Holiday calendar for colleges and universities

Start from the academic calendar

Many colleges run an odd semester from July or August to November, with exams in December, and an even semester from January to April, with exams in May or June. The university publishes these dates, and the college fits its staff holiday list around them. Draft the list once the academic calendar is out, with the registrar, the exam cell and the estate officer in the room, because each has dates the others forget: convocation, the annual fest, the NAAC visit and the power shutdown for maintenance.

Semester breaks and who gets them

The winter break after the odd semester is usually short, a week or two around the new year, and the summer break after the even semester is longer. Faculty go on vacation, but the exam cell is at its busiest in those weeks, admissions run through June and July, and the estate team uses the empty campus for repairs. Set semester breaks as holidays for teaching departments only, and keep the office, exam cell, library and estate on working days, with their own public holidays.

• Winter break: teaching departments only
• Summer break: faculty, less any days recalled for admissions
• Public and state holidays: all staff
• Foundation day: company holiday, if the whole campus closes

Exam days, university holidays and optional lists

Universities sometimes schedule a paper on a declared holiday, or announce a holiday at short notice after a local event. When a paper is held on a holiday, the invigilators and exam cell staff on duty should get comp-off, and the day stays a holiday for everyone else. A campus with faculty from across India benefits from an optional list, such as Pongal, Onam, Bihu, Eid ul-Adha, Good Friday and Chhath, with two picks a year. HoDs should check the picks against the exam timetable before approving them.

Campus lists for multi-state universities

A private university with campuses in Pune, Jaipur and Bengaluru follows three state holiday lists and three sets of local festivals, while national holidays and university days such as foundation day are common. Keep the common holidays at university level and add state and local holidays to each campus only. When faculty move to another campus for a semester, their holiday list should follow the campus where they are working, not the one where they were hired.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. In Holiday Calendars, enter the national and state holidays for the year and university days such as foundation day, choosing the right category for each.
2. Enter the winter and summer semester breaks as company holidays restricted to teaching departments; the exam cell, library and office keep their working days.
3. Apply state and local festival holidays only to the campus concerned, and keep national and university holidays common to every campus.
4. Mark optional holidays with a yearly pick limit, and check the report of who picked which optional holiday against the exam timetable.
5. Use Data Import to load the holiday list from Excel when the academic calendar arrives, then add late university declarations one at a time.
6. When invigilators work on a holiday, grant comp-off in the Leave Ledger after checking their punches for that day.

Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions