Current A&S Employees | Arts & Sciences Resources

Current Employees

Explore tools, insights, and opportunities designed to enhance your A&S experience and foster success.

Employment Basics

The university’s Time, Labor and Absence Management System (TLAM) streamlines the management of absence requests and timesheet submissions for all officers, union, non-union support, and casual employees.

Absence Requests: Submit all requests for vacation, sick, or personal time off through TLAM. All requests require managerial approval and will automatically route to your manager via the workflow upon submission.

2110 Union Employees requesting reevaluation of their position can complete a position evaluation and submit it to their managers. As a contractual obligation of the collective bargaining agreement, 2110 union employees can submit a position evaluation form after 18 months in their current role. This process is only applicable to 2110 union employees. If you are an Officer of Administration and want to request a reevaluation of your position, please contact A&S HR. To complete the process:

A union employee completes the Position Evaluation form and submits it to their supervisor for review and comments. A current and future job description must be attached.
Supervisor shares the form with A&S HR for additional review.
CUHR makes final review and determination.
Any upgrades made to a position will be retroactive to the date of the request for review as submitted on the position evaluation form.
Note: salary or grade cannot be reduced as a result of a position reclassification.

Performance management continues to be an iterative process at A&S. Performance reviews typically take place in the spring and the steps are as follow:

A&S HR will send out a performance review announcement that includes the performance review document and a timeline for completing and submitting the form.
Employee completes a self-evaluation and submits it to their supervisor.
Supervisors review the employee’s self-evaluation and completes the supervisor section of the performance evaluation form.
The supervisor sends a completed form to the employee to review
Employee and supervisor have a one-on-one meeting to discuss performance.
After the meeting, the final performance evaluation form is signed by both the supervisor and the employee. The employee must receive a copy of the completed and signed performance evaluation form.

Please note that an employee’s signature on a performance review form simply acknowledges that a performance evaluation meeting has occurred, and that feedback was discussed

A&S HR facilitates the Leave Management process alongside the Leave Management office. The Leave Management office must review and approve medical leaves, reasonable accommodations, maternity leaves, paid family leaves (PFL), and all other leave management requests (except personal Leaves). Employees should reach out to A&S HR to initiate the leave process and discuss leave options available.

Types of Leaves and Accommodations

Leaves and Accommodations for 2110 Union Staff: Medical Leave of Absences for Full-Time Officers of Administration (Non-Occupational, Including Pregnancy)
Leaves and Accommodations are handled in accordance with the 2110 Collective Bargaining Agreement.: Full-time Officers of Administration are entitled to a paid medical leave for up to six months during any rolling 12-month period when extended absence is caused by illness or accident.

Leaves and Accommodations for 2110 Union Staff: Medical Leave of Absence for NUSS (Non-Occupational, Including Pregnancy)
Leaves and Accommodations are handled in accordance with the 2110 Collective Bargaining Agreement.: Non-Union Support Staff are entitled to accumulate up to 60 working days of paid medical leave during any one year, including the days earned or to be earned in the current sick leave year. Paid medical leave will be prorated for part-time Non-Union Support Staff by the number of days and hours they work per week.

Leaves and Accommodations for 2110 Union Staff: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Leaves and Accommodations are handled in accordance with the 2110 Collective Bargaining Agreement.: FMLA requires that an eligible employee must be granted in total up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave during any twelve-month rolling period. To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have been employed by the University for at least 12 months, and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of the leave.

Leaves and Accommodations for 2110 Union Staff: Unpaid Parental Care Leave
Leaves and Accommodations are handled in accordance with the 2110 Collective Bargaining Agreement.: An unpaid parental care leave is available to full-time and benefit eligible part time Officers of Administration, as well as full-time Non-Union Support Staff, who have been employed by the University for three (3) months or longer. The total duration of parental care leave (paid and/or unpaid) cannot exceed six months.

Leaves and Accommodations for 2110 Union Staff: Paid Family Leave
Leaves and Accommodations are handled in accordance with the 2110 Collective Bargaining Agreement.: Full-time Officers of Administration and Full-time Non-Union Support Staff who have been employed by Columbia University for a minimum of one (1) year and who become a parent of a newborn child or adopt or foster a child under the age of six (6) may be granted up to six (6) weeks of paid parental leave at full salary. The six (6) weeks of paid parental leave at full salary will run concurrently with, not in addition to, all other approved leaves, including FMLA and New York State Paid Family Leave and unpaid parental care leave

Leaves and Accommodations for 2110 Union Staff: Personal Leave of Absence
Leaves and Accommodations are handled in accordance with the 2110 Collective Bargaining Agreement.: All full-time Officers of Administration, benefits-eligible part-time Officers of Administration, and Non-Union Support Staff who have completed twelve months of service may be granted a leave of absence for personal reasons, without pay, not to exceed six months. These leaves are granted only in cases not covered by any other University policy for leaves of absence and require the approval of both the employee’s department head and the office of the Vice President for Human Resources.

Leaves and Accommodations for 2110 Union Staff: Workplace Accommodations
Leaves and Accommodations are handled in accordance with the 2110 Collective Bargaining Agreement.: Workplace accommodations are granted for employees returning from medical leave, managing a chronic condition, or requiring support for a temporary injury or effects of a medical procedure. Workplace accommodations should be coordinated and documented with the leave management office. Employees should contact A&S HR for assistance with the process.

A&S HR aims to ensure a smooth and positive departure for both departing employees and the teams they've contributed to. To help departing employees and managers navigate the exit process with ease, access important documentation, and find guidance on tying up loose ends, A&S HR has developed various exit resources. For more information, please contact A&S HR ([email protected]).

All Columbia University employees have a Duty to Report any instance or allegation of prohibited conduct — discrimination, harassment, retaliation or gender-based misconduct — that involves any undergraduate or any graduate student. Additionally, the University asks all employees to report any prohibited conduct involving employees or third parties to the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) or the employee’s designated human resource representative.

The OIE has overall responsibility for the management of the University’s Student and Employment Policies and Procedures on Discrimination and Harassment.

Training and Development

HR Systems Training: Based on role access needs, employees who require HR systems training can complete a variety of required and supplementary HR systems trainings as they relate to People@Columbia (PAC), TalentLink, TLAM (Time and Attendance), Manager Self-Service, and other tools managed by Central Human Resources.
Finance Systems Training: Based on role access needs, there are a number of Columbia financial systems employees may need access to in their role. To learn more about these systems, as well as how to apply for access, review the short, interactive guides available on the finance training website.
Enterprise Learning Management (ELM): ELM provides easy access to training courses and activities in your Learning Plan. If this is your first time logging into ELM (or you need a refresher), simply follow the instructions listed on the ELM website.

Central HR Learning & Development: Offers an extensive selection of courses—both in the classroom and online—to meet the diverse needs of our staff. In person: Studebaker Building, Online: ELM (Enterprise Learning Management)
Tuition Programs: After fulﬁlling the service requirement, the Tuition Exemption program pays tuition costs for your undergraduate and graduate courses at Columbia University, Barnard College, and Teachers College
Certificate Programs: The Learning & Development team offers Certificate Programs -- multi-week, interactive workshop series that introduce practical tools and enable immediate application to real workplace challenges and opportunities. Enrollment is open to Columbia staff/faculty, as well as members of our affiliate institutions.

CUHR offers resources and guidance to help faculty and staff engage with AI thoughtfully and responsibly. As AI becomes more integrated into how we work, it can streamline everyday tasks, support more informed decisions, and create space to focus on the work that matters most. Refer to the CUHR website on AI Resources to learn about AI, explore how it can support your work, and apply it responsibly in alignment with Columbia's mission. Additionally, review the Generative AI Policy from the Office of the Provost for compliance resources and questions.

Columbia Benefits and Resources

The Ombuds Office offers a safe place for any member of the Columbia community to discuss workplace issues, interpersonal conflict, academic concerns, bureaucratic runarounds, and many other problems. Discussions are kept confidential, and the office is not a part of any formal University process. No sides are taken in disputes and the office operates independently of the Columbia administration, reporting only to the president.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a network of free or discounted services to support your personal success and help with everyday challenges.

Officers of Administration: If you are a Regular, Full-Time Salaried Officer of the University (including Officers of Instruction, Administration, Libraries and Research), and you have met the applicable waiting periods, you and your eligible family members are eligible for Tuition Exemption.

Support Staff: If you are on the payroll as a full time or part time NUSS or Union member, you are eligible for the Tuition Exemption benefit. Waiting periods apply.

For more information on Tuition programs and eligibility, refer to the CUHR website for Tuition Programs.

Officers of Administration: The Officers’ Retirement Plan is a defined contribution 403(b) retirement account into which the University makes pre-tax contributions on your behalf. These contributions are made based on your age, eligible pay and years of service, up to the IRS annual compensation limit. You are eligible to participate in the Officers’ Retirement Plan if you are an Officer of Columbia University who meets the criteria outlined in the Summary Plan Description (SPD).

Support Staff: Support staff should review their collective bargaining agreement to see what retirement benefits are available.

For more information on retirement and eligibility, refer to the CUHR website for Retirement.

Voluntary Benefits fill gaps in insurance with special rates and options. Eligible employees can enroll whether covered for other benefits through the University or somewhere else. Voluntary benefits include:

Accident coverage
Auto Insurance
Specified Disease (Critical Illness)
Home Insurance
Hospital indemnity
Identity Theft Protection
Legal Services
Long-term Care
Pet Insurance

Employees can enroll in Auto insurance, Home insurance, Identify Theft Protection, and Pet insurance at any time. Additionally, unless you are a New Hire, you can only enroll in Accident, Specified Disease, Hospital Indemnity, Legal Services and Universal Life with long-term care insurance during specific Open Enrollment periods or if you experience a qualified life event.

Columbia University HR offers discounts on a wide range of goods and services for both work and personal use. Offers include travel and hotel arrangements, exclusive deals on shopping and entertainment, wellness products and services, and more. Access the discount and perks page on the CUHR website to learn more.