Release Time Guidelines for University at Buffalo Staff

A key part of the University at Buffalo’s mission is to nurture mutual commitment between the university and its people, supporting the development and advancement of all members of the UB community, and expecting their like support for the development and advancement of the university. Toward those goals, UB offers a wide variety of university-sponsored events aimed at promoting the development and well-being of the individual, as well as providing opportunities for employees to take part in activities that benefit students, the university and the community. Supervisors are sometimes presented with challenges in balancing this commitment with accomplishing UB’s mission of research, teaching and service. The following guidelines are offered to assist supervisors in making decisions about release time for staff for university events.

The overriding principle for release time is that it is granted at the discretion of the unit. Prior approval by the supervisor is required, and release time should only be granted when the unit’s operating needs allow. Whether to grant release time is a decision to be made by each unit consistent with these guidelines.

• Release time may be granted for
  • University-sponsored events, i.e., those that are administered or sanctioned by the administration or individual units
  • Direct job-related events, such as training
  • Employees who are assisting with university events
• Release time should be for a reasonable amount of time, in the judgment of the supervisor
• Supervisors should attempt to distribute release time equitably within their units
• In units that employ flex schedules, flex time may be used to allow employees to attend university events and classes where release time is not appropriate
• Employees should be required to charge leave accruals for events not sponsored or sanctioned by the university