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Handbook of Operating Procedures
Chapter 2 - Faculty and Academics
Previous Publication Date: June 23, 2016
Publication Date: December 15, 2020
Policy Reviewed Date: August 1, 2020
Policy Owner: VP for Academic Affairs


2.23 Faculty Compensation for Additional Duties and Salary Adjustments


I. POLICY STATEMENT


The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is committed to building a highly qualified and diverse faculty in support of academic excellence.  This policy ensures fair compensation for faculty contributions to the University mission and support of UTSA’s dedication to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement, and public service. 


II. RATIONALE


This policy defines the manner in which UTSA faculty may receive Supplemental Payments or summer compensation in addition to their nine-month or twelve-month salary. It also establishes the procedures to be followed in making these payments to faculty. The policy ensures that such payments are provided in a consistent and fair manner and mitigates risk.  


III. SCOPE


This policy applies to faculty receiving Supplemental Payments or summer compensation in addition to their Nine-Month or Twelve-Month Salary.  It also applies to faculty receiving permanent adjustments to their Nine-Month Salaries.


IV. WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY


http://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter2/2.23.html


V. RELATED STATUTES, POLICIES, REQUIREMENTS OR STANDARDS


UTSA or UT System Policies or the Board of Regents' Rules & Regulations

  1. UTSA HOP policy 2.30, Extended Education and the Awarding of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) at UTSA
  2. UTSA HOP policy 4.07, Payment of Salary Supplements to University Employees and Non-Standard Payments to Persons who are not Employees of The University of Texas at San Antonio
  3. UTSA HOP policy 10.05, Managing and Certifying Effort on Sponsored Programs
  4. UTSA HOP policy 10.06, Institutional Base Salary on Sponsored Programs

Other Policies & Standards

  1. Fair Labor Standards Act
  2. U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards

VI. CONTACTS


If you have any questions about HOP policy 2.23, Faculty Compensation for Additional Duties and Salary Adjustments, contact the following office:

The Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
210-458-4110


VII. DEFINITIONS


Administrative Service: Extra work undertaken by faculty that includes significant leadership or supervisory responsibilities, e.g., serving as Department Chairs or Associate Deans.

Counter-Offers: Adjustments to a faculty member’s Nine-Month Salary for retention purposes when an employment offer from outside UTSA has been made.

Executive Education: Academic training programs at the graduate-level for executives, business leaders and managers.

Extended Education: Post-secondary learning activities including non-degree professional development training, continuing education, extension services, workforce training, and formal personal enrichment courses (both on-campus and online).

Merit Awards: Adjustments to Nine-Month Salaries as a result of annual performance evaluation.

Nine-Month Salary: A faculty member’s nine-month academic salary.

Performance Awards: A one-time payment which may also include a Nine-Month Salary adjustment to reward extraordinary performance in a particular category, such as teaching, research, or service.

Professional Service: Service provided through the academic colleges or other approved units of UTSA which are involved in continuing education, extension or public service activities.

Summer Salary Compensation: Faculty member’s compensation during non-contract months through a summer appointment.

Summer School Teaching: Teaching or research activities undertaken during the summer outside of the Nine-Month appointment.

Supplemental Payments: Payments made in addition to the Nine-Month Salary as compensation for additional work-related assignments clearly beyond the faculty member’s normal responsibilities.


VIII. RESPONSIBILITIES


  1. Faculty
    1. Provides an offer letter from another institution before a formal Counter-Offer is made.
  2. Director or Department Chair
    1. Provides prior authorization of faculty compensation through a Request for Salary Supplementation form as described in the Procedures section below.
    2. Certifies that faculty involved in Extended Education, Executive Education, and Professional Services have received an overall satisfactory or better Annual Faculty Performance Appraisal in the most recent evaluation period.
    3. Determines rates for summer compensation for faculty in consultation with the Dean.
    4. Determines how merit pay is awarded in consultation with the Dean.
    5. Determines compression/market/equity salary adjustments in consultation with the Dean.
    6. Determines whether Counter-Offers are made in consultation with the Dean.
  3. Dean
    1. Provides prior authorization of faculty compensation through a Request for Salary Supplementation form as described in the Procedures section below.
    2. Sets limits on the extent of additional duties undertaken by faculty members remunerated by supplemental pay for Extended Education, Executive Education, and Professional Services.
    3. Determines rates for summer compensation for Department Chairs.
    4. Determines how merit pay is awarded in consultation with Department Chairs.
    5. Determines compression/market/equity salary adjustments in consultation with Department Chairs.
    6. Determines whether Counter-Offers are made in consultation with Department Chairs.
  4. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost)
    1. Approves prior authorization of faculty compensation through a Request for Salary Supplementation form or other forms as described in the Procedures section below.
    2. Issues summer compensation guidelines for Department Chairs.
    3. Authorizes all salary adjustments concerning compression/market/equity adjustments.
    4. Authorizes all Counter-Offers.

IX. PROCEDURES


Adjustments to faculty compensation can occur in three major ways.  One way is to add temporary compensation to a faculty member’s Nine-Month pay for work-related responsibilities over a specific time.  The second is summer compensation.  The third is to permanently adjust a faculty member’s Nine-Month Salary.

  1. Faculty Compensation for Additional Duties. Faculty can receive compensation above their Nine-Month Salary during the academic year for performing additional duties. Supplemental Payment for services must be justified through an approved Request for Salary Supplementation form and must not exceed the cap established by the Provost.   
    1. Administrative Service-Related Supplements. These are payments made in addition to the Nine-Month Salary as a compensation for Administrative Service governed by the Provost.
      1. These supplements should be reserved primarily for those faculty members given responsibility for managing and evaluating faculty and staff, specifically Department Chairs, Assistant Chairs, and Associate Deans.
      2. Department Chair supplements.
      3. Supplements may also be considered in situations where a service task involves an extraordinary commitment of time or effort and is critical to successful activities of other faculty or to the educational needs of students. Some positions eligible for such Supplemental Payments presently include the following:
        1. Director of university-wide institute (reporting to the Council of Deans)
        2. Chair of research compliance committees such as the Chemical Safety Committee (CSC), Committee on Conflict of Interest (CCOI), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the Radiation and Laser Safety Committee (RLSC)
    2. Compensation for Extended Education. Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents (Rule 31004 Rights and Responsibilities of Faculty Members, Section 5) stipulate how faculty may receive additional compensation for teaching Extended Education courses dependent on whether they are on a twelve-month or nine-month appointment.  At UTSA, this compensation can be obtained in the following ways:
      1. Full-time at the rank of Instructor or above on twelve-month appointments may receive additional compensation for teaching UTSA Extended Education courses but may not receive additional compensation for UTSA Summer School Teaching.
      2. Full-time faculty on nine-month appointments may receive additional compensation for teaching Extended Education courses during the nine-month period and also may be paid for UTSA Summer School Teaching.

    Payment for these activities is provided accordingly to a pay schedule set by the Office of Extended Education in consultation with the Provost.

    1. Compensation for Executive Education. Payment for those activities is provided according to the pay schedule set by the college Dean in consultation with the Provost.
    2. Compensation for Professional Services. Faculty may receive compensation for academic and associated academic functions over and above their budgeted Nine-Month Salaries from external funding sources, provided the external funds are derived from an agreement or contract with UTSA. Parameters and restrictions regarding compensation for Professional Services are outlined in HOP policy 4.07 Section IIIA.

    Extended Education, Executive Education, and Professional Service activities must not conflict with the performance of normal teaching, administrative, or other duties and responsibilities for which the faculty member is compensated by UTSA. Faculty involved in these activities must also have received an overall satisfactory or better Annual Faculty Performance Appraisal in the most recent evaluation period. In addition, faculty must receive prior authorization from their Department Chairs and Deans to participate in this type of activity. This authorization process cannot be considered complete until a Request for Salary Supplementation form has received all required signature approvals.  The college Dean shall set appropriate limits on the extent of additional duties that may be assumed by a given faculty member remunerated by Supplemental Pay.  

  2. Summer Salary Compensation. This form of compensation is typically paid for teaching or research activities undertaken during the summer outside of the Nine-Month Salary.
    1. Research-related summer salary compensation is generally paid from external grants/contracts, though may also be part of a startup package for new faculty.
    2. Teaching-related summer salary compensation is usually tied to Summer School Teaching and special programs—rates for compensation are determined by the colleges.
    3. Summer salary compensation may also be provided for instructional development activities (e.g., developing new online delivery for courses) or for special activities that enhance the performance of academic units. 
    4. Summer salary compensation for Department Chairs is established by the Provost. Compensation for Associate Deans and Assistant Chairs are determined by the colleges.
    5. The total amount of summer salary compensation earned from UTSA sources (including sponsored projects and summer teaching) cannot exceed one-third of the Nine-Month Salary.
  3. Permanent Adjustments to Faculty Nine-Month Salary. There are four basic ways to increase a faculty member's Nine-Month Salary which include Merit Awards, equity adjustments, Counter-Offer, and Performance Awards.
    1. Merit Award. The Merit Award process is university-wide, and is performed during the spring semester each year. Merit Awards are permanent adjustments to the Nine-Month Salary and are normally effective as of the following September 1. The Merit Award is subject each year to the availability of institutional funds.
      1. Eligibility for Merit Award is determined by performance as rated during annual review of faculty, staff, and administration.
      2. Deans and Department Chairs shall determine how Merit Award is awarded, but must ensure that it is awarded commensurate with annual evaluation ratings— two individuals with the same rating should be rewarded equivalently. Individuals with ratings superior to those of others should receive a greater Merit Award increase under the system employed by the college for making Merit Awards. For example, if the college awards merit as a percent increase, a superior rating should result in a higher percent increase.
      3. In order to be eligible for a Merit Award, individuals must be current in their Standards of Conduct training.
    2. Compression/market/equity adjustments. Compression and market adjustments to the Nine-Month Salary are intended to alleviate issues that arise when the market for entry salaries increases at a rate faster than the University’s merit pool, leading to entry salaries near those of more experienced faculty. Equity adjustments correct for systemic inequities in compensation that can be shown to be inconsistent with the historical performance of a group of faculty.
      1. Salary adjustments for this purpose cannot be awarded in the absence of a general study of salaries conducted by the University or any other salary study sanctioned by the Provost that takes into account general compensation statistics for the unit relative to other institutions. This includes salary analysis performed in conjunction with the Affirmative Action Plan (AAP). Faculty salary studies must be completed at least once every seven years to assess the need for compression/market/equity adjustments. The Office of Human Resources will be responsible for conducting these studies and faculty will be notified of the results.
      2. Adjustments will only be made effective at the beginning of a new fiscal year (September 1) unless it is necessary to resolve an inequity identified by the AAP salary analysis or a special exception is granted by the Provost or designee.
      3. Proposals for salary adjustments shall be made to the Provost’s Office in the spring, in advance of the fiscal year in which they would become active. The Provost must approve all salary adjustments.
      4. Colleges must identify a funding source prior to recommending salary adjustments.
    3. Counter-Offer for external offer. Counter-Offers are permanent adjustments to a faculty member’s Nine-Month Salary for retention purposes when an employment offer from another institution has been made. Ordinarily, these adjustments will be effective at the beginning of the following fiscal year (September 1), though earlier adjustments may be made with Provost approval under exceptional circumstances.
      1. Counter-Offers should generally be reserved for faculty members who have achieved an overall evaluation rating in the top 20% of their department during the previous three years.
      2. An offer letter from another institution must be provided before a formal Counter-Offer is made. Informal negotiations concerning a Counter-Offer may take place in advance of receiving a written offer from a competing institution.
      3. Deans are responsible for determining whether Counter-Offers should be made, in consultation with the Department Chair and, if desired, the Provost. Any financial commitments made as part of a Counter-Offer should be reviewed for approval by the Provost’s Office before the Counter-Offer is finalized.
    4. Performance Awards. Faculty may receive internal or external monetary awards recognizing extraordinary performance in teaching, research, or service. These awards are effectively “bonus” payments for superior performance. This category excludes grants awarded on the basis of an application and which require the reporting of work products, including data, reports, creative works, or other deliverables.
      1. Awards do not count for time-and-effort purposes and do not count against maximum Supplemental Payment limits.
      2. For this category, awards should be made as part of an organized independent selection procedure in which various candidates/nominees are reviewed, each of whom potentially could be designated the awardee of one-time payments or Nine-Month Salary adjustments to reward extraordinary performance in a particular category, such as teaching or research.

X. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION


None


XI. FORMS AND TOOLS/ONLINE PROCESSES


Request for Salary Supplementation form: http://utsa.edu/hr/docs/COMP-SalarySupRequest.pdf

Provost Memo: Proposal for phase-in compensation standards for Department Chairs


XII. APPENDIX


None


XIII. Dates Approved/Amended


12-15-2020
06-23-2016