The Rostrum is a quarterly publication of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Effective Participation in Governance: Policies and Practices (Julie Bruno); (2) TOP Code Alignment Project and Impacts on Local Coding (Craig Rutan); (3) Focus on Transfer: ADTs, UCTP Degrees, and…

This article continues the conversation about librarian sabbatical participation. Analyses are based on quantitative and qualitative data gathered using an online questionnaire. While numerical results show little change in sabbatical participation over time, respondents had much to say about this topic. The author highlights common themes using…

The purpose of this literature review is to examine the differences in the use of sabbatical leave among the arenas of general higher education, industry, and professional-technical/community college. The purposes and policies applied to sabbatical leave, along with the cost of using sabbatical leave in these three environments are compared and…

Sabbaticals have long been linked to higher education institutions and their employees. Sabbaticals have been granted for the development and respite of employees teaching classes and conducting research. However, sabbaticals are not just limited to faculty at colleges or just linked to education. A number of businesses have also turned to…

The author was invited by his dean to offer some advice to colleagues about to head off on their sabbaticals. These colleagues were recently tenured faculty members. They had spent six years publishing, performing, directing, writing grants, and being reviewed by peers inside and outside the university in order to have the board of trustees grant…

This article is a reflection on a sabbatical experience in a mainstream school where an inclusive ethos underpinned the curriculum and environmental approaches for all children. The period as acting head teacher raised some challenges for the author in reconciling inclusion for all children and the exclusive nature of some professional and…

In the context of increased expectations for accountability and growing controversy surrounding sabbatical leave programs, it is important to address seemingly simple questions of who is or should be awarded a sabbatical and what the rationale is for the award. The study attempted to offer some insight on these issues by examining the factors that…

In this article, the author shares his experience while doing research in Beersheba, Israel. His experience has taught him some unexpected lessons. One lesson he learned, when venturing to another floor within the university while the sirens go off, is to locate the nearest bomb shelter (each floor of the building has its own shelter.) One should…

International exchange is an important aspect of academic life. Thus, international sabbaticals are, in general, seen as a measure of research collaboration, networking, and international standing. There are, however, a few groups who are likely to be disadvantaged by such criteria even though they may be implicit, that is, those for whom…

Exploring the development of excellent teachers could contribute to the revision of current practices in faculty recruitment, evaluation, workload expectations, and reward systems. This grounded theory study examined the professional careers of nine award-winning faculty members of a faith-based institution of higher education. The data, collected…

As part of her recent sabbatical, the author proposed going to the University of Michigan Bentley Archives to do research on Fred Newton Scott, founder and chair of the Department of Rhetoric and teacher from 1889 to 1926 at the University of Michigan. Scott ran the only graduate program in rhetoric and composition in the country between those…

Problem: No systematic research has explored the refereed publications records of vital business educators. Data Collection Procedures: A total of 120 prominent business educators were mailed a survey about their publication practices and history, yielding a 61% usable return rate from 73 completed questionnaires. Results: The six research…

A rigorous quasi-experiment tested the ameliorative effects of a sabbatical leave, a special case of respite from routine work. We hypothesized that (a) respite increases resource level and well-being and (b) individual differences and respite features moderate respite effects. A sample of 129 faculty members on sabbatical and 129 matched controls…

A community college librarian from Southern California describes her semester-length sabbatical on the Pacific island territory of New Caledonia, and how the professional, cultural, and language experiences changed her outlook about her job back home. Working at a local library on several projects organizing and processing special collections of…

Results-based management has gained currency in Kenya. After pre-service training, teachers take various staff development programmes to enhance their role effectiveness. Many studies which have associated staff development with employee productivity have not delved into the actual mechanisms in which staff development impact on teachers'…