October 20, 2023

Dear Members of Our Campus Community,

I am writing to ask departments to begin the process of formalizing their winter break plans.

Our 2023-2024 winter break will run from Monday, December 25, 2023, through Tuesday, January 2, 2024.  

  • December 25, 26, 2023 and January 1, 2, 2024 are paid university holidays (if eligibility is met).
  • December 27, 28, 29, 2023 are the three (3) designated curtailment days.

The end of the year offers an excellent opportunity to relax and rejuvenate, therefore we should support, where possible, flexibility around the last two weeks of the year for employees who request to take time-off during the week of December 18 and week of December 25.

Due to the wide-ranging responsibilities of academic appointees, it is anticipated that some academic appointees will continue to work over winter break. Additionally, some staff employees may be required to work during some or all of winter break due to the nature of their jobs.  

Each division will have flexibility to make decisions with respect to office closures and allowing staff to perform meaningful work during the curtailment days. In areas where there are designated office closures and work available, managers and supervisors should consult with their divisional control points to approve staff to work over curtailment days, regardless of work location, including non-international remote work.  

In the event of a complete department closure (curtailment) between Wednesday, December 27, and Friday, December 29, 2023, employees may use, in accordance with university personnel policies and existing labor agreements, vacation, accrued compensatory time off, or leave without pay.  
For employees who may not have sufficient accrued vacation hours, up to three (3) days of vacation leave may be used in advance of the actual accrual during the curtailment period of December 27-29, 2023. Those employees who are required to wait six (6) months before using accrued vacation will be permitted to use their vacation hours even if the required waiting period has not been completed.

Once planned office closures are determined, departments should report their proposed plans as follows:

  • Non-academic departments should report proposed plans to their respective Vice Chancellors.
  • Academic departments should report proposed plans to their respective Deans, who in turn should report to the Executive Vice Chancellor.

Office closure plans should be reported to Deans or Vice Chancellors by October 27, 2023. We will examine the plans to ensure that any proposed office closures do not create unnecessary hardships for faculty, staff, or students.

If you have any questions regarding the development of your winter break plan, please contact Ann-Marie Musto, Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Human Resources Officer, at ammusto@ucsb.edu.

I hope you enjoy this much deserved break.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor