Did you know that Professional Improvement Leave, the equivalent of a faculty sabbatical, has been one of the opportunities available to staff in the HGEA Bargaining Unit 8 contract for many years? Do you know anyone who has taken this leave?

In my college, few of us did. I had wanted to take a prolonged leave to study the changing nature of English in the world and how that affected our work as a publisher of K–12 curriculum materials for many years. So, in 2018, I researched the process and applied for leave. I was granted a leave for six (6) months, from January 1–June 30, 2019. My primary activity was a literature review on the topic, but I was also able to attend the International Association for World Englishes conference in Limerick, Ireland and the International Conference on Books and Publishing in Granada, Spain. I came back to work in the summer of 2019 refreshed and rejuvenated, with a wealth of new knowledge to help my department craft the language use policies that guide our writing and publishing endeavors.

If you are interested in taking a Professional Improvement Leave, the place to start is with your supervisor and department-level HR office. One of the biggest obstacles I have found is making sure my work was covered while away. Your supervisor’s support and cooperation is key. The details of how the process works and what you need to do to apply are found in the HGEA contract, Article 27 and in University of Hawai‘i Administrative Procedures A9.430 – Professional Improvement Leaves for APT Personnel. An employee has to have completed six (6) years of full-time service to be eligible to apply for this leave.

While this may seem like the most inopportune time to be thinking of taking such leave, the reality is that it will never be exactly the right time. I waited many years for the right time to come along, before realizing I just had to start. It may not happen this year, or even next year, but I would encourage you to start exploring the possibility if you have ideas about your professional improvement. After all, what you would be asking for is to improve your skills to then improve the quality of your work and to benefit your whole department.

By: Lori Ward

Managing Editor
Curriculum Research & Development Group
College of Education