Personal and Professional Leaves of Absence

All faculty unit employees shall be eligible to submit an application for a leave of absence without pay for a specific purpose and length of time, such as one semester or one year. Leaves of absence without pay may be granted for up to 2 years, with extensions granted for up to 1 year at a time.

Note: Employees should familiarize themselves with the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the CSU Board of Trustees and their respective bargaining unit when reading the following overview of unpaid personal and professional leave programs (Article 22, Leaves of Absence Without Pay).

  • Personal leave of absence without pay may be for purposes of unpaid sick leave, outside employment, or other purposes of a personal nature.
  • Professional leave of absence without pay may be for purposes of research, advanced study, professional development or other purposes of benefit to the campus. Professional leaves shall be considered totally voluntary.

Faculty may apply for a leave by completing the Request for Personal or Professional Leave of Absence Form and follow the request submission process as outlined on the form. The faculty member shall receive a written response regarding granting or denial of the leave.

A faculty unit employee on a leave of absence without pay for more than 15 working days may opt to continue health and dental benefits at his/her own expense.

The employee shall be responsible for direct payment of the total premium amount (employer and employee share) to the respective carrier in accordance with the existing procedures for direct payment.

A faculty unit employee who is on a leave of absence without pay shall not return to active pay status prior to the expiration of such a leave without written approval of the President.

A faculty unit employee on a leave of absence without pay shall notify the appropriate administrator no later than April 1 of his/her intention to return to duty at the beginning of the academic year or no later than October 1 of his/her intention to return to duty at the beginning of the Spring term.