Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Program

Educational Leadership

Date of Award

May 1993

Abstract

Lack of research on the use of the leave fringe benefit (paid and unpaid time off) as it related to administrators in higher education was the problem of this study. The main purpose of this study was to increase the body of knowledge by analyzing the differences among paid and unpaid time off and selected demographic data for administrators at four selected public universities in Tennessee (Austin Peay State University, East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, and Tennessee Technological University). This descriptive study was conducted to provide a historical data base on the use of paid and unpaid time off in higher education in Tennessee. Data collection was accomplished using specialized computer programs to select information from existing data bases of the four universities. Conclusions of this study were based on reported paid and unpaid time off for 480 administrative employees from four public universities in Tennessee. Female administrators used reported annual and sick leave at significantly higher rates. Administrators with 11 to 15 years of seniority had significantly higher reported use of annual leave. Administrators in the state retirement plan had a higher use of reported sick leave. Administrators with salary ranges of $55,001 to \$65,000 had the lowest use of reported sick leave. Employees with doctorate degrees had significantly lower use of reported sick leave. There were no significant differences for reported annual and sick leave between the four age categories and the four institutions in the study. Recommendations were based on the analyses that significant differences exist in the amount of paid leave used and various demographic variables. Calculations on the research questions indicated that the cost for unpaid leave and paid leave types (jury duty, civil leave, military leave, and bereavement leave) were minimal. However, the calculated mean cost per employee for paid leave types (holiday, annual leave, and sick leave) were more costly. Public institutions should manage and market the leave fringe benefit as a major component of personnel cost.

Document Type

Dissertation - unrestricted

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