A faculty member becomes eligible for a first sabbatical leave after permanent tenure, or initial four-year contract, has been attained, and a period of six years of full-time teaching at Bates has elapsed. (Unless the faculty member joins the faculty with credit toward the preliminary period for tenure, or unless the faculty member is awarded a pre-tenure leave, the faculty member would apply for a first sabbatical in December of her/his seventh year of service [the year following the year in which the tenure decision is made]. The faculty member would thereby receive the initial sabbatical following seven years of service. Persons receiving credit towards the probationary period could receive the tenure decision, apply for a sabbatical leave, and receive a leave following six years of service. Persons receiving a pre-tenure leave could have a pattern of pretenure, then sabbatical leaves which resulted in no period between leaves being greater than six years of service). Following the initial leave, a faculty member is eligible for sabbatical leave after each six years of full-time teaching at Bates. For personal or departmental reasons, a sabbatical leave may be deferred up to two years without the loss of any credit toward the next sabbatical.

Lecturers who have taught ten years at Bates are eligible to apply for an initial sabbatical leave. After the initial sabbatical, lecturers are eligible to apply for sabbatical leave after each six-year period of teaching at Bates. A sabbatical leave for a lecturer shall consist of half the contracted courses and units for the year of the lecturer's regular salary, or, at the option of the lecturer, all the contracted courses and units for the year at one-half that salary.

A sabbatical leave shall consist of a half year at full salary or, at the option of the individual, a full year at one-half salary. Tenure faculty and senior lecturers may apply for enhanced faculty sabbaticals to increase their benefits during their sabattical through the Phillips Faculty Fellowship and the Enhanced Sabbatical Program.

A “half year” is understood as leave from one semester, and must be the semester in which the teaching load is two courses. (In some  cases, departments and programs apportion teaching credit in such a way that a faculty member may teach 2.5 courses in a given semester.  Where this is possible, and agreed upon by the department or program, a faculty member on a half-year sabbatical satisfies normal teaching responsibilities by teaching 2.5 courses, or half of the normal instructional workload.)

When a faculty member takes a one-semester sabbatical leave, the three courses taught during the remainder of the academic year may occur all in the other semester, or over one semester and Short Term, depending on the needs of the department or program. In many cases, however, it should be possible for a faculty member on a one-semester sabbatical leave to schedule all courses during one semester, leaving a full semester and Short Term for the non-teaching responsibilities of the sabbatical leave.

In the circumstance of a half-year sabbatical in which a faculty member does not teach during Short Term, that faculty member is excused from the normal governance and service responsibilities during that Short Term.

Sabbatical leaves are base don FTE positions. For example, a faculty member with a 50% FTE tenure-track position is eligible for a sabbatical leave based on 50% FTE.

Incidental earnings (all extra income which might well have been earned under a regular teaching load at the College) during or resulting from sabbatical leave may be retained by the Faculty member in addition to payments from the College.

The sabbatical program is intended to strengthen the faculty of the College. Each leave has a direct impact on the future of Bates, and each faculty member who is granted a sabbatical leave is expected to return to the college.

Eight copies of the pplication for sabbatical leave must be made in writing to the dean of the faculty no later than 1 November of the academic year preceding that in which the leave is to be taken, with prior notification made to the dean of faculty's office by 15 September that an application is planned (email abellega@bates.edu). In both communications, the faculty member should identify the length of the leave and whether or not it is contingent upon external funding. The application must specify the time requested for leave, and indicate in as a detailed a manner as possible the academic purpose of the leave. With the sabbatical leave request, the program or department must submit a plan of leaves, a statement regarding the impact of the leave on the department's or program's course offerings, and a request for a replacement, if needed, so that division chairs and deans can evaluate the request with a full understanding of the needs of the program or department. Replacements are determined on the basis of curricular needs. A report of achievement must be submitted to the dean of the faculty upon completion of the sabbatical leave. This report must be submitted no later than the end of the first semester of teaching following completion of the leave.

5/2009