Pay, Benefits, Evaluation, and Promotion |
Click any of the following questions to jump to the response. These are the most frequent questions we receive about pay, benefits, evaluation, and promotion issues, but if your specific question isn't answered here, please contact us!
• What is the difference between a credit hour and a contact hour for purposes of pay? •
How are adjunct/overload contact hours of pay computed for non-classroom faculty? •
Why can’t I get my adjunct/overload checks two weeks after I begin working? • What are the benefits available to adjunct faculty through the FA and the FA Benefit Fund? • lf my dependent or spouse wants to take courses at SCCC, will the college reimburse the tuition? •
Will my performance be evaluated? •
Can I be promoted?
• What is the difference between a credit hour and a contact hour for purposes of pay?
Faculty are paid overload/adjunct
rates based on a contact hour. If a
course you teach meets for 3 hours/week/semester, you are paid for 3
contact hours. If the course you
teach meets for 5 hours/week/semester,
you are paid 5 contact hours.
Often the credit hours students earn
are equal to the contact hours the
faculty member teaches/week/semester.
Sometimes, though, a student
may earn 4 credit hours but will
be required to be in class 5 or 6
hours/week/semester. For those
courses, faculty are paid based on
the actual hours/week/semester they
teach, not by the credit hours the
students earn for the courses. [back to top]
• How are adjunct/overload contact hours of pay computed for non-classroom faculty?
During the day counselors/librarians
are paid: 20 clock hours = 1
contact hour pay. In the evening,
counselors/librarians are paid: 18.66
clock hours = 1 contact hour pay.
PA/specialists are paid: 22.5
clock hours = 1 contact hour of pay:
(8 contact hours of pay = 180 clock
hrs/semester or 12 clock hrs/week/15 week semester.) [back to top]
• Why can’t I get my adjunct/overload checks two weeks after I begin working?
Paychecks and pay dates are
controlled by the county Audit &
Control schedule, since all paychecks
for both full-time and adjunct/overload pay are paid through the
County’s payroll system. Paychecks
for part-time work are controlled
by two factors.
First is when the college submits
the adjunct/overload payroll to
the county. This submission occurs
only after all courses have met at
least once. In most semesters, it
usually takes at least three weeks
after the first day of classes in order
to capture all the regular overload
and part-time work for the semester
and it takes the county two
weeks from when it receives the information
to put the information into
its payroll system.
Second, the county must have at
least one pay period after the work
for the part-time assignment has
been completed in order to make any
adjustments for missed work days.
The number of pay periods is then
determined by counting backward
from the pay period that occurs after
the end of the work assignment
for the number of checks that can
be processed having allowed for a minimum of two weeks from when
the college forwards the information
to the county. Thus the earliest
a part-time payroll can be processed
is by the 6th week of the semester
IF that happens to fall within the
regular payroll cycle. If not, then
the earliest an overload/adjunct paycheck
will be received is by the 7th week of the semester!
Yes, the FA has tried and tried
to change this system but unless and
until the college handles its own
payroll, we’re all at the mercy of the
county schedule and system! (FYI:
Full-time overload assignment pay is
also on this delayed schedule!) [back to top]
• What are the benefits available to adjuncts through the FA and the FA Benefit Fund?
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Health Insurance and COBRA:
Any adjunct member who has worked for two prior semesters
and has earned more than $2000 in the prior academic year is eligible to join the county's health insurance plan, the Employee Medical Health Plan of Suffolk County
(EMHP), or one of the approved HMO health plan options. Adjunct members are
charged the fund rate, not the plan rate, for coverage. For more information, call Employee Resources, 631.451.4200.
Adjuncts who are no longer eligible to participate in the county's health
insurance program may continue coverage under COBRA by maintaining the
premium payment plus the administrative charge as required under the law provided no other coverage exists. Call Employee Resources, 631.451.4200, for additional information.
-
Legal Services:
The FA Benefit Fund, 631.732-6500, provides adjuncts and, in
certain instances, eligible dependents legal services, including the drafting of a will,
at no charge or at a reduced fee by an attorney from the Fund's panel law firm,
Mirkin & Gordon, P.C.
Legal services include deed transfer, general consultation, document review, will benefit, personal injury (negligence), living will/health care proxy, planning for the elderly, estates and administration.
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Dental Benefits:
Adjuncts and their spouses and dependents are eligible to obtain
dental services at reduced rates from dentists who have agreed to accept the FA Benefit Fund's Schedule of Fees as payment in full for the applicable covered services. Contact the FA Benefit Fund, 631.732.6500 for information.
-
Pensions & Annuities:
Adjuncts may join the NYS Teachers Retirement System
and participate in the tax deferred annuity programs at the college. Call Employee
Resources, 631.451.4200, for more information. [back to top]
• lf my dependent or spouse wants to take courses at SCCC, will the college reimburse the tuition?
The spouse and dependent children of adjunct faculty who have been employed at the college eight out of the last twelve semesters may be admitted to courses offered by the college under a tuition reimbursement plan. (Only fall and spring
semesters shall be considered in the "twelve semester" time frame for
part-time faculty eligibility, although summer assignments shall count
toward calculating the eight semesters needed by a part-time faculty
member to be eligible.)
Adjuncts are entitled to a maximum of eighteen credits per year, and the reimbursement is subject to registration and enrollment requirements as well as the successful completion of the course. Only in extraordinary circumstances, and only if approved by the dean of faculty, would dependent children or spouses be allowed to take courses taught by the adjunct parent/spouse.
Interested and eligible adjuncts must complete the Application for Dependent Tuition Reimbursement form available on the college's adjunct resources website. [back to top]
• Will my performance be evaluated?
Your academic chair or supervisor is supposed to evaluate you before the end of your first semester, periodically anytime after that, and when you are eligible for promotion. For fall hires, evaluations are due by Thanksgiving; for spring hires, evaluations are due mid to late April.
Evaluations are based on your knowledge of the subject, effectiveness, performance of responsibilities, and professional growth. The observer will complete a B Form which contains both a narrative and a rating between “excellent” and “needs improvement.” If you suspect that there will be a problem, you should find a peer (an FA representative) to be present during formal evaluation.
Observations/evaluations for adjunct PAs, librarians, and counselors occur during the first semester of employment and also must be conducted during a stated and specific time. [back to top]
• Can I be promoted?
Promotion in rank is not automatic
but based upon merit. The
college will notify adjuncts of their
time in rank eligibility for promotion.
An adjunct member may then request
to be considered for promotion
by submitting a two-page application
(A1 Form), the first page
of which consists of background information
and academic credentials,
and the second page of which consists
of the adjunct’s statement in
support of his/her promotion in rank.
Forms are available on the promotion/sabbatical page of FA website.
To be eligible for promotion, the
following guidelines apply:
- Adjunct Assistant Professor
|
10 semesters and 39 contact hours as an Adjunct Instructor |
- Adjunct Associate Professor
|
14 semesters or 54 contact hours as an Adjunct Assistant Professor |
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18 semesters or 69 contact hours as Adjunct Associate Professor |
- Adjunct Professional Assistant 2
|
14 semesters as Adjunct PA 1 |
In addition, there are educational
requirements for promotion for
those hired prior to August 29,
2006, and for those hired on or
after August 29, 2006. Educational
requirements for promotion are found in Appendix I of the contract, but please note that the requirements were updated in the last round of negotiations (see the 2005-2011 Memo of Agreement).
Adjuncts with “special”
credentials or professional
experiences may also apply for
a waiver of the educational
requirements in order to be
eligible for promotion to Adjunct
Assistant Professor only.
Check the promotion/sabbatical page of FA website for
the “Adjunct Educational
Criteria Waiver Form”. [back to top]
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