Office of the Provost

Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook Chapter 3 -- Faculty: Employment, Tenure, Promotion, and Merit

Summer Session Purpose, Expectation, Policies, and Procedures

Purpose

It is the mission of Fort Hays State University summer session to provide instruction through courses, workshops, and other experiences which meet student needs and contribute to the accomplishment of five primary instructional objectives.

These five primary objectives are to provide instruction which:

1. Satisfies general education requirements;
2. Satisfies major undergraduate/graduate program and cognate requirements;
3. Satisfies certification or recertification requirements;
4. Provides accessible, convenient coursework through the Virtual College; and
5. Addresses emerging special needs.

Definitions

Teaching, research/scholarly activity, and service include activities as defined in Chapter III of the FHSU Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook.

Expectations

The responsibility of faculty employed during the summer by the university is to carry out the duties as assigned by the department chair and the dean as specified in the summer session appointment. Most contractual relations will involve teaching and service activities as defined in the FHSU Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook. A faculty member may be appointed for service activities only as required by a department, college, or the university. In special circumstances, faculty may be assigned other programmatic responsibilities by the chair, dean, and provost.

Department chairs will evaluate the faculty members’ performance of summer session assigned duties. The results of the evaluations will be utilized by department chairs and deans in awarding future summer appointments, but will not be used in annual merit review, promotion, or tenure decisions. The rationale for this guideline is to maintain a level playing field for tenure, promotion, and annual merit purposes. No advantage will be accrued by a person appointed during the summer session. Research and service activities are submitted on an annual basis without regard to the timeframe in which they are performed.

Policies and Procedures

1. The departments develop academic offerings appropriate with the university’s mission, strategic objectives, and student needs both on- and off-campus.

2. The provost will use an annual zero-base funding formula that is market driven by the needs of students. This market-driven distribution of summer salary resources will be based on the proportion of total on-campus and Virtual College SCH generated by a college the preceding summer.

3. Department chairs and college deans will identify appropriately qualified faculty to teach summer session offerings and/or perform needed service activities. The rate of remuneration per credit hour for the first and each succeeding on-campus, summer session, three-credit hour, “0” type course for all nine-month, core faculty will be 20 percent of 1/9 of the academic year base.

4. Unless instructed otherwise by a contracted faculty member, a rate of remuneration equal to 20 percent of 1/9 of the academic year base will be added to the first course taught each month or to the first two courses taught during an eight-week session for provision of service activities as defined in the FHSU Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook. The assumption upon which this formula is based is that an instructor will receive 20 percent of 1/9 only once per month for provision of services.

5. A minimum of 10 undergraduate/graduate students is required in all 100-699 level summer session courses (stand alone courses). A minimum of 5 graduate students is required in all summer session courses numbered 800 level and above. A faculty member can be appointed for a pro-rated salary based on the proportion of the identified minimums. The faculty member’s signature on the summer session appointment form implies consent with the pro-rating of salary as necessary. Student enrollment for salary purposes will be calculated at the end of the fourth day of classes for a four-week course and at the end of the eighth day of classes for an eight-week course.

6. Normally, a faculty member’s summer session employment appointments cannot exceed nine (9) hours of combined on- and off-campus instruction. Exceptions to this principle can be made in consultation with the faculty member, chair, dean, and provost.

7. The summer salary policy shall not apply to summer instructional and/or research positions where external funding sources (e.g., grants, appointments) can support the full salary of a faculty member, either totally or by supplementing internally allocated summer salary dollars.

8. Department chairs and faculty holding 12-month appointments are expected to contribute to the summer session program. This guideline implies a minimum of two courses during the summer for 12-month faculty. Because of administrative duties, chairs are expected to teach at least one “0” type, three-credit hour course during summer session. Exceptions to the standard can be made by the appropriate chair and dean when unusual circumstances must be addressed.

Endorsed by Faculty Senate in consultation with President Hammond (04-00).

Virtual College Salaries

Purpose/Mission

Off-campus students are a diverse population with differences in educational requirements, motivation, constraints, goals, and opportunities. FHSU’s Virtual College accommodates these differences by assisting its students to overcome or minimize barriers such as location, finance, and time by means of available learning resources through mediated delivery of instruction.

The Virtual College coordinates all off-campus, face-to-face, and mediated academic extension programs of FHSU and provides educational, staff development, and training programs through off-campus, face-to-face, and mediated instruction. The Virtual College offers both degree and non-degree programs for students and uses technology to provide programs to place-bound students.

The Virtual College provides college-level courses using mediated technology and practical, customized course work to prepare students for in-demand professional fields in their regions. FHSU’s programs offer accessibility to distance conferences and fiber optic connections throughout the Midwest and work in partnership with communities and professional fields to provide high-quality credit offerings.

Policies and Procedures

1. The standard rate of remuneration per credit hour for all nine-month, core faculty teaching in overload status for the Virtual College during any semester or the summer session will be 20 percent of 1/9 of the instructor’s regular academic year base salary. Virtual College courses may be taught in-load.

2. All Virtual College courses are compensated based on a minimum of 10 undergraduate/graduate students in all 100-699 level courses (stand alone courses) and a minimum of 5 graduate students in all courses numbered 800 level and above. A faculty member can be appointed for a pro-rated salary based on the proportion of the identified minimums. The faculty member’s signature on the Virtual College appointment form implies consent with the pro-rating of salary as necessary. Student enrollment for salary purposes will be calculated at the end of the 20th day for semester-based classes. During the summer session, student enrollment will be calculated at the end of the fourth day of classes for a four-week course and at the end of the eighth day of classes for an eight-week course.

3. The provost and director of the Virtual College will identify appropriate course maximums in consultation with the Virtual College Advisory Committee, Provost's Council, department chairs and faculty. The Virtual College director may approve extra pay on a per-student basis for enrollment exceeding a course maximum. Permission to exceed a course maximum must be approved by the appropriate faculty member, department chair, college dean and director of the Virtual College.

4. The Virtual College may provide additional assistance to faculty (e.g., graders, proctors for tests, etc., see Virtual College Policies and Procedures).

5. The Virtual College may provide development monies for existing courses redesigned for off-campus use or for new courses (regular Faculty Senate/Graduate Council approval processes apply).

Approved by Faculty Senate (03-99).

Overload/Replacement/Part-Time Adjunct Salaries

Policy

A faculty member may become unable to teach an assigned on- or off-campus course during the regular academic year. A department chair may address these circumstances by identifying a full-time, core faculty member or part-time adjunct instructor to teach the required course on an overload/replacement basis.

Payment Procedures

1. The standard rate of remuneration per credit hour for all nine-month, core faculty teaching in an overload status to replace an assigned course instructor during the Fall/Spring semesters is 20 percent of 1/9 of the reassigned instructor's regular academic year base salary.

2. The rate of remuneration per course for a part-time adjunct instructor hired to replace a full-time, core faculty member to teach either on or off-campus will be as follows:

Years of Service as Adjunct	Salary per “0” Type Course	Per Hour Salary for Other Type Courses
0-3	$ 2,000	$ 667
4-6	$ 2,200	$ 733
7-10	$ 2,400	$ 800
11 and above	$ 2,600	$ 867
1. Faculty will be paid $15 per credit hour for each student above 40 in an off-campus class. 2. All off-campus courses with enrollment below 10 will be pro-rated. 3. This payment schedule applies to all new on-campus part-time adjuncts.

Endorsed by Faculty Senate in consultation with President Hammond (04/00).

Revision of salary scale approved by President Hammond (5/3/06)

Seasonal Salaries

Policy

The provost is provided a limited amount of “seasonal” monies each fiscal year to fund additional sections of high enrollment classes or meet the need for a special class/learning experience not identified in the development of the original schedule of classes for a semester.

Payment Procedures

1. The standard rate of remuneration per credit hour for all nine-month, core faculty teaching a course funded by seasonal monies is 20 percent of 1/9 of the instructor’s regular academic year base salary. Salaries for chairs and other administrators teaching these courses will be calculated on the nine month component of a 12-month contract.

2. The rate of remuneration per course for part-time adjunct instructor teaching a course supported by seasonal monies will be as follows:

Years of Service as Adjunct	Salary per “0” Type Course	Per Hour Salary for Other Type Courses
0-3	$ 2,000	$ 667
4-6	$ 2,200	$ 733
7-10	$ 2,400	$ 800
11 and above	$ 2,600	$ 867
1. Faculty will be paid $15 per credit hour for each student above 40 in an off-campus class. 2. All off-campus courses with enrollment below 10 will be pro-rated. 3. This payment schedule applies to all new on-campus part-time adjuncts eliminating the prior on-campus model of $2500 and $3000.

3. Deans/chairs should submit requests for use of seasonal monies to the provost. No contract requests will be processed unless prior permission to fund a class has been granted from the provost. Salaries must be negotiated for longevity before a contract will be issued. A budget assignment form (available in the Office of the Provost) will be signed by the provost and submitted to Office of the Provost staff for processing.

Revision approved by President Hammond (5/3/06).

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