Faculty Leaves Without Pay (LWOP)

Overview: 

A faculty member may request a leave without pay for academic reasons or personal reasons. Each situation comes with its own specific requirements and processes.

This article will go over different LWOP situations and how a COLA faculty member would request the applicable leave type. This article will focus on leaves without pay separate from an individual applying for coverage under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA is often accompanied by a request for unpaid time off, recording of available sick leave time off, or a combination of both. (See also Faculty Sick Leave)

Faculty requests for leave without pay are final-approved by the Provost’s Office. 

Relevant Definitions: 

Leave – Academic: A faculty member is requesting leave without pay for academic activities.

• Must be 100% LWOP and of greater than 30 days in duration; terminology of "leave" consistent with Workday usage.

• Examples:

  • a fellowship to perform research or complete a manuscript where the stipend is paid directly to the faculty member;

  • a visiting teaching position at another university. 

• Leave must be final-approved by EVPP. 

Unpaid Time Off: a faculty member requesting leave without pay that is either:

1. For personal reasons, after all applicable paid time off balances have been exhausted; OR

2. For academic reasons where the leave spans less than 30 days, or the LWOP is not 100% time for the time period, such as a 50% LWOP (4hrs/day not paid via UT). 

• Requests for unpaid time off for medical reasons need to follow closely COLA’s guidance on faculty sick leave.

• Leave must be final-approved by EVPP. 

Return Rule: A requirement related to certain research-related faculty awards (e.g., FDLs, CSEFs, and SFAs), and specified in the award letter, in which a faculty member is released from teaching but remains on the instructional budget. Specifies that when the faculty member’s award period is over, they will return to their normal FTE appointment at UT Austin for a required amount of time, typically for one academic year following the completion of their award, or they will be required to re-pay the amount of salary provided by the award.

EVPP: The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, a.k.a. the Provost’s Office. Faculty Affairs is the area of EVPP which helps to oversee many/most processes related to academic staff and faculty, such as hiring, leaves, promotions, and related matters. Academic Personnel Services (APS) is a team within the larger umbrella of EVPP Faculty Affairs area; they typically help with processing faculty leaves, among many other things.

COLA HR: The human resources team in the Dean’s Office which supports the faculty, staff, and students of COLA. Contact us at COLA_HR@austin.utexas.edu   

Process: 

COLA Deadlines: 

1. NEW STEP: Any request for leave without pay connected to a faculty member’s research activities (i.e., any request for leave without pay, full or partial, not requested for personal (e.g., medical) reasons), must include a prior approval request through the university’s Conflict of Interest office.

   1. Individual faculty members must submit this pre-approval request on their own:

      1. The pre-approval request form is available through the UT Research Management Suite: go to https://coi.research.utexas.edu

      2. Click on the “COI” tab on the top banner.

      3. Click on “Request Pre-Approval” found on the lefthand side of the screen.

      4. For “type of request,” most research awards related to LWOPs will fall under the category found at the bottom: “Involvement in sponsored research not managed by UT Austin.”

2. Faculty member then reaches out to department staff--typically the department manager or whomever is responsible for supporting faculty HR within the unit--and Chair to request leave.

   1. Faculty member ensures they follow guidelines established by COLA’s Research & Scholarship Office.

3. Staff should discuss with faculty member how taking leave may affect the following:

   1. Benefits and premium sharing:

      1. Faculty on 100% LWOP or Unpaid time off and not covered by FMLA may still be able to retain insurance coverage but are not eligible for premium sharing.

      2. Faculty on LWOP or Unpaid time off at less than 100% retain insurance coverage and premium sharing.

      3. For a chart outlining different scenarios, please see: Faculty Leave Types and Benefits Impacts.

      4. Please consult with COLA HR if you have specific questions about this.

   2. Any previously committed return rules; if department does not have solid records of faculty leaves taken, check with COLA HR.  

      1. If a faculty member wishes to be on an approved academic leave during the academic year following an award, but then plans to return to their full-time duties at the university in the following academic year, an exception to the return rule policy may be granted in exceptional circumstances. The request must include a description of their plans and their reason for not returning the year immediately following their award, and the request must be endorsed by their supervisor and dean. The request should be submitted via COLA HR.

         1. NOTE: Return rules connected to an FDL cannot be waived.

         2. Requests are handled on a case-by-case basis and, if an exception is granted, it will be contingent upon the faculty member’s subsequent return to their normal duties at the university as outlined.

   3. If the faculty member is an Assistant Professor: Probationary status/promotion & tenure "clock"; see more information on tenure-track probationary period here.

   4. Any departmental responsibilities the faculty member will retain while on leave. 

4. Leave-Academic and Unpaid Time Off are both requested using the Faculty Request for Leave (FRL) form. 

   1. Complete the form based on the specific leave faculty member is taking. 

      1. The percentage faculty member will be on leave is based on their funding amount and their current salary. 

   2. The FRL is submitted to COLA HR via the faculty leaves submission portal without collecting any signatures. Please follow naming convention: "LWOP_YY-YY_DEPT_Lastname_Semester_FRL"

      1. "YY-YY" = the fiscal year of the leave; ex. "28-29"

      2. "DEPT" = 4-character UT Department code for your unit; ex. "PSYC" (Department of Psychology)

      3. "Lastname" = faculty member requesting the leave

      4. "Semester" = the semester for which the leave is requested (Fall, Spring, or AY, if full year)

      5. NOTE: It is very important to follow the naming convention above and begin with “LWOP”. Since any LWOP must be approved by the Provost, and because of the payroll implications, it is critical for COLA HR to easily identify requests involving LWOP.

   3. COLA HR will create a leave record in the CLASP database and begin processing. 

      1. There are instances when the leave cannot be processed until the faculty member’s academic rate for the upcoming academic year is known, but department staff should not wait to submit leave requests.

   4. COLA HR will submit the request through the APS Service Now "Request for Leave" form. The form will route to the faculty member and department chair for approval.

   5. Once approved, or denied, by APS,COLA HR will forward the Service Now notification to the requesting department.

5. In many, but not all (see -c.- below) cases, Leave-Academic and Unpaid Time Off are processed in Workday by APS, with no direct action is needed from the departments after the FRL has been approved, though it is useful for department staff to check that the Workday updates have been made.

   1. For Leave-Academic, the faculty member will appear in Workday with "(On Leave)" after their name. 

   2. For Unpaid Time Off, the unpaid time off would be listed under the "Time Off" tab.

   3. When there are FMLA or Parental Leave hours to be tracked, departments must enter the faculty member’s time off via timesheets, a.k.a., the “Enter Time” business process in Workday. (See Faculty Sick Leave wiki)

6. If a Leave-Academic or Unpaid Time Off is not requested by the department or faculty member with sufficient advance notice, the faculty employee may be overpaid by Payroll. In this instance you would: 

   1. Reach out to COLA HR to inform us of the overpayment. 

   2. Step 3 (the FRL) would need to be completed as soon as possible. 

   3. Once the LWOP has been input into Workday by APS, COLA HR will contact Payroll with information about the overpayment. 

      1. If there is FMLA/Parental Leave and the department inputs LWOP into Workday, the department must ensure the completion and final-approval of the time and then contact COLA HR so that Payroll can be notified.

   4. Payroll will give us options for how the overpayment can be corrected. COLA HR will work with the department staff to contact the faculty member to determine how to correct the overpayment.

Related policies and information: 

HOP 2-2210: Faculty Leaves and Special Assignments 

Faculty Leave Information (EVPP Site) 

Faculty Leave Types and Benefits Impacts (EVPP/HR Chart)

Insurance Options While on LWOP (Central HR Site)

Other Related Links: 

Faculty Submissions Portals (wiki)

Faculty Request for Leave Form

UT Workday Login