Parental Accommodation

Arranging for parental accommodation

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to accommodating the needs of graduate students who are new parents. If you hold a College-funded student academic appointment (SAA) of at least 37.5 percent FTE and have completed a minimum of one semester (a minimum of nine credits) in the College, you are eligible for a parental accommodation period up to six weeks once in your academic career.

You must complete this accommodation period within six weeks of the birth or adoption of a child. During the accommodation period, you will continue to receive full support from the College, including the SAA stipend, health insurance, and fee remission "if these benefits were already afforded to you."

Because summer appointments are discretionary, parental accommodations are not available during summer sessions.

Questions about parental accommodation? Contact the College Graduate Office at collgrad@indiana.edu.

The accommodation period

Academic accommodations

A parental accommodation is not a leave of absence, as you must remain enrolled in at least six credit hours during the accommodation period. However, the accommodation period allows academic flexibility, including extended deadlines and the ability to postpone coursework, exams, and other academic duties. It is your responsibility to work with faculty in your program to determine what academic accommodations can be made.

Student academic appointment accommodations

The accommodation period provides full release from SAA duties for six weeks. If you hold an instructional SAA, the College typically will cover the cost of hiring a replacement graduate assistant during a parental accommodation period. It is the program's responsibility to identify and appoint a replacement instructor.

The College will not cover the cost of replacements for noninstructional SAAs.

Applying for parental accommodation

To request a parental accommodation, you must follow these steps:

Contact your department to request academic accommodations and to notify your program's director of graduate studies or department chairperson of the expected timeframe for your absence from SAA duties.
Fill out the parental accommodation request and the medical certification form and submit them to the College Graduate Office via this link: https://graduateapps.webhost.iu.edu/Leave/paApplication.cfm

Please note that your parental accommodation cannot be approved until your medical certification form is received by the College Graduate Office. The College Graduate Office will review your request and make a formal decision. You and your department will be notified of the decision.