Stanford
Academic Staff-Teaching and Other Teaching Staff Handbook

Chapter 3: Leave Policies for Academic Staff-Teaching

Lecturers, Advanced Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Artists-in-Residence

Handbook last updated: February 2, 2024

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3.1 Professional Development Leave Program for Senior Lecturers
3.2 Short Absences
3.3 Family and Medical Leave
3.4 Military Leaves

3.1 Professional Development Leave Program for Senior Lecturers

As of January 1, 2002, Senior Lecturers became eligible for professional development leave with salary.  The purpose of this program is to enable them to pursue projects or other activities that will enhance their teaching-related activities at Stanford.  The length of professional development leave is one quarter at 100% salary after 10 years of service (30 quarters or 20 semesters) or one quarter at 50% salary after 5 years of service (15 quarters or 10 semesters).

Professional development leave is not automatic; it requires approval by the program director or department chair as well as the school dean.  Programmatic need may affect the timing of such leaves.  For instance, the schedule of professional development leaves in programs that have a number of Senior Lecturers will take into account the teaching needs of the program as well as the professional development plans of the Senior Lecturers.

Under normal circumstances professional development leaves are expected to be of one quarter’s duration, even when a Senior Lecturer has sufficient accrual for more than one quarter of leave.  In these instances, the Senior Lecturer should work with his or her program director or department chair to develop a mutually satisfactory plan for taking professional development leave over a period of several years.  The Application for Leave of Absence is provided in Appendix AA.

Salary is provided during the professional development leave to make it financially possible for a Senior Lecturer to carry out his or her professional development leave activities.  Total compensation during the leave should not normally exceed the Senior Lecturer’s full-time Stanford base salary for the leave period.

Service at the rank of Senior Lecturer at Stanford counts toward professional development leave eligibility.  Time spent on leave or disability is normally excluded in calculating professional development leave eligibility.  Professional development leave eligibility may be accrued on a pro rata basis by regular part-time service at 75% time or more, under the same conditions of eligibility as applied to full-time service.

A Senior Lecturer is expected to serve at Stanford for a period of time comparable to the period of professional development leave following completion of the leave.  Professional development leave should not normally be a terminal extension of a regular term appointment.  Under usual circumstances, professional development leave may not be taken immediately preceding retirement.

3.2 Short Absences

Lecturers, Advanced Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Artists-in-Residence hired for consecutive multi-quarter appointments may have University designated breaks of service (i. e. Spring break, Winter break.  Does not include summer break).  They do not accrue vacation time.  Sick time is granted or accrued as prescribed by California law.  However, short absences for personal business, illness, jury duty, and similar limited absences are normally with full salary.  It is expected that when scheduling periods of leave with pay, one’s academic responsibilities are taken into consideration and continued to be fulfilled.  Members of the Academic Staff-Teaching must obtain advance permission for the leave from the department chair or program director during teaching quarters for any leave that may affect class, laboratory, or other commitments.

Benefits eligible Lecturers, Advanced Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Artists-in-Residence may apply for a personal leave without salary.  Such leaves are discretionary and must be reviewed for approval by the individual’s department chair or program director and dean.

Leaves of Absence do not extend the end date of appointments, including Fixed Term appointments.  Academic Staff-Teaching members are not eligible to take sabbatical leaves.

3.3 Family and Medical Leave

The following describes categories of leave that may be available to eligible Lecturers, Advanced Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Artists-in-Residence who need to take a leave of absence for family or personal medical reasons.  Temporary instructors may be needed when such a leave is necessary.  When this is the case, department chairs and school deans are responsible for making the necessary appointment arrangements.  (In the policies described below, the term “lecturer” refers to Lecturers, Advanced Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Artists-in-Residence.)

3.3.1 Short-Term Disability and Pregnancy Disability Leave

3.3.1.1 Short-Term Disability

Lecturers in California are covered for short-term disabilities for their own serious health condition by either, the university's Voluntary Disability Insurance plan (VDI) or State Disability Insurance (SDI) if the lecturer opted out of VDI.  Non-California employees are covered under a separate 13-week short-term disability plan (STD).  To be eligible for short-term disability, a lecturer must be on a current paid appointment at the time of the medically certified disability.  Short-term disability leave does not extend the end date of the current appointment.

During short-term disability leave, the lecturer is expected to apply for Short-Term Disability Insurance according to established procedures. (Specific instructions are available on the Benefits website.)  The length of disability leave is determined by the lecturer’s physician, who certifies the number of weeks that the lecturer is disabled.  Upon approval of a disability leave with Stanford’s voluntary disability insurance carrier, the insurance carrier will issue a weekly benefit check directly to the lecturer for the duration of the approved leave.  The lecturer’s department, based on established departmental procedure, may choose to supplement the lecturer’s pay up to their current base salary (less the amount received from the insurance carrier) each pay period for a portion of the leave or for its entirety.  The lecturer should contact their local Human Resources manager for local procedures.

3.3.1.2 Pregnancy Disability Leave

California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law allows for leave of up to four months due to medically certified, pregnancy-related disability.  To be eligible for pregnancy disability leave, a lecturer must be on a current paid appointment at the time of the medically certified, pregnancy-related disability.  Pregnancy disability leave does not extend the end date of the current appointment.

During pregnancy disability leave, the lecturer is expected to apply for Short-Term Disability Insurance according to established procedures. (Specific instructions are available on the Benefits website.)  The length of pregnancy disability leave is determined by the lecturer’s physician, who certifies the number of weeks that the lecturer is disabled, both before and after delivery.  Upon approval of a pregnancy disability leave with Stanford’s voluntary disability insurance carrier, the insurance carrier will issue a weekly benefit check directly to the lecturer for the duration of the approved leave.  The lecturer’s department, based on established departmental procedure, may choose to supplement the lecturer’s pay up to their current base salary (less the amount received from the insurance carrier) each pay period for a portion of the leave or for its entirety.  The lecturer should contact their local Human Resources manager for local procedures.

3.3.2 Family and Medical Leave

Stanford’s policy on Family and Medical Leave (FML) for Lecturers, Advanced Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Artists-in-Residence follows the guidelines of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) of 1991 (amended in 1993, 2020 and 2022) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.  This legislation provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons.  Family or medical leave may be taken for the following reasons:

  • Under FMLA, to care for the lecturer’s spouse, same sex domestic partner, parent, or child who has a serious health condition that requires the Academic Staff-Teaching member’s absence from work to care for the ill family member.  [In this case, the lecturer member may also be eligible for Paid Family Leave];
  • Under CFRA, to care for the lecturer’s spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law (parent of spouse or domestic partner), grandparent, grandchild, or sibling who has a serious health condition that requires the Academic Staff-Teaching member’s absence from work to care for the ill family member.  [In this case, the lecturer may also be eligible for Paid Family Leave];
  • for a lecturer’s serious health condition [in this case the lecturer may be eligible for short-term or long-term disability];
  • the birth of a child or the placement of a child with the lecturer for adoption or foster care [In this case, the lecturer may also be eligible for Paid Family Leave];
  • To care for a family member who is a member of the Armed Services and suffers serious injury in the line of duty or is undergoing treatment or recuperation from a serious injury (up to 26 weeks).  The lecturer must be a spouse, parent, son, daughter, or next of kin of the service member. [In this case, the Academic Staff-Teaching member may also be eligible for Paid Family Leave];
  • Protected qualifying exigency leave for the spouse, domestic partner, child or parent (include parent-in-law under CFRA) of the service member in the Armed Forces.

A serious health condition is defined as any illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition serious enough to involve hospitalization, in-patient care in a residential medical facility, or continuing treatment or supervision by a health care provider.

To be eligible for family or medical leave, an individual must have been employed by Stanford (within the U.S.) for at least 12 months at 50% of full time and have worked at least 1250 hours in the preceding 12 months prior to the start date of the requested leave.  An individual is not eligible if they have used the maximum yearly leave provided by law.

When the need for family leave is foreseeable, requests for family or medical leave should be made sufficiently in advance to allow the school or department to make replacement teaching and other arrangements.

Family Leave (FMLA or CFRA)  does not provide income during the period of approved leave.  It is up to the department’s established leave procedures to determine if the department will supplement the lecturer’s salary up to their full current base (less any amount received from the insurance carrier) for any portion of the approved leave.

During Family or Medical Leave or CFRA, the University continues its contributions toward medical and dental group health plans.  The lecturer continues to be responsible for paying their own premium.  If additional leave is approved beyond Family or Medical Leave or CFRA, the lecturer must pay the University’s portion of the monthly premium in addition to their own premium to ensure continuous insurance coverage.  Family and Medical Leave or CFRA does not extend the end date of the current appointment.

3.3.3 Paid Family Leave

Paid Family Leave (PFL) insurance is available to all Academic Staff-Teaching members who participate in the Stanford Voluntary Disability Insurance (VDI) Plan or the California State Disability Insurance (SDI) Plan.  It provides partial wage replacement during an approved Family and Medical Leave to care for a seriously ill family member or bonding with a new child.  The relationship between PFL and FML is that FML provides eligible employees up to 12 work weeks of unpaid job protected leave in a 12-month period for their own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or because of the birth or placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.  PFL does not change or extend FML in any way and is completely separate from it.  PFL merely provides up to eight weeks of paid insurance benefits to employees who suffer a wage loss when they take time off work to care for a family member covered by the PFL regulations.  If an Academic Staff-Teaching member is eligible for FML, they are required to take FML at the same time they are receiving PFL.  

During PFL, benefits eligible employees will receive a portion of their base pay, up to a weekly maximum, from the disability administrator or state disability program, for up to eight weeks in a rolling 12-month period. The university will supplement the approved state paid family leave benefit to maintain the benefits eligible employee’s base pay for the first six weeks that the employee is receiving PFL benefits.  For the remaining two weeks of a Paid Family Leave, the lecturer’s department, based on established departmental procedure, may choose to supplement the lecturer’s pay.  The lecturer should contact their local Human Resources manager for local procedures.  Together, the state PFL and the university’s supplement will not exceed 100% of an employee’s base pay as of their last day worked before starting their leave. 

The “top up” program is not available for non-benefits eligible lecturers.  However, non-benefits eligible lecturers may still be eligible for the weekly insurance payment for any approved Paid Family Leave.

Please note baby bonding leaves under FML and CFRA concurrently run for a total of 12 weeks; however, for maternity bonding leaves, PDL (pregnancy disability leave) and FML also run concurrently, but the female Academic Staff-Teaching member is then eligible to receive an additional 12 weeks of bonding leave under CFRA.  CFRA runs concurrently with PFL (paid family leave).  Additional information is available at http://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu.

Paid Family Leave does not extend the end date of the current appointment.

3.4 Military Leaves

Please refer to Administrative Guide Memo 2.1.18 for procedures regarding Academic Staff-Teaching members who are required to fulfill active military training and/or active military duty.