Employment and Compensation
Faculty members are typically appointed for a nine-month period, although faculty and administrative personnel may be appointed for a twelve-month or other period, depending upon the needs of the unit concerned or the nature of the research or administrative work being done. Department heads, chairpersons, and chairholders typically have twelve- month appointments. The appointment period for nine-month employees is the academic year from mid-August to mid-May. The beginning and ending dates for nine-month appointments are governed by Academic Policy 1200.20 (Revised March 3, 2023).
The appointment period for twelve-month employees is from July 1 to June 30, inclusive, which corresponds to the university’s fiscal year. University employees are paid semimonthly. Semimonthly pay means employees will be paid twice a month, usually on the 15th and last business days of each month. Business days are defined as days other than weekends and university holidays. If the 15th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, pay day will be on Friday.
Deductions from salary payments will include some or all of the following: federal and state income taxes, employee Medicare and OASDI taxes, payments to retirement plans, medical insurance premiums, dental insurance premiums, optical insurance premiums, life insurance premiums, and deductions for the flexible medical spending account or dependent care spending account. Other deductions may be selected from the complete list of insurance and other products offered by the University. Employees choose some deductions and some withholding amounts. Each employee is informed of the amounts withheld and for what purposes they are withheld by means of their earnings statement.
In special circumstances, certain categories of employees may earn additional pay for additional work as outlined in the Extra Compensation Policy at Fayetteville Policy and Procedures 407.0 (Revised July 1, 2015).
Faculty members on nine-month appointments or hired as adjunct faculty may teach during the summer. Employees on nine-month appointments will be compensated for any summer research or teaching employment on a basis proportionate to the salary of the previous nine months. Total compensation for summer employment may not exceed 33-1/3 of the previous nine-month salary and is subject to applicable line-item maximum restrictions. See Academic Policy 1405.18 (Revised March 15, 2023) for information on Summer Sessions and Academic Policy 1405.20 on Intersessions (Revised March 23, 2023).
When the employment period of a faculty member is changed from nine months to 12 months, their 12-month salary will be 125 percent of their nine-month salary. When the employment period of a faculty member is changed from 12 months to nine months, their nine-month salary will be 80 percent of their 12-month salary consistent with Board of Trustees Policy 435.1. (Revised March 18, 2021).