PROFESSIONAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY

The College may grant professionals leave without pay to carry out an approved program that will benefit the College, the students, and the faculty member.

Adopted: November 19, 1981
Revised: March 8, 1984
Reformatted: October 7, 1986
Reformatted: April 2012

Procedure 4520D

PROFESSIONAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY

Eligible professionals can take a leave of absence without pay if the leave will benefit the College. The application process and the conditions of such a leave are described below.

Eligible for a Leave Without Pay
Any full-time professional is eligible if he or she has:

• Completed three (3) consecutive years of satisfactory full-time service as a Western Wyoming Community College professional employee, OR
• Completed three (3) years of satisfactory full-time service either as a para-professional whose position has been reclassified to a professional or as a member of the professional staff, OR
• Completed one (1) year of satisfactory full-time service as a Western Wyoming Community College professional employee and two (2) years of full-time service as a paraprofessional (1 year of paraprofessional service is equivalent to 1 year of professional service, with part-time paraprofessional service counted toward the total service requirement on a pro-rated basis), OR
• Taught at least 90 credit hours as a Western Wyoming Community College faculty member, OR Worked at least 4,700 hours as a Western Wyoming Community College part-time professional.

Applying for a Professional Leave
Professionals must submit an application to the Leave of Absence Review and Evaluation Committee no later than November 10th of the year preceding the requested leave. The application will include information such as a detailed plan of the program of study at the institution they will attend. Professionals may submit programs that do not lead to an academic degree, such as study or research. The Leave of Absence Review and Evaluation Committee will decide the value of all programs. Its composition, guidelines, and duties are defined in Procedure 4520E.

The committee will recommend how many professional employees can go on leave and prioritize these requests along with the requests for Academic Leave. The total number of leaves, including both academic and professional leave without pay, however, cannot exceed one (1) leave for every fifteen (15) faculty employees and one (1) leave for every fifteen (15) professional/administrative employees.

By November 20th, the President shall inform the Leave of Absence Review and Evaluation Committee and all applicants of his/her decision regarding how many leaves (both with and without pay) he/she will recommend and how much additional money he/she will recommend be budgeted in the ensuing fiscal year for these leaves.

By December 10th, the Leave of Absence Review and Evaluation Committee will review all applications, recommend or not recommend approval of each application, prioritize those recommendations, and submit them to the President.

By January 15th, the President will review the committee’s recommendations, consider the availability of professional employees to replace the applicants for one (1) year, and then recommend action to the Board of Trustees at the regular Board meeting in February, and the Board shall take action.

Conditions of a Professional Leave
Professionals may take a leave for one (1) academic year. The professionals on leave may accept scholarships, fellowships, or employment if these contribute to the leave plan.

Before a contract is issued to the professional employee taking a professional leave of absence without pay, the professional employee must provide a financial guarantee to the College. This guarantee shall be a promissory note, bond, or other approved instrument. With this guarantee, the professional employee agrees:

• To serve Western Wyoming Community College for at least one (1) additional contract year after completion of the leave, AND
• To provide evidence of completion of the proposed program to the Leave of Absence Review and Evaluation Committee, the President and the Board of Trustees upon return.

This agreement remains in effect until the one-year of service is complete.

While on leave, normal benefits will cease although the employee may retain group insurance if the insurance carrier agrees. The employee must pay for the continued coverage. In addition, the employee will not receive a within-range increase if any are granted, for the ensuing year but will receive any increase on the base.

Within thirty (30) days after return to service, the professional employee shall submit a written report describing the leave to the Leave of Absence Review and Evaluation Committee.

The committee will evaluate the written report of the applicant upon return from leave and submit this evaluation and a copy of the written report within thirty (30) days of receipt of the report to the President and the Board.

Adopted: November 19, 1981
Revised: March 8, 1984
Reformatted: October 7, 1986
Revised: February 25, 1993
Revised: August 9, 2001
Reformatted: April 2012