Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3337 - Ohio University › Chapter 3337-3 - Faculty Governance › Section 3337-3-09 - Professional leave, research grants, and awards

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) Faculty improvement program
(1) The purpose of the faculty improvement
			 program is to enhance the professional skills of the faculty member through
			 further education, study, research, or creative work. It is the spirit of the
			 program to permit the faculty member maximum flexibility in planning, in his
			 way, his professional development. Both faculty and students as well as the
			 public will benefit from such improvement in professional competence.
(2) At the end of each seven-year teaching
			 period at Ohio university, each tenured faculty member having status shall be
			 eligible for professional leave. Department chairmen accrue time towards
			 eligibility in the same way as other faculty members. All academic service to
			 Ohio university will count toward eligibility regardless of the rank, campus,
			 or overseas program at which it was performed. Every faculty member who has
			 taken professional leave shall complete another seven years of service at Ohio
			 university before he shall become eligible for another grant of professional
			 leave.
(3) Leaves of absence
			 supported by other programs, such as baker awards, research grants,
			 fellowships, etc., and leaves for the purpose of employment by another school
			 or company will not be considered as substitutes for professional leave.
			 However, the period spent on such special leaves of absence will not count as
			 part of the accrual period for professional leave.
(4) Professional leave may consist of one
			 quarter at full pay, two quarters at three-fourths pay, or three quarters at
			 two-thirds pay. These rates are to be applied to the pay the faculty member
			 normally would receive during the quarter(s) in which he is to be on
			 leave.
(5) Professional leave may
			 be granted for a maximum of three quarters. Faculty on nine-month contracts
			 will be granted leave only during the quarters covered by a contract.
			 Professional leave may not be taken during the summer or other off quarter,
			 though such quarters do count toward eligibility for professional leave.
			 Faculty members on twelve-month contracts will be granted leave at any time
			 during the twelve-month period of the contract, with the combined summer
			 sessions concidered be one quarter.
(6) A faculty member on professional leave
			 will not hold a paid position unless that position can be shown to assist him
			 professionally. Should he hold such a paid position during the period of the
			 leave, however, the sum of the professional leave salary and additional funds
			 in the form of grants, stipends, gifts, or pay shall not exceed the salary the
			 faculty member would have received for that year without leave, excluding such
			 funds as are applied to the special expenses of the leave for equipment, books,
			 professional travel, services, higher cost of living elsewhere, etc. Should the
			 sum exceed that amount, the university's contribution to his professional leave
			 salary may be reduced accordingly.
(7) A faculty member who does not wish to
			 apply for professional leave the year he becomes eligible or who is denied
			 leave for any reason, will not lose his eligibility and may apply in the
			 following years. If a faculty member is denied leave for the convenience of the
			 department, in spite of the fact that his proposal merits approval, every
			 effort will be made to ensure that this denial is not continued another
			 year.
(8) Upon completion of
			 professional leave, a faculty member starts accruing time toward eligibility
			 for the award of his next professional leave as of the date of his resumption
			 of normal academic duties. He does not begin to accrue time toward another
			 leave while the leave for which he is already eligible is delayed either
			 voluntarily or through denial of leave.
(9) Professional leave shall be considered as
			 part of university service. No faculty member shall, by virtue of being on
			 professional leave, suffer a reduction or termination of his regular employee
			 retirement or insurance benefits or of any other benefit or privilege he
			 receives as a faculty member at Ohio university. Whenever such a benefit would
			 be reduced because of a reduction in the faculty member's salary during the
			 period of professional leave, the faculty member shall be given a chance to
			 have the benefit increased to its normal level. Ohio university will continue
			 to pay its portion of pension and insurance policies.
(10) Faculty members will be expected to
			 teach at Ohio university for at least three quarters after completion of their
			 professional leave.
(11)
			 Application for professional leave is to be made in writing to the department
			 chairman ordinarily no later than the first day of the winter quarter preceding
			 the summer and/or academic year in which-the leave is to be taken. The decision
			 by the president on his application is to be made known to the faculty member
			 in writing no later than March 1, though this decision is subject to trustee
			 approval at their next meeting. The application must include a well-considered
			 plan, presented with a reasonable degree, of specificity, showing how the leave
			 will contribute to the professional effectiveness of the applicant and the best
			 interest of the university, e.g., teaching efficacy, research, and
			 creativity.
(12) The department
			 will evaluate the faculty members' applications and the chairman will send all
			 the applications and his recommendations to the appropriate dean. The dean will
			 review all applications in his college and send them and his recommendations to
			 the provost, who will review them and make recommendations to the president for
			 final approval or disapproval, subject to confirmation by the board of
			 trustees. If the evaluation process results in a decision not to approve the
			 application, the faculty member will be given, no later than March
			 first, written notification of the action
			 and all reasons for the action. The written statement will be made by the
			 person in the review process who first recommends disapproval of the
			 application.
(13) If a faculty
			 member believes that his leave proposal has been denied unjustly, he will have
			 the right to appeal the decision to his chairman, to the dean, to the provost,
			 and then to an appeal board which shall be the professional relations committee
			 of the faculty senate. This committee will normally interview the faculty member, his
			 chairman, and his dean, and then make recommendations to the provost for final
			 action. The grounds for the appeal may be allegations of,
			 (a) inadequate consideration,
			 (b) denial of due process, or
			 (c) personal bias or
			 discrimination.
(14) A report on
			 the completed professional leave activities shall be submitted in writing
			 through the same channels as the request for leave within three months
			 following the return of the faculty member to his teaching duties at Ohio
			 university. The department will evaluate the report. Evaluation of this report
			 will-play a significant role in the
			 granting of future professional leaves
(15) No professional leave may be granted
			 that requires a corresponding addition to the permanent faculty of Ohio
			 university. Departments and regional campuses are expected to arrange for
			 professional leaves on a "break even" or "no cost" basis; in some cases a "no
			 cost" program may be desirable on a college wide basis. Duties of persons on
			 professional leave normally will be assumed by the remaining faculty. If a
			 faculty member is on leave with less than full salary, the remaining part of
			 his budgeted salary may be used toward replacement of his services. The
			 department chairman will describe how the proposed loss of teaching services
			 will be compensated for, without impairment of the quality of the department's
			 work. Faculty members of small instructional units and other singularly
			 specialized faculty shall have equal opportunity for leave with all other
			 faculty.
(16) Regional campus
			 faculty members shall submit request for professional leave to the division
			 coordinator. The division coordinator may forward the faculty member's
			 application to the appropriate department at the Athens campus or to the most
			 closely related department if no corresponding department exists. He shall take
			 such action at the faculty member's request. The Athens department shall give
			 advice on the merit of the faculty member's proposal and return it to the
			 division coordinator, who shall take this advice into consideration in making
			 his recommendations to the regional campus dean. The regional campus dean shall
			 review all applications at his campus. He will send applications and his
			 recommendations to the provost, who will review them and make recommendations
			 to the president for final approval or disapproval, subject to confirmation by
			 the board of trustees. If the evaluation process results in a decision not to
			 approve the application, the faculty member will be given written notification,
			 no later than Marchfirst. The written
			 statement will be made by the person in the review process who first recommends
			 disapproval of the application. The appeal procedure shall be through the
			 division coordinator, the regional campus dean, the provost, and then to the
			 professional relations committee of the faculty senate.
(17) When more applications are received than
			 a department can recommend for implementation for the coming year, it is
			 suggested that decisions on which faculty members shall be recommended for
			 leave be based on; the merit of the proposal and the longevity of service to
			 Ohio university since the last professional leave or since the beginning of
			 employment at Ohio university if the faculty member has had no previous leave.
			 Precedence over the above guidelines may be given in the following exceptional
			 circumstances: a previously approved proposal which could not be implemented
			 for the sake of departmental convenience or because of the discontinuation of a
			 previous sabbatical leave program should be given the highest priority if
			 resubmitted: special programmatic needs of a department, and special
			 opportunities available to a faculty member at a particular time.