3.11 - Leaves of Absence
3.11.1 - Unpaid Leaves of Absence
3.11.1.1 - Definition
Leaves of absence without salary support from the college may be granted for one or two years or fractions thereof (subject to extension in exceptional circumstances) for reasons such as: self-improvement or advancement through degree-program study, teaching or research at another educational institution or research agency, independent study, travel related to professional development, civic or denominational service, involvement in some teaching-related experience.
3.11.1.2 - Eligibility
Under normal conditions, a faculty member is eligible to apply for a leave of absence without salary support after two years of full-time teaching at Calvin College. Under exceptional circumstances the college, in order to attract a teacher whose competence and personal qualities are urgently needed, may grant an immediate leave in order to place the new appointee under some of the fringe benefit provisions.
3.11.1.3 - Application Procedures
To apply for leave, the faculty member will submit, as early in the year as possible, such intentions to the chair of their department, whose endorsement must be attested on the formal application for leave. The department chair shall immediately consult with the dean of the division in which his or her department is lodged to review the requirements of the teaching schedule. Should there be no obstacle as far as meeting the requirements of the department is concerned, the candidate shall make formal application to the academic dean. Leaves shall be granted upon recommendation of the president, in consultation with the dean and the provost and with the approval of the Board of Trustees.
3.11.1.4 - Financial Provisions
3.11.1.4.1 - A Leave Granted When a Faculty Member is Employed Fully at Another Institution or Agency
In such cases, the college will owe the faculty member no fringe benefits at all. It is assumed that such faculty member's new employer pro tem will assume all fringe benefits costs either in the salary offered or by means of a special grant.
Upon request of the person concerned, Calvin College may continue the faculty member on its fringe benefits rolls and even make the payments, but the college will be fully reimbursed by the person on leave. This policy of self-payment or of reimbursement to the college currently covers pension, life insurance, disability insurance, and medical insurance. Whether the college is able to continue the benefits will depend on the duration of the leave and the restrictions of the insurer. For example, some medical plans cannot be continued for persons who are not paid employees or are on leave and residing in other communities.
3.11.1.4.2 - A Leave Granted When a Faculty Member Continues Graduate Study
The college will continue the following current coverages at college expense: life insurance, disability insurance, and medical insurance.
The college will not contribute to the pension plan. If the person on leave wishes to pay into his or her pension account for the years of the leave, this must be done at personal expense through a supplemental retirement annuity. See Human Resources for details of participating plans.
3.11.1.4.3 - A Leave Supported in Whole or in Part by a Research or Special Foundation Grant Which Does Not Include Fringe Benefits
The college will continue the following current coverage: life insurance, disability insurance, and medical insurance.
Normally, the college will not pay the pension premium for those on this type of leave. In unusual cases, however, and particularly in such cases in which the college will continue to pay a portion of the salary, the pension premium payment will be a matter of negotiation with the president, through the Vice President for Administration and Finance.
3.11.2 - Paid Leaves of Absence
Leaves of absence are regarded as one of the most important means of achieving faculty development. Details of such leave opportunities, including the sabbatical program, may be found in Chapter 5.
3.11.3 - Leaves for Certain Family or Medical Reasons
Leaves for family or medical reasons can be either paid or unpaid. Details of Calvin's policy concerning such leaves may be found in Chapter 7, Section 7.5.
3.11.4 - Combined Support Leaves
A leave of absence with only partial support by the college may be granted to anyone on the teaching faculty and administrative or library staffs under conditions mutually agreeable to the parties involved. These leaves shall be negotiated individually with the academic dean of the division in consultation with the department chair, provost, and the president. Since each will be an individual case, a list of types will necessarily be incomplete. This kind of leave could include the following:
- A leave to recover health;
- A reduced-load leave;
- A leave supported by a grant to supplement a grant from non-college sources.
These types of partial-support grants may include the requirement that the grantee assume the teaching of a number of summer session courses without additional salary as compensation for this partial support. In granting such a leave, the administration will be guided by, but not restricted to, stipulations governing granting of other kinds of leave of absence.
3.11.5 - Counting Leaves as Years of Service
Given college faculty members' increasing mobility as they pursue their careers, the question of how one counts total years of service for the purposes of eligibility for retirement benefits or anniversary honors has become more complex. Rare is the case when a faculty member serves a decade or more of unbroken service on campus.
Paid sabbaticals count as active service to the college, but in the past, externships and leaves of absence sometimes have and sometimes have not been counted as part of one's service record. The purpose of this policy is to clarify the reckoning of unpaid leaves of absence as service to the college.
A leave of absence may count towards years of active faculty service if the dean and the provost agree that the leave is for the purpose of doing the expected work of a faculty member at Calvin College, or that it is of particular value to the college. The leave may also count as active service if it is at the behest of the college.
Examples of kinds of leaves that might qualify:
- a leave to conduct research germane to one's appointment and duties at the college;
- a leave to help develop a Christian university or service agency in expression of Calvin's mission;
- a leave to teach and do scholarship at another institution as part of an exchange or other planned faculty development project; or
- a leave to serve an organization in one's professional field.
Examples of leaves that do not qualify:
- a leave to try out a different line of work while comtemplating a career change;
- leave to complete an advanced degree, unless on behest of the college.
Generally speaking, a second consecutive year of leave is less valuable and more likely to be a burden to the college than a one-year leave. Deans may decide to not count the second year of a two-year leave as service on behalf of the college.
