Sabbatical Leave

POLICY STATEMENT
The policy Delta State University has been to encourage leaves of absence for graduate and post-doctoral study. No salary is paid by the institution for the period of the leave, except under the provisions of the Board’s sabbatical leave policy.
 
DEFINITIONS
Sabbatical Leave: Leaves of absence granted to faculty for opportunity to pursue professional growth and development
 
PROCEDURES and RESPONSIBILITIES
The policy of the institutions has been to encourage leaves of absence for graduate and post-doctoral study. For this purpose, leaves are granted for a school year, a semester or, on occassion, a part of a semester. No salary is paid by the institution for the period of the leave, except under the provisions of the Board’s sabbatical leave policy.

Chapter 307, H.B.N., Laws of Mississippi, 1958, made provisions for the Board of Trustees to establish regulations regarding Sabbatical Leave as set forth in the Procedures and Responsibilities section. The Board regulations are permissive only; the actual granting of such leave at Delta State University, as well as other state institutions, is determined by availability of funds, replacement personnel, and other conditions as stated in the policy.

Qualifications
Any members of the faculty of the State Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi shall be eligible for sabbatical leaves, for the purpose of professional improvement, for not more than two semesters immediately following any twelve or more consecutive semesters of active service in the institutions of higher learning of this state where such faculty member is employed or for not more than one semester immediately following any six or more consecutive semesters of such service. Absence on sick leave shall not be deemed to interrupt the active service herein provided for.

Time allowed for leave to faculty members while studying at their own expense to acquire advanced degrees may be counted as employed time in determining eligibility for academic leave.

Application

Applications for sabbatical leave shall be made to the Institutional Executive Officers and submitted to the Commissioner for consideration by the Board. Approval or disapproval of the applications for sabbatical leave shall be made on the basis of regulations prescribed by the Board.

Contractual Agreements
Any person who is granted sabbatical leave and who fails to comply with the provisions of such leave as approved by the State Institutions of Higher Learning may have the leave terminated by the Board. No person on sabbatical leave can be denied any regular increment of increase in salary because of absence on sabbatical leave.
Service on sabbatical leave shall count as active service for the purpose of retirement and contributions to the retirement fund shall be continued.
In order to provide for the above leaves, the Board shall have power to adopt rules and regulations regarding such leave. In no instance shall leave be granted unless there is a contract providing for continued service, after expiration of the leave, in the college where the faculty member is employed.
Every person on sabbatical leave shall enjoy all the rights and privileges pertaining to employment in the Institution of Higher Learning in which such person is employed, which such person would have enjoyed if in active service during such leave in the position from which such leave was taken.

A faculty member who is granted leave will be under regular contract with the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the full period of the leave.

Compensation

The Board is hereby authorized to make payment of salary, or such part of salary as may be decided for such faculty members who are under contract for academic leaves. No salary is paid by the institution for the period of leave, except under the provisions of sabbatical leave policy. Each person granted sabbatical leave may receive and be paid compensation up to the rate of fifty percent of such person’s annual salary. Compensation to persons on sabbatical leave shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner as salaries of the other members of the faculty are paid. A faculty member eligible for two semesters of sabbatical leave may receive sabbatical leave for one semester at full pay in lieu of two semesters of leave at half pay; and a faculty member eligible for one semester of sabbatical leave at regular one-half pay may receive two semesters of leave at one-fourth pay.

Benefits

A faculty member on sabbatical leave remains a full-time employee of the Board with all benefits and responsibilities continued by law. These rights and benefits include those of retirement, insurance, housing, longevity, and other benefits.

Institutional Quota
No more than four percent of the full-time regular faculty of any one institution may be on sabbatical leave during any one semester.

Sabbatical leave periods will be during regular session semesters. It is not allowed for summer school.

Application for Sabbatical Leaves
Sabbatical leaves are an opportunity for faculty professional growth and development. Faculty who are interested in applying for a sabbatical leave should discuss the matter with the department/division head to determine the available opportunities and read the Delta State University Sabbatical Policy.1 This document details the procedure for requesting a sabbatical.
A written sabbatical application will be submitted to the appropriate department/division head at least one semester prior to the semester for which a faculty member requests the sabbatical.

Application and Processing Procedures

To apply for a sabbatical, a faculty member will submit to the department/division head:

  1. A current curriculum vita;
  2. A proposal that delineates the work that will be undertaken during the sabbatical. The proposal will include:
    1.  project objectives/goals;
    2. rationale that links the sabbatical activity to the faculty member’s research interests or work of the university;
    3. explanation of the benefit of the work to the department/division, college/school, and/or the university; and
    4. description of the activities necessary to accomplish the project.
The department/division head will review the application and forward it to the college/school dean with an evaluation of the proposed project and a statement of how the faculty member’s university assignments will be handled to ensure that student will not be unduly disadvantaged. When the proposal is forwarded to the dean, a copy of the department/division head’s review of it is to be sent to the faculty member who submitted it.
In turn, the dean will review the document and then forward it with the reviews by both the department/division head and the dean to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The dean will provide the faculty member who submitted the proposal a copy of the review.
The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will review the application and all supporting documentation and notify the faculty member, department/division head, and college/school dean about whether the proposal is to be recommended to the Institutions of Higher Learning Board.

The evaluation of the proposal at each level (department/division head, dean, and provost and vice president for academic affairs) will be based upon the relative merits of the proposal, available resources and replacement personnel, and the counsel of other administrators.

Completion Report

Within six months of returning from a sabbatical leave, the faculty member shall submit a report detailing the work and accomplishments of the sabbatical to the department/division head and dean. A copy of this report will be forwarded to the Office of Academic Affairs for inclusion in the faculty member’s personnel file.

RELATED DOCUMENTS
  • Academic Council Minutes Revised September 22, 2008