Sabbaticals and Leaves FAQ
- Can my proposed sabbatical work be considered for an Enhanced Sabbatical if I am not awarded a Phillips Fellowship?
- If my proposal for a Phillips Fellowship and/or an Enhanced Sabbatical is unsuccessful, do I have to apply separately for a Base Sabbatical?
- What are my teaching responsibilities with a one-semester pre-tenure or sabbatical leave?
- How do sabbaticals work for Lecturers and Senior Lecturers?
- Does the College hire replacements for faculty members on leave?
- For the Enhanced Sabbatical eligibility, is an application for a visiting position considered an external grant?
- For an Enhanced Sabbatical, does my proposal for extramural support need to include a request for salary?
- Whom do I contact for support in finding an extramural funding source or writing an extramural grant?
- Do I need to disseminate my work within my sabbatical year?
- Can I take a year-long sabbatical for a calendar year instead of an academic year?
- I teach in more than one academic unit. Do chairs of both/all units need to incorporate my leave into their 3-year plan?
- Does a list of works cited in my proposal count towards the page limit?
Can my proposed sabbatical work be considered for an Enhanced Sabbatical if I am not awarded a Phillips Fellowship?
Yes. Because the Phillips proposal requires the applicant to make plans for collaborative work with leading scholar(s) in the field, an unsuccessful Phillips proposal does not require an extramural funding proposal to be considered for an Enhanced Sabbatical. Also note that the Phillips proposal asks for a Modification Plan describing how the project would be changed if funded with an Enhanced Sabbatical rather than a Phillips Fellowship.
If my proposal for a Phillips Fellowship and/or an Enhanced Sabbatical is unsuccessful, do I have to apply separately for a Base Sabbatical?
No. Any complete but unsuccessful application for a Phillips Fellowship or an Enhanced Sabbatical will automatically be given consideration for a Base Sabbatical.
What are my teaching responsibilities with a one-semester pre-tenure or sabbatical leave?
For a pre-tenure leave or a one-semester post-tenure sabbatical, the faculty member taking the leave is expected to teach three courses during the remainder of the academic year. In some cases, departments and programs apportion teaching credit in such a way that a faculty member may teach 2.5 courses in a given semester; in those cases, a faculty member may teach one semester of 2.5 courses, and take the pre-tenure leave in the other semester.
When a full-time faculty member takes a one-semester pre-tenure or sabbatical leave, the three courses taught during the remainder of the academic year may occur all in the other semester, or over one semester and Short Term, depending on the needs of the department or program. In many cases, however, it should be possible for a faculty member on such a leave to schedule all courses during one semester, thereby allowing a full semester and Short Term for the non-teaching responsibilities of the leave. For faculty who teach part-time (e.g. 4-course Lecturers), a 1-semester leave carries the responsibility to teach half of their regular teaching load in the other semester and/or Short Term.
How do sabbaticals work for Lecturers and Senior Lecturers?
A Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in a lectureship who has taught twenty continuous semesters at Bates is eligible to apply for an initial sabbatical. To receive a sabbatical after twenty semesters, the Lecturer should apply during the nineteenth semester (that is during fall of the tenth year). After the initial sabbatical, Lecturers and Senior Lecturers are eligible to apply for sabbaticals after each twelve semester period of teaching at Bates. A sabbatical for a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer shall consist of half the contracted courses for the year at the Lecturer or Senior Lecturer’s regular salary, or, at the option of the Lecturer or Senior Lecturer, all the contracted courses and units for the year at one-half that salary. Although Enhanced Sabbaticals and Phillips Fellowships are open only to Senior Lecturers, the Base Sabbatical program is open to both Senior Lecturers and Lecturers in ongoing appointments.
Does the College hire replacements for faculty members on leave?
In the absence of extenuating circumstances, faculty on leave are replaced with the following likelihoods: always for Phillips Fellowships, often for Enhanced Sabbaticals, sometimes for year-long Base Sabbaticals, rarely for 1-semester Base Sabbaticals, and rarely for Pre-Tenure Leaves.
For the Enhanced Sabbatical eligibility, is an application for a visiting position considered an external grant?
Yes, if the application is through a recognized scholarly institute or artist residency and if the award process is competitive and peer-reviewed.
For an Enhanced Sabbatical, does my proposal for extramural support need to include a request for salary?
No. However, if the grant does include salary, it can be used to bring one’s salary to 100% plus an additional 2/9th for summer salary.
Whom do I contact for support in finding an extramural funding source or writing an extramural grant?
The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPaRC) in Coram Library, Shonna Humphrey, Director at 786-6243 or shumphre@bates.edu. SPaRC is available to assist with various aspects of proposal preparations, including the identifying appropriate sources of funding, crafting a proposal, inclusion of general information about the college, and preparation of a budget.
Do I need to disseminate my work within my sabbatical year?
No. Different scholarly fields and different types of scholarly work have different paces within which new work is ready for dissemination. The expectation is that suitable dissemination relevant to an individual’s field of work will result before the next sabbatical. When applying for the next enhanced sabbatical, the C.V. submitted with the application must indicate which published work resulted from the previous enhanced sabbatical.
Can I take a year-long sabbatical for a calendar year instead of an academic year?
Yes, under exceptional circumstances. Going on sabbatical for a calendar year rather than an academic year poses challenges for replacing the faculty member and thus is considered only in special circumstances. Any exploration of such a schedule should begin with an early conversation with the Dean of Faculty.
I teach in more than one academic unit. Do chairs of both/all units need to incorporate my leave into their 3-year plan?
Yes. Any academic unit to which you supply courses must know about your leave plans. To whatever extent your teaching is divided across units, the impact of your sabbatical on each unit should be reflected in each unit’s 3-year plan.