Faculty Sabbatical Grants

Definition:

The two major goals of the faculty sabbatical program are to provide professional development for the individual faculty member and to strengthen the academic priorities of the College. A sabbatical leave is defined as one semester at full contract salary or one full year at half contract salary for extended study, research, writing, and/or other creative activities. Insurance, retirement annuity, and salary increment will continue to accrue at the usual rates for the term of the sabbatical grant.

The sabbatical project will be evaluated on its potential for the professional development of the applicant related to his/her discipline that goes beyond the ordinary activities of an active full-time member, on its contributions to the discipline, and to the academic programs of the college.

Eligibility to Receive

1. Tenured faculty may apply for a sabbatical no earlier than during their 6th year of teaching at Edgewood College in order to be eligible for a sabbatical leave for the following year. Therefore, a sabbatical may be taken no more frequently than every seventh year.
2. Agreement of the applicant to resume service to the College for at least one year upon completion of the term of the sabbatical. In the event that the applicant chooses not to return to the College he/she shall reimburse the College the amount of the sabbatical salary.

Sabbatical Proposal Guidelines

The applicant must address all of the following in the sabbatical proposal:

1. Name, academic rank, program/school/department.
2. Year(s) and semester(s) for the sabbatical.
3. Year and semester of last sabbatical.
4. Purpose, goals and outcomes of the project.
5. Detailed description of the project.
6. Contributions of the sabbatical project to individual professional development, to the applicant’s discipline, and to the academic priorities programs of the college.
7. A detailed bibliography supporting the elements of the project.
8. Schedule of activities over the duration of the sabbatical (recognition exists that a schedule of activities may change once one begins their inquiry/creative work).
9. A plan by the applicant with recommendations for covering their responsibilities during the Sabbatical (e.g., teaching, advising, department/school committees).
10. A brief summary of the applicant’s record of high quality teaching and service to college and/or community.

The applicant’s School Dean and/or Department Chair must submit a letter that addresses how the needs of the school/department will be met in the candidate’s absence.

Criteria

The following criteria will be used in the review of sabbatical proposals:

1. Overall merit
   1. Clearly-stated goals and objectives of the scholarship/other work.
   2. Significance of anticipated outcomes.
   3. Proposed impact on faculty member/department/school/College.
   4. Project time and concentration equivalent in terms of time and “effort” of a full-time faculty load.
   5. Contributions of the sabbatical project to individual professional development, to the applicant’s discipline, and to the academic priorities programs of the college.
   6. Inclusion of all elements identified in the proposal guidelines.
2. Feasibility of proposed project.
3. An established record of quality teaching and service.

Efforts will be made to approve all strong proposals. If constraints are put on the number of sabbaticals because of funding and/or the impact of the number of sabbaticals on the functioning of departments, schools, or the college, the following will be taken into consideration and may be given priority:

1. Recentness of last sabbatical.
2. Strong proposals that were not granted in the previous year (proposals must be resubmitted).

Schedule of Procedures:

1. Issuance by the VPAA by May 1st of the criteria and schedule for applications for sabbatical grants.
2. Applicant submits letter of intent to apply to VPAA by May 15^th..
3. Submission by the applicant to the VPAA of the completed sabbatical application by September 15^th of the year previous to the proposed sabbatical.
4. Evaluation of the applicant and recommendation by the Academic Rank to the VPAA by October 15^th.
5. Preliminary approval of recommendations by President by November 15^th.
6. Final decision and notification in writing to the applicant by the VPAA within ten days after the Board approval of the budget.
7. Submission of a sabbatical report by recipient upon returning to the College (1-2 pages in length, and using the Sabbatical report guidelines below); or evidence of an oral presentation to the campus community within that academic year; or evidence of scholarship shared in a public forum (e.g., article for publication; art for exhibition; national or regional conference presentation, etc.) also within that academic year. This information should be submitted to the VPPA’s office.

Sabbatical Report

Within three months of returning to the College following a sabbatical leave, faculty should complete a report on accomplishments according to the following guidelines. The faculty member must submit a copy of the report to their Dean and or Chairperson (as appropriate) for review. Reports will then be forwarded to the VPAA’s Office in a timely fashion.

The Sabbatical report should be limited to one to two pages and should cover the following:

1. Name of faculty member
2. Program/School/College and Department
3. Duration of sabbatical and year/semester when sabbatical was taken
4. Brief summary of the original plan
5. Summary of sabbatical activities
6. Where pertinent, reason for departure from original plan
7. Contributions of the sabbatical to individual development, and/or benefits to the Department/School/College
8. Appraisal of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the sabbatical. (Were goals achieved, and if not, why not?).

Review by Dean. Each report should include a signature line for the Dean, to indicate that they have reviewed and endorsed the report. There should also be a section that allows the Dean to comment on the report, should they wish.