EO 33   Professional Leave Policy

1.  Purpose and Authority

1. The purpose of professional leave with pay is to increase the scholarship and professional development of members of the faculty and thereby enhance their capacity for service to the University. Leave of this type from academic duties is a privilege granted normally to those of professorial rank to afford them the opportunity for study, investigation, and research.
2. The authority to grant leave has been delegated to the Provost. The responsibility for reviewing the merits of the applications and the administrative feasibility of the leave shall be determined by the department chairs or program directors, deans or chancellors, and the Provost in accordance with procedures established by the Provost.

2.  Principles Governing the Granting of Professional Leave With Pay

1. The character of the applicant’s plans, their application to teaching or research effectiveness, and the applicant’s ability to carry them out are important considerations in the granting of leave.
2. Professional leave with salary may be granted for one, two, or three quarters or for a period of time equivalent to the applicant’s basic annual appointment. The leave may be taken in consecutive quarters or in single quarters which ordinarily shall not exceed the period of the applicant’s basic annual appointment during a seven-year period of service to the University.
3. The University will provide salary support, up to the maximum provided in Subsection 2.D, for the period of the leave as follows:
   1. Two-thirds salary for a leave of three quarters (or four quarters if the applicant’s basic appointment is annual);
   2. Three-fourths salary for a leave of two quarters; or
   3. Full salary for a leave of one quarter.
4. If the applicant secures outside grant, gift or endowment support, which is designated for salary purposes, such funds may be applied to increase the faculty member’s remuneration for the period of the leave to full salary, and thereafter to reduce the University contribution. Except as provided in Subsection 2.E below, the combined remuneration of a person while on professional leave shall not exceed the individual’s regularly established full salary.
5. The remuneration from state general funds and general local funds for any such leave granted for any academic year shall not exceed the average of the highest quartile of a rank order of salaries of all full-time teaching faculty holding academic year contracts or appointments. Remunerated professional leaves for a period of more or less than an academic year shall be compensated at rates not to exceed a proportional amount of the average salary as computed above.
6. In unusual circumstances, where the faculty member requests a professional leave in a particularly high cost-of-living area, or where the nature of the work to be performed while on professional leave requires extraordinary expense, the Provost may approve a combined salary, to be paid from state general funds and general local funds and from alternative fund sources, which may exceed normally contracted salary; provided, that the University shall not provide from state general funds and general local funds amounts in excess of those specified in Subsections 2.C or 2.D above; and provided further, that such excess salary requests shall be granted only upon presentation of valid supporting documentation.
7. A member of the faculty on leave is not privileged to accept remunerative employment during the period of the leave except where the purpose of the leave is for professional practice or experience which cannot be obtained otherwise. The acceptance of a supplemental grant or fellowship should not carry with it duties or obligations which hinder the pursuit of the purpose for which the leave is granted.
8. A faculty member granted leave must agree, in writing, to return to the University after the leave for a period of one year and that failure to return to the University following the completion of the leave will result in an obligation to repay the University any remuneration received from the University during the leave.
9. Ordinarily, professional leave with pay will not be granted for the purpose of working toward an advanced degree. Under unusual circumstances, however, members of the faculty with tenure may be granted this privilege upon recommendation by the dean or chancellor to the Provost.
10. Professional leave regulations in no way affect financial arrangements approved by the Provost with respect to Fulbright Scholarship recipients.

3.  Application Procedures for Professional Leave

1. An instruction sheet and application form for professional leave with pay is available on the Academic Human Resources website.
2. A faculty member who wishes to take a professional leave should file the application at least nine months before the date on which the leave is to begin.

4.  Report of Leave

Upon completion of a leave, a brief report is to be submitted to the Provost. The report should state where the leave was spent and what the principal accomplishments were, including their application to teaching or research effectiveness.

BR, January 1966; Executive Order No. 33 of the President: June 1, 1972; December 10, 1975; November 23, 1977; March 20, 1980; April 20, 2012.

For related information, see:

• Executive Order No. 57, “Outside Professional Work Policy”