UF faculty expressed its concern about the proposal to end sick-leave payouts in response to budget cuts at Thursday's Faculty Senate meeting.
Currently, faculty can convert unused sick leave into paychecks when they leave UF, but the proposed policy would put an end to the practice as of Jan. 1, 2012, said UF Provost Joe Glover.
Tom Auxter, a faculty senator, called the proposal "shocking."
"They would like to collect the tiny benefit you get after being $20,000 behind your counterparts at other universities," Auxter said.
UF plans to cut $16.6 million from its budget this year, and officials predict the move could save between $2 million and $4 million.
"Faculty were dismayed that a benefit that they had had for many years was going to disappear," Glover said.
But none of UF's peers in the Association of American Universities Ñ a group of leading research universities in the U.S. and Canada Ð offer sick leave payouts, he said.
The proposal, Glover said, seems like a fair way for faculty to help with UF's budget troubles.
"It seems like everybody would contribute a little bit to closing the budget gap," he said.
Glover also announced details about two other proposals at the meeting.
Under one plan, UF would standardize the pay rate for summer classes to $5,000 for a three-credit-hour class. Deans could raise the amount if need be, he said.
Under another plan, UF would offer voluntary retirement plans to employees 65 and older. They would have to make the decision by January and leave UF by the end of June, he said.
Those who choose this option would receive one year of salary in return. It's unclear how much this program could save UF.
