January 1, 2023

Background: Some funding agencies, most notably NIH, allow faculty to fund academic year effort on grants. In order to support faculty research efforts, CAS allows grant funds to be used
to buy-out academic year effort in two ways:
(1) When allowable by the grant, faculty may buyout teaching effort during the academic year at rates established by the CAS Policy on Course Buyouts. Faculty are expected to get approval from their heads about the timing and choice of course buyouts.
(2) When allowable by the grant, faculty may charge academic year research effort (salary + OPE) to a grant without reducing teaching effort in which case some of the salary savings will be returned to the faculty member.

The CAS policy on grant funded salary savings (2) is not new, but has not been uniformly implemented across the college. For equity reasons, effective fall term 2022, the policy asdescribed here will apply to all CAS faculty.

Effective this year (1/1/2023), the college will transfer 80% of the savings on salary plus OPE to a research fund controlled by the faculty member. The college will retain the remaining 20%. The college will use these funds as a source to fund research support (e.g. required cost-share on grants, equipment and lab investments, and other expenses that potentiate research).

Faculty may use salary saving funds on activities that enhance their instruction, research, and other scholarly activities. The funds may not be used to pay one’s own summer salary or to buy out teaching. For faculty entering retirement, remaining balances follow the paragraph for retired faculty in CAS’s “Policy on Academic Support Accounts.”