Sabbatical Leave Policies

Sabbatical leaves are granted by the Board of Trustees in order to ensure that the College will maintain the quality of faculty and educational programs available to students. Every sabbatical activity should have as its basic element programs that will improve the instructional, counseling, or other educational activity of the College. The sabbatical is an important means by which the vital faculty member increases his/her knowledge and keeps abreast of developments in his/her field. The sabbatical leave is a valuable academic tradition because it enhances instructional expertise and professional development and because it serves to revitalize College programs.

All departments of the College shall be given equal consideration in determining distribution of sabbatical leaves. Leaves shall be so balanced among the faculty as to preserve departmental continuity as determined by division deans and department chairs.

A sabbatical leave may be for one year (two consecutive semesters) or for one semester. If the two consecutive semesters fall within two fiscal years (that is, if the sabbatical is taken in the spring and fall of the same calendar year), the leave may be approved in concept, but funding approval shall be for only one fiscal year. The portion of the sabbatical which falls within the next fiscal year shall be considered for funding during that fiscal cycle, but the sabbatical leave will be counted, in computing percentages, only as belonging to the year when the first semester's leave was taken. All sabbaticals will be completed in the same fiscal year whenever possible.

Faculty members on sabbatical leave for one semester shall receive 85 percent of their normal salary, and those on leave for one year shall receive 75 percent of their normal salary. When sabbatical leaves-of-absence salaries are computed, the member on sabbatical leave shall receive such changes in salary ratings as would have been received had the member remained in active service. Members on sabbatical leave shall advance normally on the salary schedule.  

[See note below on Overload and banked TLUs]

Faculty members on sabbatical leaves shall be paid at the same intervals as they would for normal service. Special arrangements shall normally be made only for those members who are out of the continental limits of the United States.

Upon acceptance of the sabbatical, the faculty member agrees to render one (1) year of full-time service in the employ of the District for each semester of sabbatical leave. The indemnity shall be for a sum equal to the amount of salary to be paid the member on leave. The Board of Trustees shall require a written agreement indemnifying the Board of Trustees against loss in the event that the faculty employee fails to render one (1) year of full-time service in the employ of the District for each semester of sabbatical leave.

If an individual receives taxable compensation for the activity described in his/her sabbatical leave proposal, the sabbatical funding shall be decreased by that amount of income which raises the gross total taxable compensation above the level of the faculty member's regular full-time service compensation. If a grant replaces the salary, even though it may not be taxable, then such money shall be deducted from the amount of sabbatical pay. Applicants planning to engage in paid activities or in unusually time-consuming activities beyond the scope of the sabbatical proposal should inform the Sabbatical Leave Committee of these plans in the proposal. If the applicant makes such plans only after the proposal process is completed, s/he should so inform the Sabbatical Leave Committee at the time the plans are formed; the applicant's written statement will be appended to his/her sabbatical leave proposal in the Academic Senate files.

 Faculty members having six (6) full, consecutive years of contractual service at Santa Barbara City College, or fractions of years of contractual continuous service which total six (6) full years, shall be eligible for sabbatical leave. Up to a maximum of two (2) years of service in an administrative position may be counted toward the six (6) years of contractual service required. A leave of absence does not count as a break in service in calculating sabbatical leave time; nor does it accrue toward a sabbatical.

 Copies of the Proposal for Sabbatical Leave shall be sent to the Committee Chair and Academic Senate Office before the end of the sixth week of the Fall semester. If the Sabbatical Leave Committee has concerns about the proposal, the applicant shall be given an opportunity to improve his/her plan and to resubmit his/her proposal within a period of two weeks (ten working days) from the date of notification that his/her plan is not acceptable.

The general [primary] consideration for granting a sabbatical leave shall be its benefit to the educational programs of the College. The Sabbatical Leave Committee will evaluate all proposals according to how the proposed activity relates to the recognized needs of the college and/or the department and new programs as recommended in the department plans. Each applicant shall demonstrate how the proposed activity will maintain or improve the quality of teaching and/or services to students.

The Sabbatical Leave Committee will return to the applicant any sabbatical proposal which proposes an activity that might be better carried out by other means of College support. 

Replacement for faculty members on sabbatical leave shall be obtained in one or more of the following ways:

1. by a tenure track faculty member teaching additional courses as overload.

2. by hiring replacements on an hourly basis.

3. by hiring on a temporary contract, if replacements cannot be made on an hourly basis.

The applicant, the department chair, and the division dean will indicate on the proposal form whether the replacement will be hourly or contract. The mode of replacement shall be confirmed before the end of the semester which precedes the sabbatical leave.

Interruption of the program of study or research caused by serious accident, illness, or other extenuating circumstances during a sabbatical leave, evidence of which is satisfactory to the Superintendent/President, shall not prejudice an employee regarding the fulfillment of conditions concerning study or research on which the sabbatical leave was granted nor affect the amount of compensation paid.

In the event of a long-term illness, an employee may submit a request to the Superintendent/President to have his/her status changed from sabbatical leave to sick leave as defined in District policy 2022.5

Since sabbatical leave proposals are carefully screened and evaluated before approval, it is expected that a faculty member shall fulfill his/her sabbatical project as proposed. If extenuating circumstances should necessitate a change, however, the faculty member is expected to resubmit a proposal in the form of the original for that portion of the project to be revised. The revised proposal must clearly show that the change is commensurate with the original, and a clear explanation of the conditions necessitating the change must be included. This revised proposal must be received by the Sabbatical Leave Committee at least one (1) month before the beginning of the semester for which the revision is requested. Proposed revisions submitted during the summer should be presented to the President of the Academic Senate, or designee, for consideration by the summer Academic Senate. The Sabbatical Leave Committee will receive all modifications to proposals.

Failure to fulfill the agreed-upon and approved program in the absence of serious accident or illness or other extenuating circumstances may result in action by the District requiring repayment of the sabbatical salary, in part or in full.

Upon returning from leave, and within one semester after resumption of duties (with a due date no later than the first day of the following semester), the faculty member shall submit copies of the sabbatical leave report to the Committee Chair and Academic Senate Office. The Sabbatical Leave Committee shall review the reports and make recommendations to the Academic Senate. Upon approval, the Academic Senate shall recommend approval to the Superintendent/President and Board of Trustees. Upon Board of Trustees approval, one (1) unbound copy will be requested for binding by the Library and filed in the Library Faculty Reading Room (L137).

In order that each sabbatical leave report complies with the standards delineated in the Sabbatical Leave Policy, as approved by the Board of Trustees, the report shall follow the format described on the Sabbatical Report Procedures web pages.

The report shall include a copy of the original Board of Trustees approved project proposal and a substantive detailed description of the achievement of all pertinent areas as described on these web pages. The report shall be submitted no later than the first day of the second semester after resumption of service.

Reports recommended for approval shall be submitted to the Academic Senate for review before submitting to the Board of Trustees for approval.

The Sabbatical Leave Committee has the responsibility to reject a sabbatical report that is not satisfactory. A report may be returned to the faculty member for amplification and/or completion. The corrected report shall be returned within ten (10) working days to the Committee for review and approval.

If the revised report is still considered unsatisfactory by the Committee, the faculty member and the President of the Academic Senate shall be so notified and given the reasons for such finding. The faculty member shall be allowed ten (10) teaching days to file a written appeal to the Committee and/or to file a written appeal to request a hearing. Following such appeal and/or hearing, the Committee in consultation with the Academic Senate President will reconsider its decision and take final action. In the event that no appeal or hearing request is received within the specified period, the unsatisfactory finding shall be ratified.

If the revised report is judged unsatisfactory, the Academic Senate President shall forward to the Superintendent/President the report with a written statement detailing why the report is unsatisfactory. The Academic Senate President shall also notify the Superintendent/President of the failure of an employee to submit a sabbatical report. The Superintendent/President may then take appropriate action for failure to complete the sabbatical activity.