Leave of Absence Policies
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and State Parental Leave Act guarantees unpaid maternity/paternal leave for faculty who meet minimum eligibility requirements. This is intended for the natural birth of a child, the formal adoption of a child, or foster care placement of a child under the age of 18.
Sick Leave hours (including hours from Sick Leave Pool) can be used to cover salary after the birth or adoption of a young child (under the age of 3).
For more information, see Parental Leave for Faculty information on the Dean of Faculties website.
Parental Teaching Load Redistribution
Texas A&M University's Parental Teaching Load Redistribution Guideline is designed to provide flexibility in teaching obligations of faculty members who are the primary caregivers to their newborn infant, or tho their newly adopted infant or child.
Four colleges (Engineering, Education and Human Resources, Liberal Arts and Science) have their own guidelines in addition to the University guidelines. If you are a member of any of these colleges please contact your college to enquire about their specific guidelines.
Examples of service for modified duties include:
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Planning a regional conference
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Working with the college writing center to develop resources for the Communication Across the Curriculum initiative
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Rewriting the departmental faculty handbook and serving on a major search committee
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Serving in an elected position in a national professional organization
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Compiling statistics on the department and other departments from peer institutions for the department’s strategic plan
For more information about Parental Teaching Load Redistribution, see the Parental Teaching Load Redistribution page on the Dean of Faculties' website.
Extensions to the Tenure Clock
Texas A&M University encourages faculty to pursue a work-life balance. Tenure-track faculty who are the primary caregivers of an infant or small child are encouraged to apply for an extension to the probationary period before coming up for tenure. Typically, extensions are granted for one year, but a longer period may be requested in compelling circumstances. For more information, see the Extensions to the Tenure Clock page on the Dean of Faculties website.