College of Arts and Sciences Policy on Faculty Leave With Pay

May 25, 2001

The College and the University wish to be supportive of faculty who receive awards that provide valuable professional opportunities and represent significant recognition of professional status (e.g., prestigious visiting appointments or fellowships). Such opportunities often require leaves of absence. There are a wide range of circumstances under which such opportunities occur so each case must be judged on its own merits. The following considerations and principles will govern the handling of requests for leaves:

• All leaves are subject to the provisions of section 3.4.3.1 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents (below).
• If the leave is to be without pay, it will normally be granted if it meets the conditions of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents.
• If a leave with partial pay is needed, it is expected that a Faculty Development Fellowship (FDF) will be the vehicle by which the leave is granted. Exceptions will be considered for a faculty member who is not yet eligible for an FDF or when there are special circumstances which make a full year FDF impractical. When an exception is requested, consideration will be given to the nature of the opportunity and the degree of prestige it carries.
• Faculty who are contemplating applying for a fellowship which would require an FDF or other support from the College should discuss their application with the departmental chair prior to its submission. The Chair should then raise it with the Dean who will indicate whether the College will provide the needed support should the application be successful.
• If an FDF is not used to support the leave, the College may provide partial support up to a level of 0.5 FTE. The amount of support will depend on the level of support from other sources and the degree of prestige the source of the support confers on the faculty member.
• The Regents’ FDF policy requires six full years of service prior to a leave. Leaves with pay or partial pay which are supported by the College will conform to this expectation. That is, following a College supported leave with partial pay, the faculty member will normally be expected to serve six full years before an FDF or other leave with partial pay will be granted and a faculty member who has had an FDF within the past six years will normally not be considered for a leave with partial pay.

Section 3.4.3.1 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska

Academic Leaves of Absence.

The Board may grant leaves of absence not to exceed one year to members of the permanent professional staff holding full-time appointments, or part-time appointments of at least one-half full-time equivalent (.5 FTE),with or without stipends, as follows:

(a) To carry out a specific program of teaching, research, or other creative work when the described project seems significant and the qualifications of the applicant adequate to its attainment.

(b) To acquire, through study, observations, interviews, travel, and cultural interchanges within the United States and abroad, new concepts, data, and procedures when, in the opinion of the appropriate committees and officers of the administration, such leaves will result in the improvement of the quality of instruction and research and contribute towards the enhancement of the scholarly prestige of the University.

(c) To render services sponsored or approved by the University or otherwise recognized as significant, such as assisting in the establishment or operation of new teaching extension, or research programs in the United States and abroad.

Such leaves may be extended for one additional year with approval of the Board. No leaves of absence with pay will be granted by the Board except in cases where it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Board that the best interests of the University will be substantially and directly promoted by granting such leave of absence with pay, and that the recipient of the leave of absence with pay has agreed to resume his or her duties at the University of Nebraska upon termination of the leave and continue such duties for a period of at least one academic year and, if he or she fails to do so in strict accordance with his or her agreement, agrees to reimburse the University for all pay received during the leave of absence.

All granting of leaves of absence shall be contingent on satisfactory replacement or other arrangements having been made to the end that instruction and research in the department involved will not be disrupted.