Purpose
To outline the college expectations and approval process for Courtesy, Academic Affiliate, Affiliate Academic, Joint, and Adjunct appointments.
Q: Will these guidelines be the same across all HHD?
A: Yes, these guidelines apply to the entire College, but it is important to note and emphasize that the application of these guidelines will vary depending on the job duties of the individual requestor and the operational needs of their unit. In other words, every staff member will be given the same opportunity to request flexible, hybrid or remote work, but the response to that request will vary from unit to unit and potentially between positions within units.
Q: How many days per week am I permitted to work remotely as part of the flexible work program?
A: The number of remote workdays possible will depend on the position and environmental characteristics outlined above, as well as an evaluation of the overall unit’s needs.
Q: Must my remote workdays be the same every week?
A: For some units, a set schedule will need to be maintained to ensure appropriate unit and office coverage. Additional flexibility may be offered when it does not interfere with office coverage or at low volume times.
Q: Am I required to adopt a flexible work arrangement?
A: No, employees without flexible work arrangements will work in the office 5 days per week.
Q: What are the college’s core hours?
A: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, Eastern Time.
Q: Can an entire team work remotely on the same days?
A: Most units in HHD require some level of daily in-person office coverage. Supervisors who support their entire team working a hybrid/remote schedule on the same date may need to justify that request to the Dean.
Q: How should I dress for remote meetings?
A: You should dress appropriately for work in all remote meetings. Penn State does not have a dress policy, but HHD encourages “dressing for your day,” which generally means appropriate dress based on your anticipated interactions with students, vendors, alumni, donors and volunteers whether those interactions will be remote or in-person.
Q: Will college wide meetings be offered both in-person and virtually?
A: To accommodate flexible, remote and hybrid employees, every effort will be made to offer a Zoom option for large meetings.
Q: How should we let our teams and others know if we are working remotely or in-office?
A: Employees should keep their calendars updated at all times notating “in office” or “remote” on calendars. Consistent communication between teams and employees will be pivotal in implementing these guidelines and is the individual responsibility of each staff member.
Q: In HR 107, under Workspace Recommendations and Equipment, the University's policy says that the university will not provide office furniture for home use, and that staff will be provided with one set of computer technology. Will HHD be compliant with this policy?
A: Yes. The college will follow the university policy as outlined in HR 107.
Q: If an employee was previously provided with equipment (computer technology, etc.) for home use, beyond what is specified in HR 107, do they need to bring that equipment back?
A: An employee may continue to use any equipment that was previously provided for their home use until they separate from the college or their supervisor directs them to return it, at which point the equipment must be returned. Any employee who is using a piece of university property or equipment remotely, and has not already filled out a tangible asset form, should fill one out and submit it to be signed by their supervisor. For questions about how to use the tangible asset form, refer to this reference page.
Q: May I start onsite but later request a flexible work arrangement or vice versa
A: Yes. Start with a conversation with your supervisor if you want to consider changing a work arrangement. Your supervisor may need to consult with the department manager. Please note that any individual’s request to change their work arrangement will be evaluated based on their job duties and their unit’s operational needs. If approved, your supervisor will advise you how to make any needed changes in Workday.
Q: If I work remotely, will I lose my office space on campus?
A: The College is not currently considering remote work arrangements in making space allocation decisions. However, individual units may choose to consolidate or reallocate space to meet their unit operational needs.
- HHD Guidelines for Implementation of University Policy HR107: Staff Employee Flexible Work
- HHD HR Procedure - Exceptions to Hiring Pause
- Faculty Exit and Offboarding Checklist
- Full-Time Staff Position Type Classification
- Requesting Emeritus Status
- Visiting Scholars Process in the College of Health and Human Development
HHD Guidelines for University Policy HR107: Staff Employee Flexible Work
All college supervisors and staff are expected to ultimately comply with University Policy HR107 as well as these guidelines.
Determining Work Arrangements for Current Employees Under HR107
The following outlines the process the college follows regarding HR107 and flexible work arrangement plans.
Department managers, supervisors, and staff employees should review HR107 and these guidelines carefully. In addition, there are other useful resources that are available for developing work arrangement plans under HR107 provided by the University as well as this FAQ page built by the college.
Sections
Appendices
Definitions
Since certain terms at Penn State and in HHD can mean different things in different contexts, the terms as defined below are provided for clarity, but should be considered specific to this HHD guideline only.
Department: This terms refers to all of the following academic departments and the School of Hospitality Management, designated college research centers, ISS, Facilities, Communications, Development and Alumni Relations, Undergraduate Student Affairs, Undergraduate Programs and Outreach and Online Education, Center for Student Advising and Engagement, Diversity Equity Inclusion and Faculty Affairs, Research and Graduate Education, Human Resources, Finance, Deans office staff.
Department Manager: The leader of a department as defined inclusively above (for example, can be an academic department head or the director of a research center or central college operating unit).
Supervisor: Any HHD employee who has the responsibility for time tracking and performance reviews of full-time staff.
Unit: A single supervisor and all the staff that report to that supervisor (units can be nested within other units, with the highest nesting level at the college being the “Department”).
Office: A physical space housing staff. Can be individual or group (>2 staff). Can be outward-facing or non-outward-facing. Outward facing offices can require in-person coverage or not require in-person coverage.
Year: The period from August 15th (the start of the new academic year) to the following August 14th.
Guiding Principles
Department managers, supervisors, and staff employees should review and follow the guiding principles in HHD regarding flexible work arrangements.
- We must fulfill our mission
Our staff are critical to advancing the college’s mission by contributing to our education, research, and outreach activities directly or indirectly and/or by supporting the general administration and operations necessary to conduct those activities. Our standards are high and we strive for excellence. Staff have a responsibility to make sure job duties are covered and should not assume that flexibility can always be extended. Staff are accountable for key meetings and events requiring in-person attendance, as defined by their supervisor, and should be prepared to modify their flexible work arrangements when necessary to meet job expectations.
- We support flexibility when feasible
We encourage supervisors to explore unit-level plans that support the mission while considering flexibility without sacrificing or negatively impacting the experiences of our students, alumni, and other constituents.
- We need to be accessible
In general core hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, however each unit may have variations based on specific needs throughout the academic year. Individual staff may have schedules that differ from these hours. However, all units need to make known through signage, e-mail signatures, and/or websites how they can be contacted during these hours. Supervisors who designate their units as requiring in-person coverage will be expected to have in-person staffing during core hours.
- We need to communicate
Supervisors and staff are expected to have collegial conversations on work arrangements so that supervisors understand staff work arrangement preferences and staff understand supervisor’s perspectives on how work arrangements impact the unit’s ability to achieve its goals.
- Flexibility can mean different things
Flexibility does not by default mean remote work as it can be about different work schedules, varying work modes, staggered start and end times, alternative shifts, etc. In addition, there may be different times during the year when different scheduling is possible and/or necessary to meet the operational needs of the unit. All employees are expected to fulfill their responsibilities and complete their share of assigned work, whether or not the employee has flexible work arrangements. A given employee’s flexible arrangement should not disproportionately impact the workload on others.
- Not all positions are the same
The type of flexibility that can be offered will depend principally on the duties of each individual position. However, positions with similar duties may have different amounts of flexibility due to the specific mission or characteristics of the unit. We ask supervisors to consider each position and the appropriate flexibility for the role. Supervisors should provide flexibility for staff positions based on the responsibilities of the role in the context of their mission and work creatively to design plans that are inclusive of all staff.
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Not all units are the same
Given their ability under University policy to approve flexible work arrangements, supervisors in each unit play a major role in determining flexible work arrangements. The expectation is that they will make decisions about flexible work based on work assignments, the needs of the unit, and the preferences of the staff member. Under HHD guidelines, supervisors are expected to work with their department managers to determine appropriate parameters for staffing within their unit. -
Remote Work Location Matters
Certain states prove more challenging when considering approval to work remotely from a state other than Pennsylvania. Many states have significant differences from Pennsylvania regarding the rights of employees and the responsibilities of employers. These include factors such as salary exemption thresholds, mandatory paid time off, protected leave types, overtime calculations, taxation, hiring practices, training requirements, and more.
As such, there has been a recent change regarding where employees are permitted to work remotely in the US. Going forward, Penn State will only permit hiring in states where we have physical locations or larger existing employee populations.
You may refer to the website Notice to Out of State Applicants for the most current information on remote work restrictions. This website notifies applicants of the states that will not be available. Current employees requesting a flexible work arrangement to relocate are also restricted by the same list of states. Restrictions on requests to work remotely internationally remain the same.
Employees currently working in states with hiring and transfer restrictions may continue to work from those locations. No new positions should be added for these employees where they would work from a restricted location.
Please note that this is not an all-inclusive list of restrictions. The characteristics of the position, including exemption status, salary, reporting structure, and operational needs, must be considered in conjunction with the complexities of the requested location to assess feasibility.
Any request to hire a remote employee outside of Pennsylvania or for a current employee to relocate outside of Pennsylvania must first be reviewed and approved by HHD Human Resources and by unit leadership.
HR will review the state and local labor laws, consult with the appropriate University resources, and provide an approval or denial to the supervisor. Approvals will include state-specific complexities that the unit will need to be prepared to comply with, including any additional fees or compensation required by the respective state.
If employees approved to work remotely reside more than 100 miles from their university designated workspace and are required to periodically appear for in person work, units are responsible for clearly designating what travel expenses will be reimbursed for this purpose. This must be documented in the FWA in Workday. See the section on “Entering a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) in Workday” for more information.
General Expectations
Department managers, supervisors, and staff employees should consider the general HHD expectations for flexible work arrangements.
- All units must have clearly posted contact and schedule information.
- For employees using a hybrid schedule, calendars should be updated daily to ensure accurate portrayal of work status (see Appendix A for more information on how to do this).
- Employees who are working in a hybrid fashion will be expected to be available via phone, Teams, Zoom, email and other communication methods during work hours, in a similar manner to if they were in the office.
- Staff with flexible work arrangements that include remote work are responsible for maintaining an appropriate work environment and demonstrating expected productivity.
- Supervisors and department managers are encouraged to be intentional about work assignments and communications to ensure equitable work distribution and transparency among onsite, remote, and hybrid teams.
- All employees are encouraged to have their cameras on during all Zoom, Teams, or similar platform meetings.
- HR 107 outlines the University’s policy limiting the provisioning of office furniture and computer equipment for remote use. Individuals may choose to purchase additional office equipment items to support hybrid work. Penn State offers a surplus site that employees may choose to explore.
- When practical, meeting invitations should also include a virtual meeting link to accommodate residential, hybrid, and remote work modes. When meetings require in person attendance that should be clear.
- All schedules and work arrangements are subject to ongoing evaluation and can be changed at any time with appropriate approvals and notice.
- Certain onsite events (including but not limited to: NSO, onsite interviews, graduation, select meetings, conferences, symposia, etc.) may require employees needed for staffing the events to attend in-person, regardless of whether they are scheduled to work in a remote capacity on the date of the event. Supervisors should notify staff of any in-person required days/events, in advance of finalizing flexible work arrangements, to ensure that each staff member has a clear understanding of these key events and dates for their position. Staff are responsible for planning appropriately to staff in-person events as needed.
- Employees are expected to include information about their remote/hybrid days in their email signature (review suggestions on how to do this in Appendix B).
Entering a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) in Workday
All flexible work arrangements (FWA) must be documented in Workday. A job aid with step-by-step instructions is available here.
IMPORTANT: If a remote employee, residing 100 miles or more from their university workspace, is required to be physically present at their university workspace for certain dates or events, the unit must clearly identify what, if any, travel expenses will be reimbursed and this agreement must be documented in the comments of the FWA in Workday. HHD Finance will require a copy of the approved FWA to be uploaded with all travel reimbursement requests. If this is not provided, the reimbursement request will be denied.
Annual Review of Work Arrangements
Supervisors are expected to discuss/review work arrangement plans annually with their staff (this can be done currently with the annual review) in a manner consistent with HR107 and the guiding principles above.
Adjusting Individual Employee’s Work Arrangements Off Cycle
- If a supervisor determines that an adjustment is to be made to an employee’s work arrangement outside of the annual review process, HHD HR should be notified and will review the request. Once approved, the supervisor will be notified, the updated arrangements will be documented, and the supervisor will be responsible for updating Workday.
- It is expected that prior to the submission of a work arrangement change, the supervisor would have had a discussion with the employee about rationale as well as any options and alternatives.
- Supervisors should consult with the department manager before submitting a work arrangement change request.
- HHD Human Resources is also available for consultation to employees and supervisors at any point in the process to assist in identifying creative solutions where feasible.
- Adjustments may be reviewed by the Assistant Dean for Operations prior to approval.
Please note: Ad hoc changes to an employee schedule on an as needed basis may be made by the supervisor to accommodate infrequent personal requests and needs when possible. Staff should request paid time off when circumstances are such that they will not be in an environment free from distraction and suitable for remote work. If ad hoc requests become frequent or routine, a formal request to adjust plans should be initiated.
New Employees
New employees to the College should have their work arrangements approved as part of the hiring process.
Appendix A
Calendar Sharing Information
Microsoft Outlook provides several calendar options that allow you control how other users can view your calendar and allows you to assign permission for other users to view details, modify, edit and/or create events on your calendar. By default, your calendar settings should be set to "Free / Busy Time", which means that other users viewing your calendar can see the time blocks of your appointments but cannot see the details of your meeting.
To provide more details than “Free/Busy” you can select “Free/Busy time/Subject/Location” as your default and this will give all viewers just that information, nothing more. They cannot click into the meeting and access any materials inside the meeting invite nor see who else is invited to the meeting. They can only view your “Show As” status along with the subject line and location of the meeting.
Should you be approved for a flexible work arrangement, here are some tips to keep your calendar current and to share limited details with others about your location. Please remember, any Private Appointments you do not want shared with anyone, should be marked “Private” by selecting the lock key in the upper right-hand corner. When you select “Private” no information, including the subject line or location can be seen by anyone else.
To indicate hybrid workdays on your calendar, please select a New Appointment in the calendar setting and indicate your work hours (generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) and under “Show As” select “Working Elsewhere.”
Appendix B
Email Signature
Your email signature can be the first indication of your work status to any individual receiving emails from you. Simply add your hybrid schedule to your email signature by accessing
File → Options → Mail → Signatures
To establish your email signature in a hybrid work setting, please see the example below as a suggestion
Jane Q. Public
She/Her/Hers
Director of Wellness
M: 814-123-4567
JQP100 @ psu.edu
Please feel free to reach me by email or cell. I'll be working on campus T/Th and from my home office M/W/F.
Away Messages
Remember to set your out-of-office auto-reply on days you are not working. When possible, indicate the dates of your absence and provide an alternative contact person to ensure continued support during your absence.
Purpose
To provide direction related to the processes within HHD meet the requirements of University policy AC01 Visiting Scholars.
Overview
All faculty wishing to host visiting scholars (both international and domestic) within HHD must familiarize themselves with the University requirements under University policy AC01 Visiting Scholars and Visiting Scholar Host Guidelines.
Definitions
- Individual Host – In HHD, only faculty members, department heads, or academic employees are eligible to host visiting scholars and to invite scholars to the college.
- Administrative Host – In HHD, the administrative staff person in the department or center submitting the forms and ensuring the completion of the visiting scholar approval and/or I-start administrative process, if applicable, serves as the administrative host.
- Dean or Dean Designee – In HHD, Nicole Webster, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, serves as the Dean’s designee with approval and signature authority for matters related to visiting scholars.
Approval Process
All individual hosts must allow a minimum of 90 days for the approval of a visiting scholar prior to arrival. In the case where J-1 visa sponsorship is needed, the istart process must be initiated simultaneously with the visiting scholars approval process. Without approval the visiting scholar cannot have access to college facilities and resources not open to the public. The approval process is as follows:
- Individual host must seek approval from their department head to invite the visiting scholar to the college.
- Once written approval has been obtained from the department head, the individual host must contact the administrative host and provide all information necessary for the completion of the Visiting Scholars Approval Request form. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Name, address, email and phone number of the visitor
- Visitor’s home institution
- Desired arrival date
- Length of visit
- Physical location
- J-1 visa requirements
- Research responsibilities
- Facilities accesses needed
- Financial reimbursements planned, if any, and funding source
- All reimbursements are subject to approval by HHD Finance Office and in accordance with University policy.
- After receipt of all necessary information, the administrative host sends an invitation email to the visiting scholar. See template referenced below.
- Once all required documentation is returned to the administrative host by the visitor, the administrative host will obtain signatures of Associate Dean Nicole Webster from KateLynn Luzier (kal5588@psu.edu).
- The administrative host will then initiate the Visiting Scholar Request form in Docfinity.
Note for administrative hosts:
Enter Nicole Webster’s PSU access ID (nsw10) in the system when you are asked to identify the dean or dean designee. If Nicole’s user ID is not indicated, she will not receive any notifications that a request is awaiting her approval.
- Once college approval has been obtained, the forms will route to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs for final approval.
- The administrative host and individual host will be notified via email when the final approval is made.
Workday Appointment Process
Once final approval is obtained, the administrative host must submit the “Add Contingent Worker” form by logging into Worklion.
Extensions
Extensions beyond their original end date:
If a visiting scholar wishes to extend their visit beyond their original end date, the individual host must seek approval from the department head. Once approved the extension process outlined in the Host Guidelines must be followed including the submission of a new Visiting Scholar Agreement, reflecting the dates of the extension, to Nicole Webster (nsw10), Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, via the online system. The request will then route to the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs for review and approval. Please also consult with Global Programs if you are hosting an international Visiting Scholar requiring an extension of the J-1 visa. All applicable visa requirements must continue to be met throughout the entirety of the visit.
Extensions beyond a total visit of two years:
An extension beyond two years must be approved by the Dean of the College or Institute Director, where applicable, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and will be granted only for extraordinary and compelling reasons. In these cases, the new Visiting Scholar agreement needs to be completed and sent to Nicole Webster, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, via email first for routing to the Dean for review and approval. If approved, the Dean will provide an approval memo. Both the approval memo and Visiting Scholar Agreement will be returned to the unit for submission via the online system for Faculty Affairs for review and approval.
Departure Process
At the conclusion of the visit, the individual host must notify the administrative host of the departure and follow department exit protocols. Please see University policy HR102 Separation and Transfer Protocol. Upon notice, the administrative host must terminate the visiting scholar’s “contingent worker” appointment by submitting an “Initiate Separation” form by logging into Worklion.
Relevant Links
Forms
The HHD Visiting Scholar Letter Template and the Visiting Scholar Agreement will both require Associate Dean Nicole Webster's signature. To obtain this signature, fill out the paperwork completely and then email over to KateLynn Luzier (kal5588@psu.edu). She will add the signature and then return these items to you for upload into Docfinity.
Purpose
This guideline is intended to assist in determining the classification of full-time staff positions as limited-term or regular staff. This guideline applies to full-time staff positions only and is not applicable to full-time faculty positions.
Overview
Penn State has transitioned from the historical categorization of funding sources as “permanent” and “temporary” with the launch of SIMBA on July 1, 2020 and the new approach to strategic budgeting.
All full-time staff requisitions should be categorized as regular staff (formerly standing) unless the funding for the position is substantially tied to time-delimited external funding sources. This applies to all new full-time staff positions regardless if it is a new position or backfilling for a previous incumbent. If you are submitting a requisition to backfill a previous incumbent, please be sure to assess the position type moving forward regardless of the position type of the previous incumbent.
When submitting a requisition, you may choose to utilize the ‘Justification’ box to indicate that the position has been confirmed to be limited-term. It is expected that the submitter of the requisition has correctly confirmed the position type prior to submitting. All limited-term positions should continue to include a statement within the job description indicating the length of the contract and the possibility of extending as had been done previously.
To aid in the determination of whether a requisition should be submitted as limited-term or regular-staff, please see the following.
Limited-Term
- Position supported by time-delimited external funding source(s) covering at least 50% of salary.
- Positions is largely reliant on, or principally supports activities that are externally funded.
Length of the limited-term contract should be influenced by the duration of the existing funding - but 100% funding in all out-years is not required if the hiring manager is/will be actively pursuing new funding opportunities.
Regular Staff
Position supported by:
- Internal sources only; or
- Internal sources and external funding sources that are not time delimited; or
- Time-delimited external funding source(s) accounting for less than 50% of salary.