C200: Sabbatical Leave

Approved By: Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee, UNM Faculty, and Board of Regents
Effective Date: February 15, 2024
Responsible Faculty Committee: Faculty Senate Policy Committee
Office Responsible for Administration: Provost and Executive Vice President for Health Sciences

Applicability

This Policy applies to all academic UNM units, including the Health Sciences Center and Branch Community Colleges. Agreements reached by collective bargaining will hold precedence over any element of this Policy for faculty members covered by the agreement. In areas where there are differences, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) will hold precedence; however, parts of this Policy not covered by the CBA apply to all tenured and tenure-track faculty.

Policy Rationale

The University of New Mexico (UNM) prizes an inclusive view of scholarship with the recognition that knowledge is acquired and advanced through research, synthesis, practice, and teaching. A sabbatical is an important tool in developing academic scholarship and is time for concentrated professional development. A sabbatical is a privilege granted by UNM to faculty for the advancement of UNM’s mission. UNM faculty and the Board of Regents approve the principle of sabbatical leave.

Policy Statement

1. Effective Date of Policy Changes

The changes resulting from this revision are NOT retroactive. If on the effective date of this revision, a faculty member has accumulated more than six (6) years toward a sabbatical leave, only six (6) years will be carried forward. Time requirements listed in this revised Policy begin with the effective date of the approved revision, except for:

• Faculty covered by a collective bargaining agreement which governs the time requirements.
• Written agreements between a faculty member and their chair or dean in place before the effective date of this Policy.

2. Allowable Uses for Sabbatical Leave

The faculty member will use the sabbatical leave in a manner that will enhance their scholarly portfolio and potentially enrich their service to UNM. Given this philosophy, sabbatical leaves may be granted to further any of the following objectives: research and publication; creative work; teaching improvement (including the creation of teaching materials such as new textbooks, software, multimedia materials, or case books); community engaged scholarship related to the faculty member’s expertise; integration and interpretation of existing knowledge into larger interdisciplinary frameworks; and pursuit of advanced studies that will enhance the faculty member’s contributions to UNM.

3. Eligibility

Sabbatical leave is available to any faculty member with tenure or to any faculty member in the last year of the probationary period for whom a favorable tenure decision has been reached. There are several sabbatical leave options discussed below. All faculty members who qualify have the right to apply for sabbatical leave; however, sabbatical leave will not be granted automatically upon completion of the necessary period of service. Rather, the faculty member shall present, as part of the application, evidence of recent research, scholarship, creative work, or other academic achievement, including publications to support the program of work which is planned for sabbatical leave. Also, this program shall give reasonable expectations of accomplishing the stated goals of the leave as cited in the Policy Statement above.

Tenured faculty with part-time appointments are eligible for sabbatical leave. Such leave benefits may be earned on the same timetable as those for full-time faculty members, but the sabbatical salary shall be proportionately reduced.

4. Options

Sabbatical leave is available under the following options. These options should be discussed with the department chair, and the application for sabbatical leave should indicate the option desired.

When a faculty member is employed on a continuing basis on a 12-month contract, sabbatical leave options can be translated from "semester" to "6-month period" and from "academic year" to "12-month period."

A faculty member receiving a reduced salary (67%) during their sabbatical period may supplement their salary from grants, fellowships, employment, or grants-in-aid or other sources of external funding. I & G funds cannot be used to supplement salary. Any such additional compensation is to be explained on the application form and may not unduly interfere with the objectives of the sabbatical.

A faculty member on sabbatical leave will be treated the same as any other faculty member. Sabbatical leave shall not be used to prejudice the faculty member, whether it be salary, promotion, voting rights, or other considerations.

5. Approval

Sabbatical requests are subject to approval by the department chair, dean, and Provost/EVPHS. (See below for procedures).

6. Faculty Obligation

Sabbatical leaves will be approved only with the clear expectation that the faculty member will at the completion of the sabbatical return to UNM for a period of service not less than the duration of the leave.

7. Restrictions

7.1. If, for whatever reason, it is necessary for a faculty member to defer a sabbatical or defer applying for a sabbatical, the duration required for eligibility for a subsequent sabbatical will be reduced by the length of the deferral. These deferral decisions will be documented in writing and recorded in departmental files and the faculty member’s personnel file.

7.2. Sabbatical leave is counted toward retirement as specified in the applicable retirement plan. While a faculty member is on sabbatical leave, UNM will continue to pay its share toward retirement, group insurance, and social security benefits.

7.3. Upon returning to UNM, every faculty member granted a sabbatical leave shall submit a full report of the research, creative work, publications, or other results of the period of leave to the Provost or the EVPHS within the timeline determined by departmental policy, with copies to the department chair and dean. The report submitted shall be placed in the faculty member's personnel file.

8. Appeal

If at any stage of the approval process, the faculty member believes that their proposal has not been considered properly according to the provisions of this Policy, that matters of academic freedom are involved, that improper considerations have entered into a negative decision, or that other demonstrable conditions prevented a fair and impartial evaluation, the faculty member may appeal to the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure for a review of the matter, in accordance with Policy B6 “Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee.”

Procedures

1. Long-range department plans should consider the necessity of, and provide for, temporary absences for sabbatical leave. Department chairs and/or deans are responsible for tracking faculty member eligibility for sabbatical and developing plans to cover teaching and vital operations including allocating funds to pay for such sabbaticals. Requests for sabbatical leaves from faculty members of small or large departments shall receive equal consideration. If in the judgment of the chair, dean, and Provost/EVPHS the granting of a sabbatical would adversely affect the critical operations of the university due to scheduling or clinical needs a sabbatical leave request may be deferred. However, in such instances administrators must develop an operations continuity plan to ensure the faculty member is provided the sabbatical leave the following year or at a later time jointly agreed to by the faculty member and administration. A sabbatical may not be deferred more than twice for this reason.

Department chairs shall present with each recommendation for sabbatical a statement of how the department will address the programmatic needs created by the sabbatical leave. A department may, for example, decide to alternate courses or to cancel certain offerings. Further, it is expected that the department, with approval of the Provost/EVPHS, shall prepare its program over a period of years so that essential courses need not be neglected because of the temporary absence of a member of the faculty.

2. Approval of Application: Primary responsibility for determining the merit of a proposed sabbatical lies with the department and should be accomplished by a departmental committee. The department chair shall forward to the dean the departmental evaluation, and a statement as to how programmatic needs can be met. The dean with the advice of a college-wide faculty committee shall then evaluate the proposal on its merits and forward to the Provost or EVPHS for approval.

3. All Applications May be Submitted up to Eighteen (18) Months in Advance

Sabbatical applications may be submitted up to eighteen (18) months (or three (3) semesters) in advance of the proposed sabbatical leave in order to provide faculty members with sufficient time to make academic and personal arrangements, such as fellowship support, obtain visiting faculty status at a host institution, and enable family members to accompany the faculty member. In such cases approval would occur twelve (12) months prior to the start of the sabbatical. However, the application must be submitted in time to meet the following deadlines in accordance with departmental procedures.

4. If a faculty member on sabbatical finds it necessary to alter substantially the work plan or objectives of the sabbatical project, the faculty member must inform the department chair and dean in writing as soon as possible of the reasons for the proposed change and secure their written approval for the revised plan.

5. See Policy C280 “Leave Without Pay” for combination of sabbatical and leave without pay.

6. Those faculty members who receive part of their salaries directly from agencies outside of UNM will be granted sabbatical with renumeration as determined by their UNM base salary.

7. When a faculty member is employed on a continuing basis on a 12-month contract, sabbatical leave options can be translated from "semester" to "6-month period" and from "academic year" to "12-month period." Faculty members on 12-month contracts accrue annual leave on a pro-rated basis while on sabbatical leave.

Definitions

Full-time Service: Service time equivalent to that of a faculty member employed on a contract designated as 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE). For example, a faculty member whose contract is designated 0.5 FTE would have to multiply their service by a factor of two to meet the full-time service requirements listed in this policy.

Contacts

Direct any questions about this Policy to your chair or dean.

Who Should Read This Policy

• Board of Regents
• Faculty and academic staff
• Academic deans and other executives, department chairs, directors, and managers

Related Documents

Regents Policy Manual

• Policy 5.1 “The Faculty’s Role in the University’s Academic Mission”
• Policy 5.4 “Leaves of Absence”

Faculty Handbook

• Policy A51 “Faculty Constitution”
• Section B: “Policy on Academic Freedom and Tenure”
• Policy B3.4 "Academic Leave for Pricipal Lecturers"
• Policy C130 “Outside Employment”
• Policy C280 “Leave Without Pay”

Faculty Contracts Sabbatical Leave Form

History

Amended:

• July 1, 2025 - Policy format updated to align with FHB A53
• February 15, 2024 - Approved by the UNM Board of Regants
• November 2, 2023 - Approved by UNM Faculty
• May 14, 2004 – Approved by the UNM Faculty and the UNM Board of Regents
• April 3, 2004 – Approved by the UNM Faculty
• Aug 29, 1978 – Approved by the UNM Board of Regents
• May 10, 1978 – Approved by the UNM Faculty
• May 18, 1975 – Approved by the UNM Board of Regents
• April 8, 1975 – Approved by the UNM Faculty
• February 1, 1975 – Approved by the UNM Board of Regents

Effective:

• March 14, 1974 – Approved by the UNM Board of Regents
• March 12, 1974 – Approved by the UNM Faculty