Parental Leave Programs

Contact: Seresa Cruz
Email: Seresa.Cruz@ucf.edu
Phone: (407) 823-0363

This information is a summary of the university program to assist chairs/directors with understanding the program and facilitating requests from faculty and graduate students.

In-Unit Faculty
Graduate Students
In-Unit (Faculty) Paid Parental Leave Program

The Office of Faculty Excellence published information in the March Newsletter (sent 3/24/16) regarding the In-Unit Paid Paternity Leave program. All the information about the program and the associated forms can be found online at http://facultyexcellence.ucf.edu/paid-parental-leave/

The website includes the most common questions and answers but faculty can also contact:

The following is my summary of the points for Chairs/Directors:

• The college will provide nonrecurring funds to assist with the cost of covering the teaching duties (e.g. adjunct, overload) for the faculty member placed on paid parental leave. Same as the sabbatical program, this will be $2,500 per course based on the assignment in the preceding year
• When on full leave of absence, a faculty member should not participate in any UCF teaching, research or service. This includes the process associated with tenure and promotion
• Cannot receive paid parental leave during the summer semester
• When a UCF tenure-track faculty member goes on paid or unpaid leave, their tenure clock is automatically stopped by UCF for one year. If the faculty member does not desire to have this additional year to add to their scholarship, they can fill out an adjustment form to decline to use the “stop-the-clock” policy
• As with many publicly funded Florida universities, the total number of hours used will be deducted from his/her sick leave or annual leave (if applicable) balance remaining at the time of separation from UCF or upon transferring between an annual leave and non-annual leave accruing contract
• Modified instructional duties (MID) is an agreement between the faculty member and their supervisor providing the faculty member with a more flexible semester schedule than normal (FORM)
  •  MID is in lieu of paid parental leave
  •  intended for instructional faculty only
•  “Soft money” positions, such as research faculty, are only eligible for   this benefit to the extent that it is permitted by the terms of the grant or contract, the rules of the funding agency and/or if adequate funds are available

• If both parents are employed as full-time, in-unit faculty members at UCF, only one parent may use paid parental leave under this program for each qualifying event
• Can receive two semesters of paid parental leave during their career at UCF
• During paid parental leave, their activities remain regulated by the UCF’s Conflict of Interest/Commitments/Outside Activity/Employment Regulation 3.018

Graduate Student Paid Parental Leave Program

• Paid parental leave for eligible graduate students through the College of Graduate Studies
  • o https://admin2.graduate.ucf.edu/policy/Policy.aspx?id=2174
  • o College of Graduate Studies will pay the assistantship stipend equal to the rate of the student’s existing assistantship agreement(s) during the approved leave period
    o Up to six weeks but may be a shorter period, depending on the student’s graduate assistantship agreement(s).
    o For this leave policy, a domestic partner is defined as a same sex individual who shares a committed, mutually-dependent relationship.