b. Sabbatical Leave
A sabbatical leave with compensation is defined as a leave for the purpose of engaging in scholarship or other activities that will advance the faculty member’s scholarly achievement or that will enhance the reputation of the Institute, or otherwise benefit the institution. A sabbatical leave will not be granted for the purpose of taking regular academic, consulting, or other employment of financial advantage elsewhere.
Sabbatical leave is an acknowledgment of esteem and rewards exemplary service and scholarship. It can serve as a means to broaden one's field of inquiry, collaborate with scholars outside the Institute, and achieve scholarly objectives while free from the normal responsibilities and activities of the faculty. Sabbatical leave allows for professional development, networking, and the potential for enhanced service.
Sabbaticals are only granted to full-time faculty currently holding the rank of associate professor or professor, and only after six years of service as a full-time ranked member of the faculty. A person classified as an academic administrator that holds a faculty appointment at the level of associate professor or professor is also eligible for a sabbatical leave under the same conditions as the faculty.
Sabbatical leaves are granted no more than once every seven years. Sabbatical leaves may be for one-half year with full pay and benefits or for one year at one-half salary and benefits. The faculty member granted a sabbatical leave is committed to at least one year of subsequent service to the MGH Institute, immediately following the end of the sabbatical. Failure to return after a paid sabbatical leave will require the faculty member to refund the salary received during the sabbatical leave. A comprehensive report of sabbatical activities must be submitted to the relevant academic unit leader (e.g., department chair, director), dean, and provost upon the faculty member’s return. The report should describe the activities undertaken, new knowledge and skills acquired, scholarship produced or disseminated, and the evaluation of the sabbatical leave.
All sabbatical leaves must be approved by the faculty member’s academic unit leader (e.g., director, department chair, associate dean), the dean, the provost, and the board of trustees.
The Institute, through a faculty member’s academic unit, provides funding to support the faculty member’s salary during the sabbatical leave. Funding is provided in proportion to the academic unit’s financial responsibility for the faculty member. For example, a faculty member who receives a portion of their salary through clinical services provided through a hospital-based appointment will ordinarily not be eligible for salary support for effort related to those clinical services. Faculty members who earn supplemental income, beyond their base faculty salary, for administrative service will generally not receive support for such supplemental income during a sabbatical leave.
During a sabbatical leave, a faculty member who continues to engage in work on an extramurally funded sponsored research project (contingent upon such work being permitted and approved by the sponsor) may use sponsored research funding to supplement the Institute’s salary commitment. Such extramural funding can be used to extend the length of the sabbatical leave, provided that the amount charged to the sponsor is commensurate with the effort worked on the project. For example, a faculty member with 50% full-time effort funded on extramurally sponsored projects may take a full academic year of sabbatical leave at full base salary pay, if the research funding covers the half of the salary that would otherwise not be supported by the Institute. Adequate extramural funding must be maintained during the entirety of the sabbatical leave.
i. Procedures for Sabbatical Leave
Faculty members seeking a sabbatical leave must submit a letter of application along with a sabbatical application form. The letter should address:
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The purpose of the sabbatical leave, including a description of the proposed scholarship or creative work to be produced
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Details about the institution or other environment where the work will occur
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The relevance and significance of the intended sabbatical leave to the applicant’s career development, the academic unit, and/or profession• The relevance of the proposed program to the MGH Institute’s mission and vision
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Plans for disseminating the outcomes and describing the impact of the sabbatical leave•The dates of the proposed sabbatical leave and information about any sponsored funding that will be used to supplement Institute funding
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A plan for coverage of teaching, advising, and/or administrative responsibilities during the leave with details about any academic unit or institutional service activities that will require coverage during the sabbatical leave
A cover letter or other supporting documentation from the academic unit leader (e.g., director, department chair, associate dean) and the dean are required and should address the following:
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Endorsement of the request for sabbatical leave
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Any additional information about the faculty member’s proposed activities and/or plan for coverage of responsibilities
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Acknowledgement that steps have been taken to ensure that use of extramural funding to supplement sabbatical leave is allowable
ii. Timeline for Sabbatical Leave
December 15: For any sabbatical leaves starting between July 1 to June 30 of the next year, the applicant shall submit a sabbatical leave request to the appropriate academic unit leader.
January 1: The academic unit leader forwards the application to the provost along with their recommendation. In the case of a department chair or program director, a copy of the application is also sent to the appropriate dean. Where there is no department chair, the dean sends the application and recommendation to the provost. The recommendation should address the following:
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the impact of the leave on program and MGH Institute goals and operations
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a plan to assure that the applicant’s duties are adequately met during the leave
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the rationale for the recommendation
If more than one application is received, the department chair, director, or dean will rank order the applications and provide the rationale for each.
January 1: A sabbatical leave committee shall be appointed for a one-year term by the provost. The committee shall be made up of senior faculty (excluding department chairs and deans) with representation from each school. In making appointments, the provost will consider potential conflicts of interest. The purpose of the committee is to evaluate the soundness of the applicants’ sabbatical leave plan. In addition, the committee will consider the relationship of the proposed sabbatical to the mission of the MGH Institute.
The committee will make a recommendation to the provost based upon the criteria. The committee has three options: highly recommend, recommend if the logistics can be worked out, and do not recommend. They will rank order applications. The committee also will address the impact on the mission of the MGH Institute, evaluate the consequences of the absence of the faculty member, and provide the rationale for ranking.
The sabbatical leave committee does not review and make recommendations for non-voting key academic leader’s’ requests for sabbatical leave.
February 15: The provost makes a recommendation in writing, along with supporting rationale to be presented to the board of trustees for consideration at its March meeting.
March: Applicants will be notified of the action of the trustees in writing by the provost following the trustees’ meeting.