Subd. 1. Academic Year of Service. An "academic year of service" means the equivalent of two full-time (66% or greater appointment) semesters of employment as a member of the faculty at the University. Time taken for a single-semester leave is credited toward accrued academic years of service, but time taken for a sabbatical leave is not.

Subd. 2. Department. "Department" means a department or division within a college.

Subd. 3. Department Administrator. "Department administrator" means a chair or head of a department or division, as appropriate, within a college.

Subd. 4. Faculty. "Faculty" means those holding regular tenured or probationary appointments as defined in the Board of Regents Policy: Faculty Tenure.

Subd. 5. Salary. "Salary" means recurring salary from any source for performing regularly assigned duties as a faculty member.

SECTION II. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.

The president, in consultation with the faculty senate, shall develop administrative procedures to implement this policy. Each department and college with eligible faculty shall develop unit procedures to implement this policy and the administrative procedures. All procedures are subject to approval by the president.

SECTION III. SABBATICAL LEAVE STANDARDS.

Subd. 1. Eligibility. A faculty member is entitled to the privilege of a sabbatical leave of up to one year after six academic years of service.

Subd. 2. Prior Service. Prior academic service at another university in which sabbatical or other developmental leaves are granted may be credited toward academic years of service in consideration of a sabbatical leave.

Subd. 3. Accrued Credit. No more than six years of credit may accrue toward a sabbatical leave. Such credit is for the purpose of a sabbatical leave and cannot be cashed out or traded for other benefits.

Subd. 4. Length of Leave. A sabbatical leave may be granted for one or two semesters for faculty on academic year appointments or five and one-half months or eleven months for faculty on fiscal-year appointments.

Subd. 5. Approval Process.

(a) The review and scheduling of a sabbatical leave is conducted at the department and collegiate levels subject to the approval of the dean. The dean shall report annually to the president regarding sabbatical leave actions.

(b) The department administrator and dean shall determine if the work proposed by the applicant is worthy of a sabbatical leave.

Subd. 6. Salary and Benefits.

(a) A sabbatical leave is compensated at one-half salary and full benefits.

(b) Faculty taking a sabbatical leave for nine months or longer may compete for supplementary funding, with review by the department administrator and dean. Supplementary funding is granted by the president, upon the advice of the dean.

Subd. 7. Income Augmentation. Faculty members on sabbatical leave may augment their sabbatical income approximately to the level of their regular University salary, provided that the activities yielding the additional compensation are consistent with the purpose of the sabbatical leave. Permission must be obtained from the department administrator and dean. In establishing the level of permissible sabbatical income, University-approved consulting activities that do not conflict with the purposes of the leave shall not be considered. Expenses related to the purposes of the leave may also be taken into account in determining the level of permissible income.

Subd. 8. Delaying and Restructuring. Although worthy sabbatical leaves may not be denied for administrative convenience, deans may delay and restructure them for up to one year in order to relieve constraints upon departmental or collegiate budgets or to ensure that key courses remain available to students. Such delay reduces by same time the period of eligibility for a subsequent leave.

Subd. 9. Grievances. The administrative procedures shall provide a process for faculty to grieve repeated denials of a sabbatical leave or the delay of a sabbatical leave for longer than one year.

SECTION IV. SINGLE-SEMESTER LEAVE STANDARDS.

Subd. 1. Eligibility. Probationary faculty are eligible for a single-semester leave after two academic years of service. Tenured faculty are eligible for a single-semester leave after four academic years of service. Subsequent single-semester leaves may be taken after four additional academic years of service.

Subd. 2. Approval Process. The review and scheduling of a single-semester leave is conducted at the department and collegiate levels subject to the approval of the dean.

Subd. 3. Allocation. The number of single-semester leaves and allocation among colleges is determined by the president. Competition for these leaves takes place at the department and college levels.

Subd. 4. Salary and Benefits. A single-semester leave is at full salary and benefits.

SECTION V. CONDITIONS.

Subd. 1. Return to Service. A single-semester or sabbatical leave shall be granted and accepted only with the condition that the recipient, immediately following the leave, return to University service for a period at least equal to the period of the leave. A delay may be granted by the dean, with concurrence of the department administrator, for a period without pay not longer than the period of the leave.

Subd. 2. Loss or Suspension of Eligibility. Credit toward a single-semester or sabbatical leave is lost by any interruption in continuous service to the University other than an approved leave of absence. All credit toward eligibility is lost by an individual given notice of non-reappointment or termination of appointment. All credit toward eligibility shall be suspended for an individual when there is strong evidence that the individual's appointment will be terminated prior to what otherwise would be the closing date of the period of leave plus the period of return to service.

Subd. 3. Contemporaneous Compensation. The salary and benefits paid during a single-semester or sabbatical leave are not to be regarded as additional compensation for services already rendered but as a contemporaneous compensation for services rendered by the faculty member in developing professional knowledge and skill for subsequent service to students and the University.