Faculty Absences from Instructional Responsibilities Policy

Policy Details

Effective Date:

January 17, 2019

Supersedes:

COM Administrative Policies Initially Adopted February 28, 2007; amended June 1, 2009; September 30, 2010; January 19, 2011; June 12, 2012; May 10, 2013; July 10, 2014; Class Meetings and Instructional Duties Policy Amended May 25, 2017; Renamed Faculty Absences from Instructional Responsibilities and Amended January 17, 2019.

Responsible Authority:

Vice Dean for Medical Education

Policy Statement

Absences and repeated tardiness from any educational, classroom or clinical teaching activity must be handled in a professional manner and whenever possible require prior notification. Faculty absences and tardiness negatively impact other faculty, staff, students, and trainees, who are relying on faculty to be present, and impede the successful delivery of the curriculum.

Absences may be unanticipated or anticipated. The primary difference between an "anticipated" and "unanticipated" absence is the realistic ability/inability to foresee the absence prior to the event. In the case of an unanticipated or emergent absence, faculty are expected to text, email, and/or call the designated course, curriculum, or program director as soon as they are reasonably able. All requests for anticipated absences from teaching responsibilities for or at the College of Medicine must be submitted in writing by email to the designated course, curriculum, or program director and the faculty member's department chair as soon as possible but at least two weeks in advance. The email should specify the dates for the anticipated absence, as well as the reason the session(s) will be missed. Detailed procedures to be followed for basic sciences, undergraduate and graduate medical teaching are outlined in procedure guidelines available for each course of instruction.

As per the Office of the Provost Memoranda on Class Meetings, faculty may not cancel classes; in the event that extraordinary circumstances require a faculty member to miss a scheduled class or instructional duties, the designated course, curriculum, or program directors and the department chair should be notified, and arrangements must be made to make up for the lost class time. Faculty must adhere to all University and College policies applicable to faculty leaves and absences, including but not limited to the College policy on Faculty Benefits located in the College Administrative Policies, as well as the Faculty Benefits policy in the Florida Atlantic University Academic Affairs Faculty Handbook.

Failure to comply with College or University policy, and failure to appropriately notify the designated directors for an anticipated absence, as well as other undocumented or unapproved absences and/or repeated tardiness from any teaching responsibility, may result in termination of employment or other disciplinary actions by the College.