JMC Faculty Handbook > Sabbatical Leave Procedures

Sabbatical Leave Procedures

1. Policy

Sabbatical leave is an academic leave of absence from the Medical College granted to qualified faculty members for scholarly and educational purposes. Sabbatical leave should provide an opportunity to continue and enhance professional growth consistent with the goals of the departments and the Medical College. In addition, sabbatical leave should have measurable objectives to increase the value of the faculty member to the Medical College and to the University.

Sabbatical leave with financial support from the department will, as a rule, be limited to faculty members having at least six years continuous full-time service and who have attained the rank of Associate Professor. A sabbatical leave is a privilege because it gives the faculty member an opportunity through his own professional enrichment to help the department and the Medical College to achieve their desired goals. Therefore, requests for Sabbatical leave will be considered on the basis of past evaluation and productivity of the faculty member as well as the potential for future growth.

All candidates for Sabbatical leave are subject to the Office of Faculty Records verification procedure (see Chair for details) and will not be referred to the Subcommittee on Sabbatical Leave of the Committee on Faculty Affairs for review before this process is complete.

2. Application

a. Eligible faculty members should initiate the application process 8-12 months prior to the proposed starting date. The Application form can be downloaded here (33 KB Adobe PDF File) or obtained from the Office of Faculty Records at 955-7562. Completed forms should be submitted to the Dean via the Office of Faculty Records (G4 College Building) through the Department Chairman (department of primary appointment.)

b. The Department Chairman shall certify in writing that other department members can cover the members duties during the period of absence and that the Department has satisfactory financial arrangements made for sources of salary, fringe benefits and related expenses.

c. If the interested member also holds a secondary appointment in another department, the Chair of that department must also approve these arrangements.

d. Approved applications then are referred to the Subcommittee on Sabbatical Leave of the Committee on Faculty Affairs for review of the scholarly purpose of the leave. If approved by the Subcommittee and full subsequent approval of the Committee on Faculty Affairs, applications will be referred to the Dean for his approval.

Faculty members initiating applications may expect to receive a notice of approval, disapproval or delay, within three months of the date a completed application is received in the Office of Faculty Records.

3. Description of Proposed Leave Activities

a. State concisely and realistically what the sabbatical leave is intended to accomplish (do not exceed one page.)

b. Provide background information and indicate the importance of the proposed leave by relating its aims to your longer-term objectives at Jefferson (do not exceed two pages.)

c. Describe your previous studies or activities that led to the development of the proposed aims described for the leave (do not exceed two pages.)

d. Discuss the methods and procedures to be used to accomplish your leave objectives. Include a tentative sequence or timetable. Include a justification for the proposed locale of the leave. Include a letter of invitation and acceptance from the institution where your proposed work will be based.

4. Post-Leave Report

Within six months of the conclusion of the sabbatical, a report must be submitted to the Department Chairperson with copies to the Dean, the Office of Faculty Records and the Committee on Faculty Affairs. The report must succinctly summarize pertinent activities during the leave and indicate the ways in which the goals of the leave were reached, that is, how the individual believes his/her professional status was enriched, and how that enrichment was consistent with departmental and college goals.

Written commentaries from the Department Chairman, the Dean, and the Faculty Affairs Committee will be sent to the faculty member, and a copy of the report with the commentaries will be retained in the faculty member's file in the Dean's office.

Office of the Dean/Faculty Records
September 2003