HR 340 - Full-time Faculty Compensation Policy
Number: HR 340
Effective: August 1, 2021
Last Reviewed: August 15, 2022
Department: Human Resources
Last Revision: May 24, 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish CWI’s compensation program for CWI’s full-time faculty employees in accordance with state and federal law and CWI policy.

Scope

Applies to all full-time faculty employees at CWI.

Definition

Academic Year – For the purposes of this policy the Academic Year shall include the Fall and Spring Semesters as noted on the Academic Calendar in the CWI Catalog.

Additional Assignments – Responsibilities and assignments that are temporary and outside the Regular Duties of a faculty member. This work falls into one of the following categories:

  1. Additional assignments and activities such as those sponsored by Enrollment and Student Services or concurrent enrollment duties; or
  2. Special projects assigned as additional duties; or
  3. Teaching additional classes that are not part of Regular Duties on an exception basis.

Base Salary Period – Time period during which faculty is under obligation to the College for performing Regular Duties for which an employee is compensated with the employee’s base salary.

Faculty:  Rank-eligible faculty who are contracted to teach in Academic Transfer or Career and Technical Education disciplines during the fall and spring semesters.  

Faculty Contract – Document provided annually that outlines the responsibilities of faculty.  All faculty contracts run from August 1 through July 31, but the obligated workdays vary by faculty type.

Faculty Coordinator: Rank-eligible faculty who are contracted to teach in Academic Transfer or Career and Technical Education disciplines during the fall and spring semesters and provide additional coordination duties. 

Faculty Department Chair: Rank-eligible faculty who are contracted to teach a reduced load in Academic Transfer or Career and Technical Education disciplines during the fall and spring semesters and have additional supervisory and leadership duties.

Faculty Effort – the compensated time faculty members spend on college activities including teaching, Institutional Engagement, and Professional Development.

Independent Consulting and Outside Employment – Includes all professional services provided to or for a public or private entity that is not organizationally a part of the CWI. For work to count under this definition, the College is not party to any agreement, nor does it administer any related sponsored funding. Separate policies, HR 210 Outside Employment Policy and HR 270 and 280 Conflict of Interest, address these activities. Compensation in such circumstances is not considered in the IBS or as Supplemental Pay.

Institutional Base Salary (IBS): Annual compensation paid by CWI for an employee’s appointment of Regular Duties during the Base Salary Period regardless of: (i) fund source; or (ii) whether that employee’s time is spent on teaching, Institutional Engagement, or Professional Development. IBS excludes Independent Consulting and outside employment, supplemental pay compensation, bonuses and awards, honoraria, tuition reimbursements, and one-time payments.

Institutional Engagement: Meaningful contributions to the well-being of students, the College, and community through service-related projects, activities, and/or committee work that directly fulfill the mission of the CWI. Activities that fall into this service are noted in the Faculty Planning and Activity Reporting form (FPAR).

Intra‐College Consulting: Includes consulting and other professional services provided to, or for, organizational units within the administrative control of College of Western Idaho. Intra-college consulting, except in unusual situations, is a contractual obligation of the employee for which Supplemental Pay is not appropriate, with the exception noted in the policy below.

Periods Outside the Academic Year: Compensation for work performed by faculty members during periods not included in the Base Salary Period is allowable and will be at a rate not in excess of the IBS. Compensation for Periods Outside of the Academic Year is not considered Supplemental Pay.

Professional Development: Professional goals and development activities that have an impact on faculty performance, student success, or institutional stability. Activities that fall into this service are noted in the Faculty Planning and Activity Reporting form (FPAR).

Non-Teaching Duties: Duties included in Institutional Engagement and Professional Development, Non-Teaching Duties are included in the Regular Duties of faculty, generally approximating 25% of the full-time commitment.

Release Time: Time provided for projects other than teaching in place of the credit or contact hours typically assigned to a full-time faculty. Release Time is considered part of the Institutional Base Salary and additional compensation is not provided. Faculty responsibilities that require Release Time include, but are not limited to:

• Faculty Senate President (6 credits of Release Time in Fall and Spring Semesters – 12 total credits)
• Curriculum Committee Chair (6 credits of Release Time in Fall and Spring Semesters – 12 total credits)
• Faculty Senate Vice President (3 credits of Release Time in Fall and Spring Semesters – 6 total credits)
• Institutional Effectiveness Committee Representative (3 credits of Release Time in Fall OR Spring Semester – 3 total credits)
• Program Review Lead (3 credits of Release Time in Fall Semester – 3 total credits)
• Additional approved projects (credits vary) 

Regular Duties: Responsibilities and assignments defined for an individual employee in a job description. Regular Duties consist of Teaching and Non-Teaching Duties as further outlined in the Faculty Handbook.

Supplemental Pay: Compensation paid to an employee when all the following criteria have been met:

1. It is payment in excess of the employee’s Institutional Base Salary;
2. It is paid in connection with Additional Assignments approved in accordance with the Procedures section
of this policy;
3. It is outside of the employee's job description;
4. Is paid from funds administered through the College payroll system; and
5. Services are rendered during the Base Salary Period.

Support and Teaching Faculty: Faculty who teach in the Math Solutions Center. Support and Teaching Faculty work under the administrative calendar, as outlined in their annual contracts. Support and Teaching Faculty are not rank-eligible and have different benefits as outlined in this and other policies.
Year-round Faculty: Rank-eligible faculty who are contracted to teach in Academic Transfer or Career and Technical Education disciplines and their base salary period includes the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

Policy

CWI recognizes the significant role that its workforce plays in fulfilling its mission. As an employer, CWI understands that maintaining a competitive compensation system is critical to its goal of delivering a quality educational experience. Thus, CWI strives to provide compensation for its employees to attract qualified applicants, retain employees committed to public service, and motivate employees to maintain the highest standards of performance. With such a goal in mind, CWI compensates employees in accordance with decisions by the Board of Trustees as budgets are set. Salary for any given position is subject to the annual budgetary process and as such may be subject to increase, reduction, or status quo maintenance for any time period. CWI’s Board of Trustees reserves the right to make budget adjustments, and consequently direct salary adjustments, during the budget year in order to manage cash flow or to deal with other circumstances that justify or require change in CWI’s expenditures.

Total Rewards Philosophy

CWI is committed to providing affordable access to quality teaching and learning opportunities for the residents of its service area. In fulfilling its mission, CWI strives to foster an environment that embraces respect for the worth of each employee and to pursue the same in its total rewards package that includes salary, benefits, policies, and procedures. CWI desires to attract, retain, and motivate employees through a total rewards system that is equitable internally, competitive externally, aligned with State guidance, and affordable within CWI’s budget. This total rewards package is guided by the principles outlined in HR-160 Compensation Policy.

Professional Development 

Faculty create a professional development plan through the annual completion and review of the Faculty Planning and Activity Reporting (FPAR) form in accordance with accreditation expectations. Career Technical Education (CTE) Faculty must create and maintain a professional development plan that meets requirements for the State Division of CTE. Funds are available, upon approval, to support these endeavors. Faculty participating in professional development requiring financial support submit a Professional Development Form for approval by the Department Chair and Dean, or their designees.

Faculty participating in an approved professional development activity outside of their Base Salary Period, are covered by CWI policies and processes including, but not limited to liability coverage, workmen’s compensation, and travel support. Time engaged in professional development activities outside of their Base Salary Period will not be compensated as time worked unless specifically approved by the dean, or their designee, in advance, for exceptional situations (simultaneous supervision of students and professional development at a national conference, for example). Upon approval, professional development requests may include opportunities during the Base Salary Period in which case faculty work with their supervisor to determine appropriate support for their students during the professional development activity.

Promotions and compensation

A full-time faculty’s Institutional Base Salary may not exceed the maximum of the salary range of their job. If receiving an annual merit increase causes the employee’s Institutional Base Salary to exceed the maximum of the pay range, the employee will receive a one-time lump sum payment equaling the annualized total of their merit in excess of the salary range maximum on the second pay period in August.

Faculty Rank and Promotion

 Rank-eligible faculty at CWI are eligible for the following ranks:

  • Instructor
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor
  • Professor

Faculty advancement in rank is conferred through a process including faculty peer review and instructional administration review as noted in the Faculty Handbook.

Compensation for Rank Promotion

The Provost, or their designee, works with Faculty Senate Leadership and President’s Cabinet to determine consistent and appropriate compensation within the resources available.

Workload

The distribution of effort amongst teaching, Institutional Engagement, and Professional Development may vary amongst faculty members and semesters. However, the distribution of effort should always balance the Institutional Engagement and Professional Development interests of individual faculty members with their responsibility to deliver credit instruction programs of high quality. This variation in the distribution of faculty effort is desirable because it allows optimization of faculty contributions to deliver high-quality programs.

Baseline professional expectations for all full-time, rank-eligible faculty members include teaching, Institutional Engagement, and Professional Development. Unless otherwise defined in school-specific Faculty Expectations documents, the standard teaching assignment is five, 3-credit courses per semester (15 contact hours), which is generally equivalent to 75% of the total faculty workload. The remaining workload is generally allotted to Institutional Engagement and Professional Development.

When an exception is needed, the alternate workload expectations are documented through the Special Projects Form. The Project Manager for Instruction records these alternate hours each term in the Teaching Appointment spreadsheet. Exceptions are managed under the following guidelines and may be compensated as Release Time or Supplemental Pay:

1. uniform application to all faculty members of the discipline;
2. joint development (by the faculty member and department chair) of the Special Projects Form that is then approved by the school dean and subject to review by the Provost; and
3. linkage of the Special Projects Form to the annual faculty evaluation.

Faculty Benefits

Full-time faculty receive benefits as outlined in HR 180 Employee Benefits policy. Faculty receive two (2) personal days. Faculty Coordinators, Faculty Department Chairs, and Year-round Faculty receive three (3) personal days. Support and Teaching Faculty accrue vacation leave per pay period. Vacation leave is to be scheduled in advance and with consent of the responsible department supervisor. Vacation should be scheduled to provide the least disruption to the student learning experience.

All faculty are expected to maintain all teaching obligations during semesters in which they are teaching.

Supplemental Pay

Compensation during the Base Salary Period for the performance of temporary Additional Assignments may be paid in excess of the Institutional Base Salary for all or part of that period if approval for compensation is obtained in accordance with this policy. The employee’s supervisor must ensure that any employee approved for Supplemental Pay continues to meet expectations in performance of their Regular Duties. In any event, the total amount of approved Supplemental Pay shall not exceed 30 percent (30%) of Faculty Effort above and beyond Regular Duties. (Example: Regular Duties may include 15 credits of teaching so Faculty Effort cannot exceed 21 credits of teaching in any semester.) Supplemental compensation by grants will also be limited by the grant award documentation.

A. Supplemental Pay for Teaching Overload: Pay for Overloads is covered in policy INST 160 Overloads – Exceptional Teaching Assignments.
B. Supplemental Pay from Special Projects: Compensation during the Base Salary Period for the performance of Special Projects under Additional Assignments approved by the Provost may be paid in excess of the Institutional Base Salary for all or par of that period if approval for compensation is obtained in accordance with the Procedures section of this policy. CWI’s office of Human Resources maintains the approval rats for common activities completed as Supplemental Pay. All other Supplemental Pay is compensated at the faculty’s IBS rate.
C. Work Not Considered Eligible for Supplemental Pay: The Assignments must be clearly in addition to the employee’s Regular Duties. Work normally conducted as part of the employee’s Regular Duties are not eligible for Supplemental Pay. Bonuses, one-time payments, and incentive pay are not classified as Supplemental Pay.

Supplemental Pay Procedures

Prior to assuming Additional Assignments, excluding Overloads, Supplemental Pay requests must be:

1. Documented on a Special Project form;
2. Include clear expectations, deliverables, and accountability measures;
3. Identify an appropriate cost center and general ledger code which contains sufficient funds to cover the Supplemental Pay; AND
4. Be approved by the Provost, appropriate Vice-President, and/or designee. Approved Additional Assignments become stated expectations of work performed by the faculty and all processes and policies governing employee performance will be in effect during the Additional Assignment.

Grant-Funded Compensation

Compensation for grant-related projects is only allowed when:

•    The prior approval of the CWI Grant office is obtained
•    It is specifically provided for in the award document or provided in writing by the Program Manager of the sponsoring agency  
•    Time and Effort reporting is provided as required

Right to Change Compensation and Benefits

CWI reserves the right to change general compensation for any reason deemed appropriate. Compensation may also be adjusted based upon job performance and the availability of funds to maintain a solvent CWI budget. Hours worked may be reduced or employees may be laid off as necessary to meet budgetary constraints or as workload changes.

Referenced