Voluntary Separations (Resignation and Retirement) 

Purpose: 

To outline the process for what to do when faculty voluntarily leave university employment. 

Relevant Definitions: 

Phased Retirement: a post-retirement arrangement whereby a faculty member is hired into a part-time, non-tenure track appointment, under conditions agreed to in a formal contract. (See Phased Retirement) 

Resignation: when a faculty member voluntarily decides to terminate their employment relationship with the University, generally because they plan to work elsewhere; e.g., accepted a faculty position at another university or pursuing a different career. 

Retirement: when a faculty member would like to end their career at UT, has met specific eligibility requirements set by the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) or Teacher Retirement System (TRS), and voluntarily decides to terminate their employment relationship with the University.  

Return Rule: A requirement related to certain research-related faculty awards (e.g., FDLs, CSEFs, and SFAs), and specified in the award letter, in which a faculty member is released from teaching but remains on the instructional budget. Specifies that when the faculty member’s award period is over, they will return to their normal FTE appointment at UT Austin for a required amount of time, typically for one academic year following the completion of their award, or they will be required to re-pay the amount of salary provided by the award.

End Job: Workday business process (BP) used to end an additional job. 

Termination: Workday business process (BP) used to end someone’s employment at UT. 

Dates: "Retirement" versus "Termination": Retirement and Termination dates may be the same, but they do not have to be.

Retirement dates are driven by benefits, and benefits continue throughout the entire month in which an employee works, regardless of when within that month the employee separates from the university. With the academic year now ending 8/15, faculty retiring will usually be terminated 8/15, but the faculty member’s retirement would not be effective until 9/1.

Process: 

1. (Ideally) Faculty member provides department initial, informal notice, of intent to separate from university; as courtesy, department shares this information with COLA HR. 
   1. If retiring, Faculty member ensures all university pre-retirement requirements have been satisfied, and the University’s Human Resources office has confirmed faculty member is retirement eligible (see pre-retirement checklist).
   2. Department staff should help check to see if separating faculty member has an unfilled return rule owed to the University (typically following a research leave, such as an FDL or CSEF). 
      1. If a return rule exists, should notify chair.
      2. If uncertain if this applies, can double-check with COLA HR.
2. Faculty member provides department chair written notice of intent to separate from the University and specifies their final date of employment, typically the last day of an academic semester or the last day of the academic year, though this can vary. 
3. Department chair responds in writing to faculty member accepting the separation and specifying the effective date of the separation (e.g., “I accept your retirement effective May 31, 2024."). 
   1. If possible, it would be helpful to upload a copy of the resignation/notice of retirement and chair acceptance to the Faculty Separations portal, so that we (Dean's Office) can update our records (and the Budget, etc.) prior to the Termination BP process.
4. Department staff ensures no additional Workday processes are needed for the faculty member prior to their separation date (e.g., a summer job), and processes Termination in Workday no more than 90 days prior to effective (separation) date, attaching the faculty member’s written notice and chair’s acceptance to the BP.  
   1. If a faculty member has more than one job in Workday, all additional (+) jobs will need End Jobs processed prior to Termination BP. 
   2. If the separating faculty member has active sponsored projects at UT, the staff member will need to gather information about what is happening with those awards in order to complete the Faculty Termination Questionnaire* in Workday.
5. If faculty member has accrued any unused paid time off that requires payout at separation (such as floating holiday hours), the department Absence Partner(s) will receive notification of Time Balances Required to Pay and will need to follow the process for Payouts at Separation. 

Related policies: 

HOP 2-2420: Modified Service and Phased Retirement for Faculty

Regents Rule 30301: Employment of Retirees

Other Related Links: 

HR Retired Employee Resources, including “Pre-Retirement Checklist”: https://hr.utexas.edu/retiree 

Payroll Retirement Resources: https://payroll.utexas.edu/payroll-info#retirement 

Provost Guidance on Retirement: https://utexas.app.box.com/v/faculty-retirement 

Provost Retirement Seminar Info: https://provost.utexas.edu/the-office/faculty-affairs/seminar-on-retirement/

Termination WIG: https://utexas.app.box.com/s/g4jyugmd0al9kkqd8pca126lq1hbzh0v 

Information about Email for Separating Employees: https://ut.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article&number=KB0014748