Sabbatical leave and leave without pay are governed by detailed guidelines and procedures contained in the PSU/KNEA Agreement. Faculty applying for sabbatical leave or leave without pay should be familiar with those guidelines and procedures.
Sabbatical Leave
Faculty on tenured or tenure–earning appointment are eligible to apply
for sabbatical in October of their sixth year, for sabbatical leave
during their seventh year. Sabbaticals may be granted for one semester
at full pay, or for a full academic year at half pay. Faculty applying
for sabbatical must agree to remain at Pittsburg State for two years
following their return from sabbatical or be subject to refund of sabbatical
pay. No more than four percent of Pittsburg State faculty may be on
sabbatical leave at one time. In practical terms, this means that usually
no more than one faculty member from a department will be granted sabbatical
leave during any given year, though there may be occasional exceptions.
Leave Without Pay
Leave without pay may be requested for personal or professional reasons. Faculty may apply for leave without pay after one year of service at Pittsburg State. Faculty applying for leave without pay follow the same
application procedures as those applying for sabbatical. Leave without pay is not regarded as a break in continuous service, but will be counted toward tenure only if the purpose of the leave is scholarly in nature.
Time spent on leave without pay does not count toward sabbatical. Leave without pay will generally be approved for no more than two consecutive academic years.
Criteria for Screening Sabbatical Proposals
In drafting sabbatical proposals, English Department faculty should consult the PSU/KNEA Agreement and adhere to all published regents and university policies concerning sabbatical leave.
In addition, faculty should consider the following:
Primary Criteria. A sabbatical leave proposal must demonstrate how the sabbatical will improve the faculty member's teaching in his/her special areas or prepare the faculty member to teach in a new area needed by the department. Preference will be given to new rather than to on-going projects.
- A proposal must demonstrate specifically how the sabbatical will contribute to the department and university missions.
- A proposal must be of high quality; that is, the conception and design of the proposal should reflect considerable study, thought, and planning. The proposal should also be well–written and carefully prepared.
- A proposal should involve primarily research, information gathering, preparation, and planning rather than primarily writing and execution of plans or other preparations. Exceptions will be made to this criterion for creative projects.
- A proposal must include plans for substantial travel appropriate to the study being undertaken (6 weeks recommended). The proposal should specify destination of travel, approximate dates, purpose, connection with work being done, facilities and resources available there, etc.
Secondary Criteria. A proposal must explore the publication potential of the proposed project. The English Department considers publication more important than do many other areas of the university, and therefore wishes to insure that faculty will develop sabbatical projects that have a strong chance of resulting in publishable findings. A proposal will also be screened on the basis of the applicant's time since last sabbatical, academic rank, and years of service to Pittsburg State, particularly when more than one faculty member applies for sabbatical in a given year.
Application and Screening Procedure
Sabbatical proposals are submitted to the department chair the second Friday in October. The department chair will advise applicants on ways to revise and strengthen their proposals. In advising applicants and screening proposals, the department chair may consult the departmental Faculty Development Committee. After screening, the department chair will endorse or not endorse the proposals and then forward them to the Dean of Arts and Sciences on the fourth Friday of October.
Sabbatical Report
From the PSU/KNEA Agreement:
"Acceptance of sabbatical leave or leave without pay assumes that adequate reports will be filed with the Chairperson of the Department, the Dean of the School/College, and the Vice President for Academic
Affairs within one month after return to the University."
