4.0 Sabbaticals, Leaves Without Pay, or Leaves with Partial Pay, and Teaching at Other Institutions

4.1 SABBATICAL ELIGIBILITY

Tenured faculty members must serve 6 years at New York University in order to be eligible to apply for a sabbatical leave.  Following 12 semesters of service, tenured faculty are eligible to apply for a one semester of sabbatical leave at full pay or one academic year at ¾ pay.  Alternatively, faculty members may choose to apply for a one semester of sabbatical at ¾ pay after 6 semesters.  Sabbatical leaves cannot be “banked” or “deferred without prejudice” unless acceptable justification is provided to Human Resources Administration and approved by the Provost’s Office. 

As with all leaves, the timing of the sabbatical must be approved by the relevant department chair. It is the expectation of the Dean's Office that no more than 1/5th of continuing departmental faculty will be on leave in any given academic year.  Specific course coverage plans must be included with all applications.

All sabbatical leaves are by application, not automatic, and subject to review by the Provost’s Office.  Please refer to the Faculty Handbook for more information.

1. Requests for sabbatical leaves for either or both terms of Academic Year 2013/2014 must be submitted to the Office of Human Resource Administration by Thursday,November 1, 2012. Leaves must be justified on grounds of enhanced scholarly performance, and are not automatically granted. Chairs should give careful consideration to the impact of leaves on meeting the instructional program of the department, in the context of the possible reduction in adjunct funding.
2. At times, a coincidence of possible leaves could affect a department adversely. The Chair in such circumstances will have to negotiate a staggered schedule. It may not be possible to replace a faculty member on leave with an adjunct or visitor, so plan with that caution in mind.
3. The faculty member should complete a Sabbatical Request form.
4. The faculty member should prepare a specific narrative description of the proposed activity and an assessment of its value.
5. The Chair transmits these documents to the Dean of the Faculty, care of the Office of Human Resource Administration, with his or her endorsement, including a statement of impact on the instructional program, and the proposed manner of handling same, including:
6. A list of courses normally taught by the faculty member and how they are proposed to be covered in 2013/2014 or if the course will not be taught in 2013/2014; and
7. The specific title/rank of proposed replacement.
8. Requests to revise or cancel sabbatical leaves for which approval has been given will not be considered by this office after April1, 2013, except under extraordinary circumstances.
9. Some members of the faculty may wish to augment their income while on sabbatical leave by means of research grants. In such cases, University regulations taken from the Faculty Handbook apply as follows:

"Sabbatical Leave and Sponsored Research: All sabbatical leave arrangements approved by the University carry the restriction that the faculty member is not permitted to engage in any form of regular academic or other employment to supplement the sabbatical salary. However, a member of the faculty is entitled to supplement the salary provided by the university during the period of leave with funding provided by an external sponsor for research, in an amount approved by the sponsor, so long as the total compensation is no more than the full base salary and the leave otherwise comports with the terms and conditions of the award. The faculty member must take the initiative to report plans for sabbatical leave to the sponsor and identify the salary supplementation explicitly in the proposal whenever possible, and must make known to the department chairpersons and dean at the time of the request for sabbatical leave that such funding is being, or will be, sought from the research sponsor."

4.2 LEAVES WITHOUT PAY OR LEAVES WITH PARTIAL PAY

Requests for leave without pay may be submitted at any time, though for staffing and budgetary reasons, the earlier the request the better. Replacement of faculty on Leave Without Pay is not automatic and is subject to overall budget priorities. A Leave Without Pay should not be approved under the assumption that the line will be replaced. Requests are approved only on assurance that the work of the department/program will not suffer.

It is the expectation of the Dean's Office that a top-up to full pay will be requested only when (1) the grant/award/fellowship is deemed prestigious in nature or (2) the grant/award/fellowship provides a minimum of 50% of base salary expenses.

It is the expectation of the Dean's Office that no more than 1/5th of continuing departmental faculty will be on leave in any given academic year. Specific course coverage plans must be included with all applications.

The process for leave without pay requests is the same as that for sabbatical leaves, using the Leave Without Pay form. Requests to revise or cancel leaves without pay after April1, 2013 will only be granted under extraordinary circumstances. The requirement for a post-leave report is the same as for a sabbatical leave.

Please Note: The 9 month academic salary is paid over 12 months (6 installments for the fall semester and 6 for the spring semester). If you are on a leave without pay or a leave with partial pay your leave salary will be disbursed in the same way.

For faculty members paid monthly: If you are on leave in the fall, the first 6 payments of the year will reflect the leave salary pay rate (October 1, November 1, December 1, January 1, February 1, and March 1) and your normal paychecks will resume on April 1. If you go on leave in the spring, your leave will reflect 6 pay checks starting April 1 (April 1, May 1, June 1, July 1, August 1, and September 1) and your normal paychecks will resume on October 1.

For faculty members paid semi-monthly: If you are on leave in the fall, the first 12 payments of the year will reflect the leave salary pay rate (September 15, October 1, October 15, November 1, November 15, December 1, December 15, January 1, January 15, February 1, February 15, and March 1) and your normal paychecks will resume on March 15. If you go on leave in the spring, your leave will reflect 12 paychecks starting March 15 (March 15, April 1, April 15, May 1, May 15, June 1, June 15, July 1, July 15, August 1, August 15 and September 1) and your normal paychecks will resume on September 15.

4.3 TEACHING AT ANOTHER INSTITUTION WHILE IN FULL TIME SERVICE 

1. As a matter of University policy, full-time members of the faculty may teach only at New York University during the period of their regular teaching assignments, normally September to May. Teaching at other institutions during the academic year may be undertaken only in the most unusual of circumstances, and must be duly approved by the Dean of the Faculty and the President. Such a recommendation is approved only when such service will alleviate an unexpected problem at a neighboring institution (illness, sudden departure, etc.), or the experience clearly will contribute to the professional development of a colleague. Outside teaching assignments must be limited to no more than one day a week and are only granted under the condition that the arrangement is temporary. Probationary faculty will generally not be permitted to undertake these assignments, as an overload may adversely affect their progress towards tenure.
2. Such requests must be accompanied by the Chair's endorsement and include assessment of impact on both the department's teaching program and on the colleague's development, and by a letter (Chair-to-Chair or Dean-to Dean) from the hiring institution which requests permission to approach the NYU colleague.

4.4 FINAL APPROVAL OF SABBATICAL & LEAVE REQUESTS

1. All the above requests require the final approval of the Office of the President on the recommendation of the Dean of the Faculty.

4.5 FINAL REPORTS

1. Colleagues returning from sabbatical leaves and leaves without pay should submit a written report to the Dean of the Faculty with a copy to the divisional dean and chair within a month of their return to campus.

4.6 GODDARD FELLOWSHIPS

The Goddard Junior Faculty Fellowship, made possible by Paulette Goddard's bequest to New York University, was established in 1993/1994. The Fellowships allow tenure track faculty who have successfully passed their Third-Year Review a semester of leave with full pay in the following year. The timing of the leave (Fall or Spring term) will be determined in consultation between the recipient and the department Chair.

The leave is intended to provide junior faculty with a concentrated period of time to conduct research and scholarship which will lead toward meeting the criteria for promotion and tenure at NYU. At the conclusion of the leave, each Goddard Fellow will be required to submit a brief report of their activities to the Dean.

Application is made by submitting the Goddard Fellowship Form.

Questions regarding eligibility and timing of the Goddard leave can be directed to the Office of the Associate Dean of Arts and Science.

4.7 ILLNESS/DISABILITY, PERSONAL & MATERNAL LEAVE

The salary for a full-time faculty member (code 102) may be continued at the discretion of the Dean, subject to approval by the Office of the Provost, for absence caused by illness or disability, for up to six months. Applications are to be submitted to the Dean, who may approve leaves of up to seven days duration. Leaves in excess of seven days must be approved by the Dean and by the Office of the Provost.

Legally, an absence caused by inability to work because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions must be treated at least as favorably as an absence caused by illness or disability for all employment related purposes. At the time a faculty member gives birth, she is entitled to an aggregate of six consecutive weeks of paid maternity leave preceding and following date of birth.

A physician's statement certifying that the faculty member is unable to work because of illness or disability and the date on which it is anticipated that he or she can return to work, may be required.

The University, in addition, may require that the faculty member be examined by a physician designated by the University at no cost to the faculty member. In cases of childbirth, no certification will be required unless the request for leave extends beyond six weeks.

A full-time faculty member who is totally disabled for more than six consecutive calendar months may claim benefits under long term disability insurance if a participant.

PERSONAL LEAVE

Personal Leave without pay may be granted at the discretion of the Dean for a variety of reasons. A leave of absence for more than seven days requires approval by the Office of the Provost. Women and men may be granted one or more full semesters of leave without pay for compelling personal reasons, such as the care of a seriously ill child, parent, spouse or same-sex domestic partner. Leave by either parent for the purpose of taking care of a child or related activities, as distinguished from inability to work because of pregnancy or childbirth, is treated as personal leave. Faculty members are entitled to all provisions of the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 that are not specifically provided for herein.

BENEFITS

Benefits may be affected during the leave of absence. It is a faculty member's responsibility to contact the Benefits Office to arrange for continuation of benefits. The Benefits Office can provide details regarding how to continue benefit coverage and the length of time for which benefits may be continued. More information is available in the benefits booklets or at the Benefits Office.