Proposed Revision to 801.1 - Leaves; Sabbatical Assignment
Attorney General's Opinion:
1. Section 75-6213, R.C.M. 1947 (now
codified at 19-20-403 M.C.A.), does not
prohibit a faculty member from accruing creditable service and receiving the
employer contribution for retirement benefits during the performance of a
sabbatical program. Vol. 37, Opinions of the Attorney General, Opinion No. 80,
October 17, 1977.
Board policy:
1. Any faculty, administrative or
professional staff member within the Montana University System with seven or
more years of service in Montana without a sabbatical shall be eligible for
sabbatical assignment. Service while on
sabbatical assignment shall be creditable service for all purposes to the same
extent as a person's service while on regular assignment.
2. Sabbaticals are subject to budget
limitations that may exist at any unit campus of the
Montana University System.
3. Satisfactory programs or projects for
sabbatical periods include research, travel, related work in other institutions
or private or business organizations, or other activities which the president 0r
chancellor of the unit campus agrees
will improve the staff member professionally, or which directly or indirectly
benefit the institution campus and the
state.
4. All sabbatical assignments shall normally
be for a period of not less than two academic quarters (or one semester for
an institution on the semester system) or more than an academic
year for persons on academic year appointments and not less than one-half
or more than one fiscal year for persons on fiscal year appointments; however,
a person may request a shorter assignment.
5. Compensation from institutional campus funds
may not exceed two-thirds of the academic or fiscal year contract amount
established for the individual for the period for which the sabbatical
assignment has been approved. Special
compensation arrangements involving funds from other than institutional campus sources
must be agreed upon and approved in keeping with the following conditions:
a. Compensation paid during a sabbatical
assignment may differ from that paid for regular assignment because it may
involve funding from sources other than regular university campus funds
such as fellowships, assistantships or other sources of limited income
including funds available from grants or contracts administered by the institution campus.
b. all compensation must be received
through the institution campus and no
person may be additionally compensated for the time on sabbatical assignment by
income from other employment during the same period;
c. funds from non-institutional non-campus sources must be made directly available to the institution campus for
periodic disbursement to the person in addition to, or in lieu of, regular
funds;
d. funds from other sources may be used to
supplement institutional campus funds to
increase the compensation up to, but not in excess of, that amount which the
individual would have earned on regular assignment during the same period;
e. compensation in excess of that which
could have been earned on regular assignment may be approved only if all institutional campus funds have been replaced by funds from other sources;
f. programs or projects which necessarily
involve employment by an employer other than the institution campus may
not qualify for sabbatical assignment but may be approved as leave without pay.
6. A recipient of a sabbatical assignment
will be expected to return to his/her university unit campus for a period equal to the length of the sabbatical assignment or
to repay money received from the university unit campus while
on leave.
7. Persons on sabbatical assignment will
continue to be eligible for employee benefits.
8. Part-time faculty may be eligible
for sabbatical assignments on a pro-rated basis.
9. This policy shall be applicable only where a
collective bargaining agreement is not in effect.
Procedures:
1. Faculty members may apply to their
respective unit campus administrators
for sabbatical assignment.
2. All applications for sabbatical shall be
submitted to the President or Chancellor of the unit campus,
or, if applicable, to the Commissioner of Higher Education, allowing sufficient
time for evaluation and approval.
3. In granting sabbaticals, university
units campuses will be guided by the applicant's
service
which is appropriate to the person's regular assignment;
academic
rank, if appropriate;
total
length of service in the Montana University System; and
type
and quality of the proposed program.
4. Campus procedures for implementing this
policy shall be developed by the unit, shall
generally be consistent throughout the Montana University System, and shall be
approved by and filed with the Commissioner of Higher Education.
54. Each president shall submit by
September 1 an annual summary of sabbaticals to the Commissioner of Higher
Education for the prior fiscal year.
Definition:
A
sabbatical assignment is a change of duties which neither diminishes or
increases the extent of the person's employment with the university system.
The recipient remains employed by the university system during
the entire term of the sabbatical to the same extent he or she was employed
while on regular assignment, regardless of the compensation agreed upon for the
term of the sabbatical.
History:
Item 204-001, Nov. 27, 1967 as amended October 29, 1976 (the portion of this item relating to sabbatical leave is rescinded); Item 20-003-R0478, Sabbatical assignment, Montana University System (Revised), July 10, 1978.