Eligibility
According to University guidelines, faculty members must complete 12 terms of service in order to become eligible for a one-term sabbatical leave at full pay or a two-term sabbatical leave at half pay.
While the above policy is carefully adhered to within the Dietrich School, common practice has been to allow for a modification in the case of faculty members on 12-month appointments: upon the completion of 18 terms of service, such a faculty member is eligible for a 6-month sabbatical leave at full pay or a 12-month sabbatical leave at half pay. In cases where the faculty member is on a twelve-month contract and is granted a six-month sabbatical leave, he/she must complete one-half of their normal teaching load in the remainder of the academic year.
Leave Requests
Each request for a sabbatical leave and/or leave of absence should be submitted to the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (Todd Reeser via Perceptive Content and assigned to Jaime Wesoloski) and should contain the following materials:
The original written request made by the faculty member to the Department Chair
- This should clearly state:
- which type of leave is being requested (e.g. sabbatical leave at full pay, sabbatical leave at half pay, or leave of absence without pay),
- the period of the leave (start date, end date),
- a brief description of the project which the faculty member intends to work on during the leave period,
- the relevance of that project to the research/teaching activities of the faculty member,
- where the leave will be spent,
- on what contingencies, if any, the realization of the leave depends. (e.g., approval of fellowship application).
- The Department Chair's written approval of the faculty member's request
- If you approve the faculty member's leave request, you should transmit it to the Associate Dean for Faculty along with a cover letter stating your approval and specifying how you plan to handle each of the faculty member's courses and/or departmental responsibilities during their absence. Which will be dropped? Which reassigned? To whom? At what cost? Please be as specific as you can
- Please also provide the Associate Dean for Faculty with any additional relevant information concerning the individual or the department which should be considered before granting official approval of this request. In order for you to be able to assess the department's ability to meet its teaching obligations, you should try to deal with all of the leave requests for any given year as a group rather than individually. Although considered collectively, please submit each faculty member's request in a separate memo because these documents have to end up in separate personnel files. (It is also highly recommended that you maintain a chart of your faculty members' sabbatical eligibility, and use it to plan more than one year ahead in order to avoid, with a minimum of inconvenience, the problem of having too many of your colleagues requesting sabbatical leave in the same year/term. In cases in which departmental needs make it necessary to ask a colleague to postpone a sabbatical, the Associate Dean for Faculty may authorize that teaching terms beyond the minimum 12 may be "banked" against a future sabbatical.) Replacement faculty, whether full- or part-time, should not be requested in the case of sabbatical leaves where no salary savings are realized. Instead, the departmental course offerings should be adjusted to cover the faculty member's absence. It is understood that at times leaves will require the cancellation of certain courses. Only in very rare cases will an exception be made to this policy
- The faculty member’s CV
Please refer to the Faculty Handbook and for University guidelines on Sabbatical Leave and Document Number 02-05-01 of both the Policy Manual and Procedure Manual for University guidelines on sabbatical leaves and leaves of absence.
Please refer to the Faculty Handbook for University guidelines on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
Deadlines
These requests for sabbatical leaves and leaves of absence reach the Dean's Office no later than the end of the first week of December if the leave is to take effect in the following academic year. It is essential that this deadline be observed in order to meet the March 1 cutoff for such requests which is imposed by the Provost's Office. If a leave is dependent upon funding which is not yet certain, it is better to apply for the leave by the deadline and then cancel the request later, if that proves necessary.
Effects on Paychecks
| Payment Information | Sabbatical Leave at Full Pay | Sabbatical Leave at Half Pay | Leave of Absence without Pay | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payment Frequency | Sept-Dec | Jan-Apr | Sept-Apr | Sept-Dec | Jan-Apr | Sept-Apr |
|
08/08 Two-Term Salary Paid over 8 months (Sept-Apr) |
No interruption to paychecks | One-half the usual amount (i.e. one-half of 1/8 of the individual's contract salary) will be received per month over the period of September to April | No paychecks will be received for the period of September-December. Regular paychecks resume at the end of January | No paychecks will be received for the period January-April. Regular paychecks resume at the end of the following September | No paychecks will be received for the period September-April. Regular paychecks resume at the end of the following September | |
|
08/12 Two-Term Salary Paid over 12 months (Sept-Aug) |
No interruption to paychecks | One-half the usual amount (i.e. one-half of 1/12 of the individual's contract salary) will be received per month over the period September through August | No paychecks will be received for the period September through December. regular paychecks resume at the end of January at 1/12 of the individual's contract salary and will continue through April. May through August pay will be 1/2 of 1/12 the contract salary. Regular paychecks resume at the end of the following September | No paychecks will be received for the period January through April. May through August pay will be 1/2 of 1/12 the contract salary. Regular paychecks resume at the end of September | No paychecks will be received for the period September through August. Regular paychecks resume at the end of September | |
|
08/12 Two-Term Salary Paid over 12 months (June-July) (Legacy J) |
No interruption to paychecks | One-half of the usual amount (i.e. one-half of 1/12 of the individual's contract salary) will be received per month over the period September through August | No paychecks will be received for the period July through December. Regular paychecks resume at the end of January | No paychecks will be received for the period January through June. regular paychecks resume at the end of July. | No paychecks will be received for the period July through June. Regular paychecks resume at the end of the following July. | |
|
12/12 Annual |
No interruption to paychecks |
One-half of the usual amount (i.e., one-half of 1/12 of the individual's contract salary) will be received over the period of the sabbatical leave.
|
No paychecks will be received for the period September through December. Regular paychecks resume at the end of January |
No paychecks will be received for the period January through April. Regular paychecks resume at the end of May. |
No paychecks will be received for the period September through April. Regular paychecks resume at the end of May. |
|
*Note - University policy does not allow a faculty member on leave of absence without pay for one term to spread the remaining salary over the remainder of the contract period.
Effects on Benefits
THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS PROVIDED AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. ALL QUESTIONS CONCERNING BENEFIT COVERAGE DURING A SABBATICAL LEAVE OR LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE BENEFITS OFFICE, 200 CRAIG HALL, EXTENSION 4-8160.
THE DEAN HAS NO DISCRETION TO MAKE EXCEPTIONS TO UNIVERSITY BENEFITS POLICIES TO ACCOMMODATE INDIVIDUAL REQUESTS.
In the case of sabbatical leaves with full pay, no interruption to benefits should occur. When the sabbatical leave is at half pay, benefit coverage continues but those items which are based on a percentage of the individual's salary will reflect the reduced salary rate.
In the case of leaves of absence without pay, the individual will be responsible for the full premium cost (both the normal individual share of the costs PLUS the university’s share) for medical, dental, and vision coverage. If insurance coverage is not needed while on leave, the individual may request a qualifying status change to the Office of Human Resources’ Benefits Department within 60 days from the start of the leave and benefits will be suspended and no costs will be incurred. For more information regarding this process, please go to https://hr.secure.pitt.edu/benefits/status-changes.
For leaves qualifying as "Faculty Leave for Professional Enhancement," medical, dental, and vision benefits will remain intact and the individual is only responsible for their portion of the benefit premium. If insurance coverage is not needed while on leave, the individual may request a qualifying status change to the Office of Human Resources’ Benefits Department within 60 days from the start of the leave and benefits will be suspended and no costs will be incurred. For more information regarding this process, please go to https://hr.secure.pitt.edu/benefits/status-changes.
IF COVERAGE IS SUSPENDED, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE FACULTY MEMBER TAKE ACTION TO RESUME MEDICAL COVERAGE BY REQUESTING A QUALIFYING STATUS CHANGE WITHIN 60 DAYS FROM THE END OF THE LEAVE. THIS IS NOT AUTOMATIC.