Salary Compensation on Grants for Faculty and Exempt Staff Policy

This Policy applies to faculty and exempt staff applying for or engaged in Sponsored Projects whose salary is budgeted in a grant application or who receive support from a Sponsored Award for work conducted during the academic year or summer.

The primary responsibility of faculty at Arcadia University is effective teaching in keeping with the educational objectives and philosophy of the University. To ensure high quality instruction or to support related activities consistent with the University’s mission, faculty and exempt staff may engage in sponsored research/scholarly/creative activities, training, education or other projects related to their institutional duties.

In order to adhere to federal regulations pertaining to personnel compensation (200 C.F.R. § 430) and to minimize the risk of conflicts of commitment between sponsored work, teaching, and other obligations during the academic year or summer, this Policy addresses compensation for faculty and staff effort directly allocable to Sponsored Projects.

To the degree allowable by a Sponsor’s policies and practices, a solicitation’s requirements, and applicable federal regulations, faculty members and exempt staff of the University engaged in Sponsored Projects may charge the effort for a Sponsored Project at a rate not to exceed the employee’s Institutional Base Salary (IBS). Effort charged to the Sponsored Award and reimbursed to the University by the Sponsor for faculty effort during the academic year or exempt staff during the fiscal year will not result in additional compensation for the employee unless the nature of the work is explicitly documented as outside of the employee’s responsibilities to the University (i.e., overload or extra service).

Academic Year Effort. The responsibilities of faculty members to Arcadia University during the nine-month academic year shall ordinarily be allocated to 80% teaching and 20% research/scholarship/creative activities and service. For faculty with nine-month appointments, total academic year research effort charged to all Sponsored Awards shall ordinarily be limited to 15%. This cap at 15% will accommodate up to 5% of faculty time for other non-sponsored research activities and University service, resulting in a total of 20% of time allocated to research/scholarship/other activities and service as noted above. Should additional research effort be required during the academic year, with the approval of the department Chair and Dean, a faculty member may request relief from one or more instructional assignments. Approval for such requests typically is informed by department or academic program requirements, the lead-time needed to avoid negatively impacting programmatic instructional obligations, and available replacement instructors.

Summer Effort. For full-time, nine-month faculty, effort devoted to a Sponsored Project during the 3-month summer period will result in additional compensation at a rate not to exceed that determined from the IBS in effect during the period the work is performed. Generally, the maximum effort committed or compensated by sponsored and institutional funds during the 3-month summer period will not exceed 2.7 person months subject to the Sponsor limitations. This cap of 2.7 months allows for respite, vacation, and performance of other activities unrelated to the sponsored or institutional work for the remaining period of the summer (0.3 months). Waivers of this policy require the written approval of the Director of the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs.

Faculty members with 12-month appointments ordinarily will have similar allocations to teaching, research/scholarship/creative activities, and service similar to nine-month faculty unless their contract suggests that another effort allocation is more appropriate. In such instances, the faculty member’s chair or dean shall notify the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs of the member’s effort allocation during proposal development.

Full time exempt staff  ordinarily will have 100% effort allocated to duties that support the student experience, academic life, teaching and learning and other functions consistent with the mission of Arcadia University. With the approval of their supervisor, exempt staff may devote reasonable effort to sponsored projects that are related to their institutional duties. The effort allocated may be charged to the Sponsor.

Effort for nine-month faculty during the academic year or effort for 12-month employees on Sponsored Projects shall not be charged as extra service/overload compensation unless the activities performed for the Sponsored Project are unrelated to the employee’s institutional appointment. In no case shall extra service or overload compensation exceed a rate determined from the employee’s IBS. If faculty participate in instruction-related activities as part of a Sponsored Project (i.e., course development, etc.), rates shall follow accepted institutional norms set forth by the Provost’s office.

Requests for academic-year effort (whether for research/scholarship/creative activity or course relief), extra service/overload compensation, or summer effort proposed to be supported by a Sponsored Award shall be made by the faculty member to their Chair/Dean as applicable and if granted, approval documented on the Grant Proposal Routing and Approval form. This documentation will be made by email if post award. Additional prior approval from the Sponsor(s) may also be required.

Conflict of Commitment: A conflict of commitment occurs when effort allocated to institutional responsibilities (e.g., teaching, research, administration, service) exceeds 100% during the academic year or three person-months during the summer, regardless of the source of salary funds. A conflict of commitment also occurs when the employee’s professional work, including all Sponsored Projects, whether compensated or not, could reasonably be considered to infringe on the employee’s ability to responsibly complete their duties to Arcadia University.

Institutional Base Salary (IBS): An employee’s IBS is the total compensation for activities described in  the offer letter or contract with Arcadia University. Ordinarily, these activities include duties associated with instruction, research, service, or administration. In addition to teaching, responsibilities of all full-time faculty members include counseling advisees assigned to them, service on committees and/or in connection with co-curricular activities, and other projects contributing to the total educational program of the University. These recognized services to the University constitute the duties for which the salary is paid. Unless otherwise noted in the offer letter, contract, or other supplemental documentation, the responsibilities of faculty members to Arcadia University during the nine-month academic year (AY) shall ordinarily be allocated to 80% teaching and 20% research/scholarship/creative activities and service. Activities assigned to appointment categories shall be defined by the department/unit.

Sponsor: the organization or funding agency that funds a Sponsored Project.  The Sponsor may be a Federal, state, or local agency; a non-profit organization; a foundation; a professional society; or a for-profit entity such as a corporation or a small business.

Sponsored Award: a formal, written legal agreement executed by the University and the Sponsor for specific work outlined in the Application/Proposal with the reciprocal transfer of something of value. The term includes but is not limited to grants; cooperative agreements; traineeships, scholarships, and fellowships; sponsored service, testing, and training agreements; sub-awards; and contracts, including fixed-price contracts.

Sponsored Project: the specific activity (e.g., research, instruction, training), deliverable (e.g., service), and associated requirements (e.g., technical and financial progress reports) to be provided or completed as a condition of and supported by the Sponsor’s funding. The Sponsored Project and proposed personnel to be involved are ordinarily described in an Application/Proposal, approved by the University and submitted to the Sponsor, for their consideration of funding. Sponsored Projects ordinarily do not include major construction or renovation activities.

University: Arcadia University, its colleges, schools, affiliates, divisions, and subsidiaries.

This Policy is effective on the date that it is signed by the President.

Signed:  /s/ Ajay Nair
Date: April 29, 2025