FTE Changes

Many University of Washington faculty receive a portion of their salary support for their appointment through external funds. Because such sources of funds are limited in duration, faculty may find themselves in a situation in which the availability of funds from all sources is not adequate to cover their full base salary, the primary component of institutional base salary (IBS). In some such instances, it is necessary to temporarily reduce the faculty member’s institutional responsibilities and to effect a commensurate reduction in the amount of the faculty member’s institutional base salary (IBS) payroll distribution (e.g. regular pay (REG) as used in the payroll system).

Faculty members whose institutional responsibilities have been reduced in these circumstances are deemed to be in reduced responsibility (RR) status, as defined by this policy. RR status is a temporary status; it is expected that the institutional responsibilities and compensation of a faculty member in RR status will in time be restored in whole or in part.

This policy describes the circumstances that qualify as RR status and the procedures and documentation that apply to this status. Such documentation is essential in order to demonstrate that the changes in institutional base salary (IBS) compensation of faculty members who are in RR status are the result of changes in their institutional responsibilities and not merely the result of changes in their external funding. That distinction is important, because, under the rules and policies of some external sponsors, including but not limited to federal sponsors such as NIH and NSF, employee compensation that is charged to sponsored agreements may not fluctuate solely in response to fluctuations in external salary support.

Because the documentation requirements of this policy have been established in response to the rules and policies of external sponsors, the policy applies only to faculty members who are supported by external funding, or who are seeking to be supported by external funding. This does not apply to faculty under an A/B salary arrangement. This policy does not supersede or serve to address faculty appointment policies described in the Faculty Code, or other University, school, or unit-level policies and agreements, including, for example, those related to benefits eligibility.

Reduced responsibility (RR) status is different from a part-time appointment. A part-time appointment, as its name suggests, is defined as a less than 1.0 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) University employment relationship. The RR status is defined in terms of a reduction in the obligations defined by the Chair/Director and or Dean/Chancellor that a particular faculty member has to the University during a period of record.

RR status is temporary by nature and does not affect the faculty member’s appointment status, whereas a part-time appointment may be indefinite in duration and is less than 1.0 FTE.

Sponsor rules and policies with respect to faculty institutional base salary (IBS) compensation make it necessary to document the RR status formally and explicitly, in order to demonstrate that changes in institutional base salary compensation associated with RR status result from changes in institutional responsibilities, and not merely from changes in external salary support. Without such documentation of changes in responsibilities, for example, a federal sponsor might disallow an increase in institutional base salary compensation for a faculty member formerly in RR status who has been restored to his or her original level of responsibility and institutional base salary compensation.

There are circumstances at the University in which Faculty members may enter into a temporary period of RR status, with correspondingly reduced institutional base salary (IBS) compensation. The conditions leading to RR status are as follows:

• A faculty member, with either a full-time or part-time appointment, has lost a portion of his/her institutional base salary (IBS) support from external funding; OR
• The faculty member, whether full-time or part-time appointment, has lost a portion of his/her institutional base salary support from internal funding, AND the faculty member:
  • is supported at least in part by external funding; or
  • expects to receive external funding; or
  • actually does receive external funding.
• The Chair/Director and/or Dean/Chancellor of the academic unit in which the Faculty member’s funding is changing (“the affected unit”) has determined that no alternative source of funds are available to maintain the faculty member’s institutional base salary at the current appointment level, and agrees that a temporary reduction in responsibilities and institutional base salary compensation is appropriate and necessary; AND
• It is the intention of the faculty member to return to the former level of responsibilities and corresponding institutional base salary compensation as soon as additional funds are obtained, with the concurrence of the Chair/Director and/or Dean/Chancellor of the affected unit; AND
• The faculty member is not under an A/B salary arrangement.

The responsibilities of a faculty member in RR status will be defined by the Chair/Director and/or Dean/Chancellor of the faculty member’s primary unit and with the concurrence of any secondary unit in which the faculty member has a joint appointment.

Considerations for Faculty Moving to RR Status

Appointment and Promotion

RR status does not change the appointment of the faculty member nor the “promotion clock”. However, continued RR status beyond three consecutive years may result in an appointment reduction, at the discretion of the Chair/Director and/or Dean/Chancellor of the faculty member’s primary unit, and with the concurrence of any secondary unit in which the faculty member has a joint appointment.

Outside Professional Work

A faculty member on RR status remains eligible for outside professional work for compensation in accordance with the Outside Professional Work Policy. The amount allowed does not change based on RR status.

Funding Support for Institutional Scholarly Activities

The support provided to faculty for scholarly responsibilities (e.g., grant proposal writing, administrative activities) should remain consistent with the academic unit’s practice and GIM 35.

RR Status and Hours Worked

Fulfillment of the terms of RR status is not assessed on the basis of hours worked. A faculty member in RR status may spend either more or less time on University responsibilities than a faculty member in full-appointment status. Indeed, some faculty members in RR status may choose to work longer hours than they did prior to taking RR status, in order to return as soon as possible to full-appointment status.

RR Status and Part-Time Appointment

RR Status is different from part-time appointment. Part-time appointment is defined as less than FTE UW employment relationship. The RR Status is defined in terms of a reduction in the obligations defined by the Chair/Director and or the Dean/Chancellor that a particular faculty member has to the University during a period of record. Generally speaking, RR Status is necessary as a result of a shortfall in external funding whereas part-time status is appropriate where a faculty member’s employment obligation is less than 1.0 FTE. The UW policy on reduction of faculty appointment can be reviewed for more information.

Proposals to Sponsors for External Funding

Use of the University Institutional Base Salary is necessary in proposing effort to sponsors when applying for external funding as it is a reflection of the compensation paid by the University for an employee’s appointment. The full uncapped IBS is to be included in the “Institutional Base Salary” section of proposals per GIM 35.

Consistent with GIM 35, salary requests included in grant applications submitted while a faculty member is in RR status should reflect the faculty member’s Institutional Base Salary (IBS) based on his or her full appointment. Proposed effort is also expressed in relation to full appointment effort.

The grant application should contain a notation within the budget justification that the salary request is based on full appointment salary, and that effort is expressed in relation to full appointment effort, as follows:

“Full-appointment Institutional Base Salary amounts are used in all salary calculations, including for any researchers who may have a part-time or reduced responsibility appointment and correspondingly reduced compensation. Proposed effort is also expressed in relation to full-appointment effort, so the requested salary is consistent with proposed effort.”

Monitoring and Records

The affected unit ensures that there is consistent application of the policy for all faculty members within the unit. The status of each RR Faculty must be reviewed no less than annually, and the Chair/Director or designee of the affected unit will evaluate all circumstances in which a faculty member’s RR status has changed more than six times during a 12-month period. In such circumstances, a retrospective review of the reasons for frequent changes should be conducted, and written recommendations to reduce the frequency of change should be developed and included in the faculty member’s personnel file. However, it is recognized that certain faculty have specialized talents and skills that involve their participation on numerous grants at relatively small levels of effort (e.g., Biostatistics faculty who provide critical input into statistical design and evaluation of research), and thus frequent changes in support may be entirely appropriate, as projects will start and finish frequently over the period of a year.