Northern Illinois University
Division of Academic Affairs
Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

Guidelines for Faculty and Supportive Professional Staff

• Guidelines for Sabbatical Leaves (PDF)

Sabbatical Application Submission Information for Colleges/Areas/Divisions

The Sabbatical Leave Application PDF file consists of the Cover Sheet (fillable in a PDF viewer) and the Proposal Format, which shows the correct format for submission of the sabbatical proposal. The Proposal Template is also provided as a Word file that can be easily edited in order to enter the required information.

The Sabbatical Application Checklist (fillable in a PDF viewer) is intended to be used by the applicant/department/college or division to check if the cover sheet and the proposal meet sabbatical leave application guidelines and submit it along with the cover sheet and the proposal to the Office of the Provost.

• Sabbatical Leave Application Cover Sheet and Proposal Format (PDF)
• Sabbatical Leave Application Proposal Template (DOC)
• Sabbatical Application Checklist (PDF)

To request a sabbatical date change within the same academic year or decline an approved sabbatical leave, the applicant of an approved sabbatical leave must complete the form and submit it to the department for approval and further processing through the college/division and the Office of the Provost.

• Request for a Date Change or Decline of an Approved Sabbatical Leave (PDF)

Application Submission Information for Colleges/Areas/Divisions

Department office staff should collect the completed cover sheets and proposals from applicants, check them to make sure the information has been entered correctly in the cover sheet and the proposal adheres to guidelines, and submit the documents to the office of the College/Area/Vice President to which their department reports (referred to as the reporting unit hereafter).

The College/Area/Vice President's office should submit all the necessary sabbatical documents to the Office of the Provost as explained below.

Submit each sabbatical application document with original signatures, or certified digital signature, in the following order to the shared Teams site shared by the College and the Provost office.

• Memo from the dean/vice president

The memo from the dean/vice president should list all sabbatical recommendations in ranked order along with an explanation of how the rankings were determined and how the ranking criteria were applied. Where differences in rankings exist between the department and reporting units, the memo from the dean/vice president must include an explanation of any changes made to the departmental rankings.

• Memo or memos from the chair(s)/director(s) in support of the applications

Academic Units

Academic units must also upload each sabbatical application document (cover sheet, proposal, current vita and any attachments) as one PDF file using the following file name format to the Teams site shared by the college office and the provost's office: College Lastname Rank# of Requests#.pdf (example: CLAS Smith 1 of 4.pdf)

Non-academic Units

Non-Academic units must also email to provost@niu.edu each sabbatical application document (coversheet, proposal, current vita and any attachments) as one PDF file using the following filename format: DivisionName Lastname Rank# of Requests#.pdf (example: AA Smith 1 of 3.pdf)

Sabbatical applications denied at the department level but approved at the next higher level must be accompanied by a letter from the department explaining the reason(s) for the departmental denial. A copy of the notification about the appeal process sent to the applicant must be included with the application.

Please note the applications are needed as PDF files to make them available through Teams to FSPC members for review.

Sabbatical Leave - Important Dates

Required Sabbatical Reporting by Sabbatical Leave Recipients

After completing a sabbatical leave, each sabbatical leave recipient is required to submit a post-sabbatical report to the department chair/director, dean/division head, and provost within 30 days of resuming regular duties (e.g. for fall semester sabbaticals by the following February 15^th and for spring sabbaticals by September 16^th).

The recipient's department is required to review each post-sabbatical report. This review must be completed during the semester the sabbatical recipient resumes regular duties (that is, by December 15th in fall and May 15th in spring). 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.

• Department Review of Sabbatical Leave Report Form (PDF)
• Sabbatical 30-Day Report Template (DOC)

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:

• Sabbatical 2-Year Outcomes Report - Guidelines, Template and Submission Details (DOCX)