Holiday Schedule for 2011 and 2012
Posted: October 4, 2011
From: Susan Carkeek, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Date: October 10, 2011
Subject: 2011 & 2012 Holiday Schedule for the Academic Division
As the holidays approach, here's a reminder of the remaining days off for 2011 and an announcement of the 2012 holiday schedule for U.Va.’s academic division. This information should be useful to you as you make plans to take time off, both this year and next.
Each year, we field a number of questions about the difference between the state’s holiday calendar and ours. I thought it would be helpful to clarify how holidays are scheduled at the University. The state and the University observe the same number of days off each year, but we take different holidays because of the student-centered nature of our business. This cuts down on the number of days that our administrative offices would have to stay open despite it being a “holiday.” For example, the state will observe George Washington Day on Feb. 20, 2012, but we have classes on that day and would have to ask many people to work in order to provide required services. Instead, since there are no classes on the day before Thanksgiving in 2012, we have designated that day as a holiday and are able to allow the majority of our employees to be at home with their families.
Often, the Governor announces additional holidays later in the year. When he does, we treat those as comp time, because he usually awards days already listed as holidays on the University’s calendar.
2011 Remaining Holidays:
| Wednesday, November 23, 2011 | Day Before Thanksgiving (FULL DAY) |
| Thursday, November 24, 2011 | Thanksgiving |
| Friday, November 25, 2011 | Day after Thanksgiving |
| Thursday, December 22, 2011 | Christmas Eve (observed) |
| Friday, December 23, 2011 | Christmas Day (observed) |
| Monday, December 26, 2011 | Day After Christmas |
| Friday, December 30, 2011 | New Year's Eve (observed) |
2011 Comp Time Already Awarded:
In addition to those holidays, twelve hours of comp special leave was credited to Classified Staff, University Staff, and Research Assistants on Dec. 20, 2010. These must be used within 12 months of the date earned.
For twelve-month faculty, the additional twelve hours of leave should be worked out with individual managers. Please refer to the Provost’s policy on leave for more information.
Hours for part-time qualifying employees are pro-rated.
2012 Official Holidays:
The following are the officially observed 2012 U.Va. Academic Division holidays:
| Monday, January 2, 2012 | New Year's Day (observed) |
| Monday, January 16, 2012 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
| Friday, March 9, 2012 | Spring Break Day |
| Monday, May 28, 2012 | Memorial Day |
| Wednesday, July 4, 2012 | Independence Day |
| Monday, September 3, 2012 | Labor Day |
| Wednesday, November 21, 2012 | Day Before Thanksgiving (FULL DAY) |
| Thursday, November 22, 2012 | Thanksgiving |
| Friday, November 23, 2012 | Day After Thanksgiving |
| Monday, December 24, 2012 | Christmas Eve |
| Tuesday, December 25, 2012 | Christmas Day |
| Wednesday, December 26, 2012 | Day After Christmas |
| Monday, December 31, 2012 | New Year's Eve |
The University will also award four hours of comp time for 2012 on Dec. 19, 2011, the start of the new leave year. Policies on taking this comp time are the same as for 2011, above.
Special Note Regarding Essential Services:
Even with careful scheduling, on certain University holidays some departments need to be open and should arrange at least limited coverage to provide essential services. For example, most student-related University offices will need to be open on Labor Day because classes are held on that day, and it is expected that your supervisors will arrange for adequate coverage. It is important for all of us to understand how necessary our services are and to work with each other to arrange an equitable schedule from year to year.
When you are asked to work on a holiday, compensatory leave will be awarded. Supervisors should give adequate advance notice to the affected employees for planning purposes.
Your supervisor or department administrators can answer questions about required coverage during other holidays.
Additional Holiday Information:
As always, if you wish to take additional leave or use your comp time around the holidays, you will need to have approval in advance from your supervisor. Supervisors are encouraged to be as flexible as possible in granting leave requests, especially during holiday periods.
- You can also see this schedule, and a comparison between our holidays and the state's, at the University Holiday Schedule.
- The University of Virginia’s Health System administration will distribute holiday information pertaining to the Medical Center and Clinics.
- The University of Virginia’s College at Wise administration will distribute information pertaining to the College at Wise.
If you have any questions concerning these holidays please call the HR Service Center at 982.0123 or send an email to AskHR@virginia.edu.
I wish you a very happy 2011 and 2012!