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ACADEMIC POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Personnel Benefits

Leave Policies

Sabbatical Leave

The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma authorizes the university to grant sabbatical or staff-development leave. If a university chooses to grant sabbatical or staff-development leave, the following guidelines will prevail:

  1. Purpose
    • The university may grant a sabbatical leave to faculty members or administrators to provide an opportunity for continued professional growth and new or renewed intellectual achievement through study, research, writing, and travel. The primary purpose of sabbaticals should be for post-doctoral study. A sabbatical may be used to engage in specialized scholarly activity or to provide a broad cultural experience. Such sabbaticals are intended to take place in off-campus settings. The university views a sabbatical as an investment with the expectation that the sabbatical will significantly enhance the faculty member’s, and/or administrator’s capacity to contribute to the objectives of the university. For this reason sabbatical leave applications are approved only as there is adequate reason to believe that the individual will achieve this purpose. Also, the approval of such sabbaticals shall be consistent with the appropriate budgetary and faculty arrangements so as not to disrupt the instructional program or other vital operations of the university.
  2. Conditions of Award
    • A full sabbatical leave will be for one year at one-half salary or one semester at full salary. Persons who qualify for less than full sabbatical may be awarded a sabbatical on a proportional basis. Sabbatical leaves shall not be used as a means of augmenting personal income. The sabbatical program requires that persons on sabbatical devote full-time to the scholarly activity for which the sabbatical is granted and will receive no salary or stipend from sources other than the university, except that, with university approval, (1) persons on sabbatical at less than full salary may engage in other scholarly activity consistent with that for which the sabbatical is granted and receive salary, stipend, or honorarium from other sources in such amounts that total salary stipend, and honorarium do not exceed the annual income normally earned, and (2) persons on leave may receive grants from other sources for travel and research expenses incident to their scholarly activity.
    • Individuals receiving sabbatical leave shall enter into a written agreement to return to the service of the university and remain for a number of months equal to four times the number of months of full-time equivalent salary (example: One half (1/2) salary x ten (10) months = five (5) full-time months; the number of months to return to the university is five (5) full-time months x four (4) = twenty (20) months) or to repay the university the amount of salary received while on sabbatical leave, unless released from the obligation by the Board of Regents of The University of Oklahoma. If the individual returns to the university only for part of the time required, the amount to be paid the university shall be proportionally reduced. The university shall require any faculty member or administrator who takes a sabbatical leave to give a bond payable to the State of Oklahoma conditional on return to the university at the close of the sabbatical.
    • At the termination of the sabbatical, and not later than three months after returning to the campus, the individual shall submit a report of the activities undertaken to the vice president for academic affairs through the department head and the dean. The report will be used to evaluate future applications for sabbaticals of faculty members who have been granted one or more sabbaticals.
  3. Eligibility
    • Faculty members or administrators are eligible for full sabbatical leaves when they have been full-time employees of the university for six academic years. In order to qualify for a prorated sabbatical, the individual must have been a full-time employee of the university for a minimum of two academic years. For the purpose of determining eligibility for a sabbatical leave, only time spent on a sabbatical is considered as full-time employment; however, time spent on leave without pay is not considered full-time employment. A faculty member or administrator is eligible for a subsequent full sabbatical after six years following any sabbatical leave grant whether full or partial.
  4. Application
    • A faculty member or administrator shall make formal application for a sabbatical leave which includes the reasons for requesting the sabbatical leave, the activities planned during the sabbatical, and a schedule of the use of time while on the sabbatical leave. The application should be submitted to the president of the university through the appropriate department head, dean, and vice president. The department head, dean, and vice president shall each include a recommendation regarding the sabbatical leave. The decision for recommendation of a sabbatical leave shall be based on the following criteria:
    • individuals presenting evidence of the highest critical need in order to maintain academic effectiveness;
    • total years of academic or professional service at the university;
    • potential contribution to an academic or professional discipline;
    • length of remaining service to the university;
    • possession of a terminal degree in the teaching field assigned; or pursuing a terminal degree in a teaching field in which there is a shortage of qualified faculty.

Leave of Absence Without Pay

The Board of Regents of The University of Oklahoma may grant a leave of absence without pay upon recommendation of the President.

Sick Leave

Sick leave is accrued and taken in accordance with university policies. Sick leave may not be earned by an employee during leave of absence without pay, suspension, layoff, not under contract, or removal from the payroll for any reason. See the Personnel Policy Manual for additional policy and procedure information concerning sick leave.

Special Leave/Personal Leave

Special Leave/Personal Leave is taken in accordance with university policies. See the Personnel Policy Manual for additional policy and procedure information concerning special/personal leave.

Annual Leave

Annual leave is accrued and taken in accordance with university policies. Full-time faculty on 10-month appointments do not accrue annual leave. See the Personnel Policy Manual for additional policy and procedure information concerning annual leave.

Family and Medical Leave

Eligible employees may take unpaid family and medical leave in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, and applicable state law.

Paid Holidays

The President declares University holidays.

Military Leave

  1. Pursuant to 72 O.S. § 48, all employees who are members, either officers or enlisted men of the Reserve Corps of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Women’s Auxiliary Corps, or any other component of the Armed Forces of the United States, shall when ordered by the proper authority to active duty or service, be entitled to a leave of absence for the period of such active service without loss of status of efficiency rating and without loss of pay during the first twenty (20) work days of such leave during the federal fiscal year.
  2. Students called to military duty after the completion of twelve (12) weeks or more of the sixteen (16) weeks of a semester who are passing in their subjects at the time they are called, as a war measure, shall be given credit for the full semester’s work.