UB Adjunct Faculty Procedures

University of Baltimore 1.2.4. Effective: Fall 2006
Approved March 2006

I. Purpose

UB hires two types of adjunct faculty to provide teaching services to our students:

• Adjunct faculty who teach purely on a semester basis and are not regular employees at UB. These adjuncts are paid through Pay Group ADJ.
• Adjunct faculty who are already employed at UB as a regular employee, either as a faculty member or a staff member. These adjuncts are paid through Pay Group RDJ.

The following procedures are to facilitate the hiring process for adjunct faculty.

II. Hiring Department

The School of Law, the Merrick School of Business, the Gordon College of Liberal Arts, and the Academic Resource Center (ARC) are normally the hiring departments for adjunct faculty and are responsible for submission of contracts and required paperwork according to the annual schedules prepared by the Office of Human Resources (HR).

III. Rank and Salary

Each school and ARC are responsible for developing written standards for academic degrees or professional certifications and professional experience that are required for adjunct faculty who teach in their areas. The standards may vary depending on the level of courses to be taught. The standards must be approved by the provost. A copy will be forwarded to HR.

Salary ranges for each rank shall be established by the deans and ARC director for the academic year (including the summer following). Criteria used when establishing rank (e.g., regular tenured faculty, long-term returning adjuncts, etc.), along with the effective salary range, must be approved by the provost by August 1 of each year. The Office of the Provost will forward a copy of the approved criteria and salary range to HR. If no requests to adjust rank standards or salary ranges are received by August 1, the most recent one(s) on file will remain in effect for the next year, and contracts will be reviewed on that basis.

IV. Course Limits

The departments are responsible for ascertaining that the adjunct faculty member being hired is within the course limits set in the Adjunct Faculty Policy.   A contract submitted that exceeds the limitations must include an exception request form signed by the appropriate dean and/or vice president. The exception form is required if a full-time UB employee ( including full-time faculty) is teaching more than one course per semester on an overload basis.  The exception request must be completed and approved in advance, with a signed copy attached to the adjunct contract when it is sent to Office of Human Resources for processing.The Dean or Head of the hiring unit must sign the form, acknowledging justification for exception as submitted.  The Dean (for faculty) or the Vice President (for staff) under whom the full-time employee is working must sign the form, authorizing the employee to teach over the one-course limit.  Each hiring unit is required to maintain a list of exceptions each semester.

V. Contract Process

1. The deans and ARC director must delegate to specific individuals responsibility for preparing contract packets for their area and submitting them. The Office of the Provost and HR should be kept informed about who those individuals are, along with their contact information.
2. Contracts should be submitted according to the annual schedule prepared by HR and the Payroll Office. For new adjunct contracts, Central Payroll requires a minimum of three weeks to set up payments.
3. A copy of the Adjunct Pay Schedule will be sent by HR to each dean (and/or designee) and to ARC. It will list the semester’s beginning and ending dates, the contract due dates, and other important dates (cancellation notices, etc.). The schedule will include:
   1. Summer schedule for regular adjuncts, law adjuncts, and web adjuncts.
   2. Fall schedule for regular adjuncts, law adjuncts, and web adjuncts.
   3. 10- week fall sessions
   4. Winterim sessions, if applicable
   5. Spring schedule for regular adjuncts, law adjuncts, and web adjuncts.
   6. 10-week spring sessions
4. Adjunct contract packets submitted to HR must contain the following documents. Incomplete packets may be returned to the initiating unit for resubmission. Detailed contract processing guidelines are available in the Office of Human Resources.
   1. New Adjuncts:
      1. adjunct contract, signed by employee and dean or designee
      2. W4 form
      3. Demographic form
      4. Copy of transcript showing highest degree (original will be retained in dean’s office)
      5. Substance Abuse Policy sign-off
      6. I-9 with documentation
      7. Direct deposit form (optional)
      8. Copy of UB employment application (original will be retained in dean’s office)
      9. Secondary employment form (mandatory if adjunct is a regular State employee, including USM, UB, or other State agency) must be signed by the primary supervisor / manager.
   2. Returning Adjuncts
      1. adjunct contract, signed by adjunct employee and dean or designee
      2. Secondary employment form (if adjunct is a regular employee, at UB or at another State agency or institution, this form is mandatory, and must be signed by the primary supervisor /manager)
5. The start date and end date of adjunct contracts must be consistent with the academic calendar for the semester in which the adjunct is teaching. For web courses, the start and end dates must agree to the web course schedule.
6. Prior to submitting packets to HR, departments should make and retain copies of any documents that may be needed for future information.

VI. Payment Schedule

The State’s Central Payroll Office has established different pay dates for regular UB employees teaching on an adjunct contract and for regular adjuncts, who are normally paid on the contractual payroll cycle. All of the dates appear on the Adjunct Pay Schedule.

For contracts received on schedule, payments will be made according to the established Adjunct Pay Schedule:

1. For fall and spring semesters, three payments are made during the semester.
2. For summer semester, one payment is made.
3. For winter sessions, when available, one payment is made.
4. Adjuncts who are also regular employees at UB will receive payments as part of their regular paycheck, as an adjustment to pay.

Contracts submitted to HR late may result in delayed payments. For example, the first paycheck may not be available until the normal second or third scheduled pay date. The initiating departments are expected to inform the affected adjuncts if payments will be delayed.

VII. Contract Review

At the beginning of each semester, HR will provide each dean (or designee) and ARC with a listing of all adjuncts who are scheduled to receive payments. The dean (or designee) and ARC must review the listing to ensure that all contracts have been set up on schedule and must confirm this with HR no later than seven (7) days after receipt of the list. The method of correspondence will be via E-mail.

If a course is canceled, the dean (or designee) and/or ARC must give HR notice in a timely manner so that payments can be stopped.