HONOLULU -- Fired University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle would have gotten a yearlong sabbatical at his full salary of $442,000 a year in the sixth year of his contract, KITV 4 News has learned.

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VIDEO: Regents Unaware Of Dobelle's Sabbatical Deal

That deal was approved in a "side letter" to his contract and was not discussed or approved by the full UH Board of Regents. Sources told KITV 4 News that some regents had no idea Dobelle had the benefit in his contract.

Dobelle signed a seven-year contract with the UH Board of Regents in March 2001, paying him $442,000 a year. About the same time, then-regents Chairwoman Lily Yao signed a "side letter," which allowed Dobelle to take a year's sabbatical.

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"Oh, I didn't know about that. It seems like the whole process has been kind of not very transparent," UH senior Brian Trainor said.

The sabbatical was approved without public discussion by the Board of Regents and has never been made public until now.

Sources said most of the regents, even those who've been serving the entire three years of Dobelle's presidency, didn't know about the sabbatical agreement. Sources said the regents found out about the agreement in April or May this year, as they were beginning the investigation and the discussions about whether to fire Dobelle.

A UH student raised concerns about the situations.

"I think everybody needs to be aware of what's going on. Why keep things in secret? Because then things are going to come out. People are going to question things. That's kind of questionable why nobody else knew about it," UH senior Alexandra Nieves said.

In private discussions, sources say UH regents have complained that approving a side agreement for Dobelle's sabbatical without the knowledge of all the regents is "highly unusual" and "not appropriate."

Dobelle said, "I have no idea," when asked why all of the regents did not approve his sabbatical. He referred KITV 4 News to his lawyer, who refused to comment for the story.

Education experts say a growing number of universities offer "paid sabbaticals" to their presidents.

A 2001 survey of more than 2,500 college and university presidents by the American Council on Education found about 17 percent of them reported having sabbaticals in their contracts.

"It has really grown in frequency in the last decade. It is not usual at all for a sabbatical at the end of a fifth or six year, or fourth year, to be included as part of the benefit package," said Sheldon Steinbach, general counsel of the American Council on Education.

Earlier this year, the American Council on Education put Dobelle on its magazine cover with the headline: "Restoring Hope to the College Campus."

KITV 4 News left messages at the home of Lily Yao, but did not hear back from her.

In 2001, when she signed the deal with Dobelle, Yao was a vice chairwoman at First Hawaiian Bank. Dobelle's Ethics Commission filings in 2002 show that he had a checking account with First Hawaiian as well as a $1.1 million mortgage for a Hawaii Kai home and two car loans worth $110,000 from First Hawaiian Bank.