The Provost’s Guidelines for the Administration of Faculty Leaves of Absence clarify the types of leave available to faculty and share the criteria and other considerations the provost’s office uses to guide decisions about leave approvals. Faculty, department heads, deans, and departmental and school/college staff are encouraged to reference these guidelines when planning and coordinating a leave of absence to ensure compliance with all university policies and procedures.
 

University Bylaws

The By-Laws of the University of Connecticut provide the following language on leaves of absences for Faculty.

Excerpted from the University Bylaws, Article XIV, Section L1

a. Sabbatical leave is a privilege to be applied for in each case and is in no instance to be considered an earned perquisite. Such leaves may be granted on application for the purpose of the advancement of knowledge or professional improvement of mutual benefit to the University and the individual. Following such leave, individuals are obligated to return to active service at the University for a minimum of one year. The applicant should file a specific written application accompanied by a statement as to how the leave is to be used. This application should be approved by the department head, the dean or director, and the Provost or the appropriate Vice President, who will in turn submit it to the Board of Trustees with his/her recommendation.

The privilege is open to all full-time teachers who have at least the rank of assistant professor or a corresponding rank and who have been in continuous full-time service at the institution for at least six years. Following a grant of sabbatical leave, the privilege may be renewed after an additional period of continuous full-time service of at least six years. Exceptions in regard to continuous service may be made upon recommendation of the Provost or the appropriate Vice President and the approval of the Board of Trustees or the Board of Directors. The receipt of grant or fellowship funds to cover travel and other expenses incidental to the leave will not ordinarily impact the granting of a request for such leave.

b. The duration of the leave granted shall be determined by the Provost or the appropriate Vice President. Six years of continuous full-time service is defined as full-time service for at least twelve of the fourteen semesters preceding the leave. Each sabbatical leave eligibility is for a period of one year (two semesters). Leave may be taken for the full period at half pay or for up to half the period at full pay. After each period of eligibility in which a sabbatical leave is taken, whether for all or a portion of the period, there must be at least six years of continuous full-time service before the next eligibility period. Thus, the timing of eligibility periods is not affected by whether leave is taken for a full period at half pay or for up to half the period at full pay. Faculty members in tenure track positions are not eligible for sabbatical leave before the last year of their probationary periods.

Leave for faculty members employed on an eleven months’ basis or for faculty in the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine may be for a period of up to six months with full pay or for a period up to twelve months with half pay.

c. Sabbatical leave, whether at full or reduced pay, is considered full-time service, and therefore, persons on sabbatical leave are not permitted to engage in paid employment elsewhere. If a staff member is considering an arrangement in which he/she will receive compensation for services from the University and from outside agencies which will together exceed his/her regular University salary, the staff member is expected to take a leave without pay rather than a sabbatical leave.

d. Members of the professional staff are in a separate classification. They shall make their application directly to the President if the unit reports to the President or to the Provost or appropriate Vice President, if any.

e. The recommendation of the head of the department and of the dean in charge of the school/college shall accompany applications for leave. All applications should be made at least one year prior to the date when the leave is to begin. Ordinarily the grantee will receive notification that the leave is granted at least two months before the end of the semester previous to the one in which the leave is to begin.

f. Arrangements for carrying on the duties of a person on leave shall be made by the appropriate department head and dean in consultation with the faculty member as appropriate. The department head is expected to certify whether or not the work of the department can be carried on if the leave is granted substantially as it would have been otherwise. If courses would have been withdrawn or other changes made in the department’s program even without the granting of the leave, the changes may be made during the leave, but it is not expected that sabbatical leaves will be granted if they must be taken at the expense of the students or of the regular departmental program.

g. If an approved leave is postponed for a period by the administration, the applicant’s next leave may be granted for the year in which it would have fallen if there had been no such postponement.

h. Sabbatical leaves are granted in the expectation that the recipient will resume his/her previous duties at the end of the leave. Ordinarily the staff member will return at the same rank and salary which he/she had when the leave began. This understanding, however, is subject to the qualification (which applies in the same degree to those in residence) that the Board may sometimes find it necessary to change the compensation or duties of some or all staff members because of changes in enrollment, financial exigencies, or other circumstances beyond its control. The grant of leave does not change the tenure-status of the recipient.

i.After leave has been taken, a written report of the work done shall be made to the officer who approved the leave through the department head and the dean or director.

Please apply for a sabbatical leave through Core-CT. This Job Aid.pdf provides step-by-step instructions for employees. Questions may be directed the Leave Administrator listed above.

Excerpted from the University Bylaws, Article XIV, Section L2

Leave of absence without pay may be granted by the President for those units which report to the President or by the Provost or the Vice Presidents for reasons considered to be in the best interest of the University and in the interests of professional growth and improvement of the staff member concerned. All such cases are treated as special cases and are in the first instance, ordinarily granted for up to a year. Professional staff members desiring such leaves should apply through their department heads and deans and through the appropriate Vice President, if any. A report of all such leaves as are granted shall be made to the Board of Trustees for their information.

Excerpted from the University Bylaws, Article XIV, Section L3

Members of the professional staff are eligible for military leave consistent with applicable state and federal law. Part-time employees will be granted such leave if they have worked the equivalent of six months or more full time. Thus, an employee would become eligible after twelve months of half-time employment, etc.

Excerpted from the University Bylaws, Article XIV, Section L4

Each case is considered separately and involves careful consideration of length of service, nature of the illness, and anticipated length of disability. Application for sick leave should be made not later than ten days after the staff member’s return to work.

Excerpted from the University Bylaws, Article XIV, Section L5

a. No employee of the University of Connecticut shall receive leave with pay for service in any elective political office.

b. No member of the professional staff shall be absent from his/her duties at the University except by permission of the department head. Short leaves to cover emergency situations may be granted by the department head, who will make such arrangements as are feasible to re-assign the absent staff member’s work. In each such case, the department head will file a record of the matter with the dean. No such emergency leave shall be granted for a longer period than ten days without previous permission of the President for those units which report to the President or by the Provost or the appropriate Vice President.

c. Except in very unusual circumstances, no tenured or tenure track faculty member may receive a leave of absence to accept a tenured or tenure track position with another University. Such exceptions will require advance approval from the Provost.had when the leave began. This understanding, however, is subject to the qualification (which applies in the same degree to those in residence) that the Board may sometimes find it necessary to change the compensation or duties of some or all staff members because of changes in enrollment, financial exigencies, or other circumstances beyond its control. The grant of leave does not change the tenure-status of the recipient.

i.After leave has been taken, a written report of the work done shall be made to the officer who approved the leave through the department head and the dean or director.

Please apply for a sabbatical leave through Core-CT. This Job Aid.pdf provides step-by-step instructions for employees. Questions may be directed the Leave Administrator listed above.

View the Guidelines for the Administration of Faculty Leaves of Absence

Faculty Medical Leave Guidelines

Memo: Sabbatical Modifications Due to COVID-19 – April 27, 2020

Memo: Administrative Notification of Faculty Leaves – July 15, 2015

Additional guidelines on medical leaves and emergencies leaves from campus are available through Human Resources and the University Policy website.

Faculty must request a long-term leave of absence through the Employee Self Service portal of Core-CT: http://ess.uconn.edu/.

Circumstances occasionally occur that prevent graduate assistants (graduate teaching assistants, TAs, and graduate research assistants, RAs) from performing the duties of their appointment. The information provides general information and guidelines for advisors and department heads related to the administration of leaves of absence for graduate assistants.

Graduate Assistants who are continuing in their capacity as a student are eligible to request a leave of absence for the following reasons:

• Bereavement (spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law)
• Military Leave
• Immigration Hearings
• Jury Duty

Please complete the GA Leave Request Form.

For additional information on the below leaves, please go to the FMLA section under the Leaves Tab.

• Maternity (paid)
• Care for newborn (non-birth parent) (paid for up to 21 calendar days)
• Adoption
• Personal Illness/Injury
• Family Illness/Injury (spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law)

Human Resources will only process the leaves listed above. Graduate Assistants must contact the appropriate department for any leave request not listed. Issues relating to the individual’s status as a student, including academic leaves of absence are governed by the Graduate Catalog. Please contact The Graduate School at (860) 486-3617 with inquiries about taking a leave of absence from your graduate studies.

These procedures do not apply to Graduate Fellows. Graduate Fellows should coordinate their absences with the department head or principal investigator who supervises their fellowship.

These procedures and guidelines do not supersede the language in the collective bargaining agreement between the University and the GEU-UAW.

Contract Language:
Article 15, Section 1 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the University and the GEU-UAW states, “A GA may request in writing a personal leave of absence from his or her GA appointment for reasons including, but not limited to, illness or injury, immigration hearings, pregnancy, to care for a newborn or adopted child, or to care for an immediate family member (spouse/registered domestic partner, son, daughter or parent of the GA or parent of the GA’s spouse/registered domestic partner) with a serious health condition or for bereavement with respect to such immediate family members. It is the responsibility of the GA to contact the appropriate faculty member or other supervisor in advance of the leave unless circumstances make this impossible. Up to three days of such leave per semester may be taken by the GA as a matter of right. The University may approve additional paid or unpaid leave for such reasons in its sole discretion. If the leave is for twenty-one (21) or fewer consecutive days, the GA will retain health insurance and tuition remission benefits.”

Article 15, Section 3 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the University and the GEU-UAW states, “Upon written application to the University, a GA may request an extended leave of absence from his or her GA appointment in excess of twenty-one (21) consecutive calendar days, but in no event longer than the remainder of the current semester. The University may approve such leave in its sole discretion. If it grants such a leave, the University will determine whether the GA’s stipend, health insurance and tuition remission will be extended for the portion of the approved leave exceeding twenty-one (21) calendar days.”

Article 15, Section 8 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the University and the GEU-UAW states, “The University shall grant a minimum of 5 business days per occurrence for bereavement due to death of a family member, as defined in Section 1. The University may require appropriate documentation from GAs requesting bereavement leave.”

Guidelines:

• Extended absences (four or more days) from a graduate assistantship for personal or immediate family illness (not FMLA eligible), injury, bereavement, or other personal reasons are approved at the sole discretion of the University.
• Departments are not required to grant leaves to Graduate Assistants beyond three days; however, departments may grant such leaves for extenuating circumstances resulting from personal or immediate family1 illness, injury, or bereavement when the leaves are expected to result in short-term, temporary absences from the workplace, and the GA can be expected to return and perform all assigned duties fully and competently. Leaves for personal reasons other than personal or immediate family1 illness, injury, or bereavement are very rare except in exceptional circumstances.
• If a department grants a leave of absence beyond three days, the department is not required to pay the Graduate Assistant while on such a leave.
• Any leave up to 21 days approved by a department will include continuation of benefits and tuition remission.
• Leaves up to 21 days are at the discretion of the Department Head following consultation with the Department of Human Resources.
• Upon receipt, Human Resources will contact the Department Head to consult regarding the leave request. The decision regarding the request for leave and whether it should be paid or unpaid is at the sole discretion of the Department Head.
• Human Resources will notify the graduate assistant of the decision regarding the leave request in writing and will include terms of the leave.
• Human Resources will notify Payroll of leaves approved without pay so that the Graduate Assistant pay can be stopped.
• Any approved leave for personal illness or injury requires that an authorized physician certify that the graduate assistant is fit to return to work. If work restrictions are identified the Leave Administrators will work with the ADA Coordinator to determine if reasonable accommodations can be met.
• Leaves of 22 days or more are at the sole discretion of the University and require approval of the Dean of The Graduate School and will only be considered in rare and extenuating circumstances.

¹ For the purposes of this section, immediate family is defined as Spouse/Registered Domestic Partner, Child, Parent, or Parent-In-Law.

Human Resources Leave Administrator

Megan Stimson
Telephone: (860) 486-0408
Fax: (860) 486-0406

The Voluntary Schedule Reduction Program (VSRP) was developed by the State as a cost savings measure and is authorized by Section 5-248c of the Connecticut General Statutes. Under the VSRP, employees may take unpaid time off without affecting their other benefits.

• An employee must submit a VSRP request through the Employee Self Service portal of Core-CTand Human Resources must issue an approval prior to commencement of a reduced schedule, sporadic days, or leave of absence, under VSRP.
• Participation in the VSRP is voluntary.
• Management approval is required.
• Requests cannot be approved if the leave would have a significant impact on critical services, result in overtime costs, and the department cannot hire other staff to perform the work of the employee taking VSRP leave.
• The VSRP may not be substituted for medical leave.
• The employee or his/her management may cancel time off under the VSRP up to and including the day prior to the date of the scheduled time off.
• The VSRP is not subject to the grievance or arbitration procedure.

Eligibility

Permanent employees as provided by Section 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statute are eligible to participate:

• Classified employees (NP-2, NP-3, NP-5, P-2, P-5) who have completed their required working test.
• Unclassified employees (UCPEA, AAUP, Managerial/Confidential, Law School Faculty) who have completed six months employment.
• Excludes employees in positions funded in whole or in part by the federal government as part of any public service employment program, on the job training program or work experience program.

Program Options

• Sporadic Days Off – individual full days or partial days off. Classified employees may not take consecutive days off. (Monday/Friday is not considered consecutive.)Note: The Governor waived the consecutive days off limitation for classified employees from March 11, 2009 until further notice.
• Work Schedule Reductions – a reduction in scheduled weekly hours that does not result in an employee falling below the minimum required for health insurance benefits.
• Leaves of Absence – a leave of absence of more than 5 consecutive days, not to exceed 24 weeks per application unless for educational purposes. This option is not available to classified employees.

Benefit Considerations

Time off under the VSRP generally has no impact on benefits, as described below:

• Employees continue to receive subsidized health and life insurance benefits.
• Employees receive full credit toward seniority, longevity and retirement. Additionally, for State Employee Retirement System (SERS) participants earnings for unpaid leave taken under the VSRP are not impacted. In other words, salary that would have been earned will be added to actual earnings when determining the three highest earnings years used in the calculation.
• Employees continue to accrue vacation.
• Classified employees continue to accrue sick leave.
• Employees receive holiday pay with no regard to VSRP time off.
• Time off under the VSRP does not count as time worked for purposes of determining overtime pay.

Special Note for Foreign Nationals on a University of Connecticut Sponsored Visa:
Consult with the Department of International Services and Programs regarding the impact of leaves of absence on your visa status and eligibility.

To Apply

Employees may apply for the VSRP program through Core-CT. This Job Aid provides step-by-step instructions for employees. Questions may be directed the the Leave Administrator listed below.

Leave Administrator

Ragini Sengupta
Telephone: (860) 486-5688
Fax: (860) 486-0406

Q. I am in a promotional working test period. If I participate in the VSRP, will the time I take as unpaid leave be counted toward completion of my working test period?
A: No. Days off which are approved under the VSRP shall not be counted toward completion of a Promotional Working Test Period.

Q. May I take consecutive partial days under the VSRP? For example, would it be permissible to reduce my hours each day from 8 to 7?
A: Yes.

Q. If I take a partial day of unpaid leave under the VSRP, is there a minimum amount of time I must take?
A: Yes. You must take at least one hour in a day.

Q. I work a Monday through Friday work schedule and I want to take every Monday as unpaid leave under the VSRP. Will I get paid for a holiday if it falls on a Monday?
A: Yes. You will be paid for the holiday as if you were not taking unpaid leave under the VSRP. You will revert back to your normal schedule for the workweek containing a holiday.

Q. I work a Monday through Friday work schedule and I want to take every Monday as unpaid leave under the VSRP. What happens when a holiday falls on another day in the week?
A: You will take your voluntary leave day on the Monday and you will be paid for the holiday.

Q. If I take an unpaid leave day under the VSRP before and/or after a holiday, will this affect my holiday pay?
A: No. Benefits are not to be diminished under the VSRP so holidays are to be paid in both of these situations.

Q. What time code should be used for unpaid leave under the VSRP?
A: The time code “UVLRP” is used for approved leaves under the VSRP.

Q. How will Alternate Retirement Program (ARP) contributions be affected by the VSRP?
A: Employees will receive full retirement service credit for the time that has been approved under the VSRP; however ARP contributions (employee and employer) will not be made for earnings that are lost under the VSRP.

Q. Is there an impact to employees in the State Employee Retirement System (SERS)?

A: Although employees in a State Employee Retirement System (SERS) pension plan will have reduced employee contributions in the periods in which VSRP time is taken, the pension benefit calculation will not be impacted.

Q. If I take leave under the VSRP now and later am required to take a furlough day, can the leave under the VSRP satisfy the furlough day requirement?
A: No. At this time, leave taken under the VSRP may not substitute for any furlough day(s) that may be required in the future.

Q. If I request and receive approval to take leave under the VSRP and later change my mind, may I rescind the request?
A: Yes and no. You may rescind your request to take leave under the VSRP provided the date(s) requested have not yet passed. You may not; however, take the pre-scheduled leave off and then rescind your request after-the-fact.

Q. I have requested and have received approval to reduce my work schedule from 8 hour days to 7 hour days. If I am absent and must charge my leave accruals, how many hours will be charged per day?
A: Seven. The benefit is that you are accruing leave time based on your schedule prior to initiating your reduced work schedule under the VSRP. However, the deduction from your leave codes is to be based on the hours of work you are missing due to your absence based on the approved (VSRP) work schedule. The same is true for any absence that is not caused by the observance of a holiday.

Q. I am in a training program (Other than Leadership Associate). Am I eligible to participate in the VSRP?
A: Yes and no. As with all employees, if you are in your initial working test period you may not participate in the VSRP. If you are not in your initial working test period, then you may participate in the VSRP provided you meet the experience and training of the target position at the end of your training program. Keep in mind if you take more than 3 leave days under the VSRP (or the equivalent number of hours), your training period will be extended by the same number of days, consistent with extensions of the working test period. Additionally, three year programs cannot be extended.