McPherson College is committed to supporting a faculty member’s work/life balance. With the well-being of college faculty members in mind, several leaves of absence are available to faculty.
- For scheduled absences lasting one day to five days (one week), faculty members should reflect the dates and students’ expected activities in their syllabi and notify the academic affairs office of the class cancellations when submitting the course syllabi.
- For unscheduled absences lasting one to three consecutive days, such as brief illness, bereavement, or caring for a family member, faculty members should email their students, the department chair and the academic affairs office at the earliest opportunity. Department colleagues or the academic affairs office will post cancellation notices on classroom doors.
- For unscheduled absences of more than three days, the following provides available leaves of absence for the college’s faculty members:
- Medical leaves of absence:
- For absences of more than consecutive three days, a faculty member is entitled to the rights given under the college’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Leave of Absence policy. According to federal law, FMLA is unpaid; however, under college policy, FMLA is paid leave for faculty. Reasons for FMLA requests include:
- Child birth, pregnancy or prenatal medical care;
- Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care and in order to care for such child;
- To care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition as described below;
- When the employee’s own serious health condition makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position (see ADM 192 under Administrative Policies, available at wwwi.mcpherson.edu, for a full explanation of what illness, injury, impairment, physical or mental conditions comprise a serious health condition; or
- For a qualifying exigency, and/or covered service member leave as described in ADM 192.
- For absences of more than consecutive three days, a faculty member is entitled to the rights given under the college’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Leave of Absence policy. According to federal law, FMLA is unpaid; however, under college policy, FMLA is paid leave for faculty. Reasons for FMLA requests include:
- Medical leaves of absence:
FMLA qualifying absences up to 12 weeks (counted as 60 work days over a 12-month period) may be granted in a block of time, used intermittently, or as a reduced work schedule. Faculty experiencing more than one of the above events within 12 months of FMLA being triggered are limited to the total of 60 day’s leave within that 12-month period. For qualifying events extending beyond the original 12-month period, faculty must reapply for FMLA certification. Please see the college’s Human Resources Office for details under the ADM 192 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Leave of Absence Policy.
- For absences of more than 12 weeks, the chief academic officer shall, in consultation with the human resources office, grant or not grant the leave request. The human resources office will request medical information to substantiate the leave request. Upon the receipt of the requested medical information, the human resources office will determine whether the leave request falls within the realm of an ADA-qualified accommodation request as outlined in ADM 225 –Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Reasonable Accommodation Policy. The human resources office will work with the faculty member and the CAO through the accommodation process as outlined in ADM 225. This leave request is considered an unpaid leave of absence request unless approved otherwise by the CAO.
If a leave request of more than 12 weeks does not qualify through the college’s ADA accommodation process, the CAO, in consultation with the department chair, determines whether the leave request can be granted or would be an undue hardship for the college. Granting a leave request for more than 12 weeks falls within the discretion of the CAO. The president may be consulted in these leave requests. This leave request is considered an unpaid leave of absence request unless approved otherwise by the CAO.
- For any faculty medical leave due to illness or injury that is approaching 90 calendar days, the faculty member would work with the human resources office for eligibility for the college-paid benefit, Long-Term Disability (LTD). This college-paid benefit is outlined in the college’s current college benefit guide and can provide income for the faculty member through her/his Social Security normal retirement age. Upon approval and acceptance of LTD, the faculty member will resign.
- For faculty members who do not qualify for the above listed medical leaves of absence, the faculty member should make her/his request to the chief academic officer.
- Non-medical leaves of absence
- For any other non-medical leaves of absence for more than five days, the faculty member shall make those requests to the CAO.
- These leave requests are considered unpaid leave of absence requests.
- Faculty members on any unpaid leave of absence may continue on the college’s health insurance, group life insurance, disability insurance, and supplemental benefits provided they pay their portion of health insurance and the entire cost of their other benefits and contributions. They may also continue to make voluntary retirement contributions. The faculty member must make payment arrangements with the human resources office prior to the start of the unpaid leave of absence. Since Social Security and institutional retirement contributions are based on percentages of salary, contributions to these benefits are suspended while the faculty member is in an unpaid status.
For any questions concerning this faculty leave of absence policy, please consult with the CAO or the college’s human resources office.