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Parental Leave & Work-Life Policies

These FAQ address questions of general interest to faculty members at the University of Maryland, in regard to UMD policies that pertain to work and family, leave, and tenure/promotion, including delay of tenure, faculty parental leave, part-time tenure-track, and lactation rooms.

Delay of Tenure Review (Stop the Clock)

Yes, but the request is not automatically granted. Faculty members may request a delay of tenure review based on personal or professional circumstances that substantially impede normal professional development of the faculty member. These circumstances may include: 

  • Personal illness or injury.
  • Care of ill or injured dependents, including children, relatives, or any other persons who are dependent on the faculty member for care.
  • Death of a spouse, partner, family member, or other closely affiliated person.
  • Individual departmental, or facility-related situations that are beyond the control of the faculty member.

Note: requests for delay of tenure review under these circumstances must be made at the time the circumstance occurs.

Any tenure track faculty member who becomes the parent of a child by birth or adoption will automatically be granted a one- year extension of the deadline for tenure review, provided that they notify their unit head and complete the requisite paperwork.

An extension of the tenure clock due to childbirth or adoption is available immediately upon
employment with the University.

A second extension of the tenure clock due to the birth or adoption of another child will be granted automatically, so long as the faculty member receives no more than a total of two extensions (including those granted for reasons other than the birth or adoption of a child).

Yes. 

Faculty members must submit a Notification of Delay of Mandatory Tenure Review Due to Childbirth or Adoption, to the Office of Faculty Affairs. Normally this process should be initiated within a month of the expected arrival of the child.

Faculty Parental Leave and Other Supports

No. Employees are not required to use or exhaust accrued annual, sick, personal, or other paid leave before beginning PFML or during a period of approved PFML.

For faculty receiving sponsored research funding, the costs associated with the paid parental leave benefit to which they are entitled shall be paid by the unit if the agency does not provide the benefit.

Eligible employees may receive up to 12 weeks of PFML for Parental Leave during a 12-month Application Year, paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay.

An employee may be eligible for up to an additional 12 workweeks of PFML, for a maximum of 24 workweeks within the same Application Year, when the employee needs leave for both Parental Leave and the employee’s own Serious Health Condition. Either qualifying reason may occur first.

However, a birth or placement and the related parental/bonding leave constitute one parental leave event.

If an employee is eligible for and has earned a holiday that occurs during an approved period of PFML, the holiday will be observed in accordance with the institution’s published holiday schedule. The holiday will count toward the employee’s available PFML entitlement.

The amended USM Policy on Parental Leave is intended to promote a family-friendly environment to support faculty in balancing professional and family demands during and after the birth or adoption of a child. Eligible faculty members shall be assured a period of up to 12 weeks of continuous paid parental leave and have the opportunity to establish a “Family Support Plan”.

An extension of the tenure clock due to childbirth or adoption is available immediately upon employment with the University.

All faculty (tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure-track, contractual, non-regular and hourly) are eligible for PFML for “parental leave”. There is no minimum length of service or “hours worked” requirement. A birth or placement and the related parental/bonding leave constitute one parental leave event.  Both mothers and fathers have the same right to take PFML for “parental” reasons.

Any tenure track faculty member who becomes the parent of a child by birth or adoption will automatically be granted a one- year extension of the deadline for tenure review, provided that they notify their unit head and complete the requisite paperwork.

PFML may be taken for the birth of a child and to care for or bond with a newborn during the first year following the child’s birth. PFML may also be taken to care for or bond with a child during the first year following placement for adoption, foster care, or kinship placement. Such leave may be taken on a continuous or intermittent basis, provided the leave is taken within the applicable 12-month period following the child’s birth or placement.

Faculty members must submit a Notification of Delay of Mandatory Tenure Review Due to Childbirth or Adoption by logging in to the Leave Portal and completing the electronical Tenure Delay request form. The form is automatically routed to the chair and dean. Normally this process should be initiated within a month of the expected arrival of the child.

A second extension of the tenure clock due to the birth or adoption of another child will be granted automatically, so long as the faculty member receives no more than a total of two extensions (including those granted for reasons other than the birth or adoption of a child).

Yes. If a child’s parents are employed by the same institution, both parents may be eligible for paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child as follows: Both parents may concurrently use accrued annual, sick, collegial, personal, and/or holiday leave; and Only one parent may use supplemental paid parental leave during a period in which they are the child’s primary caregiver.

Yes.

No institutional work-related duties are required of the faculty member by the University while on parental leave.

Yes, but the request is not automatically granted (this response does not apply to faculty who took the COVID-19 Tenure Delay). Faculty members may request a delay of tenure review based on personal or professional circumstances that substantially impede normal professional development of the faculty member.

These circumstances may include: 

  • Personal illness or injury. 
  • Care of ill or injured dependents, including children, relatives, or any other persons who are dependent on the faculty member for care. 
  • Death of a spouse, partner, family member, or other closely affiliated person. 
  • Individual departmental, or facility-related situations that are beyond the control of the faculty member.

Note: requests for delay of tenure review under these circumstances must be made at the time the circumstance occurs.

Yes, faculty members may take leave without pay subject to the provisions provided for under the USM Policy on Family Medical Leave for Faculty and/or approval of the department head or dean.

Yes, however, beyond 60 days leave is subject to the approval of the dean.

The family support plan should be developed jointly by the faculty member and department chair, or the designee of the chair or dean, upon request of the faculty member. Completed family support plans shall be shared with the appropriate dean or other academic affairs administrators.

Family support plans are intended to assure that continuity in student instruction and other critical duties are not disrupted during a period of parental leave. Workload modifications, to the extent authorized by the Institution and feasible within the faculty member’s department, may include but may not be limited to the redistribution of duties to substitute a teaching assignment with other department or academic service. Please note that as with paid leave, faculty whose salaries are funded solely via external agencies will need to take into consideration specific limitations set by those agencies.

No. Instructional faculty utilizing a family support plan shall not be required to offset the reduced classroom course load by making up the load in another semester.

Typically, a faculty member would utilize a family support plan during the semester in which the bulk of the paid parental leave will take place e.g. the 6-month period surrounding their continuous paid parental leave will take place e.g. the 6-month period surrounding the birth or placement of a child.

Alternative (Part-time) Status of Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty

Yes. Tenured or tenure-track faculty may request a temporary reduction to part-time status in order to prepare for a newborn child and/or to care for a child under the age of five years (including children placed in the home via adoption or foster care).

The faculty member may receive a one-time, one-year delay of mandatory tenure review due to childrearing-related temporary part-time status. Normally, only faculty with temporary part-time appointments of 50% FTE will be considered for this delay; faculty with part-time appointments greater than 50% will not normally be eligible for a one-year delay of tenure review.

Per University policy, such faculty are eligible for temporary part-time appointments from the time of hire.

Per University policy, such faculty are eligible for temporary part-time appointments from the time of hire.

Yes. Tenured or tenure-track faculty may request a temporary reduction to part-time status in order to prepare for a newborn child and/or to care for a child under the age of five years (including children placed in the home via adoption or foster care).

The faculty member may receive a one-time, one-year delay of mandatory tenure review due to childrearing-related temporary part-time status. Normally, only faculty with temporary part-time appointments of 50% FTE will be considered for this delay; faculty with part-time appointments greater than 50% will not normally be eligible for a one-year delay of tenure review. 

Yes.

Tenure-track faculty may be authorized for part-time status for a minimum of one semester, up to two years. Tenured faculty may request part-time status for up to two years, with the option of renewal (with proper approvals).

No. A one-year delay of tenure review is authorized regardless of the length of the temporary parttime status, as long the part-time status meets the criteria specified above.

The faculty member makes a written request to his or her chair/unit head. This request must be submitted before the end of the semester before the appointment is slated to begin. The proposed reduction is discussed and a mutually acceptable MOU is prepared, outlining the specific terms of the reduction (e.g., reduction of teaching load, service commitments, etc.). This MOU and a letter of support/opposition from the chair are submitted to the Dean of the college, and subsequently to the Provost, for approval or denial.

A faculty member who believes that her/his request for part-time status has been unfairly or improperly denied may bring the matter to the Faculty Ombuds Officer.

Yes. Tenure-track faculty may receive a one-year delay of tenure review due to childbirth or adoption and an additional one year delay of tenure review due to a request for a temporary part-time appointment, resulting in a two year delay of the mandatory tenure review. Note: Tenure-track faculty may receive no more than two one-year delays for any reason.

Private Space for Lactation

The University provides a number of lactation rooms across campus where nursing mothers may breastfeed or express milk. Campus lactation rooms may be found by double-clicking the lactation room icon on the campus map.

No.

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