Handbook

Leave Policies

All vacation/sick time requests should be approved by the mentor and reported to the Program prior to the student taking leave time. Extended leave time requests also must be approved by the Program Director and SGSHS. Stipend payments and insurance coverage will continue while the Graduate Assistant-Stipend student is on approved sick, vacation, or parental leave. Sick, vacation, and parental leave days do not accrue from year to year.

SICK LEAVE

A Graduate Assistant-Stipend student may be granted up to 15 days of sick leave per calendar year or prorated based on the stipend start date as listed below:

January – March--15 days of sick leave.
April – June--12 days of sick leave.
July – September--8 days of sick leave.
October – December--4 days of sick leave.

VACATION LEAVE AND HOLIDAYS

A Graduate Assistant-Stipend student will receive stipend payment for all UMMC approved holidays. In addition, they may be granted up to 15 days* of vacation per calendar year or prorated based on the stipend start date as listed below (*note “days” refers to business days):

January – March--15 days of vacation leave.
April – June--12 days of vacation leave.
July – September--8 days of vacation leave.
October – December--4 days of vacation leave.

Vacation days do not accumulate and amount of vacation days re-sets January 1. Missing more than 15 business days/year for vacation will result in loss of pay.

PARENTAL LEAVE

A Graduate Assistant-Stipend student may be granted up to 30 calendar days of parental leave per year for the adoption or birth of a child. Either parent is eligible for parental leave. They may request to use any residual sick or vacation time to extend the period of paid parental leave.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

A leave of absence is generally granted to students in good academic standing with the university and approved by the Program Director and Dean of the Graduate School. For students in good academic standing, a leave of absence is generally approved for no more than one academic semester for personal, financial or medical reasons. For students not in good academic standing, i.e., those whose GPA is less than 3.0 or whose research efforts/results are not satisfactory, leaves of absence will be given at the discretion of the Program Director and Dean of the Graduate School. Such students will be permitted the option of withdrawal. Stipend payment is suspended during a leave of absence. Thus, a leave of absence is designed for highly extenuating circumstances beyond what would normally be considered for short-term health or family issues, for example. Guidance as to whether a planned absence falls within the intent of a full leave of absence should be sought from the Program Director and/or the Graduate School administration.

A Graduate Assistant-Stipend student is required to be actively enrolled and covered by the student health insurance plan for a minimum of three months prior to the beginning of a leave of absence. If the Graduate Assistant-Stipend student is allowed to take a leave of absence, the school will continue to pay for health insurance for up to two months. If additional leave of absence is required after the two-month period, health insurance will be terminated unless the student applies for the continuation of coverage through the Office of Student Accounting. This continuation of coverage will be at the student’s expense.