METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY
COMMUNITY FACULTY
KEY TERMS UNDER THE 2007- 2009
IFO/MnSCU MASTER AGREEMENT
Community Faculty Status
- Faculty who teach at least four semester credits or two classes per year (even if the two classes total less than four credits) are part of the bargaining unit and are covered by the IFO contract. Faculty who teach 10 or fewer credits per academic year at Metropolitan State University are classified as community faculty. At other MnSCU universities, such faculty are classified as adjunct faculty. For information on adjunct faculty rights, click HERE.
Compensation
- Community faculty must be paid no less than:
- $1,125 per class credit, effective fall semester 2007
- $1,200 per class credit, effective fall semester 2008
(Art. 10, Sec. J, Subd. 3(a); Art. 11, Sec. M; Art. 13, Sec. C)
- A graduate multiplier applies to compensation for graduate courses, including online graduate courses. A three (3) credit graduate course is equivalent to a four (4) credit undergraduate course, and a four (4) credit graduate course is equivalent to a five (5) credit undergraduate course. All other graduate courses are treated as one and one quarter (1.25) undergraduate credits per graduate credit. (Art. 10, Sec. A, Subd. 1(a))
- The minimum rates for non-class instruction duties for community faculty are:
- Internship supervision - $41.25 per credit per student
- Faculty-designed independent study - $30.00 per credit per student
- Student-designed independent study - $37.50 per credit per student
- Assessment of prior learning - $75 per student or $18.75 per credit, whichever is greater
- Teaching workshops
- 3 – 5 hours - $15 per student
- 5+ hours - $22 per student
- Other – subject to meet and confer
(Art. 10, Sec. J, Subd. 3)
Professional Improvement Grants
- Community faculty are eligible to apply for professional improvement grants. The IFO contract earmarks $12,500 for grants to community faculty for the 2008- 2009 academic year
(Art. 10, Sec. J, Subd. 4).
- Contact Nancy Traen for information on professional improvement grants. The deadlines for submitting grant applications for the 2008 – 2009 academic year are September 10, 2008, for fall semester and January 23, 2009, for spring semester.
Tuition Waiver Benefits
- Community faculty are entitled to tuition waiver benefits equaling the number of credit hours taught. For purposes of tuition waiver, the applicable year begins on the first day of fall semester and ends the day before the succeeding fall semester. (For example, if a community faculty member is assigned to teach 10 credits during the academic year and another 6 credits during the following summer session, she would be entitled to up to 16 credits of tuition waiver to be used during that same period.)
- Tuition waiver benefits may be used to cover tuition and fees (other than laboratory and special courses fees) for undergraduate or graduate courses, including doctoral courses at any of the MnSCU four-year universities -- not just at Metropolitan State University.
- A faculty member’s spouse or dependent children may use any portion of the tuition waiver benefit not used by the faculty member. However, such benefits cover tuition only (not fees) for spouses and dependents.
(Art. 27, Sec. G)
- MnSCU tuition waiver forms are available online through the employee portal by clicking on “Forms,” then “Human Resources,” and finally on “Tuition Waiver Application” under the “Other Documents” heading. In addition, copies are available from Founders Hall #307. Completed forms must be submitted to Human Resources by no later than the tuition payment deadline for the session for which benefits are sought. For more information about tuition waiver procedures and deadlines, contact: Metropolitan State University Asst. Human Resources Director Nancy Moritz at 651-793-1277.
Sick Leave Benefits
- Community faculty earn pro rata sick leave calculated at the rate of one day of sick leave per month x Full Time Equivalent (FTE) worked. (Art. 17, Sec. A, Subd. 4)
Retirement Benefits
- Community faculty who work at least twenty five percent (25%) time per academic year (i.e., 6 credits) are eligible for pension benefits. Once eligible, faculty are automatically enrolled in a self-directed defined contribution Individual Retirement Account Plan (IRAP) through TIAA-CREF. Faculty have up to one year from their date of eligibility to elect to switch to the Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) plan, a defined benefit plan, as their main retirement program. Once faculty members qualify they will continue to accrue pension benefits even if they fall below the initial qualifying threshold in subsequent years.
- Regardless of the number of credits they teach, community faculty are also eligible for two voluntary tax sheltering programs accomplished through payroll deductions. For the 2008 calendar year, the maximum that could be tax sheltered by participating in both programs would be $31,000 -- $41,000 for faculty age 50 and over.
- Tax Sheltered Annuity Program (also known as the 403(b) Plan)
- State Deferred Compensation Program (also known as the 457 Plan)
(As regulated by state and federal law.)
- For more information about faculty retirement benefits, contact Russ Stanton and /or check out the “Retirement” link on the IFO website.
Other Insurance Benefits
- Community faculty are not normally eligible for insurance benefits. However, community faculty who have separate teaching appointments at a MnSCU university and one or more MnSCU two-year institutions are eligible to participate in the State Employee Group Insurance Program (“SEGIP”) if they work a combined total of at least fifty percent (50%) FTE during an academic year (i.e. fall through spring semester). (As noted below, a faculty member who works a total of more than ten (10) credits during an academic year at MnSCU universities ceases to be a community faculty member and must be reclassified.) To be eligible for insurance benefits based on multiple appointments, a faculty member must report all appointments to the human resources office for each reporting institution. (Art. 14, Sec. B, Subds. 1 & 2(e))
- Faculty members are eligible to participate in health and dental expense account and dependent care expense account plans, and to purchase optional life and disability coverage if they are SEGIP insurance eligible. (Art. 11, Secs. G & H; Art. 14, Sec. G)
Teaching Workloads
- The workload for community faculty members may not exceed ten (10) undergraduate credits per academic year (i.e. fall semester through spring semester) (Art. 10, Sec. J, Subd. 2; Art. 5, Sec. M). During summer session, workload may not exceed six (6) credits per session or sixteen (16) credits for the entire summer. (Art. 13, Sec. A)
- If a community faculty member teaches more than ten (10) credits during a single academic year, the faculty member’s status must be changed from community to fixed term faculty and the individual’s pay must be supplemented to provide for full pro rata pay for the entire year based upon placement on the appropriate step in the salary schedule. (Art. 11, Sec. J)
Union Membership
The IFO represents all faculty included in the bargaining unit whether they are full members or just pay fair share fees. However, only IFO members may vote on the IFO contract, run for union office, or serve as union representatives on joint college, university or system level committees. Community faculty are encouraged to join the IFO and to take an active role in the union. To join, click on the “Membership Application” link on the IFO web site or contact IFO Membership Coordinator Cindy Finch or Metropolitan State University Faculty Association President Maythee Kantar.