Non-Tenured Faculty Leave Applications (FASTAP 2016) for AY2025-26

To: FAS Non-Tenured Ladder Faculty on FASTAP 2016
Cc: FAS Department and Program Chairs; FAS Chair’s Assistants, Operations Managers, and Lead Administrators; FAS Steering Committee; FAS Dean’s Office; OFAS

[Summary: Assistant professors governed by FASTAP 2016 may be eligible for three semesters of leave at full salary. The details of leave eligibility and the procedure and updated schedule for leave applications are outlined below. To begin the application process, eligible faculty should submit their CV and leave proposal to their department/program.]

The FAS is instituting a change to the application timeline for non-tenured faculty leave requests. This change is based on feedback the FAS Dean’s Office has received since the rollout of the earlier course registration timeline and will enable us to inform faculty members of leave decisions earlier in the academic year, aiding in departmental course planning.  

This academic year, faculty members who submit a leave proposal before September 27, 2024, will receive a decision by January 2025. Faculty members may still submit their proposals after that date; decisions on proposals submitted after September 27 will be communicated on a rolling basis. All proposals must be submitted by November 8, 2024.

Beginning in academic year 2025-26, the deadline for all standard leave proposals will be in September.

Overview

Non-tenured ladder faculty governed by FASTAP 2016 are eligible for three semesters of leave at full salary.  

• Assistant professors who have not yet undergone their reappointment review are eligible for up to two semesters of Initial Appointment Leave (IAL), typically to be taken during a single academic year during the second or third year of their initial appointments.  Faculty conducting laboratory-based work may, with the approval of the academic unit and the FAS Dean, take one semester of their first leave during their first semester at Yale to set up their laboratory. 
   
• Assistant professors who have been reappointed in their rank are eligible for up to two semesters of Post-Reappointment Leave (RAL) prior to their tenure review, typically to be taken during a single academic year during the fifth or sixth year on the tenure clock. The total number of semesters of leave taken prior to the tenure review (whether paid or unpaid) cannot exceed three.  
   
• At the request of the candidate, and with the permission of the department/program and the FAS Dean’s Office, pre-tenure one-semester leaves may be taken as full-year, half-time teaching. 

Leave Application Timeline

To receive a decision by January 2025, faculty who wish to be on leave during the 2025-26 academic year or spanning the 2026 calendar year should apply by September 27, 2024. Leave proposals received after that date will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but must be submitted by November 8, 2024 to ensure timely processing.  

Leave Application Process

1. ​Early September: Academic unit (department/program) chairs appoint a committee of full professors to evaluate proposals for non-tenured ladder faculty.
2. Early September-November 8, 2024: The faculty member submits their current CV and a leave proposal to their academic unit chair and staff (chair’s assistant or equivalent). The proposal should describe the project that will be undertaken during the leave and how it will contribute to the faculty member’s growth as a researcher and teacher. The proposal should explain the significance of the project to the applicant’s field of study, the methods to be used in undertaking the project, and a plan to achieve publication or dissemination. (Proposals should not exceed 5 pages.)
3. Upon receipt of the CV and leave proposal, academic unit staff create a case in Interfolio using the template Non-Tenured Faculty Leave Request [Relevant Division] and the Sabbatical case type. Staff add the appointed review committee members to the relevant step of the case and upload the candidate’s leave proposal and CV. Staff share the Interfolio case with the faculty member so they can complete the Faculty Research Leave Request Form within Interfolio.  
4. The review committee reviews the candidate’s materials in Interfolio and assesses the proposal’s strengths, weaknesses, and feasibility. One or more of the committee members meets with the candidate to provide feedback on the proposal. The candidate may revise their proposal if needed. Staff must upload the revised proposal to the Interfolio case. Once the proposal is final, the chair of the review committee prepares a short report (typically less than one page) detailing the committee’s evaluation of the proposal and summarizing the discussion with the candidate and sends it to academic unit staff. Staff upload the report to Interfolio and forward the case to the academic unit chair.
5. The academic unit chair reviews the materials in Interfolio and sends their recommendation to the staff to upload to Interfolio. Staff forward the case in Interfolio to the relevant divisional dean for review. (The FAS Dean’s Office manages the case from this point forward.)  
6. After the leave proposal is reviewed and approved by the relevant divisional dean, the Office of Faculty Administrative Services (OFAS), and the FAS Dean’s Office, a decision notification will be sent via email to the faculty member, academic unit chair, and relevant staff. Approved leaves will be automatically entered into Workday.

​Additional Information

Timing of Initial Appointment Leaves

Assistant professors should be encouraged to take Initial Appointment Leave when it best advances their research programs. Except in unusual circumstances, we recommend taking the leave in the second or third year. This schedule allows the faculty member to become integrated into the academic unit and University and develop a strong teaching record before the first review. We value high-quality teaching not only for its importance to our undergraduate and graduate students but also because it enriches the scholarship of our faculty members. In the sciences, where setting up a new laboratory may be time-consuming, assistant professors may wish to take one semester of the leave in their first semester at Yale for this purpose and take the remainder of their pre-tenure leave in a later year. Except in exceptional circumstances, a full-year leave should be taken over an academic rather than a calendar year, to allow the candidate to participate fully in the life of the University.

Timing of Post-Reappointment Leaves

Faculty members who wish to take their Post-Reappointment Leave in the first year following reappointment (typically this would be year five, the final year of the first assistant professor appointment) must apply for the leave during the same academic year as the reappointment review. In such cases, the approval of the application will be offered contingent upon successful reappointment. Faculty members should not wait until the review is completed before applying for the Post-Reappointment Leave for the following year.

External Funding

We encourage non-tenured ladder faculty members applying for leave to also apply for external fellowships at the same time. Winning an external award is, of course, beneficial for one’s career, but even submitting such a proposal may raise a scholar’s visibility among the senior scholars in the discipline serving on awards committees. If a member of the FAS faculty who has been granted a paid leave is also successful in obtaining from outside sources any portion of the salary that they are eligible to receive from Yale for the term of that leave, one half of the resulting salary savings to the University up to $25,000 will be used to create an individual research account, which may be used for any legitimate research expenses.

Review Process and Mentoring

The process of evaluating and reviewing leave proposals is an important component of a broader mentoring plan for non-tenured ladder faculty. We are grateful to the full professors of the FAS who dedicate energy and effort to implementing these leave procedures and who share a commitment to enhancing the scholarly productivity of our non-tenured colleagues.

Faculty Handbook

Leave descriptions and policies are available in the Faculty Handbook (section XX, Leaves of Absence and Teaching Relief: University-wide; section IV.L, Faculty of Arts and Sciences: Leaves).

Please contact the FAS Dean’s Office at fas.dean@yale.edu if you have questions or need additional information.