Leave Policies

Preamble

Philosophy Department Leave Policies and Procedures

In order to further the scholarly and teaching commitments of the faculty, it is Department policy to support research, development, sabbatical, and similar leaves for regular tenure-track faculty to the maximum extent possible as long as such leaves do not jeopardize the need to maintain substantial graduate and undergraduate teaching programs. It is imperative that these leaves are planned well in advance. In order for a faculty member to be fully eligible under this policy, the chair must be informed of the faculty member’s intent to apply for such a leave by September 15 of the year preceding the academic year for which a leave is requested.

The department supports leaves in the following categories:

I. Research Leaves

I.1 General Leaves

The goal of all research leaves is to give tenured and tenure-track departmental members time to do research. The procedures for granting such leaves will be as follows:

  1. The faculty member shall apply for non-departmental source of funding for the leave.
  2. The faculty member must write directly to the Chair of the Department indicating how such a leave would directly benefit her/his research agenda, as well as enhance the missions of the department. He/she must enclose with the letter a copy of all requests to secure funding.
  3. If any of the grant applications for funding outside the department is successful, the person will be granted a leave contingent upon the rules specified in Section VI of this document.
  4. If none of the grant applications for funding outside the department is successful, the person may apply for a sabbatical leave (see section III of this document), or a departmentally subsidized leave (see section IV of this document).

I.2 Pre-tenure Assistant Professor Leave

The goal of these leaves is to allow all tenure-track assistant professors time to do research during the probationary period.

The procedures for granting such leaves will be as follows: The faculty member must write directly to the Chair of the Department indicating how such a leave would directly benefit her/his progress toward tenure and promotion, as well as enhance the missions of the department. He/she must also enclose with the letter a copy of all requests to secure funding. The deadline for submitting materials to the Chair will be November 1st of the applicant’s third year for a leave in the fourth year.

  1. If any of the grant applications for funding outside the department is successful, the person will be granted a research leave.
  2. If none of the grant applications for funding outside the department is successful, the person may submit a research proposal to the Chair, so that he or she may be relieved of teaching and service responsibilities for a semester. The Chair will evaluate the proposed research project. Untenured faculty who during their third-year review are recommended continuation to the dean will be granted such a leave.

II. Development Leaves

The goal of development leaves is to provide all departmental members holding full-time appointments to provide appropriate incentives to become more effective in teaching, research, and service activities.

The procedures for granting such leaves will be as follows:

  1. The faculty member shall apply for non-departmental source of funding for the leave. Such applications must be submitted in a timely fashion, but no later than November 1st of the third year.
  2. The faculty member shall apply for funding for the leave to the Faculty Development Advisory Committee or other relevant body.
  3. The faculty member must write directly to the Chair of the Department indicating how such a leave would promote the above goal of development leaves.
  4. If any of the grant applications for funding outside the department is successful, the person will be granted a leave contingent upon the rules specified in Section VI of this document.
  5. If none of the grant applications for funding outside the department is successful, the person may apply for a sabbatical leave (see section III of this document), or a departmental leave (see section IV of this document).

III. Sabbatical Leaves

(See Appendix I)

IV. Departmental Leaves

Faculty members may at any time petition the chair to be allowed to increase their teaching and service responsibilities for one or two semesters in order to merit equal

relief from teaching and service duties for another semester. The petition must include a plan of research or development to be followed during the semester in which teaching- service relief is granted, including a proposal for the overload prior to the leave with no more than half of the overload in the semester after the leave. Past research productivity of the applicant will be taken into account in approving the plan.

V. Extension of Probationary Period for Faculty on Regular TermAppointments

(See Appendix II)

VI. Specific Rules

  1. In granting leaves, the Chair in consultation with the Advisory Committee of the department will give consideration to such factors as the source of the funding and the length of time since the last leave, attempting to further the interests of the department.
  2. The number of such leaves in a given year will be determined by the Chair in consultation with the Advisory committee of the department contingent upon the curricular needs of the department.
  3. The Department expects the faculty members granted the above leaves to remain a University employee for a minimum of one-year following completion of a leave.
  4. A copy of any report required by a leave funding body must be submitted to the department chair.
  5. Faculty workload during a leave must be devoted exclusively to the proposed leave activities unless otherwise approved by the Chair of the Department.

Appendix I

Consistent with UM’s COLLECTED RULES AND REGULATIONS, each faculty will be eligible for a sabbatical leave after six or more years of service. 340.070 SABBATICAL LEAVE (Revised Bd. Min. 10-9-81; Amended Bd. Min. 7-22-83 and 10-30-87) outlines following conditions for granting a sabbatical leave:

1. Sabbatical leave may be taken for a period of time up to a full year.
2. Faculty on sabbatical leave will receive one-half their regular salary.

3. Faculty members granted sabbatical leaves must state their intention to return to the University for a least one year on conclusion of the leave and at that time must file a report, as specified by their chancellors, on accomplishments during the leave period.

Appendix II

310.25 of UM’s COLLECTED RULES AND REGULATIONS, outline following conditions for granting an extension:

A. Chancellors shall have the discretion to grant extensions of the probationary period for tenure to faculty members who encounter circumstances which may substantially interrupt their ability to make progress toward tenure. Possible reasons for granting an extension of the probationary period include pregnancy, serious illness, or care of an invalid or seriously ill spouse, partner, parent, child, or other close dependent. Other reasons may be considered.

B. A faculty member who receives an extension but is not on leave of absence will continue to perform his or her regular duties. A maximum of two one-year extensions may be granted during the probationary period.

C. The authority to grant extensions of the probationary period shall rest solely with the Chancellor. Chancellors are encouragedto appoint a faculty committee to review and offer advice on requests for extensions of the probationary period. Extensions shall be requested by formal written request to the Chancellor. The Chancellor will submit a report to the President in June of each year which will include a listing of all requests submitted and requests granted during the prior academic year.

D. Extension of a faculty member's probationary period shall have no adverse effect on the tenure decision. A faculty member who has received an extension shall not be prevented from being considered for tenure at an earlier time during the probationary period.

E. This guideline does not address faculty leave, nor does it affect any existing policy or policies relating to faculty leave.

APPENDIX III

Performance Rating for Faculty On Leave

The purpose of this policy statement is to ensure that a faculty member on leave is not penalized for being on leave.

A faculty member on leave will be evaluated, like the remainder of the faculty, in the categories of Research, Teaching, and Service.

Research

Research will be evaluated in accord with the department’s raise policy, except by prior arrangement with the Chair.

Teaching

A faculty member on leave is not expected to teach. Typically, a faculty member is on leave for an academic year but is evaluated for a calendar year. Thus, for one semester of the evaluation period under consideration, the faculty member is not on leave and has a normal teaching load. The performance rating for teaching will rest on the quality of teaching during that semester.

Service

A faculty member on leave is not expected to do service. Typically, a faculty member is on leave for an academic year but is evaluated for a calendar year. Thus, for one semester of the evaluation period under consideration, the faculty member is not on leave. The performance rating for service will primarily rest on the services performed during that semester.

In assigning performance ratings, the chair will also take into account special circumstances, for example, service done on a voluntary basis, as long as such services do not interfere with the expectations outlined in the leave proposal.