Provost and Senior VP, Academic Affairs

Faculty Development

Site Areas: Sloan Overview | Leave Policies | Relief Policies | University Links

Selected University Leave Policies

FACULTY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

We are fortunate to have received one of five Sloan Foundation Grants for Faculty Career Flexibility awarded in the fall of 2006. As a special feature of our flexibility plan, we intend to offer limited funds to support replacement faculty in cases of family or personal emergency.

The support is intended to lighten the work load of existing faculty members in the department due to an absent faculty member's unexpected leave to attend to "special" circumstances (such as a onetime research opportunity) or a family or personal emergency.

Providing that the replacement lecturer you hire is not a current faculty member, the Sloan funds can offer $2,500 for each of the courses requested for funding.

Please provide your request on letterhead and submit it to Faculty Development , Associate Provost Debra Walker King, as soon as possible. In it explain why the replacement lecturer is necessary (both the course need and/or the research need); identify who will be replacing the faculty member and at what rate. Outline in the letter how the remaining funding support for the course lecturer will be met, since this office cannot support 100% of the courses. Dr. King’s signature of approval will be necessary, so please provide a signature line for that purpose.

Additionally, Faculty Development will need a course description and a syllabus for our records. Once a letter of agreement is signed and counter-signed by the replacement faculty member, we can disburse the funds. If such a letter is not offered in your program we will need another means for verifying replacement prior to funding disbursement.

Please keep in mind that these are not recurring funds. Our ability to support replacement faculty in this manner is a special benefit of having secured the Sloan Grant. I would appreciate a letter documenting how the funding support benefited students, faculty and the department.

LEAVE FOR NEW MOTHERS

• Under UF Extended Leave of Absence policy, a faculty member has the flexibility to use all or less than 80 hours of vacation and/or sick leave for each pay period/cycle instead being on full leave without pay.13 While absent, the faculty member would use his or her own accrued vacation and/or sick leave as replacement pay.
• Paid leave policies for new biological mothers during the period of disability apply to both tenured and tenure-track faculty.
• New mothers may use all or less than 80 hours in a pay period/cycle to receive either full or partial pay, depending on number of hours of leave used during the period of disability related to pregnancy and childbirth.
• The source of this pay during the period of disability is the faculty member’s own accrued sick leave and/or vacation time.17 No general temporary disability insurance benefit is funded by the university. This temporary disability benefit is purchased at the faculty’s own expense.
• There is a university-wide formal written policy providing replacement pay for new biological mothers during leave AFTER the period of disability (typically 6 - 8 weeks) during the academic year. If a faculty member requests to take six months of parental leave, then the department/college will need to honor it.18 While absent, the faculty member would use his or her own accrued vacation and/or sick leave as replacement pay.
• Paid leave policies for new biological mothers after the period of disability apply to both tenured and tenure-track faculty.
• New mothers may use all or less than 80 hours in a pay period/cycle to receive either full or partial pay, depending on number of hours of leave used during leaves AFTER the period of disability related to pregnancy and childbirth.
• Assuming that a woman gives birth at the beginning of an academic semester/quarter/term, the maximum amount of time she can typically receive full or partial pay after the period of maternity-related disability (typically 6 – 8 weeks) while on leave during the academic year is the remainder of the academic semester/quarter/term.
• Assuming that a woman gives birth at the beginning of an academic semester, quarter, or term, the maximum length of paid and/or unpaid leave she can typically take, including the period of disability, during the academic year is the remainder of the academic semester/quarter/term since a faculty member may request up to six month of absence under the parental leave policy, which would cover the whole academic semester.
• There is a university-wide formal written policy providing full or partial replacement pay for new adoptive mothers for parental care following the adoption of a child since parental leave also covers adoption.
• Leave policies for adoptive mothers apply to both tenured and tenure-track faculty.
• New adoptive mothers may use all or less than 80 hours in a pay period/cycle to receive either full or partial pay, depending on number of hours of leave used during leaves for parental care following adoption.
• Assuming that a woman adopts at the beginning of an academic semester/quarter/term, the maximum amount of time she can typically receive full or partial pay after adoption while on leave during the academic year is the remainder of the academic semester/quarter/term.

LEAVE FOR NEW FATHERS

• There is a university-wide formal written policy providing full or partial replacement pay for parental leaves by new biological fathers for some period of time during the academic year following the birth of their child since under UF Extended Leave of Absence policy, a faculty has the flexibility to either use all or less than 80 hours of vacation and/or sick leave for each pay period/cycle instead being on full leave without pay. While absent, the faculty member would use his or her own accrued vacation and/or sick leave as replacement pay.
• Paid parental leave policies for new biological fathers apply to both tenured and tenure-track faculty.
• New biological fathers may use all or less than 80 hours in a pay period/cycle to receive either full or partial pay, depending on number of hours of leave used during parental leaves following the birth of their children.
• Assuming that the birth occurs at the beginning of an academic semester/quarter/term, the period new biological fathers typically receive full or partial pay during the academic year is the remainder of the academic semester/quarter/term since parental leave is six months for both mothers and fathers. The father is eligible to use his own accrued leave starting from first day of absence.
• Assuming that a biological father has a child at the beginning of an academic semester/quarter/term, the maximum length of paid and/or unpaid leave he can typically take during the academic year is the remainder of the academic semester/quarter/term since a faculty member may request up to six month of absence under the parental leave policy, which it would cover the whole academic semester.
• There is a university-wide formal written policy providing fully or partly paid parental leaves during the academic year to new adoptive fathers following the adoption of their child since this also falls under the parental leave policy.
• Paid parental leave policies for new adoptive fathers apply to both tenured and tenure-track faculty.
• New adoptive fathers may use all or less than 80 hours in a pay period/cycle to receive either full or partial pay, depending on number of hours of leave used, during parental leaves following the adoption of their children.
• Assuming that the adoption occurs at the beginning of an academic semester/quarter/term, the period that new adoptive fathers typically receive full or partial pay during the academic year is the remainder of the academic semester/quarter/term since parental leave is six months for both mothers and fathers. The father is eligible to use his own accrued leave starting from first day of absence.
• Assuming that the adoption occurs at the beginning of an academic semester/quarter/term, the maximum length of paid and/or unpaid leave new adoptive fathers can typically take during the academic year is the remainder of the academic semester/quarter/term since a faculty member may request up to six month of absence under the parental leave policy, which it would cover the whole academic semester.

PERSONAL DISABILITY LEAVE NOT RELATED TO CHILDBIRTH

• Excluding disability pay related to pregnancy and childbirth (if it is offered), the university has a formal written policy providing full or partial pay for faculty members when they are unable to work for up to 6 months because of serious illness or injury because of the UF Extended Leave of Absence policy.
• Paid disability leave policies apply to both tenured and tenure-track faculty.
• The faculty member’s own accrued sick leave time and the faculty member’s own accrued vacation time is the source of this pay.
• A faculty member can use all or less than 80 hours in a pay period/cycle to receive either full or partial pay, depending on number of hours of leave used during periods of disability.

LEAVES IN GENERAL

• UF does not provide a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to faculty who take leaves—for purposes other than sabbaticals—that states what the university’s and faculty member’s expectations are during the period of leave and how their leave time will be taken into account during tenure and promotion decisions. There are written policies on websites, but it is left to the faculty member to find the information. The faculty can also contact Central Leave Office or Academic Personnel Office for consultation.
• There is a university-wide formal written policy allowing part-time appointments for tenure-track or tenured faculty.
• Faculty with part-time/partial appointments with proportional pay are not eligible to receive full or pro-rated health benefits.
• Faculty with part-time/partial appointments with proportional pay are eligible to receive pro-rated retirement benefits.

LEAVE & BENEFITS FOR UNMARRIED PARTNERS

• UF does not allow unmarried male faculty members who live with opposite-sex partners to take parental leave when their female partners bear or adopt a child.
• There is a university-wide formal written policy extending health coverage to unmarried opposite-sex partners of faculty members eligible for university health insurance coverage under the faculty member’s plan.
• UF does not allow unmarried female faculty members who live with same-sex partners to take parental leave when their partners bear or adopt a child.
• There is a university-wide formal written policy extending health coverage to unmarried same-sex partners of faculty members eligible for university health insurance coverage under the faculty member’s plan.