BOT 410: Overload Pay

Board of Trustees Policy

POLICY NUMBER: 410

POLICY NAME: Overload Pay

The following policy was approved by the Board of Trustees on October 16, 1970 and revised on May 5, 2006 and September 9, 2022.  (A college may establish a more restrictive policy.)

I. Applicability

This Policy applies to full-time faculty members (tenure system and fixed term) at the rank of instructor through professor, full-time academic staff (including specialists, librarians, and extension field service staff), full-time executive managers, and full-time academic administrators (e.g., deans, department chairs, and school directors).

II. Overload Pay

Faculty and academic staff may request approval for overload pay for overload assignments related to teaching, research, outreach activities, and academic and student support activities. Executive managers and academic administrators may request approval for overload pay for overload assignments related to their administrative duties and/or expertise.¹

III. Required Approval

1. Overload pay assignments require prior written approval (a) by the immediate supervisor of the individual who will undertake the proposed overload pay assignment; (b) by the administrator of the major administrative unit (“MAU”) in which that individual is appointed; and (c) if the unit in which the overload pay assignment is to be performed is different from the unit in which the individual is appointed, by the administrator of, and the MAU administrator for, the unit in which the overload pay assignment is to be performed.
2. In order to be approved, an overload pay assignment must meet the following minimum criteria:
   1. The individual requesting overload pay must have a full-time assignment in her/his department, school, or other administrative unit and be satisfactorily performing her/his assigned duties; and
   2. The individual’s immediate supervisor, after consultation with the administrator of the MAU in which the individual is appointed, must determine that:
      1. the proposed assignment represents a substantial increase over the individual’s regularly assigned duties; and
      2. after considering the other commitments of the individual, including her/his regularly assigned duties, approved outside work for pay, and other professional obligations, the proposed assignment will not adversely affect the individual’s performance of her/his regularly assigned duties.
3. The approval of each overload pay assignment must be recorded on the Overload Pay form.

IV. Summer Appointments

Faculty and academic staff members appointed on an academic year basis may have part-time or full-time summer appointments in teaching, research, and/or outreach. The salary for such a summer appointment may not exceed 3/9 of the faculty or academic staff member’s salary during the previous academic year. These summer appointments are not considered overload pay assignments and are not subject to this Policy. However, faculty and academic staff members who hold full-time summer appointments are also eligible for overload pay assignments during the summer if such assignments are made pursuant to this Policy.

V. Other Provisions

1. The Office of the Provost shall provide an annual summary of overload pay disbursements made during the prior fiscal year to appropriate MAU administrators.
2. In recognition of collegial expectations usual in a community of scholars, University units may not pay honoraria to faculty members, academic staff, executive managers, or academic administrators for talks, seminars, etc., provided in usual classroom/seminar settings.
3. Individuals performing overload pay assignments pursuant to this Policy remain subject to the same University policies and procedures as are in effect during the performance of their regularly assigned duties.
4. Major administrative units may establish lower maximum time limits for overload pay than those stipulated in this Policy.

¹In accordance with the policy on Outside Work for Pay, faculty, executive managers, and academic administrators may request approval to engage in overload pay and/or outside work for pay for up to a total average of four (4) days per month during duty periods. Academic staff (who are not eligible to engage in outside work for pay) may request approval to engage in overload pay for up to an average of four (4) days per month.

Enacted: October 16, 1970

Amended: July 28, 1983

                 June 12, 1987

                 May 5, 2006

                 September 9, 2022

Retired Policy No. 03-17-03

Disclaimer: The additional links, resources, and references provided below are for informational purposes only and are not part of this Board of Trustees policy. They are intended to supplement understanding and provide context. Always refer to the most current and official version of the board policy for authoritative direction.  

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