Elaine--

 You undoubtedly will want to review the recently revised OMB A-21
 Guidelines -- Section J.8.d. paragraphs (1),(2) and (3) delineate
 the basis for calculating Salary rates for faculty members under
 sponsored agreements; however, I think the general interpretation of
 the above has been consistent over time and is that faculty time and
 effort reflects the sum total of activities that, based on institutional
 interpretation, constitutes faculty effort.  Often, this is broken down
 into teaching, research, advising, committee work, and/or community
 service/outreach, and, as a practical matter -- especially for
 department chairs and deans -- acknowledges the need for coverage
 (or "buyout") of, first and foremost, teaching duties, or "load."
 However, the two should not be confused.  Also as a practical matter,
 it always is useful to determine -- insofar as possible -- how much time
 on task, on average, the faculty member reasonably can devote to a
 project.  At a major research institution where I formerly worked an
 arbitrary forty hour work week could be used for estimation purposes,
 recognizing, of course, that most faculty tend to work significantly
 more than that.  This issue of actual buyout obviously gets dicey when
 faculty time and effort on sponsored programs exceeds that reasonably
 set aside for research and other "soft" activity, necessitating "real"
 release from teaching duty.  In such cases, I would expect the faculty
 member to have to negotiate the terms of release up front with his/her
 supervisor.  Sometimes courses can be rescheduled to accommodate down
 periods in the research cycle.  Sometimes other colleagues can trade
 off times to cover classes.  Sometimes, cheaper, limited service faculty
 can be contracted to cover lower level courses.  I hope this perspective
 helps.

 --Eric

 Eric C. Lewandowski, CRA
 Director
 Grants and Sponsored Programs
 Youngstown State University
 One University Plaza
 Youngstown, Ohio   44555-2377

 (330) 742-2378 [Office - Direct line]
 (330) 742-1580 [Office - FAX]
 xxxxxx@cc.ysu.edu [E-mail]

On Tue, 24 Nov 1998, Lilly, Elaine M. wrote:

> I need to get unstuck and so I turn to this dynamic network for advice.  Lo
> these many years, I have cheerfully used "% time" calculations based "de
> facto" on course release (e.g., 1/4 release  = 1/4 contract salary and
> faculty member teaches 3/4 load, 1/4  typically replaced by adjunct
> faculty; "other issues" get resolved at the department level).  But I was in
>
> a collective bargaining environment.
> I had never been placed in the middle of a discussion about what
> ELSE reduction in load means.  Until now.  A faculty member wants
> institutional policy about what release time means in terms of service
> (etc.) -- OR
> wants cheaper buyout if the same non-teaching responsibilities are met.
> Does
> anybody have a more sophisticated way of calculating "% time" or some good
> advice for me?  (This is an undergraduate faculty member at a private
> university.)
> I have some thoughts, but none of them lead me to support an administrative
> policy on an issue I'd think departments would want to handle...
> and could do so more appropriately!!
>
> Help?
>
>
> *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
> Elaine M. Lilly, Ph.D. ** Faculty Grants Coordinator
> * * * University of St. Thomas  **  Mail #5045 * * *
> * * 2115 Summit Avenue ** St. Paul MN 55105-1096 * *
> PH 651-962-6038 FAX 962-5406 ** xxxxxx@stthomas.edu
> VISIT THE FGO HOME PAGE: http://www.stthomas.edu/fgo
>
>
> =============================================================================
>

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