The purpose of this policy is two-fold: 1) to establish the definition of Institutional Base Salary (IBS) for all employee categories, and 2) to define the use of the IBS for Sponsored Programs at UNCW.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Adopted November 7, 2024
Chancellor
Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance; Human Resources
Definitions
For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions are adopted.
Assignment: A set of tasks or responsibilities assigned or allocated to a permanent employee. Assignments may vary as follows:
Permanent assignment: An assignment which is expected to continue long term, with no end date established.
Interim assignment: An assignment that is administrative in nature and transitional in purpose. An interim assignment is typically for a fixed term (typically between 3 to 18 months and generally not to exceed 24 months), which is specified at the time the assignment is made. Interim assignments are for additional duties related to a vacant position while recruitment to fill the position is underway.
Temporary assignment: An assignment which is short-term (typically a few weeks to 12 months) and in which there is no expectation, commitment, or intent that the assignment will continue.
Honorific assignment: An assignment for a fixed term in which a distinguished title is conferred on an individual faculty member in recognition of excellence in research, teaching, and/or service. These titles are typically endowed. Thus, the individual may receive additional compensation, in accordance with the terms of the endowment or the plans for the assignment, for the period of time during which the title is held.
Full-time equivalent (FTE): A unit that indicates the workload of an employee. It makes workloads comparable across various contexts. An FTE of 1.0 refers to one full-time employee or the equivalent of a full-time employee and is the equivalent of at least 40 hours in one work week.
Overload Compensation: Pending approvals, overload compensation indicates a situation on a sponsored project when additional payment (Extra Service Pay) above the Institutional Base Salary (IBS) or effort greater than (>) 1.0 FTE is requested or occurs as a result of additional work on the sponsored project. [ See Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, 430(h)(4)]
Purpose and Scope
The purpose of this policy is two-fold: 1) to establish the definition of Institutional Base Salary (IBS) for all employee categories, and 2) to define the use of the IBS for Sponsored Programs at UNCW.
Policy Statement
Use of IBS.
The Institutional Base Salary (IBS) shall be used only for compensation costs on sponsored projects to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Definition of IBS for Full-Time (1.0 FTE) Employees.
The IBS is the amount established for annual compensation for the primary position and is the pay rate for determining FTE and percent (%) effort in external proposal submissions by the University (typically at the beginning of the fiscal or academic contract period and regardless of the source of funds). IBS is the basis to compensate an individual for the duties associated with an individual's primary position for the specified contract period or term length (e.g., 9, 10, 12-month appointment), whether that individual's time is spent on research, instruction, administration, service, patient care, or other activities. The initial IBS, contract period or term length, FTE, and duties are established at hire in the appointment letter signed by the employee at the time of employment. Changes to IBS, contract period or term length, FTE and/or duties shall be documented in writing and maintained within the employee’s official personnel file in WebNow through Human Resources, as appropriate to the employee category. As indicated below, it is the responsibility of the Chairs/Directors, Deans, Provost, and/or Supervisors to ensure that any updates to an employee's contract terms are communicated to Human Resources.
The IBS includes any compensation related to administrative (permanent and interim) and/or honorific assignments (such as Chairs/Directors, Institute Director, Dean, or Distinguished Chair, etc.) where such compensation is included in the employees’ primary position, for all employee types. In accordance with UNCW Policy 03.250 Faculty Workload, individuals with an employee classification of EHRA Faculty do not have administrative assignments as reflected in this policy. Temporary administrative assignments are included in IBS for SHRA employees only.
IBS typically excludes institutional payments for irregular, short term, and voluntary assignments; these are further defined in UNCW Policy 08.135 Supplemental Payments for UNCW Employees. Supplemental payments may be addressed in the appointment letter as part of a compensation package and must clearly be identified as such. IBS also excludes external professional activities for pay as defined by UNCW Policy 03.230 Conflict of Interest or Commitment, and UNCW Policy 05.133 Dual Employment.
Generally, IBS may be increased or decreased at the beginning of any fiscal or academic year. During a fiscal or academic year, the IBS of an employee generally will not be changed. However, it may be changed during the fiscal or academic year in the following limited circumstances:
the employee receives an increase or decrease in salary as a result of assuming, or relinquishing, an honorific or permanent/interim administrative assignments;
the employee receives a cost of living or merit salary adjustment as part of a university-wide adjustment of salaries that occurs during a fiscal year;
the employee receives a salary increase as a result of a retention or equity/market adjustment, promotion in rank or position, or change in employment responsibilities (e.g., when an employee accepts a new position); or
the employee receives a salary decrease for other reasons in accordance with policy.
IBS may not be increased solely as a result of replacing University salary funds with sponsored projects funds. In cases of overburden on a sponsored project, the terms or condition for overburdened compensation are subject to approval of the sponsor and permissible only as defined in UNCW Policy 08.135 Supplemental Payments for UNCW Employees. [ Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, 430(h)(3)]
Definition of IBS for Employees with less than (<) 1.0 FTE.
For permanent employees, IBS is based on full-time equivalents for the contract period or term length for duties associated with the employees’ primary position. Compensation for additional irregular, short term, and voluntary assignments or activities (internal or external) as described in Section III.B are excluded. Unique considerations on sponsored projects for IBS of permanent employees with less than (<) 1.0 FTE are described below in Section III.D. All other requirements outlined in Section III.B. apply.
For temporary employees, IBS is only applicable for sponsored projects compensation and time/effort reporting. Considerations for these employees are described in Section III.D. To ensure that the process outlined in Section III.D. can be executed, each assignment for temporary employees should be documented in writing at hire and include compensation amount, contract period or term length, FTE, and a description of duties established at hire in the appointment letter signed by the employee at the time of employment. This documentation should be maintained within the employee’s official personnel file in Human Resources via WebNow, as appropriate to the employee category.
Use of IBS in Sponsored Projects
Salary Calculations, Time, and Effort Reporting. An individual employee’s salary charges for a sponsored project are determined by applying the amount of an individual’s proposed effort to the individual’s IBS. This applies when requesting salary support from a sponsor, charging effort to a sponsored project, or providing effort on a sponsored project in the form of mandatory or voluntary committed cost-sharing. Because the IBS is used to propose and commit effort, for official time and effort reporting on sponsored projects, the IBS is used to calculate, report, and certify one’s effort. Further, the IBS shall be used as the denominator in calculating the proportion, or percentage effort, of an employee’s activity that is allocated to sponsored projects. When permitted by a sponsor, annual increases consistent with UNCW budgeting practices may be included in sponsored project proposals that span multiple years to account for inflation and/or cost-of-living increases.
In exceptional circumstances of an overburden, the employee may receive additional compensation in accordance with sponsor rules and UNCW Policy 08.135 Supplemental Payments for UNCW Employees.
Unique Considerations for Employees with less than (<) 1.0 FTE.
For all employees with less than (<) 1.0 FTE, the IBS must be reviewed and approved by human resources faculty specialists and SPARC prior to the submission of a sponsored project proposal. HR and SPARC will determine the appropriate process to determine IBS, as described below.
For permanent employees with less than (<) 1.0 FTE, the IBS for sponsored projects is defined in Section III.C. Exceptions to this definition may be granted by the Associate Provost for Research and Innovation, in consultation with the supervisor (e.g., Dean, Department Chair, Director, etc.) or SPARC. Exceptions should only be granted in circumstances where the scope and duties of the employee’s primary position assignment differ from the scope and duties of the proposed sponsored project assignment. In cases where exceptions are granted, the Associate Provost must document how the scope and duties are substantively different. Then, the appropriate IBS for the employee for the sponsored project shall be established by the Faculty Specialists in Human Resources based on the classification of the employee and subject to salary increase approval guidelines. All decisions related to these exceptions shall be documented, stored, and communicated by SPARC to the sponsor when appropriate.
For temporary employees, when multiple partial FTE assignments exist for a given employee, IBS will be based on the full-time equivalent for the assignment that is equivalent to the sponsored project assignment in terms of scope and assigned duties, as determined by the Director of Faculty Administration in consultation with SPARC and Human Resources as appropriate. When compensation for the sponsored project assignment is for duties that are determined to be substantively different from any current assignment, the appropriate IBS for the employee for the sponsored project shall be established by Human Resources based on the classification of the employee and subject to salary increase approval guidelines. Compensation for work on the sponsored project will be adjusted proportionately based on the FTE for sponsored assignment.
For employees in phased retirement, compensation through a sponsored project must occur in accordance with the terms outlined in the Re-employment Agreement (see UNCW Policy 08.440 Phased Retirement Program). If the Re-employment Agreement states that the employee is not eligible to work on a sponsored project, then the employee is not eligible. If it is silent, it is assumed that the employee can buyout effort up to 0.5 FTE. Note, there can be no salary increase during the first year of phased retirement.
For graduate assistantships, compensation for a sponsored project must occur in accordance with the terms outlined in the policies of the Graduate School.
Total FTE for the employee for all assignments cannot exceed 1.0. Compensation for activities beyond 1.0 FTE is only allowable with pre-approval and in accordance with the rules of the sponsor and with UNCW Policy 08.135 Supplemental Payments for UNCW Employees.
Sponsor Salary Caps. Certain sponsors impose a limit or cap on the amount of salary charged to a sponsored project. The salary cap may or may not apply when preparing the proposal depending on the submission type. However, the salary rate cap will apply once an award is issued. Please read sponsor proposal guidelines to identify if such requirements apply.
Compensation Outside of Contract Period or Term Length Less Than (<) 12 Months. Employees whose IBS is calculated for a contract period or term length (e.g., faculty, etc.) less than 12 months are eligible to earn additional salary for effort outside of the contract period or term length, subject to sponsor policies and UNCW Policy 08.135 Supplemental Payments for UNCW Employees; UNCW Policy 03.230 Conflict of Interest or Commitment; and UNCW Policy 05.133 Dual Employment. Salary charges to sponsored projects must accurately reflect the pre-approved budget and how the employee spent their effort during the effort reporting period of performance.
Roles and Responsibilities
These units are responsible for the following components of operationalizing, managing, and ensuring compliance of IBS:
Chairs, Deans, Provost, Associate Provosts, and/or Other Supervisors
Ensure that confirmation of verbal offers for new permanent hires clearly indicates the approved IBS (applicable to the Division of Academic Affairs only).
Ensure that any subsequent salary adjustments for permanent employees are documented with the approved, revised IBS, FTE, duties, and contract period or term length.
Ensure such documentation is communicated to Human Resources Faculty Specialists for the purposes of updating WebNow.
Ensure that offer letters and/or Faculty Load and Compensation (FLAC) contract for new or continuing temporary hires are issued for each new assignment or term, and indicate compensation, FTE, term length, and scope of responsibilities.
Principal Investigators
Ensures that all requests for salary support in sponsored project proposals are based on the individual’s approved IBS.
Department, School, and/or College Administrative Support
Ensures that proposal budgets include salary requests based on the individual’s established IBS and anticipated effort to the sponsored project.
Ensures that HR/Payroll entries are correct, based on the individual’s IBS.
Ensures that copies of offer letters and of appointment and salary adjustment notifications are sent to Human Resources.
Ensures that the correct salary distribution is used when setting payroll for a project and the institutional base salary is not exceeded.
Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPARC)
Ensures that proposal budgets include accurate salary requests based on an individual’s approved IBS.
Reviews and approves all proposals, including budgets, requesting funding from external sponsors.
Provides training to principal investigators and other individuals to ensure understanding of IBS.
Ensures that the effort reporting process includes the proper consideration of IBS for certifying effort.
Associate Provost for Research and Innovation
Makes decisions about sponsored project exceptions to IBS definition for permanent employees with less than 1.0 FTE in accordance with Section III.D.2.a.
Human Resources
Ensures that appointment letter for new permanent hires clearly indicates the approved IBS.
Maintains employee data in Banner for SHRA, EHRA Non-Faculty, Faculty and SAAO employees that is used in determining components of IBS and maintaining records to support salary adjustments and supplements.
Establishes appropriate IBS for employees with (<) 1.0 FTE in accordance with Section III.D.2, depending on the classification of the employee.
Maintains employee data in Banner for EHRA Faculty that is used in determining components of IBS and maintaining records to support salary adjustments and supplements.
Establishes appropriate IBS for employees with less than (<) 1.0 FTE in accordance with Section III.D.2, depending on the classification of the employee.
Determines which assignment will be used to establish IBS for temporary employees with less than (<) 1.0 FTE in accordance with Section III.D.2.b. and in consultation with SPARC and Faculty Administration.