PrincetonUniversity
FAMILY-FRIENDLY POLICIES AND PROGRAMS FOR
PRINCETON FACULTY
Office of the Dean of the Faculty
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey
March, 2006
(Revised February, 2007)
Personal Assistance and Work/Life
Programs
Backup Care Options for Family Members
Faculty members are eligible for Backup Care Options when they experience
temporary disruptions in their child, adult, and elder care-giving arrangements
that would otherwise prevent them from fulfilling work or study obligations.
These options
provide up to 100 hours of subsidized backup care per calendar year. The care can be
requested for anyone for whom the faculty member is responsible, including
children, spouses and partners, parents and grandparents; the person for whom
backup care is requested does not have to live with the faculty member. This
program is managed by Work Options Group, which has an exclusive network of
licensed in-home and center-based care providers in all 50 states and Canada.
Backup Care Options is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for infants
through the elderly. Because the University is underwriting the cost of this
program, the co-pay is $4 an hour for in-home care (for up to three
dependents) and $2 an hour per child for center-based care. For additional
information, go to
http://www.princeton.edu/hr/resource/backupcare.htm.
Managing Work, Personal, and Family Life Issues
Princeton University contracts with Carebridge Corporation
to provide help with managing work, personal, or family life issues at no charge
to the faculty member. Through the Carebridge Employee Assistance Program (EAP),
faculty members are eligible for six consultations with a Carebridge
professional to help deal with personal and family issues in areas such as:
interpersonal relationships, married life and parenting, grief and loss,
finances, stress and depression, drug/alcohol abuse. Through the Carebridge
Work/Life Program, faculty members can get unlimited assistance with and
referrals about: childcare (see below for more details), eldercare, adoption,
work/life balance, personal financial management. The services provided by
Carebridge are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. For
additional information, or to use the Carebridge Library, go to
http://www.myliferesource.com and enter the Princeton code of TW8AE.
Carebridge is also available by email (clientservice@carebridge.com)
or telephone (1-800-437-0911).
New Parents
Health Care Coverage for Pregnancy and Childbirth
Each health care plan offered through Princeton University
provides coverage for pregnancy and childbirth. Summary information about each
health plan can be found at
http://www.princeton.edu/hr/ben/health.htm. Additional detailed information
about levels and types of coverage can be found in the individual plan
booklets.
Paid Leaves for Childbearing
Princeton offers paid temporary disability leave from three
weeks before to six to ten weeks after birth (or more) based on medical
certification that a faculty member is unable to perform her work. Faculty
members are expected to take advantage of this benefit. A faculty member should
notify her department chair about the expected delivery date and expected length
of absence as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made for her absence
during that period. The chair will notify the Dean of the Faculty. At the start
of the absence due to pregnancy, the faculty member should ask her attending
physician to complete a medical certificate that can be obtained from the Office
of the Dean of the Faculty or on the web at
http://www.princeton.edu/hr/ben/tdapp. This certificate should be updated
every three to four weeks during the disability.
Health Care Coverage and Related Matters for a New Child
in the Family
When there is a new child in the family, the faculty member
must contact the Office of Human Resources, 1 New South Building, (609)
258-3300, within 90 days following the child's birth or adoption to enroll the child in the
faculty member's health care plan. (If the child is not enrolled during this
initial period, no health care plan coverage is available until the following
January 1; enrollment for coverage beginning January 1 occurs during the
previous October-November Open Enrollment Period.)
When a new child joins the family, the faculty member may
enroll in or change the amount of current deferrals to a Health Benefit Expense
Account (HBEA) or Dependent Care Expense Account (DCEA). For more information,
go to
http://www.princeton.edu/hr/ben/eainfo.htm. In addition, the faculty member
may purchase supplemental life insurance coverage, and current participants in
the supplemental life insurance plan may change the amount and type of
coverage. For more information, go to
http://www.princeton.edu/hr/ben/life.htm.
Tenure Clock Extensions for New Parents
An Assistant Professor who becomes the parent of a child by
birth or adoption will automatically be granted a one-year extension of term by
the Dean of the Faculty, upon notification by the Assistant Professor's
department chair.
The Assistant Professor's service may be extended by one year for each child,
including twins and other multiple births or adoptions. Extensions are available
to (1) Assistant Professors in the first term, before the final year of that
term; (2) Assistant Professors in the final year of the first term who have been
reappointed to a second term; and (3) Assistant Professors in the second term,
before the final year of that term. This applies to both men and women, and
includes same-sex domestic partnerships which are recognized by the University.
(For additional detail, go to
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/publs/rpfac94.fchap4.htm#chap4c.)
Workload Relief for New Parents
Upon request, faculty members who are the primary care-givers of a new child in
the household are granted one semester of full workload relief from classroom
teaching and administrative committee work, or two semesters of half relief from
such duties (at full pay). The faculty member's responsibilities for research,
student consultation, and graduate student advising remain unchanged. A faculty
member who wants to request workload relief as a new parent should inform his or
her department chair in writing; this is normally done at least three months
before the start of the workload relief. The department chair will notify the
Dean of the Faculty.
Child Care
Employee Child Care Assistance Program (ECCAP)The ECCAP provides
assistance to eligible faculty and staff with pre-kindergarten children to help
them meet the cost of child care. The awards are based on household
income, and can be used to pay for a wide range of possible arrangements, from
in-home care to licensed day care centers. The maximum award for one
eligible child is $5,000; an additional $1,000 award is available for a second
eligible child. Only one award is available per eligible family. For
tax purposes, these awards are treated as additional income and may be subject
to state and federal tax. For more information and to apply for an
employee child care assistance award, go to
http://www.princeton.edu/hr/worklife/eccap.htm.
University-affiliated Childcare Centers
The
University League Nursery School (www.princetonol.com/local/ulns/)
and University-NOW Day Nursery (www.princetonol.com/local/unow/)
are not-for-profit child care facilities located at 171 Broadmead on the
Princeton campus. The children of University faculty, staff, and students have
priority for admission.
Information about Area Childcare Centers
Faculty members can call a Carebridge Corporation Child
Care Specialist (1-800-437-0911) who will develop a personalized referral
list and verify current rates, hours, and other information about area childcare
centers. The Child Care Specialist can also advise faculty members about other
child care options (e.g., hiring a nanny). Faculty members may also go to the Carebridge website:
http://www.carebridge.com for a complete list of accredited/registered child
care providers in your area.
Emergency Backup Childcare
See above under Backup Care for Family Members.
Dependent Care Travel Fund
Dependent care assistance is available for professorial
rank faculty members attending professional development events such as academic
conferences. Awards from the fund may be used for dependent care at a
conference or at an alternative location (including at home), and may include
those expenses incurred in transporting a caregiver. Eligible members of the
faculty may submit more than one request (and receive more than one grant)
within a given academic year, up to a net (post-tax) maximum of $500 in funding
per academic year. See
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/publs/Dependent_Care_Fund_for_Faculty.htm
for details about how to apply for a dependent care grant. Questions may be
addressed to Associate Dean Sandra Johnson,
sandyj@princeton.edu, (609) 258-5230.
Unpaid Parenting Leaves
Faculty members of either sex who are parents are eligible
for up to a year of unpaid parenting leave. Because the requirements of and
options for such leaves are complex, a faculty member who wants to request an
unpaid leave for childrearing should, as much in advance of the leave as
possible, speak with his or her department chair, who will recommend the leave
to the Dean of the Faculty. Individual arrangements for a parental leave,
including the handling of courses, advising, and other faculty duties, should
also be arranged directly with the department chair, who, when necessary, will
consult with the Dean of the Faculty. Princeton University provides for the
continuation of health, life insurance, and other benefits during a leave of
absence without pay. If you are paying a premium for any of these benefits, you
will be billed by the University while on leave.
Children’s Educational Assistance
After five years of service as a faculty member, this program provides an
annual Tuition Grant equal to one-half of an unmarried child's undergraduate
tuition, including mandatory educational fees, at an accredited two- or
four-year institution, up to $11,360 (in 2006-07). The amount is increased
annually. Payments are disbursed on a semester, trimester or quarter basis.
Tuition Grant disbursements are sent directly to the educational institution,
and there is a limit of one Tuition Grant per year per child. Tuition Grants are
available for up to four academic years (eight semesters, twelve trimesters or
quarters) of undergraduate education. The terms do not have to be consecutive.
Tuition Grants may not be used for graduate education. For additional
information and to apply for a Tuition Grant, go to
http://www.princeton.edu/hr/ben/edasst.htm#Children's.
Partner Placement
Special Assistant to the Dean of the Faculty
Department chairs may call on Professor of Psychology Joan
Girgus (girgus@princeton.edu,
(609) 258-5345), who serves as Special Assistant to the Dean of the Faculty, for
assistance in partner placement in connection with the recruitment or retention
of a faculty member.
New Jersey Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (NJ-HERC)
The New Jersey Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (NJ-HERC)
is a consortium of 30 colleges and universities in New Jersey, who sponsor a NJ-HERC
searchable database (www.njherc.org)
that lists all the jobs (faculty, administration, and staff) currently available
on the 30 campuses. Job hunters can enter descriptions of the jobs that would
interest them, and the website will send them email when a job that matches a
description appears. Couples can register linked descriptions and be notified
when two positions matching their needs appear.
Faculty Housing
Rental Housing
Princeton University owns and manages over 600 rental
units, ranging in size from efficiency and studio apartments to four- and five-
bedroom freestanding single family houses. All rental units are within a
reasonable walking distance of campus and nearby shopping. The program is
available to all University employees who work at least half-time. Rental units
are allocated according to a system that grants higher priority to teaching
faculty and senior administration. For additional information, contact the
Faculty and Staff Housing Office, (609) 258-3125, which is located in the
MacMillan Building.
Mortgage Plan
Full-time faculty with appointments of at least three years
duration are eligible for the Standard Mortgage Loan Program which provides
first mortgage loans at favorable interest rates and terms for the purpose of
purchase of homes to be occupied as a single family principal residence by an
eligible person and his/her family. Applications are considered for mortgage
loans in an amount not to exceed ninety percent (90%) of the appraised value of
the property or the purchase price, whichever is lower, up to the maximum loan
allowable at the time application is made. Mortgages are granted for terms of up
to forty (40) years. The interest rate for mortgage loans is 1.5% below the
prevailing local commercial interest rate for residential mortgage loans. The
property purchased must be located within a nine (9) mile radius of the
University's central campus or within the official city limits of Trenton.
Faculty who are interested in obtaining a mortgage through this program should
contact the Office of Real Estate Finance, (609) 258-3123, for detailed
information.
Additional Programs for Tenured Faculty
There are additional
housing programs for tenured faculty. For information, contact the Office of
Real Estate Finance, (609) 258-3123.
Return to Family Friendly Table of Contents
Last updated: February 19, 2007