Kalamazoo College seeks to provide all of its full-time faculty the support that they need to continue to develop as teachers, as scholars, and as human beings. The College recognizes that personal circumstances of faculty may require some flexibility in terms of leaves for faculty—and corresponding adjustments in the probationary periods for tenure track faculty. The following guidelines are set down to address those situations that occasionally arise in which full-time faculty might request leaves of absence from the College, and in which pre-tenure faculty may seek to extend the probationary period for a period of time.
- When an individual receives a sabbatical or academic leave from the College
Faculty may request sabbatical and research leaves of absence from the College. Sabbatical and academic leave requests by tenured faculty will be supported by the Provost if, and only if, (s)he determines that the faculty member’s department will not suffer from that faculty member’s absence. In some circumstances the College may be able to replace the faculty member in question, but this will not automatically be the case, and the College reserves the right to deny a request by a faculty member for a leave of absence.
If a faculty member requests a research leave funded by the College during the probationary period, that leave may be approved by the Provost if, and only if, the Provost determines that the faculty member’s department will not suffer during the period in question. Should a leave of absence be granted by the Provost the faculty member in question will ordinarily not be able to extend the probationary period during that period; the period during which time the faculty member will be away from campus will under normal circumstances count toward the probationary period.
- When an individual receives an external grant and wants a “leave without pay” from the College for a short or extended period of time
Faculty at Kalamazoo College should be encouraged to seek outside research grants. Leave requests by tenured faculty will be supported by the Provost if, and only if, (s)he determines that the faculty member’s department will not suffer from that faculty member’s absence. In some circumstances the College may be able to replace the faculty member in question using funds made available by the faculty member’s unused salary, but this will not automatically be the case, and the College reserves the right to deny a request by a faculty member for a leave of absence. This applies to probationary faculty as well as tenured faculty. To make the prospect of an outside grant more attractive to probationary College faculty, they should normally have the option to extend the probationary period for a period of time. As a general rule, a faculty member should be able to be away from campus for no more than two years during the probationary period,
and no more than one of these years can be applied to the probationary period. If there is to be an extension of the probationary period, the faculty member must request this extension at the time that the discussions for the period of leave are originally undertaken. Requests for an extension of the probationary period may not be made after the research leave period has begun or after it has been completed.
- When an individual requests a leave for personal medical reasons, involving an illness that makes him/her unable to fulfill his/her responsibilities to the College
In cases of personal medical exigency the faculty member in question should normally have his or her request for a leave from the College approved by the Provost. For probationary faculty, this should include, with the approval of the Provost, an extension of the probationary period should the faculty member involved request this.
If a faculty member submits to the Provost within six months of an appropriately documented illness a request that the probationary period be extended for an appropriate period of time, the Provost will, within thirty days, respond to the request and if (s)he has approved the extension of the probationary period will note that extension in the faculty member’s personnel file. Under normal circumstances this type of eventuality will result only when the cause of the absence is clearly beyond the control of the faculty member.
- When an individual requests a leave for family reasons
Adhering to the Family Medical Leave Act guidelines, Kalamazoo College has a maternity/paternity leave policy for its employees set by and available from the Human Resources Office. At the time that a probationary faculty member requests a leave of this type, (s)he may request an extension of the probationary period of up to one year.
Other leave requests for family reasons by tenured faculty will be supported by the Provost if, and only if, (s)he determines that the faculty member’s department will not suffer from that faculty member’s absence. In some circumstances the College may be able to replace the faculty member in question using funds made available by the faculty member’s unused salary, but this will not automatically be the case, and the College reserves the right to deny a request by a faculty member for a leave of absence.
A probationary faculty member may submit to the Provost a request that the probationary period be extended for an appropriate period of time when a family situation has so distracted the attention of the faculty member that (s)he has not been able to adequately perform his or her duties, entirely for reasons beyond his control. A serious long-term illness of a family member or a death in the family with corresponding long-term distractions might be examples of the kind of situations which might reasonably be eligible for this type of policy.
Requests for this kind of extension of time will normally be decided on a case-by-case basis, after appropriate discussion between the Provost, the faculty member, and the Faculty Personnel Committee. As outlined above, the request for the extension of the probationary period should come within a brief period of the event, six months at the most. The key, as described above, is that the event would have to be beyond the control of the faculty member and would have to have been a major distraction for the individual. If a faculty member submits to the Provost within six months of an appropriately documented family event a request that the probationary period be extended for an appropriate period of time, the Provost will, within thirty days, respond to the request and if (s)he has approved the extension of the probationary period will note that extension in the faculty member’s personnel file.
- When an individual has negotiated a shorter-than-normal probationary period at the time of employment and decides subsequently that (s)he wants that shorter period extended
A faculty member with credit for prior teaching experience may request that the probationary period be extended, not to exceed the sixth year of teaching at the College. Such requests require written approval of the Administration, in consultation with the Personnel Committee.