Chapter 3C

General Compensation Policies

A faculty member on paid research leave or sabbatical at full salary may not ordinarily receive compensation in the form of salary from another academic institution or external funding source. This does not include supplemental salary, which is discussed below. Those on paid research leave or sabbatical at half salary or on unpaid leave may receive external compensation, but if the funding is paid through Harvard, the total compensation received from all funding sources during the academic year may not exceed the faculty member’s full-time nine-month base salary at Harvard and three months’ supplemental salary. [1] In such cases, compensation that exceeds the base salary will ordinarily be converted, in accordance with the policies of the funding source, into research support. Please be advised that all salary payments made through the University carry a charge for fringe benefits. Therefore, it is important for faculty to work with their financial administrators when applying for outside funding. 

[1] These amounts are pro-rated for .5 FTE Part-Time Professors of the Practice.

Direct External Compensation

Faculty members on paid research leave or sabbatical may receive supplemental compensation from external sources, so long as the total amount received from all sources does not exceed the equivalent of three months’ salary. 

Some external (non-grant) funding sources provide compensation directly to the faculty member, rather than running it through Harvard. In such cases, those on paid research leave or sabbatical at half salary or on unpaid leave may receive total compensation during the academic year in excess of their nine-month base salary and three months’ supplemental salary. It is very important, however, that faculty members remain mindful of the policies reflecting conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment, which apply at all times. Please see the following references (see also faculty research policies): the University Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments, University Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest, FAS/SEAS Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest Disclosures, FAS/SEAS Policies Relating to Research & Other Professional Activities, and FAS/SEAS Policies on Effort Reporting for Academic Year Effort and Supplemental Salary for more information. 

For additional information on faculty supplementary salary and payments, see the FAS Office of Research Administration Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments and FAS Supplemental Salary Payment Policy.

General Compensation Policies

Full-salary leave

Senior lecturers may not ordinarily receive compensation in the form of salary from another academic institution while on fully paid leave from Harvard. 

Half-salary leave or unpaid leave

Senior lecturers are not eligible for unpaid or half-salary leave.

Paid research leave

Senior lecturers may receive supplemental compensation from external (non-grant) sources that is paid through Harvard, so long as the total amount received from all sources does not exceed the equivalent of three months’ salary. For additional information on faculty supplementary salary and payments, see the FAS Office of Research Administration Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments and FAS Supplemental Salary Payment Policy.

Direct External Compensation

Some external (non-grant) funding sources provide compensation directly to the faculty member, rather than running it through Harvard. In such cases, those on paid research leave may receive total compensation during the academic year in excess of their nine-month base salary and three months’ supplemental salary. It is very important, however, that faculty members remain mindful of the policies reflecting conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment, which apply at all times. Please see the following references (see also faculty research policies): the University Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments, University Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest, FAS/SEAS Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest Disclosures, FAS/SEAS Policies Relating to Research & Other Professional Activities, and FAS/SEAS Policies on Effort Reporting for Academic Year Effort and Supplemental Salary for more information. 

General Compensation Policies

Full-salary leave

You may not ordinarily receive compensation in the form of salary from another academic institution or external (grant or non-grant) funding source (beyond the allowable three ninths). 

Half-salary leave or unpaid leave

You may receive compensation from another academic institution or external (non-grant) funding source. However, if the funding is paid through Harvard, the total compensation received from all funding sources during the academic year may not exceed the faculty member’s full-time nine-month base salary at Harvard and three months’ (three ninths) supplemental salary. In such cases, compensation that exceeds the base salary will ordinarily be converted, in accordance with the policies of the funding source, into research support. 

• Please be advised that all salary payments made through the University carry a charge for fringe benefits. Therefore, it is important for faculty to work with their financial administrators when applying for outside funding.

Paid research leave

You may receive supplemental compensation from external (non-grant) sources that is paid through Harvard, so long as the total amount received from all sources does not exceed the equivalent of three months’ salary. For additional information on faculty supplementary salary and payments, see the FAS Office of Research Administration Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments and FAS Supplemental Salary Payment Policy.

General Compensation Policies

Full-salary leave

Tenure-track faculty may not ordinarily receive compensation in the form of salary from another academic institution while on fully paid leave from Harvard. This does not include supplemental salary, which is discussed below. 

Half-salary leave or unpaid leave

Tenure-track faculty may receive compensation from another academic institution or external (non-grant) funding source. However, if the funding is paid through Harvard, the total compensation received from all funding sources during the academic year may not exceed the faculty member’s full-time nine-month base salary at Harvard and three months’ (three ninths) supplemental salary. In such cases, compensation that exceeds the base salary will ordinarily be converted, in accordance with the policies of the funding source, into research support. 

• Please be advised that all salary payments made through the University carry a charge for fringe benefits. Therefore, it is important for faculty to work with their financial administrators when applying for outside funding.

Paid research leave

Tenure-track faculty may receive supplemental compensation from external (non-grant) sources that is paid through Harvard, so long as the total amount received from all sources does not exceed the equivalent of three months’ salary. For additional information on faculty supplementary salary and payments, see the FAS Office of Research Administration Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments and FAS Supplemental Salary Payment Policy.

Direct External Compensation

Some external (non-grant) funding sources provide compensation directly to the faculty member, rather than running it through Harvard. In such cases, those on paid research leave may receive total compensation during the academic year in excess of their nine-month base salary and three months’ supplemental salary. It is very important, however, that faculty members remain mindful of the policies reflecting conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment, which apply at all times. Please see the following references (see also faculty research policies): the University Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments, University Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest, FAS/SEAS Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest Disclosures, FAS/SEAS Policies Relating to Research & Other Professional Activities, and FAS/SEAS Policies on Effort Reporting for Academic Year Effort and Supplemental Salary for more information. 

It is expected that each faculty member will, as noted in the Statement on Outside Activities of Holders of Academic Appointments, “conduct outside professional pursuits in ways that respect their responsibilities to their home institution. Along with status as a full-time Harvard academic appointee comes the expectation that one’s primary professional duties are to Harvard, and that outside professional activities will not conflict with obligations to one’s students, to colleagues, and to the University as a whole.” In practice, this means that, while on half salary from Harvard, faculty members’ formal agreements with other organizations should reflect a half-time status at those organizations.[2]

Faculty members on paid research leave may still direct 20 percent of their effort to outside activities related to their areas of expertise.

Any questions or concerns about potential conflicts of interest should be brought in advance to RCP_outsideactivities@harvard.edu. Any questions or concerns about potential conflicts of commitment should be brought in advance to the attention of the Office for Faculty Affairs.

[2] Your income may need to be disclosed. Please see Chapter 2, “Compensation Related to Non-Harvard Activities,” for information on conflicts of interest and financial disclosure.

Paid sabbatical or research leave: The University continues to make retirement fund contributions on behalf of the faculty member. Similarly, health plan benefits, life insurance, and disability insurance continue to be effective, and the faculty member’s payments are deducted directly from the faculty member's paycheck.

Unpaid leave: No retirement fund contributions are made by the University; however, health plan benefits, life insurance, and disability insurance continue to be available so long as the individual makes the same contributions that the individual would have made if not on leave. In such cases, the University continues to cover its share of the relevant costs. Please note: Paycheck deductions for Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts stop during unpaid leaves. For more information about benefits during paid and unpaid leaves, faculty members should contact the Harvard Benefits Office directly.

• Senior lecturers are ineligible for unpaid leave.

A “sabbatical” is a paid research leave for tenured professors, defined above. Professors in residence and professors of the practice are eligible for "paid research leave," defined above. In addition to paid sabbaticals and paid research leaves, tenured professors, professors in residence, and professors of the practice are eligible to take unpaid research leaves, under conditions discussed further below. 

The purpose of both paid sabbaticals and unpaid research leaves is to enable faculty to take time off from their regular University responsibilities, including teaching and administrative service, in order to focus on their scholarly research. Faculty on paid sabbatical, paid research leave, or unpaid research leave are expected to continue to conduct their research, advise and mentor their students and trainees, and follow FAS and University policies, including (in the case of paid sabbatical) the 20 percent rule, which states that no more than 20 percent of one’s total professional effort may be directed to professional activities outside Harvard (see Chapter 2 for more information on this rule).

Tenured professors ordinarily earn a semester of paid sabbatical leave after every six semesters in residence teaching.[1] When a faculty member earns a term of sabbatical, they have at least four options. They may:

1. Use that semester of paid sabbatical leave right away.
2. Use their earned semester of sabbatical leave right away, in conjunction with a term of unpaid research leave, for a leave that lasts for a full academic (or calendar) year. In this case, the sabbatical leave may be taken either as one semester at full salary or as an academic (or calendar) year at half salary.
3. Take a semester or an academic (or calendar) year of unpaid research leave and choose to “bank” the earned semester of paid sabbatical leave (that is, defer using that sabbatical until a future semester). (Please see below for more on “banking” sabbaticals.)
4. Continue to spend time in residence teaching and choose to “bank” that semester of paid sabbatical leave.

Regardless of which approach a faculty member takes, in all cases faculty may not, ordinarily,  be on leave (whether on paid sabbatical and/or unpaid research leave) for more than one year at a time. In addition, tenured professors must ordinarily be in residence teaching for six semesters before they are eligible for their next paid sabbatical (and/or unpaid research leave), even if they have banked prior sabbatical semesters.

As options 3 and 4 above indicate, unpaid research leave may be used in lieu of, or in conjunction with, paid sabbatical leave; but unpaid research leave cannot be “banked”— it is not saveable over time in the manner that paid sabbatical is. Unpaid research leave is simply available as an option at those moments in time when a tenured professor has otherwise become eligible for a paid sabbatical leave (i.e., ordinarily, after six terms in residence teaching). Professors of the practice are not eligible for unpaid research leaves unless used in conjunction with a paid research leave (thus extending the leave to one academic or calendar year).

Note: In 2023, the FAS Dean created the Sabbatical Recognition Program for tenured faculty, which recognizes tenured faculty members who are engaged in an extraordinary amount of non-research work to the benefit of students, trainees, faculty, the FAS community, and Harvard more broadly. Each academic year, the FAS Dean will award an additional sabbatical term to up to ten tenured faculty members. This sabbatical term can be used to extend their next eligible leave to one full year. Awardees will be selected by the FAS Dean based on recommendations from Divisional Deans and Department Chairs.

Faculty members holding joint appointments with another Harvard Faculty should refer to their offer letters and associated documentation for information on their leave eligibility.

There are three unique circumstances where, if a tenured professor defers taking an earned sabbatical, that deferred time does count as accrued credit towards their next sabbatical.

1. Pressing service: If, for reasons of pressing departmental or University service, a faculty member asks their divisional dean/SEAS dean if they can delay taking a sabbatical for one or two terms, then with the prior written approval of the divisional dean/SEAS dean (i.e., before the faculty member goes on leave), the faculty member may, upon returning from that sabbatical, spend fewer than six semesters in residence teaching before earning their next sabbatical. For example: If a professor postpones taking an earned sabbatical from the spring semester until the fall semester, because they are serving as director of undergraduate studies in the spring, then with prior written approval from their dean, the required period in residence teaching following the sabbatical may be five terms rather than six.
2. Covid exception: For AY 2020-2021, the Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS approved the following policy addendum. Given the goal of delivering a high-quality learning experience despite the COVID-19 pandemic, tenured professors scheduled to take a paid sabbatical during Fall 2020 were allowed to postpone their sabbatical without penalty for one or two semesters if they wished to remain on campus (virtually or otherwise) to teach their classes. Tenured professors scheduled to take a paid sabbatical during Spring 2021 were allowed to postpone their sabbatical without penalty for one semester, for the same reason. Thus, the semester or two for which a faculty member deferred his/her/their sabbatical will count as “credit” towards the required six semesters in residence teaching that ordinarily must occur between sabbaticals. After the faculty member takes their sabbatical, the six-semester clock will start up again at “1,” as usual, upon his/her/their return. Any tenured faculty member who postpones their sabbatical must still adhere to the following Handbook provision: “Ordinarily, faculty members should not be out of the Harvard classroom for more than a year at a time.”
3. 12 terms in residence teaching: If a faculty member spends twelve straight terms in residence teaching (i.e., not taking the sabbatical they earned after 6 terms in residence teaching), those twelve terms all count as accrued credit, for a total of two semesters of earned paid sabbatical leave, or a full academic year of leave at full pay. (Note: This option became available following sabbaticals taken in 2003-2004 or later.)

Important notes:

• Faculty members do not continue to accrue sabbatical eligibility beyond twelve terms in residence teaching. For example, if a faculty member spends fourteen terms in residence teaching, those additional two terms do not count as credit towards a future sabbatical. Instead, the faculty member’s accrual clock stops at the maximum 12 terms, the faculty member forfeits Terms 13 and 14, and their accrual clock starts up again at “1” for the first semester after the faculty member returns from sabbatical.
• Likewise, if a faculty member stops short of spending 12 straight terms in residence teaching before taking a sabbatical--for example, let’s say they spend 10 terms in residence teaching—they have not, in so doing, earned a term of paid sabbatical plus 4 extra terms of credit towards a future sabbatical. Rather, they forfeit those 4 terms, and when they return from taking the sabbatical that they earned after the first six terms in residence teaching, their accrual clock will start up at “1” again for the first semester upon their return. 

In each of the three bulleted scenarios above, the faculty member’s sabbatical clock restarts at “1” for the semester when they return from taking their sabbatical, and six more terms in residence teaching must ordinarily elapse before they earn their next sabbatical.

Timing of Banked Sabbatical Use

As indicated above, a minimum of six semesters in residence teaching ordinarily must elapse between successive sabbaticals. If a professor returns from a sabbatical and also has a previously earned, unused sabbatical in the “bank,” they may not take that banked sabbatical at any time whatsoever of their choosing. They may not, for instance, go on sabbatical again two or three semesters after they have returned from the first sabbatical. Ordinarily, there must be at least six terms in residence teaching between sabbaticals. 

This means that, in practice, if a faculty member returns from a sabbatical, they may ordinarily use any banked sabbatical(s) only when they are next eligible to take a sabbatical (i.e., after six more terms in residence teaching). 

Similarly, unpaid research leave may not be taken by a tenured professor at any time whatsoever of their choosing. As mentioned above, tenured faculty may take unpaid research leave only at times when they are otherwise eligible for a paid sabbatical leave. Thus, there must ordinarily be at least six terms in residence teaching between successive leaves, whether they are unpaid research leaves, paid sabbaticals, or a combination of both.

In rare instances, when a tenured professor has an exceptional opportunity that they want to take advantage of before the next time at which they are eligible to take a paid sabbatical and/or unpaid research leave, they can ask their divisional/SEAS dean for approval to “pull forward” one term of sabbatical leave at full pay. This term can be used alone or in combination with a term of unpaid research leave.   

If the tenured professor pulls forward a leave in this fashion, they must “pay back” the unaccrued time they pulled forward before they start accruing time toward their next leave. For example, if a faculty member who has spent four terms in residence teaching pulls forward, two terms early (i.e., after Term 4, rather than Term 6), a year of leave (i.e., one term of paid sabbatical plus one term of unpaid research leave), then when they return from their year of leave, they must spend eight terms in residence teaching before they are eligible to go on leave again. These eight terms “pay back” the two unaccrued terms that the faculty member pulled forward and also include the ordinary six terms in residence teaching required before the faculty member can next go on leave. When the faculty member then returns from that subsequent leave, their accrual clock will begin again at “1” and proceed normally. Their first semester back from leave will count as the first semester of accrual toward their next sabbatical and/or unpaid research leave.

When a faculty member is promoted to tenure from the tenure-track ranks, their first sabbatical as a tenured professor works as described below.

The policies outlined in 1-4 below apply to faculty members in all academic divisions and SEAS, with the exception of “Category 2” departments in the Division of Science. (See section 5.1 below for information on which Science departments are “Category 1” or “Category 2.”)

1. If, by the time promotion to tenure occurs, the faculty member has used up their allotted semester of paid leave from the associate professor term,[3] the faculty member is eligible for their first semester of paid sabbatical leave as a tenured professor after six terms in residence teaching have elapsed, counting from the start of the tenured appointment and regardless of when their last associate professor leave occurred.
2. If, by the time the faculty member is promoted to tenure, the faculty member has not used up their allotted semester of paid leave from the associate professor term,[3] the faculty member now has a semester of paid sabbatical leave that can be used immediately after being appointed as a tenured professor or else at a later time, in accordance with the sabbatical policies for tenured faculty described above in this section.
3. Any unpaid leave not used during a faculty member’s associate professor term does not roll over to be used during the faculty member’s tenured appointment.
4. Upon promotion to tenure, faculty members follow the sabbatical policies for tenured faculty described above in this section.

The policies described below apply to faculty members in “Category 2” of the Division of Science, who are not eligible for a semester of paid leave during their assistant professor and associate professor terms. 

• Upon promotion to tenure, the faculty member is eligible for their first semester of paid sabbatical leave as a tenured professor after six terms in residence teaching have elapsed, counting from the start of the tenured appointment and regardless of when their last associate professor leave occurred. Faculty members in “Category 2” departments must also observe the policies stated in [5c. and 5d.] above.

The purpose of a paid research leave is to make it possible for Senior Lecturers to take time off from their regular University responsibilities, including teaching and administrative service, in order to focus on their scholarly work. Senior Lecturers on paid research leave are expected to continue to conduct their research, advise and mentor their students and trainees, and follow FAS and University policies, including the 20 percent rule, which states that no more than 20 percent of one’s total professional effort may be directed to professional activities outside Harvard (see Chapter 2 for more information on this rule).

Senior Lecturers are not eligible for unpaid research leaves. 

Senior Lecturers may not be on paid research leave for more than one semester at a time.

Senior Lecturers are eligible for a semester of paid research leave after every six years in residence teaching, pro-rated to the faculty member's FTE.

• To be eligible for paid research leave, senior lecturers must ordinarily be in residence for six years, and their total teaching during that time must amount to six years’ worth of teaching (consonant with departmental teaching-load norms). If their teaching happens to be distributed such that they did not teach every year, they are still ordinarily eligible for paid leave, if they have satisfied the residence requirement and completed the total required amount of teaching. Similarly, throughout Section 3.D (“Research Leaves of Absence for Professors of the Practice and Senior Lecturers”), references to time “in residence teaching” recognize that teaching may not necessarily occur during every year, but faculty must still satisfy residence requirements and complete required, total amounts of teaching in order to be eligible for leave.

Paid leave time does not ordinarily accumulate if the period between leaves is more than twelve terms. Therefore, if a faculty member opts not to take a leave in a term in which the faculty member is eligible, excess leave “credit” is not ordinarily applied toward a future paid research leave.

On rare occasions, a faculty member may request to delay a paid research leave for one or two terms for reasons of pressing departmental service. In such cases, with the prior written approval of the associate dean for the division/SEAS, the required period in residence teaching following the deferred leave may be reduced.

Eligibility for paid and unpaid research leave varies according to academic division. Each division is discussed below.

The purpose of a paid or unpaid research leave is to make it possible for tenure-track faculty to take time off from their regular University responsibilities, including teaching and administrative service, in order to focus on their scholarly work. Tenure-track faculty on paid or unpaid research leave are expected to continue to conduct their research, advise and mentor their students and trainees, and follow FAS and University policies, including (in the case of paid leave) the 20 percent rule, which states that no more than 20 percent of one’s total professional effort may be directed to professional activities outside Harvard (see Chapter 2 for more information on this rule). Please note: Paid and unpaid research leaves and teaching relief earmarked for the assistant professor and associate professor terms respectively, as described immediately below, should be taken during those designated terms.

Arts and Humanities and Social Science Divisions

• Assistant and associate professors in Arts and Humanities and most Social Science departments are eligible for two terms of leave during each of their tenure-track appointments. These leaves are taken as one term of paid leave and one term of unpaid leave during their assistant professorship and the same during their associate professorship.
  • Assistant and associate professors in the Economics Department are eligible for two terms of leave during each of their tenure-track appointments. Of the four, one is a semester of paid research leave, and three terms are unpaid research leave.
• For tenure-track faculty in Arts and Humanities and Social Science departments, unpaid research leaves may be taken in combination with a term of paid research leave (in effect, extending the period of leave to a full academic or calendar year, rather than a single term) for those who are eligible for paid leave. Alternatively, faculty members may take a semester of unpaid leave unconnected to a paid research leave in order to take advantage of an outside funding opportunity.

Science Division and SEAS

As of July 1, 2013, the following policies apply to tenure-track faculty in the Sciences (which include the life sciences and physical sciences). For the purposes of these policies, the Division of Science is divided into two categories: Category 1and Category 2.

• Category 1 consists of those departments in which faculty ordinarily teach at least one course (other than a graduate research course) in each semester. Faculty with joint appointments, with one appointment in a Category 1 department and their other appointment in a Category 2 department, will be considered as belonging to a Category 1 department if they follow the teaching requirements of a Category 1 department in each year of their appointment.
• Category 2 consists of those departments with fewer teaching responsibilities than those described for Category 1.

As of July 1, 2013, assistant and associate professors in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences follow the teaching relief and leave policies described below for Category 1 faculty in the Science Division.

• Category 1
  • Assistant professors in Category 1 of the Division of Science and in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology are eligible for one semester of teaching relief, to be taken during the first year of their appointment (in SEAS, teaching relief is offered during either the first or second year). As noted in Chapter 3A6, teaching relief is defined as exemption from formal classroom duties. This teaching relief should be taken in residence, to enable assistant professors to establish their laboratories and research programs on campus. In addition to one term of teaching relief, assistant professors in Category 1 are eligible for one semester of unpaid research leave. This term of unpaid research leave, if taken, should occur sometime during the assistant professor appointment, and after the first year. 
  • Associate professors in Category 1 departments are eligible for two semesters of leave, to be taken during the associate professor appointment: a) one term of unpaid research leave and b) one term of paid research leave. 
• Category 2
  • Assistant professors in Category 2 departments may, in exceptional cases, apply for a semester of unpaid research leave, to be taken sometime during their assistant professor appointment, and after the first year.
  • Associate professors in Category 2 departments will be eligible for one term of unpaid research leave, to be taken during the associate professor appointment.

Tenure-track faculty members ordinarily may take a paid or unpaid research leave as early as the second year of appointment, following the approval of the department chair(s) and depending on the needs of the department(s) and of the individual. 

In contrast to the policies governing the leaves for tenured faculty, there need not be six terms in residence teaching between leaves for tenure-track faculty. Consideration should be given, however, to the curricular and service needs of the department.

Note: The provisions limiting leaves to one year, noted in the “General Leave Policies” section, apply to tenure-track faculty.

Please see “Sabbatical for Those Promoted from the Tenure-Track Ranks” in the previous section for more information.

Under exceptional circumstances, an additional term of unpaid leave may be available to FAS and SEAS tenure-track faculty, following approval by the relevant department(s) and by the divisional/SEAS dean. Such an additional term is only permitted if external (i.e., non-Harvard) funding has been received and there is no opportunity to defer such funding until it might be combined with a term of paid leave.

• For faculty in the Divisions of Social Science and Arts and Humanities, no more than five terms of leave will be approved during the years of a faculty member’s tenure-track appointments, with the exception of medical or personal leaves. For faculty members initially appointed at the associate professor level, a third term of unpaid leave may be available if external (i.e., non-Harvard) funding has been received and there is no opportunity to defer such funding until it might be combined with a term of paid leave.

• For faculty in the Division of Science category 1 departments and in SEAS, no more than four terms of leave will be approved during the faculty member’s tenure-track appointments, with the exception of medical or personal leaves. For faculty members initially appointed at the associate professor level, a third term of unpaid leave may be available if external (i.e., non-Harvard) funding has been received and there is no opportunity to defer such funding until it might be combined with a term of paid leave. 

• For faculty in the Division of Science category 2 departments, no more than three terms of leave will be approved during the years of a faculty member’s tenure-track appointments, with the exception of medical or personal leaves. For faculty members initially appointed at the associate professor level, a second term of unpaid leave may be available if external (i.e., non-Harvard) funding has been received and there is no opportunity to defer such funding until it might be combined with a term of paid leave.

As an addendum to the policy above, in Springs 2021 and 2022, the FAS instituted the following measure as part of its ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures were only available to tenure-track faculty who were here at the time, and according to the conditions below.

• To further support tenure-track colleagues who were on the FAS tenure track and had children at home aged 12 or under during the 2020-2021 academic year and who were teaching three or more classes a year, the FAS stated that it would backstop the faculty member’s application for an additional term of research leave. This opportunity was also available, upon request, to tenure-track faculty teaching three or more classes a year who had other dependent-care concerns, such as caring for elders.
• In January 2022, the FAS expanded eligibility for this backstopped leave to include any tenure-track faculty on the faculty at that time who are teaching three or more classes a year (regardless of whether or not they have children at home aged 12 or under, or other dependent-care concerns, such as caring for elders).
• Thus, in addition to the terms of paid research leave to which tenure-track faculty are already entitled, if colleagues make a good-faith effort to apply for an external fellowship to receive salary support—as is standard practice when faculty take a term of unpaid leave to conduct research—the FAS will backstop the application if the faculty member does not secure a fellowship. (This measure is intended to apply to a single fellowship application, not multiple applications.)
• In addition to this term of backstopped paid research leave, the FAS stated in Spring 2021 that it will grant relief from teaching one course for any interested tenure-track colleagues (regardless of dependent-care circumstances) who were on the FAS tenure-track during the 2020-21 academic year and who teach in departments/areas that have a typical teaching load of two courses or more per year. These eligible tenure-track faculty can take this course relief any time before they come up for tenure. This one-time course relief should be arranged in coordination with the department chair/area chair and can be taken during any of the years that the faculty member is on the tenure track. (The one-course reduction cannot be “banked” for use post tenure.)

Moreover, effective July 1, 2023, tenure-track faculty who take a medical leave lasting eight weeks or longer (including medical leave associated with childbirth) will have the option to take a one-year extension to their current appointment as well. During this one-year extension, the faculty member would be eligible for one semester of teaching relief. (For more information, please see Chapter 3H, “Other Leaves (Family [including Parental], Medical, and Personal) and Extensions.”) 

As noted in Chapter 3.A.6 (“Teaching Relief”), teaching relief is not a leave of absence. Teaching relief is an exemption from formal classroom duties, either for full teaching duties during one term or half duty for two terms, at the option of the faculty member. Faculty are expected to continue advising and mentoring and performing service when taking teaching relief.

Paid and unpaid research leaves do not affect the tenure-review clock for tenure-track faculty.

Note: With the significant disruptions to professional life resulting from the COVID-19 crisis, the FAS instituted in Spring 2020 a policy of extensions, allowing then-current tenure-track faculty the option of extending their appointment and postponing their promotion review for one semester or a year, depending on their eligibility. Similarly, FAS faculty whose appointments began in the fall term of 2020 were offered the option to extend their initial appointment by one year. In Spring 2021, recognizing the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the FAS encouraged any interested tenure-track faculty to contact their divisional dean/SEAS Dean if they wished to request an additional year of appointment and tenure-clock extension, for reasons of significant professional and/or personal disruption due to the pandemic. In January 2022, given the continuing impact of the pandemic, the FAS provided the option of a third appointment extension, for any interested tenure-track faculty who have not yet had their review for promotion to tenure and who feel that an extension would help them to address Covid-related impacts on their professional lives.

Please also see “Additional Leave and Teaching Relief” above, which refers to the policy effective July 1, 2023, whereby tenure-track faculty who take a medical leave lasting eight weeks or longer (including medical leave associated with childbirth) have the option to take a one-year extension to their current appointment as well.