Faculty members are eligible after completing at least five years of full-time service prior to the start of the leave. Subsequent sabbaticals require an additional period of full-time service (generally six years since the last sabbatical).
For current information on NIU's sabbatical leave policies, please review:
If you would like to confirm your eligibility for sabbatical, including if you are considering applying in an upcoming academic year, please complete and submit this form. Completing this form is not a substitute for your unit-level processes, and your submission neither prohibits nor precludes your application. If you are uncertain about applying for sabbatical in an upcoming academic year, go ahead and submit this form. Thank you!
The relevant forms/documents for sabbatical applications are now available in Interfolio. Previews of forms/documents are found on NIU’s Interfolio website.
If you intend to submit a sabbatical proposal, please complete the Sabbatical Eligibility Confirmation Qualtrics form so an Interfolio case can be created for your sabbatical application. You will receive notification and instructions on how to access the case.
You should be sure to complete the Sabbatical Eligibility Confirmation Qualtrics form as soon as you anticipate submitting a sabbatical proposal, so your case can be created in time to meet the deadline in your department (school, center, etc., hereafter department). Contact your department chair to confirm your local deadlines and processes.
Prior to university review, the deadlines for sabbatical applications vary by department and college (or division; hereafter college). Work with your department chair and/or personnel committee to understand and follow your local deadlines and processes. The milestones in the process across review levels are as follows:
| Milestone | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Candidate Submission to Department | Varies by department |
| Department Personnel Committee Review | Varies by department |
| Department Chair Review | Varies by department |
| College Council Review | Varies by college |
| Dean Review | Varies by college |
| Applications due to Provost's office | Second Tuesday of October |
| College-level appeals (if any) heard by the FSPC | The following January |
| FSPC recommendations to the president | The following February |
| BOT decision | The following March |
After a sabbatical leave has been approved, to request a sabbatical date change within the same academic year or to decline, the applicant must complete the Change or Decline of Sabbatical Leave form. This form will route to the department for approval and further processing through the college and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
After completing a sabbatical leave, each sabbatical leave recipient is required to submit a post-sabbatical report to the department chair, dean and provost within 30 days of resuming regular duties.
The recipient's department is required to review each 30-day post-sabbatical report. This review must be completed during the semester the sabbatical recipient resumes regular duties. Once the review has been completed, a copy of the signed "Review of Sabbatical Leave Report" form must be sent by the department to the dean and the provost for incorporation with the previously submitted 30-day sabbatical report.
Each sabbatical leave recipient is also required to submit an Outcomes Report two years after a sabbatical leave and the link below provides the details of the 2-Year Outcomes Report:
Faculty members are eligible after completing at least five years of full-time service prior to the start of the leave. Subsequent sabbaticals require an additional period of full-time service (generally six years since the last sabbatical).
Sabbaticals are not granted more frequently than once every seven years.
Some leave without pay may count if deemed professionally comparable, but sabbatical or other leave time typically does not count toward tenure probation unless specifically approved.
You can submit this eligibility confirmation form; however, this does not replace unit-level review or approval processes.
Sabbaticals are intended to support and advance scholarly or creative work that strengthens NIU’s academic programs.
Applicants must describe a well-developed scholarly project, its current status and a detailed plan for advancement during the leave.
Sabbaticals are generally not granted for activities such as textbook revisions, retraining for a different career, general travel or full-time employment unrelated to the scholarly purpose.
Applications are evaluated based on:
Sabbaticals may not exceed nine months. Compensation typically does not exceed the equivalent of 4.5 months of full salary (or equivalent arrangements such as half pay over a longer period).
Yes, external grants (e.g., Fulbright) may be combined with sabbatical pay, provided total compensation does not exceed your normal salary.
Yes. Faculty assume a professional obligation to return to NIU for at least one year following the sabbatical.
Yes. Both 30-day and 2-year reports are required.
A complete application typically includes:
The first step is to complete the eligibility confirmation form in order to then have an Interfolio sabbatical case created for you. Then you submit your application through Interfolio following the sabbatical packet template.
Applications that do not follow guidelines or lack required information may be delayed or declined.
Yes. A formal request must be submitted and approved through department, college/division and provost processes.
Applications undergo a multi-level review and ranking process:
Applications may be:
Yes. Sabbaticals are limited to approximately one per 25 eligible faculty and SPS employees annually.
Interfolio is used to manage submission, routing, review forms, rankings and final decisions across all levels of review.
These are structured evaluation forms completed by reviewers at each stage (department, college, Faculty Senate and Board levels) to record recommendations and rankings.
Internal sections are areas within Interfolio where committees upload evaluation materials, recommendations and supporting documentation during the review process.
You can include a link to a YouTube or Vimeo video file using the upload options in Interfolio. You can also include in an uploaded document a clickable link to an audio or video file that is stored in another location, such as SharePoint.
Yes. However, departments should consider their ability to accommodate multiple absences when reviewing applications and may choose to rank submissions accordingly. Final awards are determined based on merit, with funding limitations influencing the number of awards granted.
Yes. Applicants may request reconsideration within a specified timeframe (typically within 14 days of notification).
If an application is not recommended at a given level of review, it may still advance to subsequent levels with accompanying documentation explaining the rationale for the decision. Applicants also have the opportunity to respond or appeal in accordance with established procedures.
Office of Faculty Affairs
Rachel Gordon
Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Associate Vice President for Global Affairs and Faculty Development
rgordon@niu.edu
Dave DeThorne
Director of Academic and Labor Relations
ddethorne@niu.edu
Joan Parrish
Assistant to the Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs
jparrish1@niu.edu
Marlene Bryant
Administrative Assistant
mbryant@niu.edu