Compensation for Certain Additional Professional Services (Trustee Doc. T68-060)

Trustee Document T68-060

Policy on Compensation for Certain Additional Professional Services 

WHEREAS it is the responsibility of every university to promote and encourage the search for new truth and knowledge for the benefit of mankind, and

WHEREAS a state university is distinctive in its emphasis on research and the dissemination of research findings as a service to the citizens of the state and nation, and

WHEREAS there is a great need for more highly trained research scientists and teachers, and

WHEREAS the University of Massachusetts maintains and supports a Graduate School for the purpose of providing training at the Master's and Doctoral levels, and

WHEREAS in order to provide such training the University of Massachusetts must maintain a highly qualified faculty which is itself competent in and interested in research, and

WHEREAS such a faculty will be more productive and stimulating in the teaching of students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and

WHEREAS a university is recognized for the scholarly and creative work of its faculty, and

WHEREAS it is the policy of the University of Massachusetts to expect each member of the faculty to teach, engage in research and/or other scholarly and creative work, and to perform a service role to and for the University including the academic advisement and counseling of students, and

WHEREAS it is also the policy of the University to undertake research sponsored and paid for by grants or contracts from agencies of the federal government, foundations, business, or other sources outside the University, and

WHEREAS such sponsored research is of great economic advantage to the Commonwealth in that it both supports research that might otherwise require state appropriations and provides new processes for development by Massachusetts industrial and agricultural interests,

THEREFORE, it is the policy of the University of Massachusetts to permit compensation for certain additional professional services within the following policies:The first duty and first loyalty of a member of the faculty is to the University. He is under obligation to render to the University the most effective service of which he is capable. No outside service shall be undertaken, whether with or without pay, that might interfere with the discharge of this paramount obligation.

 In view of the fact that the University operates on a six day class week, members of the faculty are permitted, when approved, the equivalent of one day per week for sponsored research, consulting, or other activities related to their profession for which additional compensation may be received. Under no circumstances, however, are members of the faculty to be given any reduction in normal teaching, service, or other assigned load on account of performance of such other activities.

I. Research; including sponsored research, i.e., research contracted by the University with outside agencies.

1.     It is the responsibility and the duty of all deans and department heads to give faculty members as much encouragement as possible to do research as a normal part of their employment. When released time for sponsored research is authorized, no loss of so -called fringe benefits should occur because an equivalent portion of the faculty member's base salary should be budgeted in advance against, and charged to, the grant or contract of the agency sponsoring the research.

2.     University participation in tests and investigations shall be limited to activities which lead to the extension of knowledge or to increased effectiveness in teaching. Routine tasks of commonplace type will not be undertaken except where it is shown conclusively to the appropriate University officials that satisfactory facilities for such services do not exist elsewhere.

3.     Research proposals shall bear the approval of the principal investigator, the department head, the academic dean (or in the case of agriculture, the Director of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station) and the Dean of the Graduate School and Coordinator of Research before being submitted to the Treasurer of the University for execution. Two extra copies of the proposal shall be submitted for the files of the Provost’s Office and the Treasurer’s Office.

4.     Members of the faculty on academic year appointment are encouraged to participate in sponsored research and may, when approved by the Trustees, receive additional compensation in addition to the budgeted salary. Such additional compensation may be earned only during the Summer months (i.e., between Commencement and Fall Registration). Such compensation must be permissible within the policies of the agency sponsoring the research and must be charged to the sponsor's funds. Additional compensation shall be computed at the rate of 1/40th of the faculty member's then current academic year salary for each full week of research services, or 1/200th of the faculty member's then current academic year salary for each full day of research service. Maximum additional compensation from sponsored research shall not exceed ~ percent of the faculty member's then current academic year salary.

5.     Members of the faculty on calendar year appointment are permitted to participate in sponsored research but may not receive additional compensation in addition to the budgeted salary.

6.     When additional compensation is to be paid for sponsored research, such funds must be budgeted in advance against, and charged to, the contract or grant executed with the agency sponsoring the research. Funds received as a result of an agreement with the University for the performance of research are funds belonging to the University, notwithstanding the fact that the agreement may have resulted from negotiations by an individual member of the faculty. Such funds, therefore, shall be administered in accordance with regular procedures governing trust funds.

II. Other Activities

1.     Members of the faculty are permitted to accept outside service of a professional nature, with or without pay, only providing it conforms to the following stated principles.

a.     A faculty member undertaking outside service shall inform the head of his department of the nature and extent of such activities and must obtain prior permission from the head of the department and the Dean of his College or School before undertakinq such outside service. A department head undertaking outside service shall inform his dean of the nature and extent of such activities and must obtain prior permission from the dean before undertaking such service. A record of all such outside service shall be reported to the Provost.

 When approved by the department head and dean, members of the Faculty are permitted to teach under the Four-College Cooperative Plan at approved salaries which have been established by the Four-College Cooperative Plan. Teaching for the University at other off campus locations may, when approved, be compensated at such rates as the Trustees may determine.

b.     No member of the faculty shall accept or retain employment which would bring him as an expert, or in any other capacity, into conflict with the interests of the University or its programs of Cooperative Extension and Control Service or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and if in his opinion, proposed employment might involve such conflict, he shall disclose the relevant facts when seeking the permission required under (a) above.

c.      As a state-supported institution, the University is under obligation to render service to the people of the Commonwealth so far as this may be practical. The appropriate school dean or other University officer shall decide whether and to what extent this obligation can be met in the circumstances of any particular case.

d.      The University assumes no responsibility for private professional service rendered by members of the faculty. When a faculty member does work in a private capacity, he must make it clear to those who employ him that his work is unofficial. No official University stationery or forms shall be used in connection with such work nor shall the name of the University be used in any advertising or in any other way without the express consent of the University, given in writing by the President.

Amendments to Trustee Document  T68-060

Section II. Continuing Education and Public Service

1.     Members of the faculty are permitted to participate, with or without compensation, in programs of a continuing education or public service nature requiring their professional services, provided such participation conforms to the following stated principles:

a.     Such services shall be performed in programs of a continuing education or public service nature which are sponsored by the University, and no such faculty member shall so participate without the prior written consent of the head of his department and the dean of his college or school. A record of all such participation, including the amount and nature of services and rate of compensation, if any, entailed, shall be reported to the Chancellor, as the case may be. Subject to the requirements elsewhere herein contained, services so approved may be performed at any time during the calendar year.

b.     All such services and participation shall be in addition to and exclusive of, the regular academic and scholarly duties and services to be performed by such faculty member, as assigned from time to time by the University.

c.      Compensation, if any, for participation in such programs shall be at the rate established by the Dean or Continuing Education with the approval of the Chancellor and the President. A faculty member may receive, during or with respect to any calendar year, such compensation in an amount up to ten (10) percent of his annual salary for regularly assigned duties, and a faculty member on a calendar year appointment may receive, during or with respect to any such year, such compensation in any amount up to twelve (12) percent of his annual salary for such duties.      

d.     Compensation permitted hereunder shall be specifically in addition to that compensation allowed for research activities under Section I. Compensation so permitted shall be considered, however, by deans and department heads in acting upon requests by faculty members for permission to participate, or to perform, outside services of a professional nature, with or without compensation, as described in Section II.

e.     Notwithstanding any other provision contained in this Section II, participation in programs of a continuing education and public service nature, as herein provided, shall at all times be subject to such further rules of uniform application as the Dean of Continuing Education, with the approval of the Chancellor and the President, shall from time to time promulgate.

2.      If University facilities, equipment, or supplies are required for private professional services, approval for the use of such facilities, equipment or supplies must be obtained from the department head and dean. A reasonable fee shall be paid to the University for the use of such facilities, equipment, and supplies. This fee shall be determined by the Treasurer of the University upon the recommendation of the respective dean.

t68060.htm 5/98

Copyright © 1998 University of Massachusetts, Amherst.