Modified Duties for Faculty
Purpose: To provide full-time faculty with some relief from academic duties and the opportunity to respond to anticipated or unanticipated life events or situations when needed.
Eligibility: All full-time tenured, tenure-track, clinical or research faculty members, librarians, instructors and lecturers of either gender. Eligibility begins on date of hire.
Full-time faculty members are eligible for one semester of modified duties or the equivalent extended over two semesters.
Option A: Automatic in cases of childbirth or adoption
- Notification using Modified Duties Semester form and documentation required
- Birth/adoptive mother or primary caregiver is released from onsite duties such as classroom teaching, clinical field placement, teaching, research or clinical laboratory duties, on-site librarian duties, student advising and committee work
- Birth/adoptive father or secondary caregiver duties defined in consultation with academic unit head; may include partial or complete release from onsite duties
- Not required to take modified duties
Option B: Requested in other circumstances
- Request, justification and documentation required
- Modified duties defined in consultation with academic unit head with the expectation that the needs of the faculty member will be met
Basic Principles
- Modified duties designed to provide sufficient time and flexibility for faculty to respond to his/her personal or family circumstances as necessary
- In case of birth or adoption, modified duties must be concluded within 12 months of life event. Faculty members are still eligible if life event occurs during summer months
- Faculty not required to "bank" duties: courses, advising, committee work, etc.
- Unit should provide reasonable resources to facilitate modified duties
- Faculty should notify the department chair or dean as appropriate four months prior to modified semester or as early as possible
- Faculty should not be penalized for using this policy
- Faculty may appeal denial of modified duties semester request to the Provost
- Policy does not replace FMLA, other leave or long-term disability
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