Sabbatical Review Committee

The Sabbatical Review Committee, composed of eight tenured members of the Regular Faculty, and "distributed so as to assure representation of a variety of scholarly disciplines," reviews the sabbatical plans and recommends to the Provost "their approval of those plans which, in the judgment of the majority of the full committee, reasonably promise to enhance the value of the applicant significantly as a member of the University's faculty." The Sabbatical Review Committee may suggest or request revisions of plans that do not meet this general criterion of acceptability. The Committee also reviews and approves Sabbatical Reports.

Plans

Purpose

Besides being a requirement for the granting of a sabbatical, the submission of the sabbatical plan serves a number of additional purposes. As a timely projection of faculty intentions, it may serve the purpose of guiding long-range professional development. The plan also serves as a source of useful information to the academic vice president about developing faculty research interests. Finally, for the faculty member, it can be a tool for self-evaluation of success. Compared to the Sabbatical Report, it may suggest ways in which future projects (and future sabbatical plans) might better be envisioned and organized.

Submission

Sabbatical plans are due in the Office of the Provost no later than the 15th of October* preceding the academic year in which you propose to take sabbatical leave. Plans should be submitted electronically to lori.montezon@marquette.edu by the deadline. It is essential that you adhere to this time frame because sufficient time is required by your academic unit for the recruitment of replacement staffing, if necessary, and to provide you with an opportunity to seek supplemental funding for your leave and to provide adequately for your sabbatical activities.

You should consult with your dean and/or chairperson, as appropriate, in developing your plan. After the plan is developed, you must submit a copy of the plan to your dean and chairperson (as appropriate) for review and comments as specified in the Sabbatical Plans format. All items in the plan format must be complete before the plans are sent electronically to the Office of the Provost which will forward them to the Sabbatical Review Committee for evaluation. The recommendation of the Sabbatical Review Committee will be reported to the Office of the Provost in a timely way.

* Please check with your college/school dean's office to confirm submission date.

Modifications

Since departmental schedules, planning, etc., are substantially affected by staff availability, modifications of sabbatical plan with respect to length of time (semester or academic year) should be initiated only after consultation with the department chairman. Any minor changes can be noted in the Sabbatical Report.

Substantial modifications of the content of the sabbatical plan should be addressed to the Office of the Provost.

Format and Criteria

Sabbatical plans must adhere to the guidelines specified within the Sabbatical Handbook. Plans should total no fewer than two and preferably no more than five pages (see Handbook for examples).

For typical, research-oriented plans, the Sabbatical Review Committee has accepted the following rationale and criteria for evaluating plans and recommending their approval to the Provost.

"To make it more possible that the Sabbatical Review Committee -- with its diverse backgrounds -- will be able to respond to and make constructive suggestions, the sabbatical plan should be similar to the non-technical summary required in most research grant proposals. That is, a good plan should include some statement of purpose, methodology, results, and benefits. Its style should be as far as possible clear, succinct, and without jargon" (text of motion approved by the Sabbatical Review Committee, June 1, 1989). An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae should be included with your plan.

Other, atypical sabbatical projects might include creative activities, pursuing course work, whether leading to a degree or not, or assuming positions which entail some teaching or other activities at another academic institution, or a public or private organization or corporation. Such proposals may be acceptable if they promise to enhance or enrich the individual faculty member. Plans for such atypical sabbatical projects will be judged on a case by case basis, but the general criteria listed above will be applied as far as possible.

Reports

"With reasonable diligence upon the close of the sabbatical leave, the faculty member. . . shall prepare and submit to the Sabbatical Review Committee for evaluation and review a summary report of his or her sabbatical work, relating the report to the stipulations of the Sabbatical Plan."

Sabbatical reports must adhere to the guidelines specified within the Sabbatical Handbook. Reports should generally total one to three pages.

FAILURE TO FULLFILL SABBATICAL RESPONSIBILITIES/FAILURE TO RETURN TO UNIVERSITY AFTER SABBATICAL

If, without the consent of the Provost, a faculty member fails, except for reasons of physical or mental disability, to attempt in good faith to perform the sabbatical work described in the approved sabbatical plan, or to resume and continue regular faculty appointment and service at the University for at least one academic year following that in which the sabbatical leave is granted, the faculty member shall be obligated to reimburse the University for all sabbatical compensation paid to or on account of the faculty member for the sabbatical period.