A Comparative Study of Sabbatical Leave Practices in Selected Commonwealth and U.S. Universities. Paper No. OIR-30.

Sabbatical leaves are viewed as being essential to the ongoing nature of a self-renewing community of scholars. This study was undertaken to provide data on current use of sabbatical leave plans in universities in several countries - Canada; the United States; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales; Australia, and New Zealand - to provide useful information for possible revision of leave plans. Sixty-six universities were surveyed by means of a questionnaire and the results revealed similarities among the four groups of countries regarding the length of service prior to leave (generally 6 years); differences among the four groups, including the use of retraining leaves as a form of sabbatical; salary paid during regular sabbatical leave; and travel expenses. The conclusions drawn from the data are that Canadian leave plans are not nearly as uniform as those in United States universities; Canadian plans have become more formalized and better documented since 1969; salary paid for full-year leaves in Canadian universities has improved since 1969 and is now substantially better than in the United States, but not as good as in Australia and New Zealand; and participation rates in all countries appear to be higher than those reported prior to 1965 by Ingraham. (JMF)