Once you have signed and returned this letter to the President, a contractual relationship between you and the university will be established for the time that you continue in this program. Normally, the semester you request will be approved and every effort will be made to accommodate your request. However, the President may determine that it is necessary, due to programmatic needs, to assign you to a different period of employment. The department chair and the dean will be asked to review your request and make a recommendation to the President. Should there be a disagreement, a mutually acceptable outcome will be sought.
Most participants choose to work one semester, either Fall or Spring.
The university would like to accommodate as many faculty as possible. However, given the increasing numbers of faculty who are reaching retirement age and entering the program, it is possible that this will occur more frequently in the near future. Article 29.5 states that participation in FERP shall commence at the beginning of the campus academic year. Article 29.5 states that the service retirement must begin concurrently with or prior to the academic year when you enter the program. You could retire at the end of the Fall Term and begin FERP the following August.