I am a faculty member on a nine-month contract with a summer research supplement. Can I use my summer research supplement to compensate me for work performed during the academic year?

No. All work on grants and contracts must be paid for the period in which the effort was performed. For example, if a faculty member is paid 100 percent from a sponsored project for the month of July, he or she must devote 100 percent of their July effort to work on that sponsored project. Effort performed on sponsored projects during the academic year cannot be used to satisfy summer payments from sponsored projects. Summer effort charged to sponsored projects must also be performed with the same rigor as effort performed during the academic year.

I am a nine-month faculty member charging three months of summer salary to sponsored projects? Am I eligible to take a summer vacation?

No. A faculty member on a nine-month contract may not charge three months of summer salary to sponsored projects and take a vacation during the same period (May 16 to August 15). Summer effort is expected to be performed with the same rigor as effort during the academic year.

If you take a vacation during the summer, you cannot charge three months’ summer salary to sponsored projects.

I am a nine-month faculty member with less than three months of summer funding. How do I certify my effort?

The Summer Semester runs for three months from May 16 to August 15. The base for the Summer Semester is 3/9ths of the academic year salary or three months of salary. Effort is determined as a percentage of this base. Three full months of effort totals 100 percent. One full month of funding totals 33 percent (one month divided by a three-month base).

Effort at less than 100 percent per month is determined the same way. For example, a faculty member with funding from May 16 to June 30 would certify to 50 percent for the summer (1.5 months divided by the three-month base).

I am a nine-month faculty member and have elected to spread my salary payments over 12 months. How will this affect my effort certification?

Pay from sponsored projects must be paid as earned and certified accordingly. Only pay from non-sponsored accounts may be spread over a longer period. For example, a faculty member earning $90,000 for the academic year with a 10 percent research commitment can elect to spread his or her pay into 12 monthly payments of $7,500 instead of nine payments of $10,000. However, since the 10 percent research portion must be paid over the nine academic months at a rate of $1,000 per month, only the remainder of the pay may be spread out. This portion is 90 percent of $90,000 or $81,000. In the academic months the faculty member will be paid 13.3 percent of his or her salary from the grant ($1,000 divided by $7,500) but should only certify to the 10 percent effort they actually worked.