Leave of Absence/Standard Sabbatical

The forms your school may require:

Faculty Leave Request, Chair’s Evaluation Form, and the Dean’s Evaluation Form.

Junior Scholar Leave eligibility

Tenure-track Assistant Professors (or Associate Professors in the Law School) who have undergone a formal mid-tenure review and are deemed to be making good progress towards achieving tenure, are eligible to apply to the dean of the school or college for one semester of paid Junior Scholar Leave to concentrate solely on scholarly and/or creative work in the final years before tenure review. The leave will be granted if, in the dean’s estimation, it is likely to strengthen the candidate’s overall application for tenure at Boston University. For additional information and more detailed requirements, please visit our Junior Scholar Leave page.

Leave of Absence eligibility

A full-time faculty member shall receive a leave of absence of one semester or more without pay whenever the Provost, in consultation with the Dean, determines such leave is consistent with the teaching and administrative needs of the faculty member’s department and school. Such leaves are generally for terms of one semester or one year. Faculty on leave without pay should consult with the University’s Human Resources office regarding the continuation of their various benefits.

Sabbatical eligibility

A faculty member with an un-modified professorial title e.g. Assistant, Associate, or full Professor, regardless of tenure status, is eligible to apply for Sabbatical Leave after 12 full semesters of full-time service. Sabbatical Leave provides continuation of the full normal University contribution to salary for one semester of leave, or 50% of the normal compensation for two semesters of leave. It is the responsibility of the Dean’s Office to confirm the history of approved leaves of absence and sabbaticals and to ensure that the faculty member has met the requirements for sabbatical eligibility before granting the sabbatical.

Note that semesters that include a Childbirth Leave, a Workload Reduction for the Primary Caregiver of a Child, or a medical leave do not count towards the 12 full semesters of full-time service, since they are not full semesters of full-time service. However, the 12 semesters needed for sabbatical eligibility do not need to be consecutive, i.e., a Childbirth Leave or a semester on Workload Reduction does not start the “sabbatical clock” over again. Please see the Sabbatical Policy in the Faculty Handbook for further detail.

Except in extraordinary circumstances and by prior arrangement, acceptance of a sabbatical leave funded in any part by the University commits the faculty member to return to the University for a minimum of one year.

Upon returning from a sabbatical leave or leave of absence, a Dean may require the faculty member to submit a statement to his/her Chair and Dean describing the activities and accomplishments during the leave. The Dean can ask that the report be supported by any bibliographic or other evidence of the quality of the work accomplished when such evidence becomes available.

In order for the Leave of Absence/Sabbatical application to be complete, the following items are required:

• Faculty Leave Request
• Department Chair’s Evaluation Form
• Dean’s Evaluation Form
• A detailed description of the proposed leave/sabbatical plans
• A current vita

Please complete all sections of the form. Areas that do not apply are to be marked “N/A.” Please attach additional pages if more space is required.

A signed copy of the form will be returned to the Dean’s Office as your administrative approval.

The candidate is to complete this form and sign on the appropriate line at the bottom of the page. In addition, the following supporting materials must be attached:

• The faculty member’s application for sabbatical leave shall contain a proposed plan for scholarly work or other activity leading to professional growth, as well as a proposal, whenever appropriate, for obtaining outside funding.
• A current vita.

Following is a list of the data elements that must be completed on the Faculty Request form:

1. Name
   Use the format last, first, middle initial.
2. University Identification Number
   List the faculty UID number.
3. Academic Year of Leave of Absence/Sabbatical
   Indicate the academic or calendar year for which the leave/sabbatical is proposed.
4. School/Department
   List the academic unit and department name. Commonly used acronyms are acceptable.
5. Rank/Title
   List the academic rank and/or title [see Academic Rank Codes, for a current list of valid rank codes].
6. Duration of Proposed Leave of Absence
   Mark the appropriate box with an “X” indicating whether the LOA/SAB is for the Academic Year, Semester I or II, or the calendar year.
7. Type of LOA/SAB
   Mark the appropriate box with and “X” indicating whether the SAB is with or without salary. Academic leaves of absence are typically without salary.
8. Summary Description
   Indicate in the space provided, a brief abstract of the proposed plan.
9. List of Agencies to Which Funding Application Have Been Submitted and/or Sources of Support for Sabbatical Leave
   Agency names must be spelled out; do not use acronyms.
10. History of Approved LOA/SAB
    List the indicated details pertaining to all LOA/SABs that were approved and indicate whether or not the LOA/SAB was taken.
11. Initial Full-Time Appointment Date
    Since this date may determine a faculty member’s eligibility for a sabbatical leave, it is important to indicate the accurate initial date of full-time faculty appointment.
12. Year Tenure Granted
    Indicate year, if applicable; otherwise indicate “N/A.”
13. Tenure Track Faculty
    When requesting a leave of absence without salary, please check the box indicating whether or not deferral of the tenure review year is requested. If a deferral is being requested, please indicate the proposed tenure review year. Tenure-track faculty are typically not considered for sabbatical leaves with pay.
14. Signatures
    The requesting faculty member is to sign and date the form, and submit it along with the other components of the application to the department Chair.