Scope

This policy outlines the College’s position and procedures governing the teaching of credit-bearing courses by College staff members. For the purposes of this policy, “staff members” includes all employees whose regular responsibilities are not primarily course instruction, even if they may teach as part of, or in addition to, their regular responsibilities.

Policy Statement

Staff employed by Ithaca College are a valuable resource who provide expertise and support through their primary job responsibilities. In some circumstances, qualified staff can be employed to teach academic courses, in addition to their normal position and responsibilities. The opportunity for staff members to teach may allow them to pursue their own professional development, maintain their intellectual interests, and enhance the student experience in an academic setting. In such cases, the staff member and their supervisor(s) must properly coordinate the responsibilities of the employee’s normal duties with the additional teaching responsibilities, as teaching can place added stress and strain on the performance of their normal job responsibilities and, when carried to excess, can interfere with the employee’s regular work. The obligation to coordinate the employee’s responsibilities includes, but is not limited to, following the Guidelines stated below in this Policy.

Guidelines

A.  RESTRICTIONS

Credits per Year:  Staff members who teach are limited to a maximum of teaching one (1) three-credit or four-credit course per semester or during summer or winter session, up to a maximum of eight credits during the twelve-month period from July 1 to June 30.

Scheduling:  Courses and course-related activities must be conducted outside of the staff member’s regular work hours unless a flexible work plan is developed in collaboration with, and approved by, the staff member’s immediate supervisor and respective Vice President.

Designations:  Staff who teach as part of, or in addition to, their regular responsibilities are not considered members of the faculty, do not hold faculty rank, and are not represented by faculty council.

B. APPROVALS

For the addition of instruction responsibilities to be considered, the staff member must be meeting performance expectations in their regular position. The staff member’s supervisor, dean of the school under which the course is being taught, and Provost must approve all staff teaching requests before offers are made. Teaching is contingent on enrollment, course availability, the support of the staff member’s supervisor and Vice President, and the support of the appropriate dean and Provost. Faculty/Department Chairs may not guarantee staff members the opportunity to teach courses before obtaining proper authorization. The request for approval must be done each semester.

C. COMPENSATION

Availability of Compensation: Non-faculty employees may receive compensation for their teaching-related activities that is additional to their regular salary or hourly compensation, unless teaching is already specified as an expectation of their regular staff position job responsibilities. For both exempt and non-exempt employees, the pay rate for any additional compensation for teaching activities is non-salary and should not exceed the part-time, per course per credit rate set by the contingent faculty collective bargaining agreement.

Exempt Staff Compensation:  Exempt staff members who are eligible may receive additional compensation at a part-time, per course per credit rate established by the contingent faculty collective bargaining agreement. Exempt staff may only teach outside of the normal workday when such teaching is not part of their regular job responsibilities, provided that such teaching and teaching-related activities (preparation, grading, consulting with students, etc.) do not interfere with their regular staff duties. 

Non-Exempt Staff Compensation:  Non-exempt status is established by the employee’s primary job duties regardless of any secondary assignment. Non-exempt staff members’ compensation for additional teaching and teaching-related activities (preparation, grading, consulting with students, etc.) will be the part-time, per course per credit rate established by the contingent faculty collective bargaining agreement, applied to the number of hours per week allocated for the number of course credits.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees must be paid overtime for any work performed for a single employer that is in excess of 40 (forty) hours per work week. The pay rate for all overtime hours will be one and one-half times (1.5x) the employee’s blended rate, meaning the average between their regular pay rate and their rate for teaching. The staff member’s primary department and the faculty department for the course must keep in mind that the additional teaching will cause overtime pay for the employee.

Primary/Home departments who have non-exempt, hourly staff being asked to teach must consider the following before approving the request for the hourly, non-exempt staff member to teach:

  • Non-exempt staff members must be paid at the overtime rate for all hours worked over 40 (forty) in a work week.
  • The Office of Human Resources may be consulted and will ultimately determine the appropriate hourly rate of pay for a non-exempt staff to be paid for the teaching assignment including overtime pay.
  • The staff member’s primary/home department will be responsible for reviewing and approving timecards for hours worked. The primary department must be prepared to fund any overtime incurred by the teaching assignment.
  • The primary department should consider the current and future workload of the employee’s primary assignment and the employee’s availability to add a teaching assignment and associated workload. This includes current work performance and upcoming projects that would create a hardship to add a teaching assignment.

D. EXCLUDED POSITIONS

The President, Provost, Vice Presidents, Deans, Associate Provosts, Associate Vice Presidents, Associate Deans, Assistant Deans, and Executive Directors may teach during or outside of normal business hours, but there is no additional compensation for such teaching regardless of when it occurs.

Effective Date:  February 16, 2023