FAQs & resources about absences from teaching
We all find ourselves with occasional need to be absent from our teaching. This page aggregates information about various types of absences/leaves you might need to take from teaching: short-term, long-term, planned, and unplanned. We also have additional pages with guidance about long-term leaves and resources for how to plan ahead for any absences from your teaching (or help a colleague when you’re covering for them).
A short-term absence from teaching is missing one class meeting up to two consecutive weeks of class meetings. If you need to be absent for more than one week (or anticipate that this is a possibility), please consult with a member of the Writing Program director team to plan appropriately and learn more about what to do if you wind up needing to take a long-term leave. What is the difference between a planned and an unplanned short-term absence? Unplanned means situations you didn’t anticipate that make it hard for you to take the steps required to arrange for coverage or prepare an asynchronous activity. Here are some scenarios in which an absence would be considered unplanned, and thus appropriate for submitting a request through the short-term sub form: Here are some scenarios that would be considered planned absences, assuming the absence(s) would amount to less than one week of missed class time. In these cases, you would want to find coverage on your own or make other arrangements rather than using the sub form: If your situation does not clearly fall into one of these categories, or if your anticipated absences (planned or unplanned) will total a week or more of class time, please consult with the admin team! How many classes can be canceled ahead of time for planned reasons like instructor conference travel? As few as possible. These are OK when they are important to you professionally. What should I do if I have to cancel class for a planned reason? You have a few options: Why can’t my full-time colleague be paid for the labor of covering my planned absence? This is a CAS policy that the Writing Program does not control. However, per that same policy, PTLs (though not FTLs) can be paid for subbing for unplanned short-term absences, and both FTLs and PTLs are eligible for payment for covering for long-term leaves. What should I do if I have to cancel class for an unplanned reason? Is it mandatory to try to get a substitute instructor for unplanned absences? No. The Writing Program trusts faculty to make their own thoughtful decisions (and if you’re trying to make a decision about whether to ask for a sub or do something else, you can check out the additional resources here!) That said, you are encouraged to use the short-term sub form if you would find it beneficial. Will someone actually respond to my request for a sub via the sub form? Yes! If you can get your request in by no later than 4:30 PM the day before you need the sub, the sub coordinator will send out the request to the PTLs on the sub list ASAP and try to get you a response by no later than 7:00 PM that night so that you can plan accordingly. You are welcome to submit requests later, but it may be harder to get a sub at the last minute. Please use the form rather than send a direct email to the sub coordinator since it asks for important information that will make coordinating with your sub(s) go as smoothly as possible. While the sub coordinator will definitely reach out to PTLs on the sub list, they may not be able to line up a substitute. They will communicate with you if they are unable to find a sub as soon as possible, in which case you can cancel the class or make other arrangements. Is it inconvenient to PTLs to ask them to sub for unplanned absences? No! All PTLs on the list of potential subs have voluntarily opted into the list; they can opt in or out during any given semester, and can always choose whether or not to accept any particular call to sub. Please also note that PTLs who substitute in this way are paid for their efforts – and, beyond that compensation, many report enjoying the experience! How are PTLs paid when they agree to sub for a colleague? PTLs are paid for all the days they substitute in a single lump sum at the end of each semester. The rates for the Fall 2026 semester are $265.95 per class session for MWF courses and $394 per class session for TR classes. Is Zoom teaching forbidden? Could a slightly unwell instructor Zoom in with another member of the WP (i.e. PTL, CAS Writing Center consultant) in the classroom and teach that way? CAS policy does not permit faculty to teach on Zoom. Asynchronous activities in lieu of an in-person class meeting are acceptable for instructors well enough to plan them. Can any decisions around managing short-term absences (like teaching on Zoom) affect a faculty member’s standing for promotion? Not directly; the Writing Program trusts faculty to make their own decisions about what is appropriate for their individual courses, students, and circumstances. That said, if excessive absences affect students’ learning or other experiences in the class, that information could come up in course evaluations at the end of the semester (and thus be documented for Writing Program administrators and the CAS lecturer promotion committee to see). Since it is against BU policy to teach on Zoom, students mentioning an instructor doing this on their course evaluations could also potentially cause problems. I’ve agreed to sub for a colleague for a day (for either a planned or unplanned reason) – what are the expectations? We have some guidance about short-term subbing available here!FAQs about planned and unplanned short-term absences:
What is considered a “short-term” absence from teaching?
What is considered a “long-term” absence? It is considered a long-term leave if you need to miss more than two consecutive weeks of teaching in a semester. For any absences of this length or longer, you will need to consult with a member of the director team as soon as possible and likely take an official leave through BU. What are the steps that need to be taken when someone needs to take a long-term leave? We have put together a separate guide about taking long-term leaves here. We know the situations that would necessitate you to take a long-term leave are usually stressful and overwhelming, so even though this information is available in other places, we hope the guide linked above streamlines the process as much as possible. Can any Writing Program faculty member take a long-term leave, or are they just open to FTLs? PTLs as well as FTLs are eligible for leaves through BU. It is illegal for BU to penalize you or deny you future opportunities if you need to take one. GWFs who need to take a leave should consult this page for more information, and this page for information specifically about parental accommodations. Once a faculty member is on a long-term leave, what are they responsible for? What can and can’t they do? It is BU policy that an instructor (or any employee) on leave may not do work once their leave is approved. Please put up an out-of-office message and allow yourself to rest and/or focus on whatever situation has necessitated your leave! In particular, please refrain from contacting your sub once you have handed off materials and trust that they will handle things. Can people teach remotely (i.e. on Zoom) if they are well enough to do so but not able to come to campus? No. CAS policy does not allow teaching on Zoom for any reason. When a faculty member is on a long-term leave, what are their substitutes responsible for, while subbing and when handing things back to the original faculty member? We have put together some guidance for long-term subs here. In general, long-term substitutes are responsible for class prep, feedback, and grading as long as the original instructor is on leave. They can and should use any materials (lessons, assignments, etc.) provided by the instructor of record, but when that instructor is unable to provide things in advance, substitutes are responsible for creating them. If the instructor of record is going to return before the end of the semester, the substitute should be ready to hand off materials and records, including any grading they completed during their coverage. In general, the substitute should grade work that is passed in during their coverage. Please communicate with the director team if a major round of grading falls during the original instructor’s transition back to work. Who can be paid for long-term absence coverage, and how are those arrangements made? Either FTLs or PTLs can substitute for colleagues on long-term leaves and will be paid for this labor. The director team will issue a call after a faculty member who needs to go on leave has communicated with them. Both FTLs and PTLs are paid on a pro-rated per course basis based on the PTL contract’s per-course pay rate. How do you grade as a substitute? Do your best based on the assignment and any specific rubrics or guidelines given with it, as well as the original syllabus and broader grading policies provided in it. Err on the side of generosity given the disruption. What is the WP director team responsible for in terms of oversight of substitutes and intervention when needed? We trust substitutes to treat the responsibility with professionalism, and a long term absence requires good faith and flexibility from all parties. No one is at their best under these circumstances, so please give each other grace. It is not the responsibility of any individual faculty member to coordinate or manage the other faculty subbing for the same colleague who has gone on leave. If there are significant concerns, reach out to one of the directors, who are generally available to consult and troubleshoot. They are a resource both to substitutes who are unsure of how to work with the materials handed off by the instructor of record, and to instructors who return from a leave before the semester finishes and have concerns about how sub coverage went for their class. More guidance about long-term subbing is available here.FAQs about planned and unplanned long-term absences: