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Policy

Summer Session and J-Term courses and programs will be offered to expand academic access for UWRF students and to allow faculty and staff to support and enhance student-learning opportunities. Courses and programs offered will be guided by the Goals and Initiatives set forth in the University Operational Plan as well as the Strategic Plan which include, but are not limited to, Goal 1: Create a Culture of Learning, and Goal 7: Invest in Human Resources. Academic units will refer to the spirit of the Strategic Plan when choosing course offerings that meet the needs of various learner constituencies, such as currently matriculated students, working professionals, life-long learners, regional businesses, organizations and agencies and under-represented and minority populations. All program and course offerings will be based on a model that is fiscally sustainable. The procedures set forth in this paper are intended to allow UWRF to offer, over the course of an academic year, the broadest possible mix of classes to meet our diverse learner population needs, provide students greater opportunity to graduate within four years, and compensate faculty and staff in a manner commensurate with their rank.

Compensation Policy

1. Compensation for teaching summer session, winter session (J-Term) is based on a simple formula tied to gross tuition revenue as defined in Table 1. It will be consistently applied to faculty and staff across all colleges.
   
2. There are three compensation tiers which represent percentages of gross WI resident tuition revenue retained by the instructor:
   a. Tier 1: 34% of gross tuition revenue – Assistant Professor and Instructional Academic Staff;
   b. Tier 2: 36% of gross tuition revenue – Associate Professor;
   c. Tier 3: 38%: Tier 3 = Full Professor.
   
3. An example of establishing compensation under this policy, assuming a class of 20 students, is demonstrated in Table 1.
   

COMPENSATION POLICY GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND REQUIREMENTS:

Summer Session, Winter Session (J-Term), including Fully On-Line, Hybrid, Internship, Independent Study, Research, and Reading Compensation Policy guiding principles and requirements.

1. Courses and programs will be offered through a sustainable fiscal model.
   
2. Class size during Summer and Winter sessions should be set to a similar level as those offered during the regular academic year.
   
3. Compensation will be based on the Wisconsin resident undergraduate/graduate tuition revenue generated based on the official class enrollment at the end of the last day of class of week one for Summer Session/J-Term courses. The tuition revenue does not include segregated fees, special course fees, online fees, reciprocity, differential tuition, etc.
   
4. There are three compensation tiers to modestly acknowledge and reward differences in rank: Tier 1 (Assistant Professor and Instructional Staff); Tier 2 (Associate Professor); and Tier 3 (Full Professor).
   
5. The policy will apply consistently to all summer and J-Term courses including on-campus undergraduate and graduate classes, as well as hybrid, fully on-line, internships, independent study and independent research/reading courses across all colleges. The only exceptions are listed in item #14 below.
   
6. Compensation will automatically increase with tuition increases at the rate not to exceed 5%.
   
7. There is no $12,000 overload salary cap during summer session as academic year (nine-month) faculty are not on contract per: UWSA ACPS 4 (http://www.uwsa.edu/acss/acps/acsp4.pdf) UPG-4 (http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/upgs/UPG%204/UPG04%2007.23.08.pdf) Section 16.417(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/Statutes.html) 3.1.10) Note: The $12,000 overload salary cap does apply to faculty and staff teaching during J-Term as they are on contract.
   
8. Faculty are restricted to earning no more than a total of 2/9 of their annual contractual salary unless they receive written permission from the Dean of the college as the Chancellor designee per UWSA F29 (http://www.uwsa.edu/fadmin/fppp/fppp29.htm).
   
9. Deans and department chairs will offer summer session/J-Term courses that complement, not displace or negatively impact, academic year offerings.
   
10. The minimum class size will be determined at the discretion of the Dean after consultation with the instructor and/or department chair.
    
11. Payment will be determined at the end of week one of the course. This time period is chosen for two reasons: a) most J-Term and many Summer Session courses are three weeks in length, and b) students in courses that last three-four weeks long can receive a 100% tuition refund up to the end of week one per UWSA F44 (http://uwsa.edu/fadmin/fppp/fppp44.htm).
    
12. The campus will submit a formal System request to eliminate the six-nine credit summer tuition plateau for undergraduates within six months of the implementation of this policy.
    
13. Review Policy. This policy will be in place for three years from the time of initial implementation. A review, collaboratively undertaken by the Senate Faculty Compensation Committee and Administration, will be conducted following the second full year of implementation. The objective of this review process is to assure the policy is meeting its goals which are:
    a. Offer broadcast possible mix of classes to meet diverse learner population needs.
    b. Provide students greater opportunity to graduate within four years.
    c. Compensate faculty and staff in a manner commensurate with their rank.
    d. Determine the possibility of revising compensation percentages based on meeting the set goals and no decrease in budget return to campus below summer 2010 levels.
    This policy, as well as the compensation levels distributed to faculty and staff, may be adjusted after year three following discussion between Administration and Faculty Governance which would provide a recommendation to the Chancellor for his/her decision.
    
14. Study abroad, service-based pricing and Outreach/Continuing Education offerings are addressed in separate policies.

Authority

The UW-River Falls Chancellor issues this policy in accordance with the Administrative Policy process.
The VCAF is responsible for the administration of this policy. Request an exception to this policy by writing to administrative-policy@uwrf.edu.

Sanctions and Appeals Process

Failure to adhere to the provisions of this policy may result in appropriate disciplinary action as provided under existing procedures applicable to students, faculty, and staff, and/or civil or criminal prosecution.

University Responsibilities

UW System and UWRF institutional plans will guide the allocation of expenditure authority for Fudn 104 from UW Extension to UWRF.

Department/Unit Responsibilities

1. Deans of the Academic Colleges
   a. College Deans in consultation with Department Chairs will set appropriate class numbers and size limits to meet the objectives of this policy and to assure that courses normally offered during the academic year are not negatively affected. Deans will be responsible for covering expenditures beyond the amount collected via tuition/fee revenue.
   
2. Registrar’s Office
   a. The Registrar’s office will be responsible for coordinating and scheduling all summer session and winter course offerings.
   b. The Registrar’s office will post a two-ear working summer and J-Term course schedule in consultation with the colleges.
   
3. Outreach/Continuing Education
   a. The Office of Outreach/Continuing Education will be responsible for managing only those courses offered through Outreach/Continuing Education.

Background

Prior to 2003 (and the development and implementation of the UWRF Strategic Plan), Summer Session courses were taught on a compensation model that was proportional to a faculty member’s nine-month academic year salary up to a maximum of 2/9 (0.2222) of that salary. A full summer session load was considered to be eight credits and course enrollments of 18 students were required for instructors to receive full compensation. Courses with fewer than 18 students were taught at a reduced rate as individually negotiated with the respective Deans. This policy changed in 2003, without Faculty Governance input or consultation, to a per-credit rate model with built-in salary plateaus. The result of this change was faculty and staff teaching courses for significantly less compensation as well as the introduction of a tremendous disincentive to offer classes whose enrollments were above the designated plateau levels or below reasonable compensation enrollments. This, along with other reasons, has resulted in a stagnant summer session program. With the introduction of the Wisconsin Growth Agenda and More Graduates for Wisconsin initiatives, it is imperative that UWRF leverage our talent and physical resources more effectively to reach our goals and expand student opportunities. Enhancing our summer school and J-Term offerings will play a significant role in teaching our objectives and better serve our student body by offering additional scheduling flexibility.
The express purpose of this policy is to align our summer session/J-Term compensation policy with overall Goals and Initiatives set forth in the Strategic Plan while specifically addressing Goal 7.1.3: “Develop and implement a new summer and J-Term session salary schedule/model.” It is a model that, among other things: 

• Gains legitimacy as a result of percolating up through the shared governance process;
• Is consistently applied across all colleges and listed programs and simplifies administration;
• Fairly compensates faculty and staff for their time and expertise;
• Eliminates arbitrary pay plateaus;
• Modestly rewards faculty and staff for their differential time in service;
• Provides incentive for faculty, staff and administration to create a viable and vibrant summer session program that generates revenue;
• Redistributes the enrollment pressures to help relieve and address the workload creep (SP Goal 7.2.3) seen throughout the academic year created by the Wisconsin Growth Agenda and the More Graduates for Wisconsin initiative, which currently requires units to overpopulate lectures and laboratories during the regular academic year;
• Encourages colleges to collaborate and develop a reliable and predictable summer session/J-Term schedule for advising and planning purposes;
• Creates confidence in an expanded array of summer and J-Term course offerings that will allow students and advisors to build these courses into their long-term plan, permitting them to graduate early should they so choose;
• Makes more efficient use of campus physical and technological resources; and,
  
• Should expand Summer Session and J-Term course offerings to increase student scheduling flexibility thereby making Summer Session and J-Term more desirable student options.

Contact

Please direct questions about this policy to administrative-policy@uwrf.edu.