Human Resources

Faculty Unit Leaves

Leaves and Holidays

For additional information about leaves and benefits for Unit 3 members, please refer to the Benefit Summary brochure provided by the Chancellor's Office and the Leaves & Time Off page.

Absence Notification and Documentation

Faculty members are responsible for notifying their Department Chair/Appropriate Administrator before any planned absence from a scheduled class, office hour, or other scheduled work related activities, and should provide as much advance notice as possible. Depending on the nature of the leave, the faculty member shall seek approval from the Dean and provide written document as appropriate. This requirement applies even when adequate coverage for class instruction is arranged.

Faculty are also expected to notify the Department Chair/Appropriate Administrator immediately in the case of sickness or any other emergency situation which prevents the faculty member's presence on campus.

In the case of any faculty absence of one day or greater, whether planned in advance or for sickness or any other emergency purposes, the department administrator (or designee) shall submit appropriate documentation for Payroll reporting purposes. The faculty member should submit sick leave and/or Personal Holiday usage as appropriate through Absence Management Self-Service. If faculty are unable to complete this requirement for whatever reason, the Department Chair/Appropriate Administrator is responsible for and authorized to submit the leave usage on the faculty member's behalf. The Dean (or designee) will serve as the final authority to approve all faculty absences and leave usage within the College.

Sick Leave

Full-time employees earn eight (8) hours of sick leave credits per month following completion of one month of continuous service and for each additional qualifying pay period thereafter, and are charged eight (8) hours of sick leave for each consecutive academic workday missed from the onset of the illness/injury until the day when duties are resumed (or when the Department Chair/Appropriate Administrator is notified of the availability to resume work). When the semester is in session and there is not an academic holiday, all weekdays (Monday through Friday) are scheduled workdays including days for which a faculty member is not scheduled to teach. Part-time employees accrue credit for sick leave on a pro-rata basis, and are charged pro-rata sick leave for each academic workday missed from the onset of the illness/injury until the day when duties are resumed (or when the Department Chair/Appropriate Administrator is notified of the availability to resume work). Article 24.10 specifies the absences for which sick leave may be used. Per Article 24.7, appropriate medical verification of the need for sick leave is required for any absence in excess of three consecutive days, and such verification should be provided by the faculty member to the Department Chair and/or Appropriate Administrator. In emergency situations and with appropriate approvals, up to 40 hours of accrued sick leave credit may be used for family care during any one calendar year (see Article 24.13 for additional information). There is no limit to the number of sick leave credits that can be accumulated.

Holidays

Faculty classified as “academic year” employees, are entitled to all days designated in the campus academic calendar as academic holidays or any other day designated by the Governor as a public fast or holiday. Academic holidays are not compensatory. The academic calendar is located on the CSUMB Catalog website. The 12 month employee work schedule is located on the Payroll website.

Personal Holiday

All academic employees are entitled to a one-day Personal Holiday each calendar year. If the Personal Holiday is not taken before the end of the calendar year, it is forfeited. Scheduling of the Personal Holiday must be agreed on in advance by the employee and Dean or Appropriate Administrator.

Vacation

Full-time faculty employees with a 10- or 12-month work year earn vacation at the rate of two days per qualifying month of service (part-time employees accrue vacation on a prorated basis). Faculty employed on an academic year basis do not earn vacation credit. Vacation credit is cumulative to a maximum of 320 working hours (48 days) for 10 or less years of service or 440 working hours (55 days) for more than 10 years of such service. Accumulated vacation hours exceeding these maximum amounts as of January 1 of each year shall be forfeited. After one full year of employment, employees must take at least 40 hours of vacation each calendar year. Any part of the 40 hours not taken during the calendar year is forfeited on January 1 of the following year.

Accrued vacation may be taken after completing one qualifying pay period. Except in an emergency and with prior written approval of their Dean/Appropriate Administrator, employees are not to take vacation time off during any semester in which they are teaching.

Requests for scheduling vacation must be submitted in writing to the Department Chair/Appropriate Administrator at least 30 days in advance. Vacations shall be scheduled by mutual agreement of the faculty member and Department Chair/Appropriate Administrator. The scheduling of vacation may also arise from the needs of the institution. Although vacation credits are a right, the time vacations are taken must be convenient to the University and approved by the Dean/Appropriate Administrator.

Sabbatical Leaves

Sabbatical leaves with pay may be granted to eligible employees if the research, scholarly or creative activity, instructional improvement, or faculty retraining provides a benefit to the University. Full-time faculty members, except coaches, are eligible to apply for a sabbatical leave after completing six (6) academic years of full-time service in the preceding seven (7) year period prior to the leave and at least six (6) years after any previous sabbatical or difference in pay leave. Sabbatical leave compensation for academic year employees is:

  • one semester at full pay; or
  • two semesters at one-half pay

Retirement credit in the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) for faculty on Sabbatical or Difference-in-Pay Leave may be influenced by the leave. Faculty on leave for one semester at full salary receive full retirement credit. Faculty on leave of one academic year at one-half pay do not receive full retirement credit for the period of leave, but have the opportunity to "buy back" the lost retirement credit upon return from leave. For further information, please contact the Benefits Analyst in Human Resources or refer to the CalPERS website. Requests should be submitted to the Dean/Appropriate Administrator via the Department Chair.

The Sabbatical Policy and forms can be found on the Sabbatical Policy page. Additional information about travel while on Sabbatical can be found on the Sabbatical Travel page.

Difference-in-Pay Leaves (DIP)

Full-time faculty members, except coaches, are eligible to apply for a difference-in-pay (DIP) leave after serving full time for six (6) years in the preceding seven (7) year period prior to the leave. For a subsequent DIP leave, a faculty member is eligible after serving three (3) academic years following the last sabbatical or difference-in-pay leave. This leave must be for a purpose that provides a benefit to the University such as research, scholarly or creative activity, instructional improvement, or faculty retraining. The salary for a DIP leave for a faculty employee is the difference between the individual's salary and that of the minimum salary of Instructor.

Retirement credit in the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) for faculty on Sabbatical or DIP Leave may be influenced by the leave. Faculty on leave for one semester at full salary receive full retirement credit. Faculty on leave of one academic year at one-half pay do not receive full retirement credit for the period of leave, but have the opportunity to "buy back" the last retirement credit upon return from leave. For further information, please contact the Benefits Analyst in Human Resources or refer to the CalPERS website. Requests should be submitted to the Dean/Appropriate Administrator via the Department Chair.

The DIP policy and application may be found on the DIP Policy page.

Voluntary Reduction in Time Base

The CSU and CFA have reached an agreement to extend the MOU related to Voluntary Reductions in Time Base Request for Full Time Faculty, Counselors, and LIbrarians (VRTB) and Pre-Retirement Reduction in Time Base (PRTB) for tenured faculty.  This MOU is effective for AY 21-22 only.  Requests by faculty to participate in these two programs are subject to the approval of the Appropriate Administrator.  A copy of the agreement is available for download

Leaves Without Pay

Full-time academic employees may be granted a leave without pay by the Dean/Appropriate Administrator for a specific period of time. A part-time temporary academic employee may be granted a leave of absence without pay to maintain their rights and entitlements, under provisions 12.3, 12.7, 12.9, 12.10, 12.12, and 12.13 of the collective bargaining agreement.

Requests for a personal or professional leave of absence without pay must be submitted in writing. The Provost will make the final decision after reviewing the request and recommendations from the Dept/Div/School Chair and College Dean/Appropriate Administrator. A faculty unit employee requesting a leave of absence without pay is advised to become fully aware of the conditions of the leave. Please refer to Article 22 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for additional information about eligibility periods and other aspects of leaves of absence without pay.

Professional Leaves Without Pay

A professional leave without pay may be granted if its purpose benefits the University, such as research, advanced study, or professional development. Such leaves shall be considered totally voluntary and for the purposes of workers' s compensation, the time involved will not be considered time worked. A faculty employee on approved professional leave without pay will accrue serve credit toward probation, sabbatical eligibility, different in pay eligibility, service salary increase eligibility, and seniority. Service credit toward retirement is not accrued during periods of unpaid leave, but may be repurchased upon return from professional leave (For more information, please visit CalPERS under the "Active Members" view, click on "Service Credit Purchase Options" under "Forms and Publications.") Leave applications should be submitted to the Dean via the Department Chair.

Personal Leaves Without Pay

A personal leave without pay may be for purposes of unpaid sick leave, outside employment, maternity/paternity leave, family care or other purposes of a personal nature. Faculty on personal leave without pay do not accrue service credit toward sabbatical eligibility, difference in pay eligibility, salary increase eligibility, or seniority unless otherwise specified in the collective bargaining agreement. Service credit toward retirement is not accrued during periods of unpaid leave. Under certain circumstances, probationary faculty on personal leaves without pay may request that their probationary period be extended. Requests should be submitted to the Dean/Appropriate Administrator via the Department Chair.