Faculty Leave Programs

Policy number: 2.13

Policy section: Academic Affairs

Revised Date: December 16, 2019

1.  Policy Statement

It is the policy of the University to grant members of the faculty in the tenure-track professorial ranks (assistant professor, associate professor, or professor) a leave of absence for the purpose of study, research, creative activity, or other pursuit of value to the scholarly agenda of the faculty member and the University.

This policy does not address childbirth, parental, or medical leaves, which are addressed in University Policy 2.14, Faculty Family and Medical Leaves.

2.  Purpose

The purpose of a leave with pay is to enable faculty to increase their effectiveness and usefulness to the University through a period of sustained time for research, writing, scholarship, or creative activity.  Professional activities that might detract from this purpose including teaching will ordinarily not be permitted during the research leave.

The purpose of a leave without pay is primarily to allow a faculty member to leave the University temporarily to undertake special projects or public or private service that would benefit the individual and University as well as the organization, institution, or cause served. However, such leaves may be approved for more general academic purposes.

3.  Research Leave

Research leaves are available to those qualifying persons of the University who are full-time employees holding faculty rank of associate professor or higher. The faculty member is eligible to apply for one semester of research leave at full pay or one year of research leave at partial pay (typically half of the nine-month base salary for the college and most schools, but no more than two-thirds of base salary). The faculty member is eligible to apply for a research leave that begins after a minimum of twelve semesters of full-time service since the initial appointment or last research leave or a minimum of ten semesters of full-time service after a junior faculty research leave (see below). Faculty with more than the minimum number of semesters of full-time service needed for eligibility may not carryover the additional semesters toward eligibility for a future leave or use the additional semesters to request a longer research leave at full pay. A faculty member who takes a research leave must agree to return to full-time service at SMU for at least one year.

4.  Junior Faculty Research Leave

Tenure-track assistant professors (or possibly tenure-track associate professors) who have undergone a formal third-year review and are deemed to be making good progress towards achieving tenure are eligible for one semester of paid Junior Research Leave to concentrate on research, scholarship, and/or creative activity. This leave is normally taken during the fourth or fifth year of the probationary period. The faculty member should have completed six semesters of full-time service and the leave must be completed prior to September of the academic year in which the tenure decision will be made. If a faculty member has been granted a semester or more at full pay with no teaching duties as part of the employment contract, he or she is not eligible to apply for Junior Faculty Research Leave.

A faculty member who takes a Junior Research Leave must agree to return to full-time service for at least one year. The faculty member is eligible to apply for the next research leave following ten semesters of full-time service since the Junior Research Leave.

5.  Administrative Leave

Faculty may receive an administrative leave for serving in an administrative position. The conditions for receiving that leave must be specified in the contract for the administrative position; otherwise, the faculty member’s leave follows the same guidelines discussed above (minimum of twelve semesters of full-time service since the last research leave).

Faculty serving in administrative positions may not accumulate more than one year of leave. Faculty who were eligible to apply for a one semester research leave prior to assuming an administrative position and were granted a one-semester administrative leave by contract for serving in the administrative position are eligible to apply for a one-year research/administrative leave at full pay. After receiving a one-year administrative leave or a one-year combined research/administrative leave, the faculty member who no longer serves in an administrative role will be eligible to apply for the next research leave after twelve semesters of full-time service.

Faculty who were not eligible to apply for a one semester research leave prior to assuming an administrative position may use their years of full-time service since the last research leave, not counting their years of service in the administrative position, toward eligibility for their next research leave. For example, a faculty member who has five semesters of full-time service since the last research leave at the time he/she accepts an administrative position that ends with a one-semester administrative leave is eligible to apply for the next research leave after seven additional semesters of full-time service. This situation does not apply to faculty that receive a one-year administrative leave.

6.  Special Research Leave

The University recognizes that faculty members cannot always make their strongest case for national fellowships (e.g., Fulbright, Guggenheim, NEH) at times when they are eligible for a research leave. To encourage faculty to seek out national fellowships the special research leave program is designed for faculty that are awarded national fellowships or other partially or fully funded opportunities of similar stature. The special research leave program operates independently from the research leave program. This means that a special research leave does not reset the standard research leave clock. In other words, a faculty member is still eligible for a standard research leave after twelve semesters of full-time service since the last standard research leave. A special research leave does not count as a semester of full-time service. If fellowship funding is below the academic salary of the faculty member, the school or college agrees to make up the difference so that the faculty member continues to receive his/her academic year salary during the special research leave.

Special research leaves are also available on a limited basis to highly productive faculty who have an unusually demanding or large-scale project that requires additional time to initiate or bring to conclusion. The faculty member should provide documentation of past productivity and the significance of the project. The standards for receiving this type of special research leave are significantly higher than a standard research leave.

7.  Secondment Leave

A secondment leave allows a faculty member with the approval of the Dean and Provost to leave the University temporarily to serve in another organization (e.g., the National Science Foundation). The faculty member’s salary and benefits are typically paid by SMU with funds provided by the organization.

8.  Guidelines and Procedures

  1. Guidelines – The research leave program is administered by the Deans with final approval of a research leave by the Provost. Each Dean shall be guided by the following principles: (1) research leave is not a reward for service rendered to the University; (2) research leave may be awarded only to a faculty member who presents a research plan that meets the essential standard of quality and promise. The Dean may consult with a committee in evaluating research project plans; and (3) The Dean shall establish guidelines for determining the effect of outside grants or compensation upon the amounts awarded by the University.
  2. Application – A faculty member shall submit a written proposal to the department Chair in the September preceding the year for which the leave is to be taken. Each proposal must include: a description of the research/study proposed including its relation to the person's scholarly and teaching interest, a current vita including a list of previous research and publications, as well as a list of previous leaves granted by the University. The department Chair shall submit approved proposals to the Dean in time for them to be submitted to the Provost no later than October 15. With approval of the Provost, a Dean may accept applications submitted after the normal deadline. A brief statement should be attached explaining the basis of departmental approval, the arrangement of teaching schedules which makes the leave possible, and what, if any, budgetary provisions will have to be made for part-time teaching if the faculty member's leave were granted. In extraordinary circumstances, persons whose plans for leave have been rejected by the department may appeal to the Dean.
  3. Financial Support – Research leave financial support rates shall be based on the rate of compensation that the faculty member would have earned had he/she not been engaged in the research leave. The University will base its contributions to the retirement plan on the person’s actual compensation received from the University during the period of time that the person is on leave. Other fringe benefits will be computed and contributed to as though the person were present and teaching. The budgetary support for the research leave must be approved by the Provost before an official commitment is made to the faculty member.
  4. Approval – After authorization by the Provost, the Dean shall send to the faculty member a formal letter approving the research leave before the leave begins. The letter should set forth the terms of the research leave, any essential references to the research project itself, specific financial commitments, and any other appropriate information.
  5. Final Report – On completion of the research leave, the faculty member will submit to the Dean a written report of what has been accomplished. The Deans should inform the Provost’s Office that they have received these reports from all faculty on leave during the preceding year.

9.  Leave without Pay

A leave without pay is available to those qualifying persons of the University who are full-time employees holding faculty rank of assistant professor or higher. The faculty member may apply after a minimum of one year of full-time service. The typical length of the leave is one year or less. There is no limit on the number of such leaves that may be granted, although formal application must be made for each leave without pay and each leave must be justified on its own merits. Normally the number of consecutive years of leave will not exceed two.

  1. Wages and Salary – During a leave of absence with no pay, the University will make no wage or salary payments to the faculty member taking the leave other than those specifically authorized by other relevant policies.
  2. Insurance and benefits – Employee insurance and other specified benefits may be maintained throughout the period of leave without pay by the faculty member continuing to pay both his/her share of the contributions and the total contribution normally paid by the University. The University will pay none of its regular contributions during a leave of absence without pay. However, during the period of leave, tuition benefits will continue to be available.
  3. Reinstatement of Benefits – Benefits and privileges accorded faculty prior to any type of leave will be reinstated upon return of the faculty member taking leave.
  4. Application – A faculty member wishing to apply for a leave without pay should submit a written proposal to the department Chair in the September preceding the year for which the leave is to be taken. Each proposal must include: the reasons and duration of the leave requested including its relation to the person's scholarly and teaching interest, a current vita including a list of previous research and publications, and a list of previous leaves granted by the University. The department Chair shall submit approved proposals to the Dean in time for them to be submitted to the Provost no later than October 15. With approval of the Provost, a Dean may accept applications submitted after the normal deadline.

10.  Questions

Questions regarding this policy are to be directed to the Office of the Provost.

Revised: December 16, 2019

Adopted: September 8, 1997

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