Electronic edition, Vol. 1 No. 12, Mar. 19, 2008

Summer schedule remains flexible, adapts to meet multiple needs

To meet the growing need for services and support throughout the year for students, researchers, corporate, and community partners, Northeastern has become increasingly flexible and adaptive . 

The university’s traditional summer work schedule remains a way to provide some work-schedule flexibility for staff while continuing to support important initiatives and business interests.

In order to continuing balancing these two objectives, the university will revise its Flexible Summer Work Schedule in 2008 and for the summers ahead. Although the general guidelines are provided here, it is important to note that department managers will determine how to implement a flex schedule that most effectively works for their unit.

  • Employees may work a flex schedule (a four-day work week) during four of the eight weeks between June 16 and Aug. 15, with approval of their managers. Normally the preferred day for flex time will be Friday.
  • Typical hours for staff are 35 hours a week, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with an hour for lunch. During a flex week, an employee works four days a week from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., with a half-hour lunch.

Department managers will make final decisions about their units’ schedules. All units are being asked to develop a plan to address this broadened need to provide more complete staffing coverage during the summer; plans are due May 1 to the appropriate dean or senior vice president.

As always, Human Resources Management is available to any unit that needs assistance in determining how best to implement this schedule.

During the first week of July, the university will observe Independence Day as a campus-wide holiday on Friday, July 4; staff will work normal hours Monday through Thursday of that week.

University offices this year will observe Labor Day, Sept. 1. In past years this has been marked as a floating holiday to accommodate student move-in days; this fall, students will return over the weekend of Sept. 6 and 7.

Other upcoming holidays are Patriots Day, marked on April 21, and Memorial Day, observed on May 26.