ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY 2.8                                                      

Title & #: Employee Separation - 2.8

Executive Sponsor: Vice President of Human Resources

Date Effective: 10/1/2026

Supersedes Version: 2



Employee Separation		 
 

INDEX

PURPOSE
REASON FOR POLICY
ENTITIES AFFECTED
DEFINITIONS
POLICY STATEMENT
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
COMPLIANCE AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
EXCEPTIONS
APPROVALS
RELATED DOCUMENTS
REVIEW AND REVISION HISTORY
 

  • I. Purpose

At times, it may be necessary for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) or individual employees to initiate a separation of their employment. In addition to KCTCS policies and procedures, separation actions are governed by the employee's personnel system and all applicable federal and state laws. 

  • II. Reason for Policy

This policy, per Board of Regents delegation, authorizes the KCTCS President to establish the categories of separation of employment for KCTCS employees and the framework for employment separation actions within KCTCS in accordance with applicable laws, Board policies, Administrative policies and procedures, and personnel system requirements. 

  • III. Entities Affected

This policy applies to all Kentucky Community and Technical College System employees, including faculty and staff in all employment status categories and governs both voluntary and involuntary separations of employment.

  • IV. Definitions

Employee Separation - The conclusion of an individual's employment relationship with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), whether initiated by the employee or by KCTCS. Employee separation includes, but is not limited to, non-renewal of appointment, termination for disciplinary reasons, termination for non-disciplinary reasons, resignation, and retirement. Employee separation also includes the completion of any required offboarding activities and the return of KCTCS property, records, and access privileges, as applicable.

Day – Unless otherwise specifically stated, day shall have the same meaning as it has under Kentucky law, specifically KRS 446.030, where in computing any period of time, the day of the act or notification which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included.  The last day of the period so computed is to be included, unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, a legal holiday, or a day on which the college or KCTCS is closed, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not one of the days just mentioned.  This applies even if the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than seven (7) days.

Administrative Leave – A paid leave of absence for a faculty or staff member while an investigation is conducted and/or a decision regarding disciplinary action or employment is pending.  In cases of serious misconduct, the leave may be unpaid.

Bona fide Financial Reasons – Termination reasons that include but may not be limited to: financial exigency; low enrollment in a particular program or major; and misalignment of revenue and costs in a particular college, department, program or major.

  • V. Policy Statement

KCTCS is committed to administering employee separations in a consistent, timely, secure, and legally compliant manner. The categories below outline the different types of separation and outline relevant details related to each type.

All employee separations, whether voluntary or involuntary, shall be managed through established institutional processes to ensure:
  • Compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and KCTCS requirements;
  • Appropriate notification and documentation of the separation action;
  • Protection of KCTCS assets, information, records, and resources;
  • Timely removal or modification of physical and electronic access privileges, as appropriate;
  • Proper return of KCTCS-owned property;
  • Accurate processing of payroll, benefits, leave balances, and other employment related matters; and
  • Respectful and professional treatment of separating employees.
KCTCS SEPARATION TYPES

NON-RENEWAL OF APPOINTMENT
  1. Term Contract Employment Status:  Employment shall end upon the expiration of the stated term as specified in the contract, without additional notice.
  2. Tenure-Track Employment Status:  Faculty with tenure-track employment status shall be given notification of non-renewal of appointment at least ninety (90) days before the period of appointment ends.
In cases when the chief academic officer and the division chairperson’s advice for reappointment of a tenure-track faculty for a specific term is rejected by the College Chancellor and a terminal reappointment is offered instead, the following procedure shall be employed:
  • Tenured members of the division faculty, the division chairperson, and the chief academic officer reaffirm their advice and request by majority vote that the KCTCS Provost refer the matter to the KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Promotion (or an ad hoc advisory committee especially formed for the purpose).
  • Committee in its deliberation will address itself to the potential of the individual as a faculty member in a college and the likelihood of an eventual tenured appointment and shall submit a written recommendation to the KCTCS Provost.
  • KCTCS Provost shall consider the committee’s report and make a recommendation to the KCTCS President.
  • College Chancellor provides written notification to the tenure-track faculty of the KCTCS President’s decision about non-renewal of appointment.

It is KCTCS policy not to provide written reasons in cases of non-renewal of appointment.  However, upon the faculty member’s request, the College Chancellor may meet with the faculty member and discuss informally the circumstances surrounding the non-renewal.  If the faculty member is not satisfied with this conference, the faculty member may further request a related conference with the KCTCS Provost.  Any related appeals through administrative channels and/or the KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Appeals (KCTCS Administrative Policy 2.16.2.1) shall be in writing by the faculty member within thirty (30) days after being notified in writing by the College Chancellor about non-renewal of appointment.

TERMINATION
  1. Termination for Disciplinary Reasons:  Employees may be terminated for violations of applicable laws, policies, procedures, and regulations governing KCTCS employees.  Any disciplinary measure taken against employees, according to status as defined in Board Policy 2.0.1, shall be for just cause and the employee shall have due process rights. Just cause means there is proper and sufficient reason for disciplinary measures. Employees with at will employment status may be terminated with or without cause.
    1. Faculty with Tenured and Tenure-Track Employment Status may be terminated, pursuant to KRS 164.360, for “incompetency, neglect of or refusal to perform duties, immoral conduct, or failure to meet college or university performance and productivity requirements, as established by the Board of Regents.”  In such cases, the following termination procedure shall apply:
      1. Faculty member meets with an appropriate administrative officer(-s) prior to the end of a specified term of appointment to seek a mutual resolution.
      2. In the event of failure to agree upon a resolution, the College Chancellor prepares and submits a written statement of charges to the KCTCS Provost, who shall furnish it to the faculty member, his/her supervisor, his/her chief academic officer, and the KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Appeals (KCTCS Senate ACA).
      3. KCTCS Senate ACA shall make an investigation for the purpose of attempting to reach a resolution.  If no resolution is reached, the committee shall recommend to the KCTCS Provost whether, in its opinion, dismissal proceedings should be undertaken.  This recommendation shall not be binding upon the KCTCS Provost.
      4. If the College Chancellor decides to proceed with the dismissal of the faculty member, the faculty member shall have the right to be heard by the KCTCS Senate ACA.
        1. College Chancellor shall provide faculty member with specific charges in writing at least twenty (20) days prior to the hearing.
        2. Faculty member shall answer the charges in writing at least seven (7) days prior to the hearing.
        3. If faculty member waives the hearing but denies the charges or asserts the charges do not support a finding of just cause, the committee shall evaluate all available evidence and make a recommendation upon the evidence in the record.
        4. The faculty member may have a silent academic adviser or counsel of personal choice present during the hearing proceedings.  At the request of either party or the committee, a representative may attend as an observer.  A record of the hearing shall be taken and made available to the parties concerned.
        5. The KCTCS Senate ACA shall have seven (7) days, unless otherwise agreed by the Provost and the faculty member, following the hearing to report to the KCTCS Provost that adequate cause for dismissal has or has not been established by the evidence record.  In addition, the committee may recommend that although adequate cause for dismissal has been established, an academic penalty less than dismissal would be more appropriate.  The committee must provide supporting reasons for its recommendation.
        6. The KCTCS Provost shall make a final recommendation and shall notify the KCTCS President.  If the President concurs with the Provost’s recommendation of academic penalty less than dismissal, the President shall notify the faculty member.  If the President concurs with the Provost’s recommendation for dismissal, the President shall provide the tenured or tenure-track faculty member with thirty (30) days notice of dismissal, including written notification of charges.
        7. The faculty member may appeal the KCTCS President’s decision and have a right to be heard in person or by counsel before the Board of Regents.  Within seven (7) days after receiving a notice of dismissal from the KCTCS President, the faculty member shall send a written request for a hearing to the KCTCS Board liaison.  The Board of Regents will set the time of the hearing as soon as practicable.  The Board shall adopt hearing procedures to govern the hearing.
        8. The Board of Regents shall render a final decision with written notification provided to the faculty member within ten (10) days of the hearing.
    2. Regular Staff and Faculty with Term Contract, Continued, or Continuing Employment Statuses may be terminated for violations of applicable laws, policies, procedures, and performance expectations.  In such cases, the following termination procedure shall apply:
      1. Human Resources shall conduct an investigative process to gather the facts surrounding the alleged violation(s) and/or performance problems.
      2. Pending the investigation and exhaustion of administrative remedy procedures, the employee may be placed on administrative leave with or without pay.
      3. Following the completion of the investigation, Human Resources shall send the employee a written pre-termination notice informing the employee of the specific incidents of the reported policy violations/performance problems and the intention to terminate the employee.  The notice shall include an opportunity for the employee to request a pre-termination hearing, whereby the employee may respond to the charges one final time prior to a final termination decision.  The employee may choose to bring one (1) silent advisor of their choice to the meeting.  The employee shall provide the name of the silent advisor and their relationship to the employee to Human Resources at least three (3) days prior to the hearing.
      4. Within fifteen (15) days following the hearing, the employee shall be advised in writing of the decision.  If the decision is to terminate, the letter shall include specific reasons for the termination and information regarding the process to appeal via the KCTCS Complaint Resolution Procedure (KCTCS Administrative Procedure 2.16.2.2-P).    
 
  1. Termination for Non-Disciplinary Reasons:  Except for at-will employees who may, consistent with prevailing law, be terminated at any time, employees, including tenure and tenure-track employees, may be terminated for non-disciplinary reasons when financial exigency, low enrollment in a particular program or major, or misalignment of revenue and costs in a particular college, department, program or major, or other operating or administrative factors make it financially necessary to do so. Reorganizations of the overall workforce, including reduction in the number of employees, may be performed at the system level, college level, or in any operating unit or part of the system or a college.  The KCTCS President shall implement administrative policies and procedures to carry out necessary reorganizations and/or reductions in an orderly manner.  In instances of termination for non-disciplinary reasons, an employee shall be given no less than thirty (30) days notice prior to termination. 
In cases of termination for bona fide financial reasons of tenured and tenure-track faculty, the following termination procedure shall apply:
    1. College Chancellor shall provide written notification of termination to tenured and tenure-track faculty member and KCTCS Provost no less than thirty (30) days from the effective date.
    2. Faculty member shall have seven (7) days from the date of notification to submit a written appeal to the KCTCS Provost and KCTCS Senate ACA.
    3. KCTCS Senate ACA will set date for a hearing, and the KCTCS Provost will provide written notice of the hearing date at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing to the faculty member, his/her supervisor, his/her chief academic officer, the College Chancellor, and the KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Appeals (KCTCS Senate ACA).
    4. If faculty member waives the hearing, the committee shall evaluate all available evidence and make a recommendation upon the evidence in the record.
    5. The faculty member may have a silent academic adviser or counsel of personal choice present during the hearing proceedings.  At the request of either party or the committee, a representative may attend as an observer.  A record of the hearing shall be taken and made available to the parties concerned.
    6. The KCTCS Senate ACA shall have seven (7) days, unless otherwise agreed by the Provost and the faculty member, following the hearing to prepare a response and submit it to the KCTCS Provost.
    7. The KCTCS Provost shall make a final recommendation and shall notify the KCTCS President. 
    8. The KCTCS President shall send written notice of termination to the faculty member with copy to the KCTCS Provost and College Chancellor.  The notice shall provide the tenured or tenure-track faculty member with thirty (30) days notice of dismissal.
    9. The faculty member may appeal the KCTCS President’s decision and have a right to be heard in person or by counsel before the Board of Regents.  Within seven (7) days after receiving a notice of dismissal from the KCTCS President, the faculty member shall send a written request for a hearing to the KCTCS Board Liaison.  The Board of Regents will set the time of the hearing as soon as practicable.  The Board shall adopt hearing procedures to govern the hearing.
    10. The Board of Regents shall render a final decision with written notification provided to the faculty member within ten (10) days of the hearing.
Regular staff and faculty with continuing, continued or term contract (during the term of the contract) employment status may appeal via the KCTCS Complaint Resolution Procedure. 

RESIGNATION
Employees in all employment status categories shall provide the proper notice in order to not adversely impact KCTCS operations.  Resignations shall be given early enough to obviate serious inconvenience to KCTCS.  To leave in good standing, the following notification requirements apply:
  • Regular and Temporary Non-Exempt Staff:  minimum of two (2) weeks written advance notice, unless otherwise specified in the terms of their employment contract.
  • Regular and Temporary Exempt Staff:  minimum of thirty (30) days written advance notice.
  • All Faculty:  minimum of ninety (90) days written advance notice.

Resignation advance notice requirements may be waived by the College Chancellor and/or the KCTCS Vice President of Human Resources.  Employees under the KCTCS personnel system, the UK personnel system, or the administrative regulations for KRS Chapter 18A, who have not worked for one year, are not on an approved leave of absence, and did not otherwise terminate or resign, shall be deemed to have resigned at the end of that year.  For employees under the administrative regulations for KRS Chapter 151B, this reference the administrative regulations located in Appendix I.
 
RETIREMENT
Eligible KCTCS employees in all employment status categories may retire in accordance with the applicable retirement plan’s policies and procedures.  Proper notice of retirement shall be given as follows:
  • KCTCS 403b Retirement Plan Participants:  minimum of three (3) months written advance notice, may be waived by the College Chancellor or KCTCS Vice President of Human Resources.
  • UK 403b Retirement Plan Participants:  notification requirements are specified in UK Administrative Regulations.
  • Defined Benefits Plan Participants:  notification requirements are specified in state statutes pertaining to the state retirement plans.

To be considered as an official retiree under the respective retirement plans, the terminating employee shall meet the age and service requirements as specified in KCTCS and UK retirement plan policies and procedures and the respective regulations for the state retirement plans.

  • VI. Roles and Responsibilities

  • Board of Regents – The Board of Regents is responsible for:
    • hearing disciplinary and non-disciplinary termination appeals of tenured and tenure-track faculty.
    • rendering a final decision on termination appeal for tenured or tenure-track faculty.
  • KCTCS President – The KCTCS President is responsible for:
    • Rendering a final decision on tenure track faculty reappointment disputes and providing written notification to the College Chancellor of the decision
    • Providing written notification to a charged tenured or tenure track faculty member of the decision regarding academic penalty and/or action including for cause termination.
    • Providing written notification to tenured or tenure track faculty regarding termination for bona fide financial reasons.
  • KCTCS Provost – The KCTCS Provost is responsible for:
    • referring tenure track faculty reappointment disputes to the KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Promotion; making a recommendation to the KCTCS President on tenure-track reappointment; and participating in a conference, if requested, with the tenure-track faculty member to discuss circumstances surrounding the non-renewal of appointment.
    • furnishing written statement of charges related to disciplinary dismissal of tenured and tenure track faculty to the faculty member, his/her supervisor, his/her chief academic officer, and the KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Appeals.
    • Making a final recommendation on the academic penalty and/or dismissal of tenured and tenure-track faculty member to the KCTCS President.
  • College Chancellor – The College Chancellor is responsible for:
    • Providing written notification to tenure-track faculty of the KCTCS President’s decision about non-renewal of appointment.
    • Providing written notice of charges to tenured and tenure-track faculty in matters just cause termination.
    • Providing written notification of termination for bona fide financial reasons to tenured and tenure-track faculty and the KCTCS Provost.
  • KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Appeals – The KCTCS Senate ACA is responsible for:
    • Hearing appeals of tenured and tenure-track faculty in matters of non-renewals of appointments and disciplinary and non-disciplinary terminations.
    • Making reports/recommendations to the KCTCS Provost following the conclusion of termination appeals hearings for tenured and tenure-track faculty members.  
  • Human Resources – College and System Office Human Resources is responsible for:
    • Conducting an investigative process to gather the facts surrounding the alleged violation(s) and/or performance problems of regular staff and faculty with Term Contract, Continued, or Continuing Employment Statuses.
    • Sending the employee a written pre-termination notice informing the employee of the specific incidents of the reported policy. violations/performance problems, the intention to terminate the employee, and the opportunity to participate in a pre-termination hearing.
Providing the employee with written notification of the pre-termination hearing decision and appeal options.

  • VII. Compliance and Training Requirements

KCTCS shall make employees aware of this policy through inclusion on the policy website. Supervisors and administrators are responsible for ensuring that employee separations within their areas are handled in accordance with this policy. Human Resources may periodically review separation actions and related documentation to assess compliance with policy requirements and identify opportunities for process improvement.

  • VIII. Exceptions

The College Chancellor and the KCTCS Vice President of Human Resources may waive the resignation and retirement advance notice requirements.

  • IX. Approvals

Approved by Executive Leadership Team – September 21, 2026

Approved by President’s Leadership Team – September 22, 2026

Signed by KCTCS President – September 28, 2026

  • X. Related Documents

Board Policy 2.8 – Employee Separation

Board Policy 2.0.1 - Employment Status Categories

KCTCS Administrative Policy 2.16.2.1 – Faculty Appeals through the KCTCS Senate Advisory Committee on Appeals

KCTCS Administrative Policy 2.16.2.2 Formal Complaint Resolution

  • XI. Review and Revision History

This policy shall be reviewed every three (3) years from the date of the original adoption.

Original Adoption – June 22, 1998.

Revised – 03/11/2005; 11/20/2009; 09/28/2026

Next Scheduled Revision, on or before September 28, 2029.