EMPLOYEE
AND RETIREE SERVICE CENTER > ACADEMIC LEAVE
MCPS employees with at least seven years of continuous
service can apply for paid academic leave at 50 or 60
percent of their annual salary. The deadline to apply
for academic leave for the 2008-2009 school year is
April 1, 2008.
MCEA and SEIU Local 500 employees must submit a current
letter of acceptance from a college or university. The
acceptance letter must include verification of full-time
student status and the proposed program of course work
by semester, including course titles, course number, and
corresponding credit values for each course.
MCAASP employees must submit a proposed program of
research or work with a description of how the program
will enhance their professional growth and contribute to
the improvement of the school system.
To apply, please send your completed application packet
to the Leave Administration Team, ERSC,
7361 Calhoun Place, Suite 190
. Frequently asked questions are addressed below. If you
still have additional questions, you may contact the
Leave Administration Team, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5
p.m., at 301-517-8100.
1.
How do
I apply for academic leave?
2. If I am eligible for academic leave,
will I be granted academic leave?
3. What
does it mean that academic leave
is a competitive process?
4. On what criteria do the
Academic
Leave Committee members rate my application?
5. How can I find out which fields of
study are considered most critical by MCPS?
6. What are my options if I am not
granted academic leave?
7. Can
I have academic leave for longer than one year?
8. Can
I be on academic leave and work at the same time?
9. When
will I find out if I am granted academic leave?
10. Do
I continue to earn personal, sick, and/or annual leave while I am on
academic leave?
11. Are
my chances of getting approved for academic leave affected by whether I
choose the 50% or 60% pay option?
12. Other
than the amount of pay I receive, what is the difference between the 50%
and 60% pay option?
13. How
will I get paid while I am on academic leave?
14. I
used direct deposit for my paychecks -- will this continue while I am on
academic leave?
15. My
anniversary date will fall within the time period that I am on academic
Leave -- will my salary be increased?
16. The
course work I complete during the time I am on academic leave will qualify
me for a higher salary lane -- how do I get my salary changed?
17. If
the course work I complete while on academic leave will not qualify
me for a higher salary lane, do I still need to submit grade slips to the
Office of Human Resources?
18. What
happens if I fail to complete my course work successfully or fail to
complete the required service upon return to MCPS?
19. What
should I do if I have to change my leave status while I am on academic
leave?
20. What
happens after I complete my academic leave?
21. Can
I request to have the MCPS Bulletin sent to me while I am on academic
leave?
22. Will
union dues continue to be deducted from my pay while I am on academic
leave?
23. Is
there a way that I can estimate what my biweekly gross pay will be while I
am on academic leave?
1.
How do I apply for academic leave?
Submit
the following items by April 1, 2008, to the Employee and Retiree
Service Center (ERSC), Attn: Leave Adminstration Team, 7361 Calhoun Place, Suite
190.
-
Leave request
(MCPS form 430-1), signed by your principal/director
-
Current
acceptance letter from the college or university, including verification of full-time
student status
-
Proposed program
with list of course titles and their credit value for each semester
-
Written
answers to the Academic
Leave Questions for Candidates.
2.
If I am eligible for academic leave,
will my academic leave be approved?
Not necessarily.
Academic leave is a competitive process and limited funds are
available for the leave, so, typically, only three or four candidates are
granted leave each year.
3.
What does it mean that academic leave
is a competitive process?
Once the
academic leave application
deadline has passed, each member of the Academic Leave Committee reviews each
candidate’s application materials and rates the candidate on several
criteria. The candidate with the
highest total ratings from the committee is the first candidate offered
academic leave. Academic leave
offers are made to the top candidates, in order of the total ratings, until the academic leave funds are exhausted.
4.
On what criteria do the Academic Leave Committee members rate my
application?
Critical Field – will the proposed field of study lead to a degree
and/or set of skills that meet a critical need of MCPS?
Time Remaining to Completion of Program – how soon will the
candidate complete the degree and/or acquire the skills that will allow
him/her to provide MCPS with the benefit of the completion of the program
Quality of Recent Performance Evaluations
Number of Years of Service with
MCPS
5
How can I find out which fields of study are considered most critical
by MCPS?
The
ERSC has
created the document “Critical Shortage Areas” that identifies highest, second highest,
and third highest fields of need.
Generally speaking, candidates studying for degrees in the highest
field of need receive the highest total ratings from the Academic Leave
Committee.
6.
What are my options if I am not
granted academic leave?
If you are eligible for academic leave,
but are not among those candidates granted academic leave:
(a)
You may switch your leave request from academic leave to professional
improvement leave. Professional
improvement leave is similar to academic leave. Professional improvement
leave is full-time study that is unpaid leave.
This decision will need to be made as soon as you are notified that
you have not been granted academic leave. Please have the answer to
this option settled prior to April 1, 2008.
7.
Can I have academic leave for longer
than one year?
No, academic leave is only granted for
one year. However, if you wish
to remain on leave for an additional year to complete your program of study,
you can apply for Unusual or Imperative Leave for Study.
This type of leave is not paid, does not count as a year of service,
and benefits will be charged to you at full cost, should you choose to
continue your benefits.
8.
Can I be on Academic Leave and work at the same time?
Academic
leave is for full-time study, therefore permanent employment is not allowed
while on leave. You may engage in temporary
employment, such as a teaching assistantship or substitute teaching, however, the total salary from your academic leave plus any salary from
temporary employment cannot exceed the 100% salary you would have earned in
your position if you did not participate in academic leave.
9.
When will I find out if I am granted academic leave?
It
is expected that decisions about academic leave will be made no later than
the week of April 21, 2008. This will allow principals to identify the
vacancies that will exist in their schools prior to the start of the
teacher job fairs.
10.
Do I
continue to earn personal, sick, and/or annual leave while I am on academic
leave?
No. You do not earn leave while you are on academic leave. All
leave balances are frozen as of the date your academic leave begins.
Sick leave bank contributions are not required for the school year.
11.
Are my chances of getting approved for academic leave affected by
whether I choose the 50% or 60% pay option?
No.
The pay option has no
effect on the ratings that academic leave candidates receive – it is not
one of the rating criteria used by the Academic Leave Committee.
12.
Other than the amount of pay I receive, what is the difference between
the 50% and 60% pay option?
The only difference between the
two pay options is the amount of service that
you will owe to MCPS upon returning from leave. With the 50% pay option, you are promising to continue to
work for MCPS for two years following your return from leave. With the 60% pay option, you are promising to continue to work for
MCPS for three years following your return from leave.
13.
How will I get paid while I am on academic leave?
You will continue to receive biweekly paychecks while you are on leave,
in accordance with the published schedule of paydays. Once you are put into a long-term leave status, your biweekly
attendance will be controlled and reported by ERSC Payroll Process staff, rather than
the timekeeper at your school/office
14.
I use direct deposit for my paychecks – will direct
deposit continue while I
am on academic leave?
Yes, your direct deposit will continue while you are on academic
leave.
15.
My anniversary date falls within the time period that I am on
academic leave – will my salary be increased?
Yes.
If you have an
anniversary/merit due during the school year, your biweekly academic leave
salary will reflect this increase on the first day of the pay period when
your anniversary/merit is effective.
16.
The course work I complete during the time I am on academic
leave will
qualify me for a higher salary lane – how do I get my salary changed?
If you qualify for a new salary schedule because of course work
completed during your academic leave, you can use
MCPS Form 475-1: Request
for Advanced Salary Placement to request a salary change. YOU MUST REQUEST THIS
CHANGE--THE CHANGE IS NOT AUTOMATIC. You also need to send your grade slips to the Certification
Unit in the Office of Human Resources to show successful completion of your
courses before the salary change can be processed.
17.
If the course work I complete while on academic leave will not
qualify me for a higher salary lane, do I still need to submit grade slips to
the Office of Human Resources?
Yes!
Upon completion of
your academic leave, you must send an official transcript or your original
grade slips to the Certification
Unit in the Office of Human Resources so that
your leave can be cleared (i.e., confirm successful completion of your
academic leave) and your salary adjusted properly.
18.
What happens if I fail to complete my course work
successfully or fail to complete the required service upon return to MCPS?
If
you fail to meet contractual obligations or complete required service upon return to MCPS
you will be responsible for the full cost of your leave on a prorated basis.
These costs include paid salary and MCPS contributions to your benefit
plan and retirement.
19.
What should I do if I have to change my leave status while I am on
academic leave?
If your leave status needs to be changed while you are on academic
leave (e.g., sickness, injury, child care) and you will not be able to
complete your academic leave courses or obligations, please notify the Leave
Administration Team in the ERSC immediately to convert you to the appropriate
leave status.
For example, if you were injured in an automobile accident and
could not finish your courses, you would be converted from academic leave to
personal illness leave so that penalties associated with failure to meet
academic leave obligations can be avoided or reduced.
20.
What
happens after I complete my academic leave?
Prior to
the completion of your academic leave, you will be contacted by MCPS
regarding your return to the system. There
is no guarantee that you will return to your current position or location, or
that you will be placed in a field related to your academic leave studies.
When you are reassigned, you will be placed in a position of the same or
higher salary than the position you held prior to going on academic leave.
RESOURCE AND OTHER SUPPLEMENTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS COMPUTATION.
21.
Can I request to have the MCPS Bulletin sent to me while I am on
academic leave?
Yes, you may
contact the Department of Communications to request the
MCPS Bulletin be mailed to your home while you are on leave. However,
the Bulletin
is available on the MCPS Web site.
22.
Will union dues continue to be deducted from my pay while I am on
academic leave?
Yes,
union dues are deducted while you are on leave. Dues are deducted at 50% the normal rate for MCEA and MCAASP employees
and 100% for SEIU (formerly MCCSSE) employees. If,
for some reason, dues are not deducted while you are on leave and/or after
your return from leave, you must contact your union.
23.
Is
there a way that I can estimate what my biweekly gross pay will be while I am
on academic leave?
Yes.
Please see the document “Estimating Academic Leave
Pay.”
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