V605.14 Faculty Absence Reporting Policy

Whenever a faculty member is off campus on a contract day, the faculty member must notify his/her department and the Academic Affairs office. The purpose of this notification is to detail how classes and other responsibilities will be managed, and to provide information to the Registrar and EMT in case of emergency.

Partial day absences not impacting contracted duties need not be reported.
Absences caused by illness, emergency, or weather should be reported prior to their impact on any assigned duty (class meeting, scheduled office hours, meeting, or other campus responsibility).
In all other cases, notification should be made at least 24 hours prior to the absence. This includes planned absences (for university business, conferences, or short-term leave).

Procedure:

Use the University email system to make notification. The intent is to use one email message to provide both notification and identify arrangements for coverage of responsibilities.
Use the Subject line, "Faculty Absence." This will allow recipients to filter the notification properly.
Send this email to the department chair, departmental administrative assistant, and academic.affairs@vcsu.edu (all three, in one email).
Include the following information:
1. Date and duration of absence
2. Reason for absence
3. List of courses/responsibilities affected by the absence.
  1. Indicate any requests for assistance ("please post a sign…").
  2. Describe briefly how each course/responsibility will be managed to assure continuity of instruction.
  3. In the case of sudden emergency or critical illness, it may not be possible to provide continuity of instruction for the first day, and courses may be cancelled. However, planned absences and emergency absences for subsequent days should include plans for continuity of instruction.
Emergency contact information, if not already included on the email.

Sponsored by: Vice President for Academic Affairs

Reviewed: 1996

Number Change: October 2010 (formerly V611.12)

Revised: 2014

Revised: April 2022