Tenured Sabbatical Leave

Sabbatical Leave for Tenured Faculty

Morsani College of Medicine
College of Nursing
College of Pharmacy
College of Public Health

AUTHORITY: USF Faculty Rule 10.104 (17)(a) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement between USF and the UFF

Effective: March 20, 2024

2024-2025 Information

Individual colleges may have an internal sabbatical review process with related deadlines. Morsani College of Medicine faculty may refer to the MCOM internal review process. Faculty in the Colleges of Nursing, Public Health, and Pharmacy should contact their Dean's Office for the internal process for your college.

Scope and Purpose

These procedures apply to full-time, tenured faculty, excluding those in administrative positions at the level of chair/director and above, at USF Health.

To implement the provision of USF Faculty Rule 10.104(17) (a) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement between USF and the UFF, the Senior Vice President of USF Health authorizes a USF Health sabbatical leave program for eligible faculty. The College Deans may implement an appropriate recommendation process within their respective colleges and submit recommendations to the USF Health Sabbatical Committee for review and ranking.

Sabbaticals are granted to faculty to increase a faculty member's value to the University through enhanced opportunities for professional renewal, planned travel, study, formal education, research, writing or other experience of professional value, not as a reward for service.

Types of Sabbatical Available

The following types of sabbatical are available to USF Health faculty who meet the eligibility criteria:

Noncompetitive: Sabbaticals for two semesters or equivalent (39 weeks) at half-pay for eligible faculty members with at least six years of full-time service with the University;
Competitive:
- For eligible in-unit faculty in USF Health at least one sabbatical for one semester or equivalent, (19.5 weeks) at full pay for each 25 eligible faculty members with the University; and
- For eligible faculty in the Morsani College of Medicine, at least one sabbatical at full pay for one semester or equivalent (19.5 weeks) for each 30 eligible faculty members with the Morsani College of Medicine.

Eligibility for Award

Full-time, tenured faculty members, excluding those in administrative positions at the level of chair/director and above, with at least six years of full-time service at the University shall be eligible to apply for a sabbatical. For a two-semester sabbatical at one-half pay, full-time, tenured faculty members with at least six (6) years of full-time service at the University without having had a sabbatical are eligible to apply. Eligible faculty may also apply for subsequent Sabbatical Leave after each additional six years of full-time service.

A tenured faculty member who is compensated, in part, through a contract or grant may receive a sabbatical only if the contract or granting source specifically allows a sabbatical in the conditions of award or funding agreement and the faculty member meets all other eligibility requirements.

Support Available

Sabbatical Leave awards will provide for the following:

100% of University of South Florida contracted base salary support for up to one semester or the equivalent (19.5 weeks) or 50% of the University contracted base salary support for up to two semesters or the equivalent.

Note: Contracted base salary does not include stipends.

The amount of USF support may be reduced by the amount of any other financial assistance received for the Sabbatical program. The faculty member must arrange any other salary support, other support and the payment of fringe benefits from other sources, if and as applicable. No moving expenses or other expenses will be provided by USF Health.

Faculty members considering applying for a Sabbatical Leave should confirm with the USF Human Resources Benefits Office, SVC 2172, 813-974-3872, that any reduced salary as the result of the Sabbatical will not negatively impact their employee-paid benefits.

Compensation from the Academic Support Fund (ASF) and related UMSA benefits are not provided during a Sabbatical Leave and must be arranged by the faculty member before submitting the application with his/her department Chairperson or program on an individual basis relative to contributions to the Department or program and are not considered an entitlement or guarantee.

The chairperson will provide a memorandum for the personnel file if ASF support will be provided during the sabbatical and outline the amount and duration of such support. A copy of this memorandum will be included with the application package.

Conditions of Award

Sabbatical leaves are considered assigned duties. Faculty members should be evaluated while on such leave in a manner appropriate to the assigned duties involved. It is the responsibility of the faculty members to provide data for evaluation of their performance while on leave, consistent with the purpose of the sabbatical and as may be required by the faculty member's department.

Within 30 days after returning from the sabbatical, the faculty member must provide to the Dean and the Senior Vice President a concise written report to accomplishments during the sabbatical. This report shall include information regarding the activities undertaken during the sabbatical, the results accomplished during the sabbatical as they affect the employee and the College, and research or other scholarly work produced or expected to be produced as a result of the sabbatical.

Faculty members who accept the benefit of a Sabbatical Leave are expected to return for full-time employment at the University of South Florida Health for a minimum of one full year (12 months) following completion of the sabbatical. If there are to be agreements to the contrary, they must be made in writing prior to accepting and going on the sabbatical. In those instances in which the faculty member neither returned to College duties for a least one year nor had a written agreement to the contrary, the faculty member may be required to return to the College the salary received during the program.

Half-Pay Sabbaticals

Sabbaticals at half-pay (noncompetitive) will be granted unless the USF Health Sabbatical Committee has determined that the conditions stipulated in these procedures have not been met or that the department/unit staffing (instructional, clinical or research) considerations preclude such sabbatical from being granted. When staffing conditions preclude the granting of a sabbatical, the faculty member will be provided the sabbatical the following year or at a later time mutually agreed to by the faculty member and USF Health. The period of postponement will be credited towards eligibility for a subsequent sabbatical.

If the application submitted to the College Dean/designee is incomplete, it will be returned to the applicant with a specific written statement of the deficiency. To be reconsidered, a resubmitted application must be received by the Dean/designee no later than one week from the date of the notification of deficiency. To expedite the process, the Dean/designee will telephone the applicant in addition to sending the written statement of deficiency.

To be eligible for consideration, the applicant must complete the application and submit it and all required documentation to the Dean by the deadline date indicated in the timetable.

Full-Pay Sabbaticals

The USF Health Committee shall consider the following factors in the review and ranking of full-pay sabbaticals:

Length of service since previous sabbatical or initial appointment
Leaves of Absence from teaching, research, or clinical assignments
The benefits of the proposed program to the faculty member, the department, and the profession; the sabbatical must increase the faculty member's value to the University through enhanced opportunities for professional renewal, planned travel, study, formal education, research, writing or other experience of professional value.
Consistency with the Mission, Vision, Values, Goals and Objectives of USF Health and the faculty member's college
The ability to accomplish on sabbatical a task that otherwise could not be accomplished and the overall likelihood of success
The completeness of the sabbatical work plan, including a timeline

The USF Health Sabbatical Committee may return to the applicant an application which requires clarification or is incomplete and request clarification or additional information. To be reconsidered in the review and ranking, a resubmitted application must be received no later than one week from the date of the notification.

Application Process

Applications for Sabbatical Leave in USF Health may be obtained from the Office of Faculty Affairs website and shall be submitted as outlined in this policy. A college internal review process may supplement this policy. When such process is in place, applicants will comply with the college internal review process and timetable. A faculty member who is applying for a sabbatical may not serve on a college or the USF Health sabbatical committee.

Eligible faculty complete a USF Health Application for Sabbatical Leave form, including a detailed outline of their planned sabbatical program with a time line and other required documentation/verification through appropriate channels to their College Dean/designee. Applicants for the full-pay sabbaticals must also submit current Curriculum Vitae with the application package.
When the sabbatical involves assignment at another institution or organization, include a letter of acknowledgement from a designated representative of that institution or organization verifying the availability of the proposed assignment.
Eligible faculty should submit the complete application and required attachments to the College Dean no later than 5:00 pm on the date indicated in the time table.

USF Health Sabbatical Review Committee

The USF Health Sabbatical Committee is composed of seven members:

Three members, one from each College, must be tenured faculty in the college and be the current or a past chair of the college promotion and tenure committee; and
Three members, one from each College, must be tenured faculty in the college and be the current or a past president of the college faculty; and
The seventh member of the committee is the USF Health Associate Vice President for Research who will also serve as the chairperson of the committee.

For half-pay (noncompetitive) sabbaticals:

Sabbaticals at half-pay will be granted provided the conditions of these procedures have been met.
By the date indicated on the timetable, the Committee submits to the Senior Vice President a list of any half-pay applications deemed complete and recommends approval of all. The Committee also submits a list of half-pay applications deemed incomplete, identified by college and department, which will include the same statement of deficiency provided to the applicant.

For full-pay sabbaticals:

Each Committee member will read and judge the merit and acceptability of each application based on the factors described above. Points will be assigned by each Committee member as follows: (a) extremely meritorious-7 points, (b) highly meritorious-5 points, (c) moderately meritorious-3 points, (d) minimally meritorious-1 point, or (e) of no merit-0 points. An average of the combined Committee members' ratings becomes each applicant's overall rating.
The Committee submits a ranked list of all applicants whose applications are deemed complete, identified by college and department, to the Senior Vice President no later than the date indicated on the timetable. In addition, the committee will submit a list of the applications not recommended for approval, identified by college and department, and include a brief statement of the reason.
No more than one faculty member in a department or professional unit will be awarded a sabbatical at the same time. When the list contains more than one recommended applicant from any one department or other professional unit, the Senior Vice President or designee consults with the relevant chair/dean and makes an appropriate decision that will not cause hardship on the department/unit and is based on the highest rankings. Full-pay sabbaticals may not be postponed since they are of finite number and must be awarded to the next person on the list if not accepted.
The Senior Vice President/designee makes the selections based on the Committee's rankings.

Notification Process

When possible, the Senior Vice President or designee will send out notification of sabbatical awards within one week of receipt of the USF Health Sabbatical Committee's rankings. With regard to full-pay sabbaticals, the Senior Vice President will make appointments from the list and consult with the Committee prior to an appointment that does not follow the Committee's ranking.

A selected faculty member should notify the Dean and the USF Health Office of Faculty Affairs of acceptance or rejection of a sabbatical in accordance with the announced deadline. If an awardee declines a full pay sabbatical offer, the Dean may offer such sabbatical to the next ranked person on the Committee's list without prior consultation with the Committee. A decision on acceptance or rejection of a sabbatical, or at least an expression of intention, should be made no later than the date indicated on the timetable, provided that those whose sabbatical plans are depending upon other factors (supplemental income, grant decisions, etc.) may indicate a conditional acceptance.

Prior to taking a sabbatical leave, the request must be approved in advance in writing by the Dean/designee.

Upon approval of the Application for Sabbatical Leave, the department prepares an Appointment Status form to begin the faculty member's leave, even if the leave is with full pay, and submits it to the Office of Faculty Affairs, Maildrop MDC 53, along with the approved application for sabbatical leave, acknowledgement from the external institution/organization, if applicable, and endorsements/recommendations.

Employment During a Sabbatical

Salary from sources other than the University received by a faculty member on sabbatical normally will result in reduction of the University salary to bring the total income to a level comparable to the faulty member's normal salary. However, in consideration of certain extenuating circumstances, i.e., salary received from an entity for work that is fundamental to the accomplishment of sabbatical purposes, the faculty member may request consideration of waiver of this requirement.

Faculty on one-half pay sabbaticals may receive salary from USF grants or contracts at a level that would make total compensation equal to the faculty member's full-time salary for the sabbatical period. In order for a faculty member to use grant/contract funds to supplement salary while on sabbatical the following conditions must be met:

the nature of the grant/contract activity must be congruent with the proposed sabbatical activities and participation in the grant/contract activities must contribute to the accomplishment of sabbatical objectives;
the granting/contracting agency must allow for such an arrangement;
gross salary drawn from the grant/contract during the sabbatical period cannot exceed one-half of the faculty member's gross USF salary for those on half-pay sabbaticals;
the faculty member must be named in the grant/contract and appear as a budgeted salary line item; and the faculty member's chair/director must submit written verification to the Dean and the Office of Faculty Affairs that the above conditions have been satisfied.
If the faculty member engages in any Outside Activity during the Sabbatical, it is to be reported in ROAD. Should a faculty member be notified by the University that they are to submit their annual eDisclose report while on sabbatical, they will be expected to do so in a timely fashion.