Reason for Policy
To clarify the considerations CAS will make in recommending approval of leave without pay to the Provost.
Entities Affected
CAS tenure track faculty
Enactment & Revisions
Enacted: 05/09/2016
Revised 5/17/24
Policy Statement
Authorization for a Leave of Absence (LOA)/Leave without pay (LWOP) is at the discretion of the Office of the Provost. Upon Dean’s Office approval, the LWOP application will be sent to the Office of the Provost (OtP) for final review.
If granted, leave without pay may not exceed two consecutive academic or fiscal years, depending on the appointment (UA CBA Article 32. Section 22).
Leave of Absences without pay are granted for personal circumstances, professional circumstances, and for scholarly activities. Examples of this include education, government or public service, prestigious fellowships, or visiting appointments. The college will review all requests on a case-by-case basis.
LWOP will have an impact on:
- Benefits – Employees must be .50 FTE or greater to be benefit eligible.
- Retirement – Could be affected depending on the employee’s retirement plan option.
- Sabbatical – Six years (18 terms) at 1.0 FTE are required for full sabbatical eligibility. Any reduction in FTE will affect your next fully funded sabbatical eligibility date.
- Tenure clock/review schedule – a tenure clock extension request must also be submitted via email to the department head and divisional dean if a LWOP request is approved.
Requests for extensions of LWOP
Any requests for extensions to LWOP should be received at least 28 days before the approved LWOP expires. Failure to provide timely requests for extensions will result in automatic denial of the requests.
Access to Research Funds
Access to Academic Support Accounts and other related research funds stops during a LWOP and resumes when the faculty member returns to active duty. Requests for exceptions require a letter of justification and approval by the divisional associate dean.
CAS Process for Submitting LWOP Requests
Faculty need to first request a consult with your ASU AD to review leave options and applicable policies. This consultation also provides awareness for the ASU AD of planned leave requests. Following consultation with the ASU AD and if the requested leave is supported by the faculty member’s department head or program director, the ASU AD or their ASU staff designee will help with preparing the required Unpaid Leave of Absence form and supporting documentation for submission via the UO Forms portal.
The Unpaid Leave of Absence (LWOP) form is found here: https://hr.uoregon.edu/employee-leave-forms and this form requires completion of fields and signature by the requesting faculty. ASU staff, as designated by the ASU AD, can assist requesting faculty with completing the form.
Upon completion, the Unpaid Leave of Absence form, along with any supporting documentation, is uploaded ASU staff, as designated by the ASU AD, to UO Forms with the following approval queue:
- Unit head/director
- Angie Jimenez, Director of faculty personnel and policy
- Divisional Associate Dean
The staff member completing the UO Forms submittal should Cc the ASU AD using the Cc button within UO Forms. Please do not add additional signatures lines or reassign lines after the document has been sent off. Any adjustments to forms signature rows will drop the edited line to the bottom of the queue every time. Reach out to HROps@uoregon.edu if you notice a problem.
Leave request will be reviewed within two weeks of being received by University HR at which point it will be sent to the OtP for final approval. Submitters will receive an email when a form has completed its workflow