Faculty Summer Compensation

Overview

When planning for faculty summer compensation, review the policy and process as outlined by the Office of Academic Labor Relations. Complete the Faculty Summer Salary Authorization Form [Word Doc] to process appointments.

As a guide, refer to the four main points of the policy:

  1. General rule has always been that a faculty member can only charge a grant or contract based on his or her actual salary at the time the work is performed. Retroactive adjustments due to subsequent contract negotiations are only allowed if the award is still active and then only to the extent that funds are available.
  2. If there is a possibility that a principal investigator (PI) will be working on a grant or contract during the summer and will be unable to submit the required payroll paperwork, then the PI should send a completed Institutional Prior Approval Form to financialservices@research.rutgers.edu prior to starting work.
  3. If a PI has tenure, or a part- or full-tenured track position, the authorized signer is the Dean to whom the faculty member reports. If the position is wholly grant funded and works solely within a center, bureau or institute and is not considered a tenure-tracked position, then the authorized signer should be the Director of the center, bureau or institute. This reflects changes in Joseph Seneca's memo of January 24, 1997. However, no individual can self approve or have a subordinate be the authorized signer.
  4. On a project that is not yet funded, a PI is responsible for submitting an IPAS to financialservices@research.rutgers.edu to request pre-award spending prior to beginning work, if the funding agency permits pre-award spending. Through this mechanism PIs declare that they are starting work on a project with the expectation that summer salary will be paid when the award is received. This also applies to multi-year awards that renew during the summer. An IPAS form must be submitted and approved by DGCA before the work is started, not before the employee appointment/assignment is received for approval.

Agency Requirements

National Science Foundation (NSF): For academic year appointees, a summer salary that exceeds 2/9 of academic year salary is not allowable. Similarly, summer salary of 1/11 for calendar year appointees in lieu of vacation is not allowed.