Personal Time Off
Personal time off (PTO) with pay is granted on a noncumulative basis for a maximum of 24 hours (3 days) per calendar year for full-time faculty, staff, department chairs, and administrators and on a prorated basis for part-time benefits-eligible staff. It may be used for personal obligations such as those listed below or for other important personal, unplanned crises or emergencies involving family members or personal property.
Personal time off is advanced at the beginning of each academic year for full-time faculty. For staff, department chairs, and administrators, PTO is advanced at the beginning of each calendar year.
Personal time off is a resource available to employees should they need it. PTO should not be treated as an entitlement to expend unnecessarily. Employees are encouraged to plan and use PTO thoughtfully rather than hastily exhausting leave balances out of concern for forfeiture. PTO that is not used or exhausted will not be “lost,” as a new allotment is provided and available to employees each year.
The following are guidelines to assist employees in determining what situations are
appropriate for the use of personal time off. However, while personal time off must
be requested by an employee and approved by the immediate supervisor, employees are
on the “honor system” and do not need to provide their supervisors with a detailed
reason for requesting the time off.
- Business appointments (e.g., meeting with lawyer/advisor, settlement/purchase, etc.)
- Bereavement for other than family members
- Community or volunteer service
- Court appearance, if not covered under the Civil Time Off policy
- Emergency/urgent household or vehicle repairs
- Graduation
- Religious observance
- School obligation for child/dependent (e.g., registration, conference, etc.)
- Voting in elections
- Engaging in other employment, self-employment, or consulting work outside the College
- Family illness (covered under sick time off)
- Recreational activities
- Shopping
- Vacation (covered by annual time off)