Purpose of a Sabbatical – Sabbatical leave should be made available for the pursuit of formal graduate level study, usually, but not always, associated with an advanced degree, as well as training, research or professional writing related to a person’s HCC duties or other activities that would mutually benefit the employee and the College. Pay During Sabbatical Leave – Sabbatical leave may be paid or unpaid. 1. An unpaid sabbatical would meet all of the rationale that applies to a paid sabbatical in regard to a unique professional development opportunity, but the employee requesting the sabbatical leave may accept short term employment with another entity during the sabbatical, and for this or some other reason does not need their College salary continued during the leave period. 2. A paid sabbatical leave would be either a full salary for one semester or half salary for a full year. Application Process – An employee must submit a written sabbatical request/proposal to the appropriate Division Director or Dean for initial assessment at least ninety (90) days in advance of the proposed start of the leave. The Director or Dean submits the request to the VPAASS who then forwards the request to the President. The President must recommend the sabbatical leave to the Board of Trustees for approval. Content of Proposal – The written sabbatical leave request must minimally address the following questions: 1. What is the specific professional development plan for the requested leave? What does the applicant expect to accomplish? 2. Why is a sabbatical needed to accomplish the desired outcomes? If the request is for more than one semester of leave, please explain why a full year’s leave is needed. 3. How is this activity valuable to the College? Include a statement that demonstrates how the leave request is compatible with the work of the College as represented in its mission, vision, and strategic goals. 4. In addition to a written self-evaluation report of your proposed leave activities, are there other tangible outcomes of your leave (for example, new curricula) that would be of particular benefit to your professional colleagues or students? 5. The granting of a paid sabbatical includes a financial commitment by the College to continue an employee’s salary and benefits as specified above. If additional financial assistance is requested of the College to support the sabbatical, this information must be explicitly stated in the leave proposal. Conditions – Only one sabbatical should be granted to a qualifying employee in a seven (7) year span. Upon completion of a sabbatical, the employee must agree to prepare a written self-evaluation report concerning the leave activities/accomplishments and return to full-time college service for at least five years or reimburse the College for the gross salary paid during the leave time. A College employee on sabbatical leave will be entitled to receive any increments of salary and other benefits for which the employee would normally be eligible from regular full-time service. Time spent on sabbatical leave shall be counted as regular service as it applies to retirement. Sabbatical leaves and
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