Postdoc appointments are contingent on program need, satisfactory performance, and funding. There is no guaranteed or implied renewal at the end of an appointment term; the faculty sponsor and the postdoc should discuss renewal well before the postdoc's official appointment end date.
International postdocs may be eligible for up to five years of a J-1 visa program; but, there is no guarantee that the appointment will be renewed. Subject to the limits set forth in university policy, the appointment may be subject to early termination or non-renewal.
For Any Postdoctoral Appointment That Is Ending:
- The postdoc admin submits a termination webform 10 days prior to the end date of the appointment.
- The termination webform ends the appointment, quarterly registration fees, and monthly benefits charges.
- The Termination Form Job Aid can be reviewed on this OPA Website: https://postdocs.stanford.edu/termination-form-job-aid
The department is responsible for:
- Obtaining a forwarding address from the postdoc for the termination webform
- Ending all active GFS pay lines on the same date as the date entered in the New End Date field on the termination webform
- For international scholars: submitting necessary webforms to Bechtel I-Center to amend the J-1 program when appointments end more than 15 days prior to the J program end date
- Any benefits charges resulting from late submission of the termination webform
Postdocs are mailed COBRA (insurance) materials at the address entered on the termination webform (if different from the address in Benelogic). Postdocs are eligible to continue existing medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage, and the Postdoc Assistance Program (PAP) after their existing coverage ends (last day of the month in which they end their appointment). COBRA eligibility begins on the 1st of the following month.
COBRA REGULATIONS require us to notify our plan administrator within 30 days of a termination.
What this means for departments:
- To avoid paying health premiums beyond the termination date, an approved termination webform must be received by the Postdoc Benefits Office by 3pm on the last business day of the month in which the postdoc is terminating.
- Termination forms received 25 days or more after the last business day of the termination month will have a termination date of the first day of the current month.
- Postdocs not terminated by the last business day of the month are considered active and will be on the following month's health premium bills. Charges will apply.
- Late terminations appear as adjustments on the followng month's bills and may result in credits to the department for health premium charges incurred due to a late termination.
- In some instances, due to COBRA notification rules, credits cannot be issued for late terminations.
- Additional penalties may be incurred in relation to compliance with insurance and visa regulations.
Early Termination:
When the sponsoring faculty ends the postdoctoral appointment prior to the current appointment end date, an early termination process applies.
Terminating an Approved Appointment that never began:
Sometimes circumstances change before appointments begin. In those cases, a termination webform is required to end the appointment and stop the accrual of quarterly registration fees and monthly benefits charges. When creating the termination webform, please enter the appointment start date in the New End Date field to indicate the appointment did not begin.
Certificates of Training
NOTE: Certificates of Training can no longer be requested on the termination web form. Please submit certificate requests here.
