PD/Vacation Facts for Faculty Members Teaching in Three Semesters

by Diane Walsh, KFA Vice President, Grievances

Scheduling vacation and PD time can be a challenge for those who teach in all three semesters, and even knowing what the parameters are for doing this can be a challenge. The provisions in our Collective Agreement around vacation and PD time are found in Article 12, and there is some language for faculty members who teach in all three semesters.

Article 12.12 (e) addresses a faculty member who “voluntarily elects to teach in three semesters,” and for these members, “vacation time will be scheduled intermittently throughout the academic year, taking operational requirements into account.” Article 12.12 (a) says that vacation days “are intended to be 24-hour days free from scheduled contact hours; however, faculty may choose to take partial vacation days.”

12.01 (a) states that faculty are accountable for 10 months of the year, but this doesn’t mean that the two months of non-accountable time must be continuous. 12.01 (d) states faculty are assured of 21 days PD time, and 12.01 (e) specifies how faculty members should propose PD activities. Nothing in these articles would preclude a member working in three semesters from being able to schedule PD days throughout the year.

Carryovers can be problematic in that there might be a challenge finding enough days, but that’s a problem for faculty teaching in two semesters as well.

While it can be challenging to schedule, our Collective Agreement language is clear that all faculty members, including those who teach in three semesters, should get their full allotment of vacation and PD time. If there is an issue, then there is provision for the member to carry over their PD and vacation days. Members should note that PD carryovers are *not* normally paid out but are waived if they can’t be taken the following year whereas vacation is normally paid out if it can’t be taken the following year.

(For a somewhat more comprehensive look at PD / vacation provisions in our Agreement, please see the article Vacation and Accountable Time. 

Updated in October 2021