Volunteer Leave Clarification
Dear CU Boulder staff and supervisors,
Human Resources would like to provide additional clarification and details regarding Chancellor Schwartz's message about volunteering for commencement. We hope this information helps you and your units with both on-campus and external volunteering opportunities. As you sign up to volunteer for commencement, please review the updated guidance on volunteer leave.
Volunteer Leave Updated Guidance
- Campus Roles and Events: Different campus areas have specific roles and responsibilities in events like commencement that more closely align with the nature of their role and the mission of their unit. If applicable, staff should plan to support these events as part of their work day and should discuss with their supervisor how assisting in these events can be integrated into their work day/week.
- Volunteer Leave: For roles not directly tied to sponsoring or facilitating these events, participation in events like commencement should be discussed with your supervisor and considered volunteer leave. Employees can code it in MyLeave or their specific time-keeping system as Volunteer-Administrative Leave.
- Evolution of Volunteer Leave: Volunteer leave used to focus on activities external to the university. Now, it includes internal events like commencement, which can be counted as volunteer leave or work time, depending on the nature of each specific role or area of campus. Volunteer leave outside of CU is always considered volunteer leave. Within the university, campus events will either be considered volunteer leave or work time, depending on the employee’s specific role and their unit’s expectations.
- Example: within Student Affairs, it may be considered mandatory to assist with events like commencement, in which case that time would be considered work time. For other campus units, such as OIT, if an employee would like to assist during these campus events, it would likely be construed as Volunteer leave, as it does not directly tie with the nature of their job.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
CU Boulder HR