessary to carry it out; and
- a statement of the time requested, which shall not exceed one (1) year.
The PLC shall consult with the Provost or the Provost’s designee in the development of sabbatical leave application forms and criteria for evaluation of the applications.
In its review of paid professional leave applications, the PLC shall use the approved criteria to determine the merit of the applications. Evaluation criteria are available from the Faculty Affairs Office and are posted on the Faculty Affairs website. Any modifications to these criteria will be made available by the PLC and be approved by the Provost.
Applications for 1-year sabbaticals at half pay must be granted if they are judged meritorious. The responsibility of the PLC, in the case of these applications, is to judge them meritorious or not meritorious. The PLC will forward a list of those 1-year sabbatical at half pay applications judged meritorious to the Provost.
Applications for a difference-in-pay leave are reviewed using the same criteria to determine the merit of the application. However, the granting of a difference-in-pay leave does not affect the allotment of regular sabbatical leaves at full pay. Per Article 28.6 of the CBA, when a full-time faculty member is afforded an unexpected opportunity, such as external funding, a scholarship or fellowship, a rapid and expedited review for a difference in pay leave will be provided.
The Provost or the Provost’s designee shall inform the PLC of the number of one-semester full-pay sabbaticals based on the formula given in the CBA, as well as the number of any additional sabbaticals that can be funded. The recommendations to the Provost shall be presented by the PLC in the following order of priority:
- Meritorious one-semester full-pay sabbatical applications recommended in number as communicated to the PLC;
- Meritorious one-semester full-pay sabbatical applications recommended to be granted if additional funding becomes available – only this category shall be ranked;
- Meritorious difference-in-pay applications recommended;
- Meritorious one-year half-pay sabbatical applications to be granted;
- Non-meritorious applications.
In the event that an application requires significant improvement and is not recommended for funding, a representative from the PLC will contact the applicant and, if the applicant desires, convey feedback. Applicants who have applied in a previous application cycle with a meritorious full-pay sabbatical application that would have been recommended had funding been available will receive one additional point in their total score as specified in the PLC’s evaluation criteria approved by the Provost. Meritorious applicants for a one-semester sabbatical at full-pay who are not funded may also, if they wish, be granted a one-year sabbatical at half-pay or a difference-in-pay leave.
A copy of the application shall be sent to the faculty member's program. The program chair shall provide a statement to the Provost or the Provost’s designee regarding the possible effect on the curriculum and the operation of the program should the employee be granted a paid professional leave.
Prior to making a recommendation to the President regarding the paid professional leave application, the Provost or the Provost’s designee shall consider the recommendations of the Professional Leave Committee and the program chair, other campus program needs and campus budget implications. If the Provost’s recommendations differ from those of the PLC, the Provost shall respond to the committee with a rationale for the decisions made.
Prior to making a final determination regarding the paid professional leave and the conditions of such an approved leave, the President shall consider the recommendations made by the Professional Leave Committee, the program chair, and the Provost or his or her designee. The President shall respond in writing to the applicant and such a response shall include the reasons for approval or denial. If a paid professional leave is granted, the response shall include any conditions of such a leave. A copy of this response shall be provided to the affected program and the Professional Leaves Committee.
Dissemination of the Results of Paid Professional Leaves
Upon completion of a paid professional leave, the recipient of the leave will make a formal presentation of the results of his or her leave to the campus community. The format of the presentation shall be approved by the Professional Leave Committee.
Additional Provisions
A full-time faculty member granted a paid professional leave shall not accept additional and/or outside employment without prior approval of the President. (Article 27.15/28.14)
Final approval of a paid professional leave shall not be granted until the applicant has filed with the President a suitable bond or an accepted statement of assets (not including PERS holdings) and/or a promissory note that is individually or collectively at least equal to the amount of salary paid during the leave. The guarantee posted shall indemnify the State of California against loss in the event the employee fails to render the required service in the CSU following return of the employee from the sabbatical leave. The guarantee posted shall immediately be canceled in full upon completion of required service or upon waiver of that service by mutual agreement of the faculty member and the CSU. (Article 27.16/28.15)
A faculty member shall render service to the CSU upon return from a paid professional leave at the rate of one (1) semester of service for each semester of leave. (Article 27.17/28.16)
Exhibit(s)
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