Single-Semester Leave Policy
(HR Policy supporting Regents Policy, adopted March 2006)

Deadline: November 1, 2007

1. Eligibility. Probationary faculty are eligible for a single-semester leave after two academic years of service. Tenured faculty are eligible for a single-semester leave after four academic years of service. Subsequent single-semester leaves may be taken after four additional academic years of service.

2. Approval Process. The review and scheduling of a single-semester leave is conducted at the division and collegiate levels and subject to the approval of the dean.

3. Allocation. The number of single-semester leaves and allocation among colleges is determined by the president. Competition for these leaves takes place at the division and college levels. Historically UMM has been approved to offer four leaves.

4. Salary and Benefits. A single-semester leave is at full salary and benefits.

Conditions

Return to Service. A single-semester leave shall be granted and accepted only with the condition that the recipient, immediately following the leave, return to University service for a period at least equal to the period of the leave. A delay may be granted by the dean, with concurrence of the division chair, for a period without pay not longer than the period of the leave.

Loss or Suspension of Eligibility. Credit toward a single-semester leave is lost by any interruption in continuous service to the University other than an approved leave of absence. All credit toward eligibility is lost by an individual given notice of non-reappointment or termination of appointment. All credit toward eligibility shall be suspended for an individual when there is strong evidence that the individual's appointment will be terminated prior to what otherwise would be the closing date of the period of leave plus the period of return to service.

Contemporaneous Compensation. The salary and benefits paid during a single-semester leave are not to be regarded as additional compensation for services already rendered but as a contemporaneous compensation for services rendered by the faculty member in developing professional knowledge and skill for subsequent service to students and the University.

Selection Criteria used by Campus Screening Committee
(Criteria revised 6/99)

The campus screening committee will rank the applications according to:

1. Scholarly competence. Are the faculty members "up" in their fields? Are they breaking new ground? Are they adding to knowledge in their field? Is the result of the proposal likely to be a worthwhile contribution to scholarship?

2. Appropriateness to the time and resources available. Do the faculty members need the time they request? Can they reasonably be expected to finish what they propose?

3. What sort of track records do the faculty members have? Have they used other quarter or semester leaves effectively? Have worthwhile outcomes resulted, such as publications, creative artistic effort, teaching improvement, etc.

4. Quality of the written application. Is it clearly presented? Does it tell the screening committee with some precision just what use of time the applicant will make? Is the method to be used in the study clear and valid?

5. Benefit to the discipline, to UMM, to the University at large, or to society. Are the faculty members "re–tooling" so that they can teach in areas now more in demand? Are they undertaking projects that will be both beneficial to themselves and, more importantly, to others? Are they, for a time, sacrificing their own scholarly advancement in the interest of the University or of society?

6. Human need and growth. Are the faculty members at a point in their careers when a leave would be of individual benefit? For example, would the project result in professional growth, or a new direction in research, or significant progress toward tenure?

Administrative Criteria used by the Dean and Division Chairs:

At least one single-semester leave must be granted to a probationary faculty member.
At least one single-semester leave must be granted to a tenured faculty member.

In general, due to the difficulty of staffing in the disciplines in the face of a single-semester leave, no more that two awards will be given per division, and no more than one in any discipline.