The UM System offers faculty three types of professional leave to conduct research or other scholarly activity or pursue professional development (CRR.340.070): Research Leave, Development Leave, and Sabbatical Leave. UMSL currently supports a limited number of Sabbatical Leaves every year for tenured faculty.
Research Leave and Development Leave provide faculty the opportunity to pursue activities away from campus that support their research and development and help them contribute to UMSL’s teaching, research, or outreach missions. Faculty members applying for either research or development leave at UMSL normally apply for and secure external funding such as a grant or fellowship to support the research or development activity including their salary. Department Chairs and other faculty administrators concluding their terms and requesting transition leave should do so through their supervisor.
Faculty considering research or development leave should touch base with the UM System Benefits Office to discuss how taking research or development leave affects their retirement and benefit eligibility given their specific health care and retirement plans.
Eligibility for Research and Development Leave
According to UM System guidelines, "tenured, tenure-track, and full-time, ranked non-tenure track research faculty members with established scholarly, artistic or research records are eligible to apply for a research leave" (CRR.340.070.A.1) whereas "tenured, tenure-track and full-time, ranked non-tenure track faculty members are eligible to apply for a development leave to pursue personal, professional, instructional, or administrative development" (CRR.340.070.A.2). Faculty can apply for either type of leave for up to a full year.
Applying for Research or Development Leave
Eligible faculty may apply for research or development leave at any time. They are encouraged to discuss plans for leave with their chair and/or dean as early as possible to allow their unit to prepare for any necessary teaching replacements. Final decisions on research and development Leaves should be made well in advance of the requested leave. For leaves beginning in the fall semester, colleges should submit all requests to the Provost’s Office by February 15 for fullest consideration; for leaves beginning in the Spring semester, colleges should submit requests by August 15 for fullest consideration. All leave requests must be approved by the faculty member’s department chair (in units with department chair) and dean, as well as the provost. The chair or dean will certify that the teaching and other service needs of the department will be met during the leave of the faculty member. Granting research and development leaves is not automatic. They will be approved only for deserving cases where the likely outcomes of the leave benefit the university’s mission and do not substantively hamper the unit’s ability to meet student needs. Chairs and deans are asked to avoid approving multiple leaves in one unit during the same period that could negatively impact the functioning of the unit.
Faculty who are a applying for either research or development leave should submit to their department chair or, in units without department chairs, their dean:
- Request for Leave of Absence Form (UM 108)
- Documentation of external funding that is being sought or has been secured to support the research or development activity
- A short (1-2 page) description of the research or development activity they will pursue, a rationale for the need and timing of the leave, and the anticipated outcomes that will result from the leave. Examples of these outcomes include external grants, high-quality publications, exhibitions, or the acquisition of particular research skills or teaching expertise.
If a request is approved by the department chair and dean, it should be forwarded to the provost.
If a faculty member is requesting to maintain part of their salary in addition to external support during the period of the leave, the application should provide a rationale for this support make the case it is beneficial to the university. The dean’s approval of this support should include a rationale and an explanation as to how this is to be funded within the college budget. Salary support is not automatic and will generally be less than half of the faculty member’s annual base salary while they are on leave and may not exceed their full regular salary. The faculty members should report all sources of salary funding while on leave and ensure that they are consistent with UM System and campus conflict of interest policies.
Returning from Leave
Upon returning from leave, all faculty members must file a report on the accomplishments during the leave period.