MCS Summer Salary Policies

Handbook Table of Contents | Constitution | Faculty Policies | Degree Policies

• Third Summer Month of Salary (June)
• Guidelines for Additional (Non-Research) Summer Salaries

The University Policy on Summer Salary states that faculty members with summer research support may request a third, one-ninth salary payment for June, as long as the support is allowed by the sponsoring agency. The Policy also states that under no circumstances will College E & GO allocations be increased to allow faculty to reduce academic salary support in favor of additional summer salary and that each College will establish a set of guidelines that define eligibility. This MCS policy is intended to encourage faculty with research grants to support graduate students for the benefit of the College as a whole.

Third Summer Month of Salary from Sponsored Research

In addition to the conditions laid out in the University Policy, the following criteria and rules shall apply to MCS faculty:

Criteria and Rules

1. Eligibility for summer salary shall be considered in relation to the nine-month academic year just completed (i.e., the academic year beginning September 1 and ending May 31) in applying the policy that follows.
2. Support from sponsored research for some or all of a third month of summer salary has to be approved by both the Department Head and by the Dean.
3. Approval of the funding agency, if they have applicable rules, and compliance with vacation policy are required. Faculty members requesting summer salary from a sponsored project must be actively working on the project during the compensation period. Compensation must be in direct proportion to effort expended.
4. The following two criteria allow a faculty member to be eligible to receive a third summer month of summer salary.
   1. The faculty member has charged at least one month of salary during the associated academic year (September 1 through May 31) to sponsored research.
   2. The faculty member has provided support from a source of funding under their control for a graduate student (both stipend and tuition) for the entire previous academic year. Inclusion of support from a Department or a University source such as a sponsored fellowship may be considered at the Department Head’s discretion with approval from the Dean.
5. For cases in which more than one faculty member is supported by funds from a single block grant, graduate student support only applies to the student advisees of the faculty member requesting summer support.
6. In order to be eligible to receive up to 1/2 month of salary during the third summer month, one of the conditions listed in point 4 must have been satisfied.
7. In order to be eligible to receive up to a full month of salary during the third summer month, some combination of the points in 4 must have satisfied. Either 4a has been satisfied twice (at least two months of salary during the past academic year charged to research), 4b has been satisfied twice (support of two graduate students for the academic year), or both 4a and 4b have been satisfied.
8. Faculty members receiving summer salary from the College or the University in compensation for administrative activities may receive, in total, three months of summer salary from a combination of University support, sponsored research or research discretionary funds. Compensation cannot exceed 12 months of total compensation.
9. Explicit exceptions to this policy, for instance for the first summer of new hires, must be set forth in writing by the Department Head and approved in writing by the Dean.

These guidelines concern salaries paid to individuals who teach or participate in other non-research summer activities. Teaching includes the regular Carnegie Mellon summer sessions as well as specialized summer programs, such as, the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences (PGSS), the Advanced Placement Early Admission (AP/EA) program, and any new programs that might be developed to take place during the same summer periods.

1. It is important to recognize that participation in these programs and activities should not overlap with summer research activities (in accordance with federal regulations) as far as regular faculty are concerned.
2. Payments for these programs and activities should not overlap with each other. For example, an individual should not attempt to teach in PGSS and the second summer session simultaneously.
3. Correspondence either recruiting faculty to teach in these programs or confirming their appointments to do so should be copied to the appropriate Department Head and to the Dean.
4. In most instances, staff participation in summer programs constitutes a shift in duties and is not eligible for additional compensation. The Associate Dean for Financial Affairs and the Department Head should be consulted prior to offering any staff member additional compensation in order to ensure that the University complies with applicable federal regulations as well as University policies and procedures.
5. Under no circumstances can an individual paid from sponsored research participate in summer programs for additional pay. Rather, participation and compensation offset existing effort to the sponsored project.