Vacation Time for Assistantships
Summary
Graduate students appointed on any combination of full assistantships or fellowships for spring, summer, and fall terms are entitled to two weeks (10 weekdays) of annual vacation each 12-month period (August 21 through August 20) in addition to Cornell University holidays (when the university is officially closed); vacation time will be prorated for students appointed for shorter periods of time (e.g., four days for a student appointed on an assistantship or fellowship for only one semester during the calendar period August 21-August 20). The policy also encourages flexibility between faculty and students to accommodate reasonable requests for personal time away (e.g., for religious observance, medical appointments, bereavement, etc.).
Cornell University holidays (when the university is officially closed) generally include 13 days: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the following day, and Winter Break (generally six working days from December 25 through January 1).
Summer appointments: The policy affirms that summer assistantship appointments must conform to Policy 1.3. Academic expectations for students appointed to partial summer assistantships are to be adjusted proportionally.
If a graduate student and special committee chair and/or supervisor of the funded position are unable to reach agreement on appropriate scheduling of requested vacation time, use of university holidays, or requests for additional time away for personal reasons, the director of graduate studies should be consulted to help mediate a resolution. The Graduate School associate dean for administration may be consulted as well.
Funded graduate students do not automatically receive vacation time for breaks in the academic calendar (fall or spring break, February break, January prior to the start of classes, etc). During these periods, students are expected to continue their own degree-related activities as well as perform normal assistantship duties.
Related
- Graduate Student Assistantships, Policy 1.3
- Interim Policy 6.9, Time Away from Work: Sick Leave (New York State)(within University Policy 6.9 Time Away From Work)
- University Holidays
Contact
Jason Kahabka
Associate Dean for Administration
jek15@cornell.edu