Graduate Assistant Parental Leave

A graduate assistant may seek a leave of absence from their assistantship duties for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a minor child.  A graduate assistant granted leave under this policy will continue to receive 100% of their assistantship stipend and their existing benefits remain in place (e,g., Graduate Student Health Insurance, enrollment status) for the duration of the leave, if the graduate assistant maintains their eligibility as set forth in this policy.

The length of the leave will be six academic calendar weeks or until the end of the graduate assistant’s appointment, whichever comes first. In the case of a Caesarean section, the leave will be eight weeks. The leave cannot be taken intermittently and must be taken in its entirety at one time. In the event two graduate assistants seek leave for the same birth, placement of a newly adopted or fostered child, or initiation of travel to take custody of an adopted or fostered child, their leaves may be taken concurrently or consecutively, but the leave is not transferable from one graduate assistant to another graduate assistant. The number of children does not increase the length of the leave.

The graduate assistant’s leave will commence upon the birth, placement of the newly adopted or fostered child in the graduate assistant’s home, or initiation of travel by the graduate assistant to take custody of an adopted or fostered child.  In the event two graduate assistants seek leave for the same birth, placement of a newly adopted or fostered child, or initiation of travel to take custody of an adopted or fostered child, one graduate assistant may commence their leave at any time up to six weeks and a day following the birth, placement of a newly adopted or fostered child, or initiation of travel to take custody of an adopted or fostered child.

The same appointment status (e.g., stipend, other benefits) shall be available to the graduate assistant following their leave if it would have otherwise been available. Assigned duties may be subject to change. 

• A graduate assistant may request a leave of absence pursuant to this policy in the event of:
  • Birth of a child;
  • Legal adoption of a child under the age of 18; or
  • Foster care placement of a child under the age of 18 in the student’s home, with the student legally identified as a foster parent.
• To be eligible to request leave under this policy a graduate assistant must meet the following criteria:
  • Must have completed a minimum of 60 consecutive calendar days on any graduate appointment (e.g., graduate assistantships for teaching, research, or programming; work study at the graduate level) at a minimum of 10 hours per week prior to the date that the leave is to commence; and
  • Must hold a current graduate assistantship during the semester in which the leave is to take place, for a minimum of 10 hours per week. Multiple graduate appointments adding up to a minimum of 10 hours per week are also permissible.
• Graduate assistant requests for leave under this policy are subject to the approval of their graduate director and department head, each of whom may consider the academic and employment needs of the department and the graduate assistant’s academic program when reviewing such a request.
• Graduate assistants funded by external agencies are subject to the terms and conditions of the appropriate agency, in addition to the conditions set forth in this policy.
• The graduate assistant must be making reasonable progress toward degree and be in good academic standing as determined by the graduate assistant’s program director.
• The graduate assistant must be enrolled as a full-time student (i.e., at least 12 credit hours), unless a reduced course load has been pre-approved by the graduate assistant’s program and the Graduate College.
• A graduate assistant may not be granted a leave under this policy within six calendar months of the end date of a previous leave granted under this policy. 

• The graduate assistant must submit the Parental Leave Policy request form to the Graduate College via GradTracker for approval, along with the following documentation:
  • For birth of a child: a note from a medical doctor on letterhead indicating an upcoming delivery. 
  • For adoption or fostering of a minor child: legal notice of change of placement of the minor child to the student’s home.
  • Graduate assistants should not submit any personal health information or other documentation that would violate HIPAA.
• The request for a leave will subject to the review and approval of an Associate Dean of the Graduate College.
• Each graduate assistant seeking leave under this policy is responsible for submitting their own request form (i.e., graduate assistants seeking leave for the same birth, placement of a newly adopted or fostered child, or initiation of travel to take custody of an adopted or fostered child may not submit a single request form).
• When possible, the Parental Leave Policy request form should be submitted a month prior to the event to facilitate planning. Emergency leave requests will be considered.