This policy covers all types of compensation received from Lehigh University during the months of June, July and August. It applies to all members of the university faculty: tenured and tenure track, professors of practice, and lecturers.
A faculty member is uncertain about what types of compensation have been received in the past during summer months, it is easy to check this out by logging onto the Banner System anda proceeding through the icons for: ‘Employee’ > ‘Pay Information’ > ‘Payroll Statements’ and then indicating the appropriate year(s) from the pull-down menu.
In this policy, summer compensation refers to compensation in addition to a regular academic year salary, regardless of whether that academic year salary is paid over 12 months or 9 months.
1. Prior Approval Requirement
If total compensation from all university sources will not exceed two and one-half months (where one month’s summer salary equals one-ninth of the following academic year base salary), then, under this policy, the prior approval requirement described here does not apply and faculty members should consult with and follow their individual college’s summer compensation policies. If total summer compensation from all university sources will exceed two and one-half months of the following academic year base salary, then a faculty member must obtain prior written approval from her/his College Dean, with notification to the Provost’s Office, enumerating the amounts and sources for all forms of Lehigh compensation to be received. This written approval should be obtained, and the Provost’s Office notified, before May 15 of the year in which summer compensation will be received.
2. Effort Allocation Guidelines
These guidelines are designed to provide compliance criteria for strict federal and state rules governing effort expended in executing work under contracts and grants, and addresses specifically the effort expended by faculty members engaging in instruction activities for either course credit bearing or non-credit bearing education programs, or for any other activities for which compensation is received, during a month when the faculty member also receives any compensation from a contract or a grant.
Under this policy, faculty members engaging in course credit bearing instruction will consider each credit-hour as the equivalent of 10% of total effort during the time that the course is in session. Thus, teaching a single four credit-hour course comprises 40% of total effort so that 60% effort is available to allocate to contract and/or grant work during the same time period. Teaching two, three credit-hour courses during a summer session comprises 60% total effort allowing the remaining 40% effort to be allocated to contract and/or grant work.
A faculty member providing instruction for a non-credit bearing education program, e.g., the Global Village, the Pennsylvania School for Entrepreneurship, Departmental Short Course(s), the Choices Program, etc., should calculate the effort involved by dividing the total compensation for all non- credit hour prorated instruction activities during a month by one-ninth of next year’s academic base salary. Thus a faculty member receiving an instructional stipend during June, July or August equivalent to one-fifth of a month’s salary is expending 20% effort teaching with the remaining 80% allowable to allocate for contract or grant income.
A similar scheme applies to faculty members who receive compensation for offering readings courses, supervising internships, instructing distance education and/or on-line courses, and similar activities where total compensation received is determined more directly on a per student than a course credit-hour basis. Effort for these activities should be calculated by dividing the total compensation for all instruction and supervision of this type during a month by one-ninth of next year’s academic base salary, in the same way as the case above for teaching in non-credit bearing education programs.
There are additional rules involving effort reporting specific to certain types of research contracts and grants. For example, NSF policy states that, with certain exceptions, no more than two months of summer income may be charged to NSF grants in any one year. Faculty members receiving summer compensation from federal and state contracts and grants should check with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs with questions about specific effort reporting rules that may apply in individual cases.
Please contact the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs, or the Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, if you have questions about these policies.