All tenured and tenure-eligible faculty as well as full-time off-ladder faculty on multi-year appointments are eligible for leaves of absence. All leaves of absence must be approved by the department chair and the Provost and Dean of the Faculty. Officers of instruction are normally expected to render full-time service or part-time equivalent service for at least two academic years between all except short-term leaves of absence. Leaves of absence do not constitute a break in continuous service.
During each academic year, Barnard College supports one or more Special Assistant Professor Leaves (SAPL) to enable tenure-eligible Assistant Professors who have successfully passed a third-year review to engage in research for a complete academic year at full salary. Special Assistant Professor Leaves are granted only if the officer of instruction plans to return to the College for at least one academic year of full-time service or equivalent part-time service after the leave. See the Academic Code for more information.
Professors and Associate Professors are entitled to sabbatical leaves of one year at half-salary or a half-year at full salary to provide them with uninterrupted opportunities for research.
How you earn: A sabbatical is due to tenured Professors and Associate Professors after they have completed six semesters of service in the tenure-line professional ranks. During a semester of service a faculty member is active on campus. A semester of service consists of two courses taught, one course taught and one course release, or two course releases.
First - Internal: When an Assistant Professor with at least six years of counted service is promoted to tenure, the first sabbatical is due after two semesters of service as a tenured Associate Professor.
First - External: When a new Associate Professor or Professor is hired with tenure, the first sabbatical is due after six semesters of service.
Deferment: Faculty can postpone a Sabbatical, without loss of credit, to be taken in another year or in conjunction with another leave; however, no more than one Sabbatical of deferred credit can be accrued over a seven-year period. Requests for deferment must be sent to the Provost for approval.
Returning: Faculty returning from sabbatical shall submit a brief summary of their research activities to the Provost and Dean of the Faculty upon their return. A sabbatical is granted only if the tenured Professor or tenured Associate Professor plans to return to the College for at least one academic year of full-time service or equivalent part-time service after the leave.
Additional Research Leaves - Two Semesters of Unpaid Leave (Leave without Pay, or LWOP) for Research: Tenured Professors and Tenured Associate Professors are eligible for two semesters of unpaid research leave in a seven-year period, in addition to their sabbaticals. If the faculty member receives an external grant, they are eligible to have their salary topped-off for one semester during the seven year period. Salary top-off shall not in any case exceed the dollar amount of the external grant or be larger than 1⁄2 of the faculty member's salary in either the semester or academic year in which the faculty member is on leave. Leaves without pay do not count as semesters of service for purposes of accrual.
Maximum: Faculty members are not to exceed two sabbaticals and two semesters of research leave (without pay) in a seven-year period, except in the case of exceptional circumstances as discussed with the Chair and Provost.
The Professional Development Leave Program (PDL) is part of the College's ongoing effort to support and encourage faculty development. The program is designed to free continuing senior off-ladder faculty members and faculty in the professional practice ranks from normal teaching, advising, and College service for the purpose of pursuing professional goals more intensively than is possible while fulfilling their usual obligations to the College. The leave consists of one semester at full pay or one year at half pay; the faculty member will continue to receive full College benefits.
The Professional Development Leave Program is not an entitlement; the expectation is that projects proposed will meet a high standard and be related to and contribute to the faculty member's instructional responsibilities. Applicants must have a minimum of six years of continuous full-time service at the College, with the expectation that at least three years of full-time service have been in the senior rank. Preference will be given to those who have demonstrated leadership in their department or college-wide programs. Faculty members who are not awarded a Professional Development Leave upon initial application may be encouraged to reapply in subsequent years. A faculty member is not eligible to apply for a subsequent professional development leave until six years after the academic year in which the initial professional development leave was taken.
Upon written request, and with the approval of the department chairman and the Provost and Dean of the Faculty, full-time on-ladder faculty, and those full-time off-ladder faculty on multi-year appointments may be granted a leave of absence without salary for a period of up to and including one academic year. Approved leaves without salary do not constitute semesters of service for the purpose of computing eligibility for future Barnard-paid leaves, e.g. sabbaticals and Special Assistant Professor Leaves, unless the leaves without salary are taken to extend a one semester paid leave into a full year at half pay.
Eligible officers of instruction may take leaves in accordance with the Barnard College "Policy on Leaves of Absence for Reasons of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Infant Care for Officers of Instruction." Such leave time may be excluded from the maximum number of years of service allowed before tenure consideration.
Leaves of absence of a month or less during an academic term for pressing personal or professional needs may be granted to any officer of instruction upon approval of the department chair and the Provost and Dean of the Faculty. Short-term leaves for professional purposes cannot be granted unless adequate provision is made for covering the officer's instructional responsibilities.