Flexible Working Arrangements and Telework - Faculty

For staff, see COE: Flexible Working Arrangements.

Table of Contents

University policy on faculty residency

See HOP 2-2030: Faculty Residency.

For additional information, see HR: Flexible Work Arrangements.

College of Education FWA guidelines - faculty

Faculty have always had flexible work schedules and work locations, with expectations for substantial on-campus work, including teaching, work with students, and departmental/college/university meetings. In order to build and maintain community, it is expected that most faculty meetings will be in person. With approval from the department chair, some occasional use of Zoom may be approved, for example, for faculty who are out of town for a conference and unable to attend in person. Faculty should be available to students both in-person and online, as needed.

Faculty, regardless of series or rank, must be present on campus to perform required functions, including teaching, mentoring, service, meetings and research, that require onsite work and allow for interpersonal contact with their colleagues and their students.

Any current faculty member who is away from campus for a brief period of time (short term, not a permanent move) must have an agreement in place for how the faculty member’s responsibilities will be managed. This has always been true for conferences or research-related activity.

For any sustained time away from campus due to a formal leave approval, where there’s an expectation for work, follow the process described at HR: Flexible Work Arrangements. Completed FWA forms must be uploaded to Workday.

Faculty are expected to live in a geographically close/commutable distance from UT, with the ability to travel to a primary campus location within a few hours, unless the position has been hired specifically to work outside of the local area. COE will not reimburse travel costs from home to work for employees engaged in local telework or parking.

Accommodations

Faculty can request accommodations for their own medical conditions through the ADA accommodation process.

Out-of-state and international work 

See HR: Out of State and International Work. Follow the guidance below.

NOTE: Unpaid leave requests do not need to be reviewed through this process; follow the existing Provost Office policy. See COE: Leave of Absence (Unpaid Time Off).

Temporary arrangements

For faculty, both out-of-state or international work arrangement are considered "temporary" for the following durations:

  • 9-month faculty: 9 months or fewer
  • 12-month faculty: 12 months or fewer

All temporary remote work requests for faculty, out of state or international, and regardless of length of time, must be reviewed by EVPP. Chairs and deans should not approve remote arrangements without prior EVPP review.

Long-term arrangements

The university will utilize SafeGuard* for international assignments that are not “temporary” and will extend beyond the following intervals:

  • Faculty assignments longer than 9 months for 9-month faculty
  • Faculty assignments longer than 12 months for 12-month faculty

*See HR: Out of State and International Work > International Remote Work.

Request process for out-of-state and international work

In rare circumstances, faculty may be approved for a long-term remote-work arrangement. Faculty requesting to work outside of Texas should follow the following process:

1) Review HR: Out of State and International Work > Out of State Remote Work

2) Faculty member discusses the arrangement with the department chair.

3) If the department chair supports the request, department AM emails a detailed request to all of the following:

4) If the Senior Associate Dean and/or Dean support the arrangement, COE-FacultyAffairs will report high-level job and worker information to internationaloutofstate@austin.utexas.edu for review.

5) Central HR will review the form to make sure the proposed arrangement meets University and state guidelines, and will evaluate employment details against state-specific wage, hour, and employment laws.

6) If approved by central HR, request will be forwarded to APS. 

7) APS may either approve the request, or route it to the Provost for further review. 

8) APS will notify the CSU of their decision. If there are concerns, next steps will be provided.

9) If the request is approved, department Academic HR Partner must upload approved form to faculty member's Workday worker profile.

Notes:

  • Temporary arrangements to UT restricted regions require IOC submittal and approval before starting work, even when UT is not paying for the travel.
  • Follow international information security guidance.
  • For university-related international travel, follow the instructions at Texas Global: Faculty and Staff Travel.



Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.