METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY
COMMUNITY FACULTY
KEY TERMS UNDER THE 2009- 2011
IFO/MnSCU MASTER AGREEMENT

Community Faculty Status

• Faculty who teach ten (10) or fewer credits per academic year at Metropolitan State University are classified as community faculty. Community faculty who teach at least four (4) semester credits or two (2) classes per year (even if the two classes total less than four credits) are part of the Inter Faculty Organization's bargaining unit (even if they also belong to another bargaining unit) and are covered by the IFO contract. 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:
• $1,200 per class credit

                        (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, even community faculty who are employed by MnSCU in other bargaining units are eligible to apply for grants each academic year.
  (Art. 10, Sec. J, Subd. 4).

• To access the grant application online, faculty need to 1) Enter the Metroplitan portal; 2)Click on the "Forms" tab in the lower lefthand corner; 3) Select "Academic"; and then 4) Scroll down to the word document "Professional Development Grant Request."
  
  
• Contact Faculty President Michael Green for more information on professional improvement grants. The deadlines for submitting grant applications for the 2009 – 2010 academic year are September 23, 2009, for fall semester and January 22, 2010, 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)

• The tuition waiver application process is online. To access the application, click here. You will need your ID, password, and home institution information. The waiver application can also be accessed through the university portal:
  • Forms
  • Human Resources
  • Other Documents
  • Tuition Waiver Online Application
• Completed forms must be submitted to Human Resources by no later than ten (10) days following the start of the course for which the benefits are sought.
• For more information about the tuition application process, contact Nancy Moritz, Office of Human Resources, 651-793-1277 or nancy.moritz@metrostate.edu.  

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. Community faculty need to be in contact with their department chairs if they plan to use sick leave. (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. Under IRAP, the community faculty member will contribute 4.5% of salary and the employer will contribute 6% of the community faculty’s salary to the faculty member’s retirement account.

• 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. If community faculty switch to the TRA plan, the employer and employee will both contribute 6% of salary to the retirement plan.

• 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 (as regulated by state and federal law).  

  • Tax Sheltered Annuity Program (also known as the 403(b) Plan)
  • State Deferred Compensation Program (also known as the 457 Plan)

  For the 2011 calendar year, the maximum amount that can be tax sheltered by participating in both programs is $33,000; and the maximum for faculty age 50 and over is $44,000. For 2012, the maximum that can be tax sheltered by participating in both programs will be $34,000; and $45,000 for faculty age 50 and over. Individuals may not tax shelter more than 100% of their calendar year income in either or both programs.

• 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)

• For more information about faculty insurance benefits, contact Russ Stanton and/or check out the “Healthcare & Pay Stubs” link on the IFO website.

Teaching Workloads 

• The workload for community faculty members may not exceed ten (10) 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)

• Online courses count toward the academic year and summer session workload limits.   (Art. 13, Sec. A; Art. 21, Sec. E, Subd. 3(d)) 

• 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 Kellerman or Metropolitan State University Faculty Association President Michael Green.