Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wuzza]

Hey,

I am starting my 7th year in a non-tenure-track position at a university and I'm beginning to daydream that they might pay me to take next year off and start a PhD or some other foolishness.

I have anecdotal evidence that a foreigner in a similar situation at another uni nearby got a year off, fully paid.

Anybody ever hear of this happening for foreigners in either tenure or non-tenure positions? If so, was it written into the contract or was it just 'expected'? Ever seen any jobs advertised that offered a sabbatical?

I'll take hearsay / rumours / whatever you got.

[Captain Obvious]

Nope.

[Thiuda]

[Captain Obvious]

he he he he

ha ha ha ha

BRA HA HA HA HA!

[PRagic]

We get one paid semester off every seven semesters. Only for tenure track profs, though.

[PatrickGHBusan]

Tenure = sabbaticals.

No Tenure cannot mean sabbaticals because how will you pay for it?
The institution that offers sabbaticals has to be sure the teacher is there for a long time so that the sabbatical profits the institution.

Also a paid sabbatical has to be...well...paid for by you.

This typically means a pay reduction for a certain period to maintain your pay during the sabbatical.

[Michelle]

[Moldy Rutabaga]

[Wishmaster]

A paid sabbatical? In Korea? Do you really have to ask? They don't want to give you any time off to enjoy yourself, much less pay you for it.

[PRagic]

I meant a fully paid sabbatical for one full semester after 6 semesters of teaching. This is made available to all tenure track (not necessarily full tenured) professors on full-time status. The second sabbatical is a fully paid year. Usually takes a while to build up the time to acquire this, so these people are on full tenured status, or close to it, by the time they get it.

Without exception, this university provides the exact same opportunities to all tenure track profs (assistant, associate, or full professor), foreign or Korean, regardless of area of specialization, as do all of the universities in Korea where my colleagues work.

Want a paid sabbatical? Here's the process: get a Ph.D., get published, get a post-doc or entry level experience under your belt, and publish more along the way. Then get a full-time, tenure track position, get involved in the professional community (conference organization and presentations, invited talks, journal editing, etc...), create and teach the best classes you can, provide guidance to undergrad, grad and Ph.D. students, and serve on committees. It's reasonable to assume that most people, after having gone through everything it takes to get a tenure track slot, and then having worked three years in one, need a semester off.

With this type of schedule, you can see that there aren't any serious breaks throughout the academic year unless you really take the time to schedule one in. Even if you can get away, you have to take your computer and keep up with what's going on. Something ALWAYS comes up to fill your plate.

So I'm just giving my honest 2 cents here. I've worked in a visiting slot and am currently working in a full-time, tenure track slot. No comparison. As a visiting prof, you do your classes and go home. The breaks are yours other than any research or writing you have going on. The downside, of course, is that visiting profs/adjuncts have little job security and are subject to course offering requirements and budget constraints. Salaries may remain stagnant, too. The other downside to working as a visiting prof is that the experience doesn't necessarily count if you move over into a tenure track position and then subsequently go for promotion; hence the ungodly competition for every tenure-track opening offered anywhere, Korea and elsewhere.

It is curious to me, having said all this, how anyone without any of the above under their belt, and who doesn't contribute to the university outside of regular teaching (e.g., by securing outside funding, publishing, or by expanding the schools professional reputation), can hope for a sabbatical. Wishful thinking. Just calling it like I see it.

[angelgirl]

Even instructors who do publish and contribute to the university are still on year-to-year contracts with NO hope of a sabbatical. There are about 20 people in Korea who have tenure. 20 is a guess, but the number is very low.

[PatrickGHBusan]

angel....tenure by definition is rare. Add tenure for foreign professors and the pool just got dramatically smaller. That is by the way, completely normal when you consider what tenure actually means and what it entails for the university as far as commitement. Finally there is quite a difference between an Instructor and a Professor....

[PRagic]

Ok...one last time because this is getting frustrating...y

You just have to be in a tenure TRACK position. This means that you are on the way to getting tenure, NOT that you have reached full tenure.

Here are the ranks:

Assistant Professor
Associate Professor
Full Professor (when tenure is granted)

By the time you've accumulated enough semesters of teaching to merit a sabbatical, you've usually been promoted to Associate Professor (this does NOT necessarily mean that you have tenure). It's odd to hear of an Assistant Professor on sabbatical.

And anglegirl is correct in that, just like everywhere else in the world, contract (adjunct) lecturers and professors do not get sabbatical here in Korea.