Faculty Leave of Absence Policy

The Franklin College is bound by leaves of absence policies set forth by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the University of Georgia, and the Board of Regents. The following guidelines are supplementary to existing University guidelines and concern implementation of these policies within the College. Faculty may request leaves of absence to take advantage of fellowship or grant opportunities, to pursue research projects, to hold visiting positions at other institutions, to seek professional renewal, and for personal reasons. The Franklin College especially encourages the use of leaves of absence to enhance faculty research and professional renewal. Such leaves are a privilege that faculty earn through excellence in teaching, service, and research. They are recommended to the Board of Regents at the discretion of the unit head and the College following review of the faculty member's record, the reasons why leave is requested, and the availability of departmental resources. (See also Academic Affairs Policy Manual, "1.12 Leaves").

Generally speaking, when a faculty member wishes to take a leave of absence, the following events must occur:

1. The faculty member requests the leave in writing from the department head or director and includes in the letter a statement justifying the need for the leave. An exception is unanticipated sick leave. The unit head then determines whether circumstances warrant granting the leave, including whether the faculty member's responsibilities can be covered adequately during the term of absence. Non-tenure-track faculty are ineligible for leave with or without pay.
2. If the unit head approves the requested leave, he or she writes a cover letter justifying and approving the leave, attaches it to a completed "Leave of Absence" form, and submits it along with the faculty member's letter to the Dean. The cover letter must explain why the requested absence is warranted and how the unit will cover the faculty member's duties during the term of absence. This request must be tendered by the semester deadline for submitting leaves of absence to the College: October 15 for leaves beginning spring semester; May 15 for leaves beginning fall semester.
   For leaves of absence without pay and with partial or full pay, go to http://www.franklin.uga.edu/deans/hruppers/LOA package outline.pdf for an outline that describes what must be included in a leaves of absence request.
3. The Associate Dean responsible for the unit of the faculty member requesting leave determines whether the request for leave meets College guidelines and informs the unit head of the decision in writing. The Leave of Absence form will be forwarded in accordance with University guidelines.
4. The department files appropriate Travel Authority forms at least two weeks prior to the faculty member's departure from campus.
5. Within thirty days of the faculty member's return to campus, he or she submits a written statement to the Dean and unit head describing what was accomplished during the term of absence.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE CATEGORIES

Reassignment of Location: When the unit head recommends, the College will consider a reassignment of location for up to one semester. This is not a leave of absence in a technical sense and instead is merely approval for the faculty member to carry out officially assigned duties at a location remote from the campus. Both the College and the unit head must keep on file a copy of the faculty member's written request for reassignment along with written approval of the request from the department head and the Dean.

No later than two weeks prior to the faculty member's departure from campus, the department must submit to the College a "Travel Authority" form which includes, under "Reason for Travel," the words "Reassignment of Location."

Reassignments of location do not interrupt the tenure clock.

The College will handle reassignment of location requests internally. Requests for reassignment of location for less than one month will be handled within the department and do not require College approval. Faculty will be approved for reassignment of location during the academic year for reasons directly related to teaching and scholarship only. The following from the University Guidelines for Leaves of Absence is pertinent: "It is critical for two reasons that any reassignment which includes significant time away from campus be formally approved by the dean. First, the reassignment must be part of departmental, school, and college planning. Second, it assures for any legal, medical, or other purposes that the faculty member has or had a location reassignment for university, and not personal, purposes. Since this latter is a concern no matter how short or long the duration, deans should develop their own internal method of assuring that location reassignments for less than a month have some form of approval." Reassignment of location means that the faculty member's instructional assignments are scheduled so that he or she is free during one academic term to conduct full-time research. It does not mean a reduction in teaching load.

Reassignment of Instructional Responsibilities: This form of leave is similar to "Reassignment of Location" but is used when the faculty member remains on campus. It is made for purposes of faculty development and support of faculty research. The unit head must determine whether the needs of the faculty member and of the department merit such reassignment. Reassignment without release from other departmental responsibilities means that the faculty member's instructional assignments are scheduled so that he or she is free during one academic term to conduct full-time research, but that he or she is otherwise responsible for such normal duties as committee work, advising, and thesis or dissertation direction. It does not mean a reduction in teaching load.

Reassignment of All Responsibilities: Such leaves should be approved more sparingly and infrequently. As the OSVPAA guidelines indicate, it "requires the formal approval of both the department head (or director) and the dean and the request for it must be accompanied by a letter of justification to the dean. The typical assignment would be to full-time disciplinary scholarship or instructional program development not otherwise possible with usual faculty responsibilities. This rationale would include a statement of what the faculty member expects to accomplish during this reassignment." To qualify for this kind of reassignment, a faculty member's instructional assignments must be scheduled so that he or she is free from all departmental responsibilities during one academic term to conduct full-time research. It does not mean a reduction in teaching load. "Reassignment of All Responsibilities" is for faculty who plan to conduct their research or other approved activities on campus. Faculty who wish to be away from campus should apply for "Reassignment of Location," which implicitly provides the same reassignment of normal responsibilities.

Leave of Absence with Partial Pay: These are granted when a faculty member wishes to take advantage of a grant or fellowship opportunity at another location, or when he or she wishes to be relieved in whole or in part of his assigned duties for the purpose of conducting research and/or for instructional development either on the campus or at another location. In cases where the faculty member has a grant or fellowship, the letter requesting the leave must indicate the income expected from external funding and must include a copy of the letter of award that states the amount of funding. This information helps the College determine the level of partial pay it should provide. In general the College will try to insure that the faculty member does not suffer financial hardship from taking advantage of a grant or fellowship, but it cannot provide more than half pay.

According to OSVPAA Guidelines, "Based on departmental needs and programmatic development, a head or director may recommend that a faculty member be given a leave of absence with pay. Regents policy requires that prior to being granted a leave of absence with pay the faculty member sign an agreement indicating that, for a leave for less than one year, he or she will return to the institution for at least one year or that, for a leave of one year, he or she will return to the University for at least two years. If the faculty member does not return to the University for the time specified in the agreement then he or she will reimburse the University for compensation received from and any other expenses paid by the University during the leave. . . . The leave must be awarded specifically for the faculty member to assume scholarly responsibilities on a full-time basis which are in the best interests of the department (or school) and the university. The justification for a leave of absence with pay must include a brief statement of what the faculty member expects to accomplish during the leave. Leaves of absence with pay are earned and are not an entitlement. They are to be recommended by the department head (or director) only when the proposed reassignment of responsibilities is of programmatic benefit to the institution." The following from the guidelines for leaves of absence without pay is also pertinent: "Sometimes faculty win prestigious fellowships which provide salary support, but not at the level of their base pay. In these cases, consideration may be given by the department head (or director) and the dean to supporting a request for a leave which might mean providing partial salary support to compensate for a limited fellowship stipend level. This will have to be decided on a case-by-case basis."

When the unit head so recommends, the College may approve a request for leave of absence with partial pay on the following basis: Leaves with up to half-pay will be approved when teaching responsibilities at the 1000 and 2000 levels can be made up with replacement teaching funded by salary savings made available by the faculty member's leave. The College will not automatically provide replacement teaching for faculty on leave. Unit heads must negotiate replacement teaching with the appropriate associate dean. In most instances, the department will have to cover teaching of upper-level and graduate courses. Leaves of absence with pay must receive approval by the Board of Regents.

Leave of Absence Without Pay: According to OSVPAA Guidelines, "Requests for leaves of absence without pay are handled routinely through the offices of the department head (or director), dean, and VPAA. . . . A letter of support and justification must be provided by the department head (or director). Leaves should be recommended only when the department head is convinced that it is in the best interests both of the faculty member and the department to do so. Generally, these leaves will be approved when they are devoted to enhancing the faculty member's scholarship and to providing, as a result, an improvement in departmental programs." When the unit head so recommends, the College will similarly recommend for approval leaves of absence without pay for up to one year. A second year's leave of absence without pay may be separately requested. Leaves of absence longer than two years are very rare and must be specifically approved by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. All leaves of absence without pay must receive approval by the Board of Regents. The College does not approve leaves of absence for faculty who plan to terminate employment by the University, except in the case of exceptional circumstances.

Extension of the Probationary Period: Leaves of absence do not automatically stop or interrupt the tenure clock. See http://www.uga.edu/provost/exttenprob.htm for University Guidelines on Requesting Extension of the Tenure Probationary Period.

Employment at Other Institutions: If a faculty member wishes to request a leave of absence to take a temporary position at another institution, the terms of this temporary employment must be made clear when the leave is requested. Faculty are not authorized to be employed by other institutions without explicit approval from the College. The College does not approve requests for leave without pay for faculty who do not plan to return to the University.

Sick Leave: The College observes University policy on sick leave. Faculty on academic contract as well as faculty on fiscal contract are responsible for reporting sick leave to their unit heads, who must keep accurate records of accrued and used sick leave time in the department and convey them to the College in accordance with established guidelines.

Maternity Leave: VPAA Guidelines state: "Disability due to pregnancy shall be considered as any other disability and appropriate sick leave provisions of these policies shall apply." The University does fully comply with all provisions of the Federal Family Leave Act. In lieu of an official maternity leave policy, faculty who wish to take leave because of pregnancy and childbirth have the following options.

1. Sick leave: Accrued sick leave may be used in place of maternity leave. Use of sick leave does not interrupt the tenure clock because the faculty member is not on an official leave of absence as defined above.  However, a faculty member may request interruption of the tenure clock for reasons related to "extended illness, disability, childbirth, adoption of a child, death of an immediate family member, or extended care of an ill child or immediate family member." Such requests should be submitted by the faculty member through the department head to the Dean of the College. "Requests for extensions of time shall be reviewed and approved by the Dean and the Provost before submission to the Board of Regents for final consideration." See http://www.uga.edu/provost/exttenprob.htm for more information.
2. Leave of absence without pay or with partial pay: The Family Leave Act entitles an employee to take up to six weeks of unpaid leave without penalty. However, a faculty member on leave without pay is not entitled to sick leave pay.
3. A faculty member may, with approval of the department head, rearrange teaching duties so that he or she is on research assignment during the term when childbirth is expected. In this instance the faculty member must carry out assigned duties and use sick leave for those days when assigned duties cannot be carried out.

Click here to go to Academic Affairs Policy Manual, "1.12 Leaves."

Send comments to Hugh Ruppersburg at hruppers@franklin.uga.edu.

Revised March 2, 2006