FTE Changes and Leave Without Pay

Permanent FTE

This form is only used when faculty members want to permanently change their appointment FTE. Please read the considerations and instructions below before completing the permanent FTE change form. 

Considerations

• If you are reducing your appointment FTE, please note that you are resigning a portion of your FTE. Note that increasing your appointment FTE in the future requires division chief, chair and dean approval.
• Permanent appointment FTE change requests should not be made for the scenarios below, instead consult with the Faculty Affairs team for a more appropriate route:   
  • Medical reasons (e.g., sick leave, family care reasons, etc.)
  • FTE changes that are anticipated to be for a duration of less than one year.
  • Temporary loss of external funding, falling under Reduced Responsibility (RR) Status
• Assistant, Associate or Full Professors WOT may not reduce their FTE permanently below 50%
• Assistant Professors in the without tenure (WOT), or the research tracks are on a mandatory promotion clock. Increasing or decreasing appointment FTE may impact your mandatory promotion review year.
• Faculty nearing retirement, may want to elect to take a partial leave of absence without pay rather than permanently reducing their appointment FTE. Appointment FTE drives re-employment eligibility.

Instructions 

• Effective dates are generally on the 1st or 16th of the month
• Your appointment FTE will remain at this level until a new FTE Request Form is submitted and approved.
• This form is used for both increases and decreases to FTE
• 30 day minimum advance notice requested
• Scanned electronic copies or original documents accepted
• Complete the form and sign (electronic signature acceptable)
• Discuss the FTE change with your Division/Section Head or Chief and obtain their signature of concurrence.
• Send the completed form to UWPedsaFA@seattlechildrens.org for Chair approval and submission

Process 

• Complete the form and sign (electronic signature acceptable)
• Discuss the FTE change with your Division/Section Head or Chief and obtain their signature of concurrence.
• Send the completed form to UWPedsaFA@seattlechildrens.org for Chair approval and submission
   

Permanent Changes for Annually Appointed Faculty 

Faculty in annual titles (e.g., acting, clinical {academic clinician}, teaching associates) titles, may prospectively request a permanent voluntary FTE change mid-academic year, so long as the FTE remains at the new amount for the remainder of the appointment term (July 1-June 30)

Example: a Clinical Assistant Professor at 90% FTE may voluntarily request an FTE reduction to 80% FTE effective April 1, 2025, so long as their FTE remains at 80% FTE through June 30, 2025.

Leave Without Pay Overview 

Leave without pay is a temporary reduced-pay status and absence from duty, which is sometimes termed “LWOP” or “unpaid leave.” The information on this page applies to leave without pay that is discretionary and not an entitlement such as a leave associated with FMLA. LWOP may be full-time with no pay or part-time with the individual’s pay temporarily reduced commensurate with the duration and percentage of approved leave. 

Faculty may use LWOP for a variety of reasons, including:

• Personal reasons (e.g., family obligations or pursuing interests relevant to job duties and responsibilities)
• Parental leave where FMLA is not applicable
• Family care leave in circumstances where FMLA is not applicable
• When state or federal leave entitlements are not applicable or have been exhausted and faculty member needs continued leave
• Paid sick time off allotment has been exhausted
• Medical condition does not qualify for use of paid sick leave
• As a form of disability accommodation, determined and approved in the course of the interactive process with the Disability Services Office (DSO) and the faculty member’s unit
• Outside Professional Work as approved by the department and the Office of Research

Considerations 

• Mandatory review – Leave without pay for personal reasons is generally not permitted in the year the faculty member is going through mandatory review for promotion and/or tenure. Leave without pay in prior years may impact a faculty member’s mandatory review date. 
• Parental leave without pay – For more details on parental leave without pay, please check with your unit. They may require that parental leave be taken as one continuous period of time away from work.
• Patterns of use – Leaves requested under this policy should not be used in a manner that changes the individual’s fundamental appointment relationship with the UW. A pattern of recurring use that results in a non-temporary, alternate work arrangement (e.g., leave every Spring quarter) would not be appropriate. 
• Reduced Responsibility – Faculty with an obligation to fund all or part of their base salary, who experience a lapse in funding, would go into Reduced Responsibility status as provided for in GIM 38 with the intent of eventually returning to their full roster percent.
• Sabbatical leave – sabbatical or professional leave is not a LWOP and, therefore, does not count against the consecutive quarter limit.
• Sponsored visas – Employees on UW-sponsored visas may have limitations on their eligibility for LWOP, depending on the visa type. Please see pages below for more detail:
  • J-1 Reporting Requirements
  • H-1B Reporting Requirements

Parameters and other notes 

• Faculty are limited to taking leave without pay during two consecutive academic years (regardless of the length of time of the leave). This should be considered prior to choosing dates and length of time. The academic year is 7/1-6/30. 
• Exceptions for a 3rd consecutive academic year on a case-by-case situation.
• Faculty can take multiple leaves within one academic year.
• After one full academic year without taking an unpaid leave, faculty are eligible for leave without pay again in future academic years.
• Leaves may be requested as a full leave (100% LWO) or as a partial leave without pay (e.g. 50% leave and 50% active for someone @ 1.0 FTE). 
• There is no minimum or maximum number of days allowed.
• The leave request must specify the percentage of leave and the days taken.
• Benefits: Faculty remain eligible for medical benefits during unpaid voluntary leave, provided they are in pay status for the equivalent of one day (0.05 FTE) in a calendar month.
• If there is an assistant professor who wishes to take a leave without pay during their mandatory promotion review year, please contact AAC to discuss first as there may be limitations.

Process

To apply, the individual requesting LWOP will complete the Leave without Pay Request Form as instructed and submit it to their unit who will coordinate review, approvals, and processing in Workday. LWOP requests are reviewed by the chair/director/campus dean; if supported, the request goes to the dean/chancellor who will review and have final approval authority except in cases where exceptional review by the Office of Academic Personnel is required.

Whenever possible, requests should be submitted at least 30 calendar days before the proposed leave begins. A separate form is needed for each unique leave event.