November 5, 2025

Dear Members of Our Campus Community,

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

Our 2025-2026 winter break will run from Wednesday, December 24, 2025, through Friday, January 2, 2026.

• December 24, 25, and 31, 2025, and January 1, 2026, are paid university holidays (if eligibility is met).
• December 26, 29, and 30, 2025, and January 2, 2026, are the four (4) designated curtailment days. 

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 24, 2025, and Friday, January 2, 2026, employees may use, in accordance with university personnel policies and existing labor agreements, vacation, accrued compensatory time off, or leave without pay.  

Policy-covered employees who may not have sufficient accrued vacation hours, up to four (4) days of vacation leave may be used in advance of the actual accrual during the curtailment period. 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 and provost.

Office closure plans should be reported by November 21 to deans or vice chancellors, who will examine the plans to ensure that any proposed office closures do not create unnecessary hardships for faculty, staff, or students.

Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the development of your winter break plan.

We are grateful for your dedication and contributions to our community.

Sincerely,

Ann-Marie Musto
Associate Vice Chancellor and
Chief Human Resources Officer

UC Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA 93106 US

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