Sabbatical Leave Handbook
Faculty Affairs Officev1.7 (December 23, 2022)

1. Goals:
Sabbatical leave offers tenured faculty members opportunities for study, research, acquisition of newtechniques, and enhanced professional development. Sabbatical leave allows faculty members tofocus on such matters without teaching and administrative duties. The following procedures areintended to facilitate the taking of sabbatical leave, while ensuring normal operations at OIST.
2. Eligibility:
Tenured faculty members are eligible to apply for sabbatical leave if they have served at least six (6)years as full-time faculty members at OIST. The tenure-track period is included as part of thesabbatical qualifying period so that untenured faculty members can apply for sabbatical leaves after
being awarded tenure. Years from the OIST Promotion Corporation period are not counted.
Sabbatical leave is not allowed during the final year of a contract as a tenured faculty member or
during the final year before retirement. A sabbatical cannot interfere with the five-year unit review,nor does it delay the next unit review.
The sabbatical-qualifying period includes annual paid leave, summer leave, maternity leave, sickleave, and special leave, but does not include childcare leave, nursing care leave, leave related tohealthcare during pregnancy and childbirth, administrative leave, other leave without salary or pureresearch leave. Sabbatical eligibility does not accrue during periods of sabbatical leave, leave
without salary or pure research leave (PRP 3.7.4.3). The ‘Stop-the-Clock’ period, which enables
postponement of tenure review and unit review timings, is counted as part of the sabbaticalqualifying period.
3. Sabbatical Credit:
For every three (3) years of academic service, tenured faculty members earn six (6) months ofsabbatical credit. The maximum sabbatical credit that can be accrued is twelve (12) months. At least
three (3) months of sabbatical leave credit must be used for a given sabbatical, even if the actual
leave taken is less than three (3) months. Sabbatical leave credit will be used in one-monthincrements for sabbaticals longer than three months. If faculty members cannot go on sabbaticalleave due to teaching constraints or other factors, they will not lose sabbatical credit. However,deferred sabbatical leave can allow sabbatical credit to be accumulated only up to the maximum oftwelve (12) months. In general, sabbatical leave should be taken off campus, but for family or otherreasons it may be taken on campus with permission of the Dean of Faculty Affairs (DFA).
4. Financial support
4.1 During sabbatical leave, full salary is continued. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply forfunds from the host institution or external funding to support sabbatical projects. Unlesssupported by funds from the host institution or external funds, the applicant may charge
sabbatical-related expenses to the unit budget, in accordance with OIST rules, including thefollowing:
4.1.1 OIST may cover an applicant’s travel expenses for OIST business between OIST andthe host institution, as well as travel expenses incurred for study, research, andpresentations that cannot be done at the host institution, such as attending conferences
and meetings. OIST travel rules apply.
4.1.2 OIST may cover consumable expenses incurred for reasonable research purposes at thesabbatical destination. The HEART financial system should work at remote sites so that1Sabbatical Leave Handbook
Faculty Affairs Officev1.7 (December 23, 2022)

consumable ordering can be controlled from the unit budget.
4.2 If the applicant maintains housing in Okinawa, the housing allowance will continue during asabbatical leave. If the applicant lives on campus or off campus rental housing, such housing
arrangements will continue during the sabbatical leave.
4.2.1 If the applicant decides not to maintain housing in Okinawa, a housing allowance(taxable income) may be paid based on the Compensation Rules together with the monthly
salary upon completion of necessary procedures.
4.2.2 Faculty members who are living together are not eligible to receive more than one
housing allowance (for on- or off-campus housing rented by OIST in Okinawa).
4.3 OIST will not pay for shipping or storing of personal goods, such as furniture.
4.4 It is the sabbaticant’s responsibility to negotiate and arrange health insurance while at the hostinstitution. If the host institution does not provide such an arrangement or payment,sabbaticants must present evidence of denial before requesting financial support from OIST
via the DFA.
5.

Application process and documents required
Once eligibility is granted, at least nine (9) months before the start of the academic year in whichsabbatical leave is to commence, the applicant must submit a “Sabbatical Leave Application” online(https://groups.oist.jp/grad/sabbatical-leave-application-0).
The “Sabbatical Leave Application” will include the following information:
5.1 Plans to cover teaching and supervision of students and unit members.
5.2 A Sabbatical Research Plan must include plans for work to be accomplished during sabbaticalleave and an explanation of how the plan contributes to the applicant’s future research. The
applicant must indicate whether the research project is supported by external funding, including
external grants and host institution financial aid.
5.3 Regardless of funding source, the applicant must develop a “Budget Plan,” which includes anestimated budget to cover travel, consumables, and other research-related expenses (asdescribed in 4.1.1 and 4.1.2). The Budget Plan needs to be approved by the DFA and the Deanof Research (DoR).
5.4 The applicant must attach an invitation letter from the host institution.
5.5 As part of sabbatical leave application process, an agreement between the host institution andOIST must be prepared. This agreement must include management of intellectual property that
may result from the sabbatical research, and other pertinent sabbatical terms and conditions. The
applicant must consult with the General Counsel and the Executive Vice President forTechnology Development and Innovation (EVP for TDI) through the Faculty Affairs Office,and must receive their approval before signing any sabbatical agreement with the hostinstitution.
6. Teaching, supervision of students and unit members, and administrative duties:
After submitting the online application form, the applicant must make necessary arrangements with2

Sabbatical Leave Handbook
Faculty Affairs Officev1.7 (December 23, 2022)

the Deans of the Graduate School (DGS) and DFA to cover teaching, supervision of students andunit members, and administrative responsibilities during sabbatical leave.
During sabbatical leave, teaching duties are suspended and no new rotation students or interns may
be accepted. In general, sabbatical leave does not relieve faculty of their regular teaching. Teachingis expected to be shifted to accommodate the period of leave and presented either before leaving, orafter return, whichever is more suitable in consultation with the DGS.
Faculty members remain responsible for supervision of unit members, including researchers,interns, and students, and appropriate measures should be planned in advance. These include
support by other faculty members and/or regular electronic communication with students and unit
members. In case of long sabbatical leave (up to twelve months), one or more brief returns to OIST
are recommended.
Administrative duties, such as committee memberships (excluding Thesis Committee memberships),
are also suspended. It is the candidate’s responsibility to inform the committee secretary about his/herleave and to make necessary arrangements to cover their absence.
7.

Criteria for acceptance
While OIST encourages faculty members who have accumulated sufficient sabbatical credit andacquired eligibility to take sabbatical leave, the university cannot afford to have a large number offaculty on leave. Therefore, no more than 10% of tenured faculty members can take sabbaticalleave simultaneously. In addition, continued coverage of specific courses may restrict sabbaticalleave. In selecting which faculty may take leave, preference will be given to those who have notpreviously been granted sabbatical leave, and all else being equal, research plans of applicants will
be taken into account. External factors, such as support from host institutions, will not affect theselection.
If sabbatical leave is not granted by the Deans for any reason given in the foregoing paragraph,sabbatical credit is not lost, and a similar application may be made subsequently.

8.

Approval of the Sabbatical Leave Application:
When arrangements described in Sections 5 and 6 have been approved in principle by the threeDeans (DFA, DGS, and DoR) and if the EVP for TDI and General Counsel validate the Intellectual
Property-related arrangements with the host institution, the three Deans will sign the Sabbatical
Leave Approval Notice. The application form will be sent by the Faculty Affairs Office to thePresident for final approval.

9.

Miscellany
9.1 Faculty members who take sabbatical leave shall submit a brief, succinct research report to theDFA within 3 months of the end of the sabbatical.
9.2 Faculty members who take sabbatical leave are expected to return to work at OIST for one
year. Failure to do so will incur responsibility to repay all financial support provided by OIST
beyond salary.

Modification History3

Sabbatical Leave Handbook
Faculty Affairs Officev1.7 (December 23, 2022)
DateAuthor

Modification

March 6, 2018
Version 1.0
April 25, 2018
Version 1.1

DFAApproved final version 1.0

DFA/DGS•

June 6, 2018
Version 1.2

DFA/ProvostJuly 4, 2018Version 1.3
Feb 15, 2019
Version 1.4
June 17, 2019
Version 1.5
Nov 18, 2019
Version 1.6
Dec 23, 2022
Version 1.7

DFA

Teaching is expected to be shifted to accommodate the period of leaveand presented either before leaving, or after return, whichever is moresuitable in consultation with the DGS.
• …three Deans will sign the Sabbatical Leave Approval Notice
Deleted: In highly exceptional cases, in which additional financial support
is indispensable to complete the sabbatical research, the applicant may
include it in the Budget Plan and consult in advance with the Finance
Division and Administrative Compliance Division through the Faculty
Affairs Office. Expenses not expressly approved as described above will be
the responsibility of the applicant.
Minor wording changes to 4.1 and 4.2. Added: 4.2.1

DFA

Added: 4.4

DFA/DGS

Added: (excluding Thesis Committee memberships)
Added: and to make necessary arrangements to cover their absence.
Added new URL to Sabbatical Leave Application

FAO
FAO/HR

Revision to 4.2 and 4.2.1 Housing Allowance with a new decision to provide
housing allowance at the sabbatical destination.

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