Undergraduate Research Mentoring (4999/4998) Compensation Policy

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Elon University supports faculty in providing students with high quality, intensive research experiences. Developing and maintaining a premiere undergraduate research program requires that faculty have adequate time and resources to mentor students and to maintain active research programs, and that faculty are fairly compensated and recognized for this important work. As part of an ongoing effort to support, compensate, and recognize the intensive work of mentoring, the faculty approved the 4999/4998 course designation for research in each discipline and the University has developed a compensation program based on 4999/4998 credit hours.

The Undergraduate Research Program shares with individual faculty members the responsibility for tracking the number of student hours earned. The Undergraduate Research Program will provide Deans, Department Chairs, and individual faculty with 499/4998 mentoring reports in February, at which time, faculty will choose between compensation by course reassigned time or compensation by overload pay. If faculty do not indicate which they would prefer, then the hours are automatically banked for future use.

Faculty Load Hours

Faculty load hours for 4999 is based upon the following:

6 student hours of 4999 = 1 faculty load hour

12 student hours of 4999 = 2 faculty load hours

18 student hours of 4999 = 3 faculty load hours

24 student hours of 4999 = 4 faculty load hours

Faculty load hours for 4998 is based upon the following:

4 student hours of 4998 = 1 faculty load hour

8 student hours of 4998 = 2 faculty load hours

12 student hours of 4998 = 3 faculty load hours

16 student hours of 4998 = 4 faculty load hours

Faculty select one of the following two options:

Compensation by Overload Pay

• Compensation for 4999/4998 is based upon the accrued faculty load hours in 4999/4998 as described above. 
• Faculty must inform the Director of Undergraduate Research of their intent to seek annual overload pay in February.
• There are two different banks (4999 and 4998). Faculty can choose to payout the current year’s credits for one of these (e.g., only 4999), both of these, or neither (by banking). Faculty cannot partially payout within the same bank (e.g., cannot payout 2 credits of 4999 and bank 2 credits of 4999).
• The Director of Undergraduate Research will notify faculty, Department Chairs, and Deans by late February of their hours for overload pay for the academic year.
• Faculty should also keep track of their 4998 and 4999 hours.
• Compensation is based on current overload pay rates and will be made in the spring semester.

Compensation by Course Reassigned Time

• Course reassigned times are based on accrued faculty load hours in 4999/4998 as described above.
• Faculty must inform the Director of Undergraduate Research of their intent to accrue current year’s faculty 4999/4998 load hours for course reassigned time in February. 
• There are two different banks (4999 and 4998). Faculty can choose to bank the current year’s credits for one of these (e.g., only 4999), both of these, or neither (by seeking payout). Faculty cannot partially retain hours within the same bank (e.g., cannot payout 2 credits of 4999 and bank 2 credits of 4999).
• The Director of Undergraduate Research will notify faculty, Department Chairs, and Deans by late February of hours accumulated to date.
• Faculty should also keep track of their 4998 and 4999 hours.
• Faculty will work with their Department Chairs to schedule the course reassigned time.

   

  Limitations on Compensation

   

  In order to maintain budgetary operations of the various programs compensating faculty for undergraduate research, the following compensation limits apply:

   

• Compensation for undergraduate research using the above options is limited to a total of 18 student research credit hours of 4999/4998 (combined) across the academic year. 
• The maximum compensation by overload pay in a given year is equivalent to eight faculty load hours. All other accrued hours beyond that maximum level will be paid out in the following academic year.
• Twelve faculty load hours are the maximum number of hours that faculty can have in their bank for compensation by reassigned time at any one time (combined 4999/4998). Accrued faculty load hours beyond this limit will be paid out, subject to the timing conditions above. 
• Exceptions to these limits require approvals from the faculty member’s department chair and either the appropriate 4999/4998 director or the faculty member’s academic dean. Exceptions require a programmatic justification. Ending employment at the university is an exception to these limits.

Faculty supervising 4998 or 4999 credit during the summer will be paid based upon the current formula for summer pay.