MEMO
To:
Heads of Departments and
Departmental Administrators
From: Professor Stuart Croft
Provost
Re:
ACADEMIC LEAVE PROCEDURES
Date:
11 November 2015
Study Leave
I am writing to advise you of the procedure for study leave applications for the Academic year 2016/17.
The Academic Leave Committee, comprising the Provost and the Faculty Board Chairs, will meet in the
Spring term to consider the applications.
All applications should include:
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A statement from the candidate detailing the proposed objectives of the leave. This
statement should be limited to 500 words.
The term(s) and type of leave requested
Whether the candidate will be applying for grant income whilst they are on their period of
leave.
Financial details of additional income/expenditure expected during the leave
A statement confirming whether or not the leave is approved by the Department
An outline of how the proposed activities contribute towards the applicant’s academic
development
An indication of whether the objectives and outputs are clearly quantifiable and how these
fit with the Department’s research strategy
An explanation of why the objectives could not have been met within the standard
workload model
A statement explaining whether or not the teaching and administrative duties of the
person on leave could be covered from within the Department
All applications for the Academic Year 2016/17 should be forwarded to the Academic Processes Team in
Human Resources (academicprocesses@warwick.ac.uk), by Friday 18 December 2015. In the case of
applications for Leave to Accept a Research Award these may be accepted beyond that deadline in
exceptional circumstances, (e.g. when a grant is received subsequent to the deadline).
I would like to remind all those with responsibility for endorsing applications for Study Leave prior to their
submission to me (namely Heads of Department or Professors Responsible, if appropriate) to ensure that
the objectives set for the leave period are assessed to confirm that they could not be met within the
standard Departmental workload allocation model and that a period of Study Leave will therefore be
necessary to achieve them.
In addition, that objectives and outputs for the leave period are clearly quantifiable in the application so
that these can be reviewed and assessed once leave has been completed.
For example, objectives may outline visits to other institutions and why this would be useful, what
papers/monographs may be written or progressed, and what research applications may be developed
during the period.
In addition, it is important that reports on the outcomes of leave are received promptly. These should be
submitted by the individual via the Head of Department, to the Academic Processes team in Human
Resources for consideration by me. They should be received by Human Resources within four weeks of the
end of the period of absence.
Where there are leave reports from a Department that are unnecessarily outstanding no further
applications for leave will normally be considered for that Department.
Entitlement
I should remind you of the wording in the terms and conditions of employment, which is that academic
staff may be eligible for a period of Study Leave. However, each request is considered on its merits and is
granted at the University’s discretion.
NB. Research staff and Teaching-only staff have an entitlement to apply for a period of Study Leave and
details are set out on the University’s HR pages:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/humanresources/newpolicies/studyleave
Forms
Please find attached a leave application form for academic staff which should be used for any applications
for 2016/17. This form is also posted on the web at
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/humanresources/newpolicies/studyleave.
Please note the additional question regarding whether or not the applicant currently holds a visa. It is vital
that this question is answered.
The form for Research staff and details of the application process for Teaching-only staff are also available
on the same webpage.
Regulations
Please find attached Regulation 5 (recently revised) which governs the grant of Study Leave, Leave of
Absence and Leave to Accept a Research Award.
Professor Stuart Croft
Provost