In the Fall 2002 term, we implemented a Faculty Development Flexible Workload plan that seeks to respond to this need. The key principle is that this is not a work reduction for our faculty, but rather a reassignment of work responsibilities. There are a number of jobs done by Kalamazoo College faculty all the time, and by offering some flexibility in the balance of teaching and non-teaching assignments, we seek to be responsive to a clearly-felt faculty need.

1. Birth mothers. Birth mothers are at the present time entitled to six weeks’ medical leave following the birth of a child under FMLA. (Individual doctors
   may recommend more than this in specific cases.) If a birth mother will miss more than two weeks of class as a result of a birth (or the medical leave following
   a birth), the mother will not be assigned teaching responsibilities for the duration of the term of the leave in order to continue to earn a full-time faculty salary
   (regardless of whether that period is before or after the birth). Rather, a flexible work assignment will be made for the remainder of the term for all teaching
   responsibilities.
   (Note: This recognizes that not all departments have identical teaching responsibilities. In some departments the “normal” teaching load is two courses per term, six courses per year. In other departments – the natural sciences and computer science – the “normal” teaching load is four courses per year, to reflect the extra responsibilities of lab sections of the class.)
   
   If the six-week medical leave period takes place exclusively during the summer, so that the birth mother has not benefited from a flexible work reassignment as a consequence of the birth, then she will be eligible for the option described in #2. The justification for this is simple: our goal is to help faculty development. If a
   mother uses her entire summer in newborn care, she will not be able to engage in research that will contribute to her professional development. We want her to
   have some part of the time she would otherwise lose, thus justifying the policy outlined in #2.
   
2. Birth fathers, adoptive mothers and fathers, and birth mothers who did not receive flexible work assignments because their entire “maternity leave” period came during the summer. Our policy will be to give a faculty member who is in one of these four categories a flexible work reassignment in place of one normally assigned course in the term of the arrival of the baby or in a subsequent term of the faculty member’s choosing within one year of the arrival of the baby.
   

In each of these cases, determination of the flexible work assignment will be made in consultation with the Provost and the department chair and documented as early as possible to allow for maximum planning flexibility. In all cases this should take place by first week of Fall for a Spring reassignment, first week of Spring for a Fall reassignment, and Commencement week for a Winter reassignment.