Upcoming ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å Holiday Closure Notification
In preparation for the upcoming holiday season, employees should be aware of both holiday and winter closure dates. Further details on the Winter Closure, including the definitions of Hard and Soft Closure, are available on the benefits website.
Paid Holidays
Fall Break: Thursday, November 27 & Friday, November 28, 2025
Winter Holiday: Thursday, December 25 & Friday, December 26, 2025
New Year’s: Thursday, January 1 & Friday, January 2, 2026
Winter Closure
Hard Closure: December 29, 30 & 31, 2025
Soft Closure dates are set by each department and generally follow December 15, 2025, through January 2, 2026. Please inquire about
soft closures with your leadership.
During the Winter Closure, four days are recognized as paid holidays: December 25 and 26, 2025, and January 1 and 2, 2026. However, the Hard Closure days—December 29, 30, and 31—are not paid holidays. Employees are required to use any of the following for these three closure days: Annual Leave, Faculty Time Off, a Personal Holiday, or Leave without Pay. Similarly, employees observing the Soft Closure must also utilize Annual Leave, Faculty Time Off, a Personal Holiday, or Leave without Pay. Actual Soft Closure dates observed are determined by each department individually based on business needs.
During Hard Closure, certain departments must remain operational. Supervisors and unit leaders are advised to coordinate with their respective leadership — be it the president, chancellor, vice president, chief officer, provost, or vice chancellor — to ascertain the necessary staffing levels to sustain university functions.
For the pay period of December 14th through 27th, employees must submit their timesheets by noon on December 22nd, and supervisors must approve them before 7pm on December 23rd. This timesheet will be available for completion on November 30th, and it is advisable to complete these tasks in advance, so planning ahead is crucial. For units considering a partial or complete shutdown during Soft Closure days, it's essential to collaborate with the designated leadership contact for your unit and confirm that all time is submitted prior to the Soft Closure of your department to ensure that operational requirements are fulfilled.
After a department's business hours are established and communicated by the supervisor, employees are expected to discuss leave options and scheduling with their supervisor. It is important for employees to note that PERS and TRS retirement service credit for the year will be reduced, and could impact retirement date eligibility if unpaid leave surpasses ten days within a calendar year.
For inquiries regarding ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å Holidays, please reach out to your direct supervisor or contact the benefits team at (907) 450-8242, ua-benefits@alaska.edu, or schedule a one-on-one session.
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Distributed via ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å HR Communications to all employees via email on 10/20/2025
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