Board of Higher Education Panel Votes to Amend Leave Policies

BOSTON — A committee of the state Board of Higher Education voted Tuesday to amend the leave policies for non-unit professionals (NUPs) at the state’s 15 community colleges and nine state universities in an effort to better align such policies with those governing UMass employees, public higher-education systems in other New England states, and Massachusetts state employees.

The vote is subject to a final vote by the full Board of Higher Education on June 14. If approved, the changes would impact approximately 1650 employees.

The board’s Fiscal Affairs and Administrative Policy (FAAP) Committee voted to eliminate the current policy allowing employees to convert unused vacation days into sick time. Going forward under the new policy, any vacation days that remain over a 64-day balance would be forfeited by the employee if not used. The 64-day vacation balance would be reduced over the next two and a half years to a maximum of 50 days that can be ‘carried’ by an employee.

Additionally, the committee voted to reduce the number of vacation days allotted to higher-education employees to a maximum of 25, a reduction from a previous allocation of 30 days per year for the longest-serving employees; and to standardize the number of personal days allotted to employees across all three segments of the higher-education system. All non-unit professionals employed at the state’s community colleges and state universities will receive a total of five annual personal days, effective Jan. 1, 2017.

“These changes will bring our employment policies for non-unit professionals at community colleges and state universities into alignment with those in place at the University of Massachusetts, at public colleges and universities across New England, and for state employees,” said Higher Education Commissioner Carlos Santiago, who ordered an expedited review of the policies in March. “They will allow us to remain competitive with other institutions in our bid to attract top talent, while also making good on our commitment to be effective stewards of state resources.”