1. Sabbatical Leave

a. Purpose. To encourage scholarly pursuits which will contribute to one's effectiveness as a teacher.

b. Eligibility. Any tenured member of the faculty may apply for sabbatical leave, as long as he or she has tenure by the time that the sabbatical leave begins, if he or she has reached the rank of assistant professor and has been in full-time service at RC during at least six years preceding the academic year in which the leave is to occur. In all cases the granting of a leave is contingent upon satisfactory arrangements being made to meet the needs of the department concerned. Since the purpose of the sabbatical program is to strengthen the teaching program of this institution, it is expected that any person taking advantage of the sabbatical leave privilege will return to the College for at least one full year. Should a faculty member not return to RC the year after a sabbatical leave, the full amount paid to the faculty member by the College during the sabbatical leave shall be repaid to the College. The money must be paid within one year after notification to the College of resignation. Acceptance of a sabbatical leave constitutes acceptance of these terms. [Amended: Faculty, 4/14/09; Trustees, 5/9/09]

No more than 1/7 of the tenured faculty shall usually be awarded sabbatical leaves during any academic year.  [Amended: Faculty, 2/10/09; Trustees, 2/21/09]

c. General Information. A leave may be either for a full year at half salary or for one semester at full salary. Although a faculty member who is on sabbatical leave from RC is not expected to undertake full-time employment, an exception may be made if his/her plans involve a type of activity which will lead to professional development and will be of benefit to the College. In any decision, compensation which a person will receive from extra employment will be taken into consideration when determining the amount of sabbatical leave salary to which he or she will be entitled.

The deadline for applying to the Dean of the College for a sabbatical leave is September 1 of the preceding year. The decision whether to grant sabbatical leave rests with the President, subject to approval of the Board of Trustees.  All decisions about sabbatical leaves will be communicated to applicants by October 1 of the same preceding year. [Amended: Faculty, 4/14/09; Trustees, 5/9/09]

d. Reports. A written report on the use made of a sabbatical leave shall be submitted to the Dean of the College by the first day of the first calendar month following the faculty member's return to RC.

2. Leaves of Absence Without Pay. Requests may be made for professional leave of absence without pay for a semester or year. Such leaves should involve research or study. The time spent on unpaid leave will not be included in the computation of either sabbatical eligibility or the required probationary period prior to a tenure decision. Such leaves should be requested in the same fashion and at the same time as sabbatical leaves. Such leaves will normally not be granted more than once in every four years and will normally be restricted to a maximum of one year. The granting of such leaves will be dependent on departmental and institutional considerations.

 

3. Parental or Maternity Leave and Family Emergency. A full-time faculty member with at least one full year of service who would miss actual teaching days for reasons of childbirth or adoption will be granted up to six calendar weeks of leave with pay to cover missed periods of actual teaching responsibility; such paid leave may be extended for additional periods up to six months if the faculty member is medically disabled. Should the faculty member be granted additional full-leave or partial leave with a reduced teaching load, the Dean of the College and faculty member will agree on equitable compensation for the period covered. If the faculty member is on a probationary, tenure track appointment, the faculty member and the Dean of the College will, in consultation with the department chair, determine if such leave shall or shall not be included as part of the probationary period. Faculty are also entitled to have their health benefits continued at the College's expense for the academic semester in which a full or partial leave is taken.

A full-time faculty member with at least one full year of service who gives birth or adopts a child and who takes an unpaid leave of absence corresponding to an academic semester or takes an academic semester with a reduced load (with commensurate reduction in salary) shall be entitled to have his or her health benefits continued at the college's expense for the academic semester during such unpaid leave or reduced load.

In the event of a family emergency that results in a full-time faculty member securing, under existing procedures, an unpaid leave of absence, he or she may request the Dean of the College, who will consult with the Senior Staff to consider the College's continuing its contribution for medical benefits for all or some part of the leave; any such extension will be made on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the Senior Staff. [Amended: Trustee 10/14/92]

4. Grants for Attendance at Professional Meetings. To assist in meeting the expense of attending professional meetings, the College will allow up to $525 per year (from July 1 to June 30) to each full-time member of the faculty. Except during one's first year of employment, an individual may draw on unused funds from the previous year and the funds available for the following year, for a total not to exceed $1050. The grants are automatically available to each faculty member and are not awarded on a competitive basis.

Part-time regular status members of the faculty who carry teaching loads of one-half-time or more are eligible for grants to attend professional meetings on a prorated basis.

a. Reimbursement for Expenses. Forms for requesting reimbursement are available in the Business Office. These forms should be completed in duplicate and returned to the Dean of the College for approval within 30 days of the meeting.

The amount requested should be itemized and appropriate transportation stubs, hotel bills, meal receipts, etc. should be attached.

Expenses to be itemized are:

(1)  Transportation (actual fare for train, plane, or bus or automobile mileage of 37.5 cents per mile).

(2)  Living expenses - actual cost.

(3) Registration fee for the meeting.