Michigan universities paid more than 500 professors $23.2 million for sabbaticals during the 2004-05 school year according to records obtained by The Detroit News under Michigan\'s Freedom of Information Act. The data represents only the salaries paid to professors while they were away from their jobs. When health insurance and other benefits are included, the cost of the sabbaticals increases to about $31 million. Proponents of sabbaticals say they allow professors to gain fresh insights they share with students, and are critical to attracting and retaining top-flight professors and researchers. Critics say professors typically work only nine to 10 months per year, their teaching loads have dropped dramatically since the 1960s and their schedules already allow ample time to conduct most research. It is also noted in the story that according to data received from Michigan\'s universities, Wayne State University, Central Michigan University and Michigan State University each listed a professor as having been on sabbatical when in fact the teacher had left the university without taking the planned leave. The University of Michigan said it cost more than $200 in staff time just to determine which professors at its Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses were on sabbatical in 2004-05, and for how long. Sidebar graphs list tuition and fee rates and sabbatical data for Michigan\'s public universities, including WSU.