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 12.14 (g) 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 12.14 (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.”

In January 2024, the Collective Agreement was updated to bring the definition of vacation in line with the Employment Standards Act. Article 12.14 (b) states, “The employer must also ensure that the balance of annual vacation is taken in periods of one or more weeks. Notwithstanding this requirement, the faculty member may request shorter periods in writing.”

If you are asked to teach in all three semesters, be sure to submit your vacation and PD calendar and have it approved by your dean or supervisor. If you are unable to take your vacation, you may then request to have it carried forward. If your vacation and PD are not documented in this way, it can be difficult to carryover unused vacation as per Article 12.14 (d):

“If the needs of the Employer demand and if the Employer in writing requests them to do so, a faculty member may carry over a portion of their annual vacation up to a maximum of twenty (20) working days for use in the following year, either separately or continuously with their regular annual vacation, as may be agreed between the faculty member and the administrator responsible. Such carryover of vacation shall occur only with the agreement of the faculty member.”

Article 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 of vacation time and/or PD time 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 February 2025