Memorial Day and July 4th holidays both falling on Monday

Yesterday, Senior Vice Provost sent an e-mail to all faculty in Academic Affairs-Tampa as follows:

Complaints have been received that some faculty are scheduling make-up classes during the summer term for days missed due to an official holiday. This year’s summer terms have two holidays, Memorial Day and Fourth of July, that occur on week days.

University and Collective Bargaining Agreement regulations specify that faculty members cannot be required to schedule classes to make up for those falling on a holiday; further, faculty members cannot require students to attend make-up classes for those falling on a holiday. The implication for those who are teaching in the summer is that courses must be planned with the knowledge that class days falling on a holiday cannot be rescheduled.

Chairs – please be sure to distribute this information to adjunct and graduate instructors who are teaching this summer.

Dr. Smith is correct in reading the contract language. The following language is from Article 17.5 of the collective bargaining agreement between UFF and the USF Board of Trustees:

An employee shall be entitled to observe all official holidays designated as holidays by the University, which shall at a minimum include those holidays designated in Fla. Stat. Section 110.117. No classes shall be scheduled on designated holidays. Classes not held because of a holiday shall not be rescheduled [emphasis added].

Faculty have a number of options to handle Monday classes in this summer’s term (or for any class cancelled because of holidays), including the following:

  • Holding optional makeup classes.
  • Providing assignments that are instructionally useful but do not require scheduled class time (such as intense work on individual projects, fieldwork scheduled by the student, etc.).
  • Providing material on Blackboard that students can access outside scheduled class time.

The choices of how to adjust to holidays–or any cancellation of classes (think hurricanes and flu)–should remain with the instructor for the class according to her or his best professional judgment.

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