Vacation Leaves

i. Process

Vacation times for faculty will be designated by the department chair, or department chair in consultation with the assistant dean of curriculum management (for clinical instructors and teaching fellows).

Clinical instructors and teaching fellows do not need to submit LOA forms for vacation leaves for these designated, standard times that are fixed as per the email of dates that is sent out to them from the assistant dean of curriculum management. Any clinical instructor or teaching fellow who wishes to either apply to leave early or arrive late relative to the end and beginning of term respectively will need to submit an LOA for approval. If approval is not granted, the clinical instructor or teaching fellow will be expected to remain until the designated end of term, or to report to the orientation session at the start of term as scheduled.

ii. Leave Durations

Unless otherwise stated in their letter of appointment, full-time faculty are permitted leave as per the table shown below, not including designated public holidays or periods of closure of the University:

This is the total leave time allowed during the academic year, from July 1 through to June 30 the following year.

iii. Leave Expectations

The designated leave duration as shown above represents the total allowable vacation time per academic year. Leave cannot be rolled over from year to year, and leave is calculated from July 1- to June 30 the following year. The specific duration and timing of the vacation allowance is at the discretion of the department chair. Depending on the academic and/or administrative load of the faculty member, it may be necessary for faculty to take their vacation leave in smaller blocks of e.g., 10-15 days, rather than in a single, consecutive block of 45 days. All periods of leave of 15 days or more need to be agreed in advance at least 2 months prior to the first day of the leave and confirmed via submission and approval of a Leave of Absence form. All periods of leave outside of periods of closure of the University or School, regardless of duration, require submission of a Leave of Absence form.

During the first year of a new appointment, a new faculty member is ineligible for paid vacation leave. Unpaid leave can be requested and granting of unpaid leave is at the at the discretion of the Chair and senior associate dean. Please refer to the relevant policy sections in the appendices of this document for other types of leave.

The expectation is that most vacation or personal leaves will be taken during times of reduced teaching load (which varies with the specific courses and departments).  Any leave taken during times when the Department is involved in active teaching is considered exceptional and must be discussed and planned with the assistance of the relevant course leadership, i.e., the course directors and department chairs, and, in the case of clinical instructors, with the assistant dean for basic sciences – curriculum, and the Year 1 and 2 clinical instructor coordinators. Additional leave during the academic term should be pre-arranged prior to the start of the term, unless there is an unforeseen type of leave required (e.g., medical, compassionate) that necessitates short notice. 

Any faculty member who does not return to campus by the date specified by their department chair or by the assistant dean for curriculum (basic sciences) as their official start date for the term and who does not hold a medical or non-medical LOA will be placed on unpaid leave, until such time as they officially return to work or as per the stipulations of the unpaid leave. If a faculty member is placed on unpaid leave, the faculty member will need to discuss the terms of re-integration (e.g., dates, departmental needs etc.) with the chair and relevant associate dean.

Faculty will generally not be permitted to take an extended leave of absence when there are course-related activities underway including lectures, labs, small groups, exams or review sessions.

Specifically for clinical instructors (taking exams), a maximum of 3 clinical instructors will be allowed a permitted leave during any single time during an academic term This is monitored by the relevant year clinical instructor coordinator, in consultation with the assistant dean of curriculum for basic sciences.

Requests to extend the period of leave once a faculty member is already on an approved LOA, will be viewed as undesirable behavior, unless it is for a documented medical or family emergency that has arisen in the interim.

If a faculty member intends to resign before the official end of their appointment, they should notify the Course Director and the department chair, at least 1 month (clinical Instructors, teaching fellows, research fellows) or 3 months (all other faculty) prior to the end of their appointment, to enable a replacement to be found. Once an appointment is renewed, the faculty member is expected to fulfill the obligations of the appointment and complete the term of their appointment.

Faculty may not use vacation time as part of their notice period when leaving the university.

1. Leave to Sit Board exams or for Residency Interviews

Planned board examination dates (e.g., USMLE, PLABS) should be identified prior to the start of each term, to prevent disruption to teaching activities.

A maximum of 5 working days leave to sit a board exam can be granted at the discretion of the assistant dean for curriculum (for clinical instructors) and department chair (all other faculty). This can be granted after they have satisfactorily completed the first full period of employment, unless otherwise agreed prior to hire. These are paid leave.

Faculty are permitted 3 working days in any 6-month period to enable them to attend interviews for a residency program. The faculty member should provide proof of interview dates when submitting their Leave of Absence Form. Any additional leaves must be taken as part of the faculty member’s vacation allowance or as unpaid leave.

2. Process for submitting Leaves of Absence

Leaves of Absence (LOA) for any of the categories of Absence listed in section E.1 above must be applied for using the LOA electronic form and the relevant signatures must be obtained. Faculty should not make travel plans until they have received confirmation of the approval of their leave from Human Resources.

The general process for signatures for faculty LOA forms is as per the LOA form in terms of the signatures required:

• clinical instructors: Year 1 or 2 clinical instructor coordinator > associate dean of basic sciences - Curriculum > chair of department > Office of the senior associate dean of basic sciences

All other faculty: course director > chair of department > Office of the senior associate dean of basic sciences