Guidelines for Grant Appointments and Arranging Teaching Buyout

In order to plan the fiscal budget and teaching schedule, it is critical that we know about possible grant support as far in advance as possible.

If it looks like your grant will be funded (e.g. report of score in fundable range; receipt of request to complete ‘just in time’ materials or other communication from funding agency)

• Contact the Business Manager in the College of Nursing to let her know when the grant might be awarded, and the amount of salary/fringe which will be paid from the grant.  The Business Manager will share the information with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
• If salary support will be included for you on a grant outside the College of Nursing, contact the Business Manager and provide the name of the PI, the PI’s department and college, the administrative support contact person, dates of funding period and level of support for your role in the grant.

When you receive an Award Activation Notice

• Make an appointment to meet with the Business Manager in the College of Nursing to discuss your grant budget and prospects for “buying out” of teaching a course.
  • Your comprehensive budget for the new grant, combined with the budgets for any existing grants, will be reviewed to determine the level of buyout available to you.  This information will be forwarded to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
  • Faculty and staff appointments to the grant based on the comprehensive budget will be forwarded to Human Resources for processing.
  • A grant management plan will be discussed with you to provide a clear expectation of the financial responsibilities for managing the grant.  College staff and other resources will be identified to assist you with the financial procedures.
• If you qualify for teaching buyout, you will meet with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to discuss the details of the teaching release.

Criteria for teaching buyout

• The final decision to allow a teaching buyout rests with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. 
• Teaching buyout must occur in the same fiscal year as the grant salary support.
• Every effort will be made to accommodate a teaching buyout request.  However, once a semester begins the faculty is obligated to complete instruction of the course.
• Support from more than one grant may be combined to reach the buyout level, provided the salary support is in the same fiscal year.
• There will be no “carryover” of teaching release outside of the specific grant funding year.
• If teaching buyout is not possible due to the academic needs of the college, compensation for overload teaching may be considered.

Salary Match, Donated and In-Kind effort

• Salary matched by the college as a requirement of the funding agency may qualify for teaching buyout if approval is given by the Dean early in the budget planning process, prior to the budget being finalized.
• Donated (in kind) work on an institutional research training grant (T32) may qualify for teaching buyout if approval is given by the Dean early in the budget planning process, prior to the budget being finalized.
• Effort on a teaching grant will not qualify for teaching buyout unless specifically approved by the Dean early in the budget planning process, and prior to the budget being finalized.
• Other donated (in kind) work on a grant does not qualify for buyout.

Level of support needed for teaching buyout

• 20% salary/fringe support for one semester = release for one course during that semester.
• 20% salary/fringe support for two semesters = release for two courses during that academic year.
• 10% salary/fringe support for two semesters = release for one course during that academic year.
• Support of less than 10% for two semesters will not qualify for teaching buyout.

Understanding effort

• Tenure Track faculty (Research Active)
  • Each semester:
    • Teach 2 courses @ 20% each                               40%
    • Research                                                                     40%
    • Service                                                                         20%

• Clinical Track faculty
  • Each semester:
    • Teach 3 courses @ 20% each                               60%
    • Scholarship/Practice                                               20%
    • Service                                                                         20%

Summer grant support

• Fiscal year (12 month) faculty are required to teach in the summer session.  20% salary support during the summer is needed to qualify for teaching buyout of one summer course.
• Note:  there is no summer course buyout available to Academic year (9 month) appointments because they do not teach in the summer. 
• Academic year (9 month) faculty who expect to have grant support during the summer must specify the salary amount in the grant budget, and it must be approved by the funding agency.  Summer grant support is in addition to, and does not replace, academic year grant support.

Academic year (9 month) faculty who are approved for the “9 + 2” summer support from the CON must first use all sources of grant funding that are available.  If approved, CON funding may supplement the grant money to ensure two full months of s