Sabbatical Leave The CCO affords the privilege of sabbatical leave to employees who wish to enhance their ministry skills and intend to complete at least one year of fulltime service upon return from sabbatical leave. Sabbatical leave is to be used for study related to the employee’s continued and future role in campus ministry or in organizational leadership in the CCO.

Employees are eligible for sabbatical leave to begin no sooner than the first month of their eighth year of fulltime employment. The amount of sabbatical leave granted at this time is three months. Employees who have completed 11 years of service to the CCO may submit a written proposal for an additional six months of sabbatical leave. The same seven- and 11-year cycles, with three-month and six-month leaves, respectively, may be repeated after fulltime employment for 11 years. Sabbatical leave not taken at the specified intervals can accumulate to enable longer periods of academic work for approved future sabbatical leave.

An employee must submit a written proposal to his or her supervisor at least six months before the anticipated beginning of sabbatical leave for the duration of up to three full months or six full months, as the case may be. Forms for this purpose are available from the Benefits Coordinator in the Staff Services Department. The proposal must include a rationale for the leave, details about a course of study, plans to cover job responsibilities while on leave, a funding plan, and an evaluation or reporting process.

Supervisors will present all sabbatical leave proposals to the Staff Services Department, which will work with the supervisor to ensure that sabbatical guidelines are followed. The Staff Services Department is responsible for reviewing all proposals with the applicable supervisor. The review team will consist of the supervisor, the Director for Staff Services, and the Vice President for Staff Services/CFO. Following the review of the proposal, the applicant will be informed by their supervisor within two weeks of the review committee’s decision. Supervisors will have the responsibility of ensuring that the provisions of all approved proposals are implemented.

An employee whose sabbatical application is approved must agree to submit monthly written reports to his or her CCO supervisor and must submit to any direction, feedback or accountability imposed by the supervisor. Within one month of the conclusion of the sabbatical, the employee must submit a final report to his or her supervisor summarizing the activities and learning experienced during the sabbatical.

The employee is responsible for obtaining funding for his or her salary and expenses1 during a sabbatical leave through contributions to his or her Ministry Account or through institutional grants. Under no circumstances will the CCO General Fund underwrite any part of an employee’s salary for a sabbatical leave.2 For tax-free reimbursement of sabbatical expenses,

1 For the purposes of this policy, “salary and expenses” includes but is not limited to an individual’s salary as well as the expenses associated with a staff member’s employment such as: salary, benefits costs, employer costs, and staff services costs. 2 See above, the General Fund shall not contribute to salary and expenses associated with employment.

the sabbatical leave must be focused on improving performance in a position currently held. Employees should contact the Finance Department for information about tax-free reimbursement of expenses.

Employees may apply for any of the four following types of sabbaticals:  Study sabbatical: a defined study project and learning objective, usually completed in conjunction with a degree-granting institution  Project sabbatical: a research project that complements the CCO’s general mission and is completed under the direction of an ongoing ministry or mission  Restorative sabbatical: one that focuses on personal refreshment, renewal, and future direction and requires accountability to a pastor, counselor, or spiritual director  Combination sabbatical: one that combines elements of the sabbatical types listed above