Johnson County Community College
Series 400: Personnel
Section 419: Employee Benefits

1. Purpose

A sabbatical leave may be granted for any activity which, in the judgment of the board, will contribute to personal and professional growth. It will be the responsibility of the staff member to demonstrate clearly how a particular work, study, or travel plan will accomplish this objective. The proposal will be set forth in writing on such forms as the administration shall from time to time determine.

2. Definition of Terms

A "salaried staff member" or "salaried staff employee" means a full-time regular employee of the college who is paid on the basis of a nine- (9), ten- (10), or twelve- (12) month contract or is not paid on an hourly basis and is considered as an exempt Administrative Salaried (AMS) or Administrative Technical (AMT) employee under the provisions of the college's classification system.

"Six years of continuous full-time employment" as used in this Sabbatical Leave Policy means six (6) continuous years of full-time regular salaried employment by an eligible salaried employee, completed without interruption, except as hereinafter defined or otherwise specified in the contract. To be eligible for consideration of a sabbatical leave, an employee must have completed the six-(6) year period as defined herein on or before the commencement of the requested sabbatical leave. The employee shall be eligible to begin an approved sabbatical leave effective with the first fall or spring semester following completion of the six- (6) year period. An approved, uncompensated long-term leave (of more than one month) shall not be counted towards the six (6) years required for sabbatical leave eligibility.

For purposes of this Sabbatical Leave policy, the fall semester for a 12-month contractual employee shall be from July 1 through December 31, and the spring semester shall be from January 1 through June 30 of any given fiscal year. For 9-month and 10-month contractual employees, the fall and spring semesters shall be as defined by the academic calendar each year.

3. Eligibility

The board may grant sabbatical leave in its sole discretion to full-time regular salaried staff members.

During the sixth year of service, or any later year, a salaried staff member is entitled to apply for sabbatical leave in accordance with the sabbatical leave guidelines as established by the college.

Sabbatical leave is noncumulative; as an example thereof, a salaried staff member who has twelve (12) uninterrupted continuous full-time years of employment with the college will not be entitled to two (2) sabbatical leaves.

A person who has received a sabbatical leave shall not be eligible to begin another sabbatical leave until the first fall or spring semester after they have completed six (6) more years of continuous full-time service as a salaried employee following return from leave.

4. Conditions

A sabbatical leave may be requested for either the fall or spring semester. A plan for the period of the leave shall accompany the request for leave which shall be in writing and directed to the president for his/her consideration and that of the board. Subject to the last paragraph of this subsection 4, sabbatical leaves are granted at the regular salary for one-half the contract work year of the staff member. The sabbatical leave, if granted, shall be taken as a continuous leave and shall not be granted or taken on an intermittent leave basis. Any college-supported travel time to be taken during the sabbatical leave must be approved as part of the sabbatical application. A salaried employee on sabbatical leave shall not accrue vacation days nor be entitled to any additional time off for holidays occurring during the approved sabbatical leave time. Regular salary is defined as the salary being paid at the time the leave begins or salary that would have been received if the staff member were assigned regular duties at that time.

All Flex Plan benefits and disability insurance shall continue during the sabbatical leave on the basis of the regular base salary to the extent permitted by the applicable insurance carrier and as provided by the college for members of the staff; however, other benefits and all provisions of these policies relating to any other leave shall not apply.

Failure to meet the terms and conditions imposed in the sabbatical leave will obligate the person to reimburse the college for salary and fringe benefits paid to or on behalf of the employee during the leave. Such reimbursement shall be made within thirty (30) days from notice of the president for repayment.

A staff member receiving a sabbatical leave is required to return to Johnson County Community College for a period of one (1) full calendar year following the end of the sabbatical leave. Failure to do so could mandate that the staff member reimburse the college for salary paid to the employee and fringe benefits paid to or on the employee's behalf.

A full written report by the employee on sabbatical leave regarding the use of the sabbatical leave is to be presented to the designated branch administrator for approval and to the president for their approval. The date of said report is to be as fixed and determined by the sabbatical leave conditions as they are individually set with each member.

The staff member will take the leave the year it is granted. The college may, at its discretion, however, offer to grant the requested sabbatical at a time more convenient to the college.

In those cases where a staff member applies for and receives a sabbatical leave and is employed for work with an outside employer approved by the college, the payment from college funds (even though entitled to sabbatical leave conditions of regular salary) shall be no more than the difference between the staff member's college salary and the salary received during the outside employment, provided; however, in the event the employee shall receive payment compensation from the outside employer in an amount the same as or more than their college contract, no salary will be paid by the college. A staff member on sabbatical leave shall not be eligible for any supplemental contract assignment at the college during the time of the sabbatical leave.

5. Number of Staff on Sabbatical Leave

The number of salaried staff released each year for sabbatical leave will be annually determined by the president as approved by the board, not to exceed three (3) sabbatical leaves each fiscal year.

Date of Adoption:
Revised: 1\6\94, 1/25/96, 6/12/96, 7/9/02