External Funds to Replace Faculty Teaching

The College encourages faculty to obtain funding to support their research, educational or service activities from sources outside of the University. When a faculty member obtains external funding, the budget sometimes allows for replacement of part of his or her teaching assignment. While this advances the research and other missions of the University by freeing up faculty time, buying out of instructional duties is not a faculty right and can only be done with the approval of the departmental chair and the Dean. The following guidelines will be followed to protect the interests of the University:

• This policy only applies to competitively awarded external funding for activities that support the mission and priorities of the University.

• Faculty members are expected to teach at least one course each academic year and may not use external funding to buy out of all teaching in a given year.

• External funds can not be used to reduce the FTE of a faculty member.

• External funds must provide at least 1/6 of a faculty member's annual salary for each three credit-hour course which is to be replaced. For courses which carry more or fewer credit hours, the amount will be prorated.

• Eighty percent of the external money for a buyout will be returned to the department to provide replacement instruction and for other departmental priorities and 20% will be retained by the College.

• No faculty member will be allowed to buy out of instruction if it will compromise the ability of the department to deliver its instructional program. It is the responsibility of the Department to ensure that its teaching needs can be met with its share of the funds provided by the buyout.

• At the time a proposal is developed, the PI must negotiate the arrangement for any buyouts with the Chair of the Department. Since programmatic needs can change between the submission of a proposal and the receipt of funding, the Chair will retain the right to modify the arrangement so as to be able to meet departmental obligations.

• These guidelines do not apply to buyouts which use funds internal to the University. Those will be handled on a case-by-case basis but, ordinarily, salary savings resulting from internally funded buyouts will revert to the College.