FACULTY CONTRACT RENEWAL PROCESS FOR PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATORS
(Includes Instructions for Merit/Bonus Notifications)
2015-2016
What’s New This Year:
Contract Templates:
For the 2015-2016 contract renewal process, there are two (2) sets of contract templates.
Both sets of faculty contract templates are provided in an e-mail communication to the PAs,
but are also provided on the PA Resources section on the Office of Faculty Recruitment and
Retention (OFRR) website.
 One set of contract templates is to be used for faculty that have been approved for a
merit and/or bonus award through the 2015-16 Faculty Merit/Bonus Award process.
 The other set are the standard contract templates to be used for contract renewals for
faculty not receiving a merit increase and for new faculty appointments.
Contract renewals should be drafted using the salary and/or bonus award information
from the 2015-2016 merit/bonus award spreadsheets. If you have not been involved in the
merit/bonus award process and do not have access to the spreadsheets, please contact
your Dean/Department Head. You will need the salary and/or bonus award information
for most faculty contract renewals. There may be faculty who were not eligible for merit. If
no merit has been awarded, use the current salary which can be found in the Banner
report: Faculty Contract Prep Master Report. Faculty Rank, Tenure, and Working Title. This
report is located in the PA folder in the Banner Reporting Center.
Salary increases for 9/10- month and 12-month faculty are effective on August 10, 2015
(included in the September 1, 2015 paycheck).
Terms and Conditions of Employment Document:
There were slight revisions (no substantive changes) made to the Terms and Conditions of
Employment document (T&C) for full time faculty. Since no substantive changes were
made, there is no letter from the Provost to accompany the T&C document.
Please discard the 2014 T&C version and be sure to attach the 2015 T&C to all contract
renewals and to all new faculty contracts. Faculty who are already tenured are not
required to receive a contract renewal, however since there were some changes to the
“Terms and Conditions” document, PAs are to send the revised Terms and Conditions
document to tenured faculty even if they are not receiving a contract renewal.
NOTE: For faculty who are expected to be promoted and/or tenured at the May 2015 BOV
meeting, please see P&T section below on contract language.
Change in Faculty Promotion Increases:
Subject to Board of Visitors approval in May of 2015, faculty who are promoted in rank (e.g.
Assistant to Associate Professor) through the university’s Promotion and Tenure (P&T)
process, will receive a six (6) percent increase in base pay. The 6% applies to any change in
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
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rank (e.g. from Assistant to Associate, Associate to Professor, etc.) In previous years there
were set amounts for promotions in rank. The promotion amounts have been prepopulated on the merit spreadsheets and any merit increase was applied on top of the
promotion amount. Subsequent to the BOV meeting, the Provost’s office will inform the
schools and respective PAs of the approval of any P&T recommendations.
Dates for Contract Issuance:
Due to the timing of the faculty merit and bonus award process which is expected to be
completed on or around June 12, 2015, faculty contracts will be issued after final approval
by the President. Accordingly, faculty contract renewals can be issued and/or postmarked
beginning June 12, 2015 through June 30, 2015. It is recommended that contracts be
prepared in draft in advance using the salary and bonus award information from the 201516 faculty merit/bonus award spreadsheets. This will expedite the issuance of contract
renewals once final approval is received.
Instructions for Contract Issuance:
Delete all previous contract templates (they have been modified) and only use the 20152016 templates sent by e-mail from the OFRR. You will select the applicable template from
either the merit/bonus set or the standard template set. Terminal contract templates, oneyear only templates for faculty on one-year waivers, and notices of non-continuation/nonrenewal are not included in the contract template distribution. Units should contact the
respective Vice President’s Office to obtain these templates and for guidance on these
faculty personnel issues.
Contracts with Merit and/or a Bonus Award
Merit Only:
If a faculty member is being recommended for a merit increase, it is suggested that the
contract be drafted (pending final approval) using the applicable template showing the new
salary (which includes the merit amount) as noted on the merit/bonus award spreadsheets.
The contract should be finalized and issued upon final approval by the President of the
merit/bonus award recommendations.
Merit and Bonus Award:
If a faculty member is receiving a merit increase and a bonus award, use the appropriate
contract template with merit and add the bonus language (see below) to the contract. This
should be a new paragraph in the contract above the “Terms and Conditions” paragraph.
Include the bonus amount from the merit/bonus spreadsheets as shown below.
Faculty may defer all or part of the bonus amounts to either the VCU 403(B) plan or the
Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. Please attach both the bonus
notification and the two deferral forms (VCU 403(b) Lump Sum Salary Reduction Agreement
and the one-time deferral form for the 457) to the contract.

Bonus awards for 9-10/month and 12-month faculty are effective on August 10,
2015 (included in the September 1, 2015 paycheck).
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
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Bonus Language to Include in the Contract (as applicable):
In addition, through the University’s 2015-2016 Faculty Merit and Bonus Award process,
you have been awarded a one-time (lump sum) bonus of $______. Since the bonus will
increase your pay on September 1, 2015, you may choose to defer a larger amount of your
pay than usual to the VCU 403(b) plan and/or the Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred
Compensation Plan on the date the bonus is paid. Please note that any paycheck deferral
is made from regular pay first, and from bonus payments second. If you chose to defer
part of your September 1, 2015 pay to the VCU 403(B) plan, a special VCU 403(b) Lump
Sum Salary Reduction Agreement is attached for this purpose. This form is due to HR no
later than August 10, 2015. Please note that any bonus amounts paid in cash (not
deferred) or deferred as Roth 403(b) contributions are subject to a supplemental tax rate.
You may also choose to defer a lump sum from your September 1, 2015 pay to the
Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, as long as HR receives the
one-time deferral form no later July 31, 2015. The One-Time Deferral form for the 457 plan
is attached for this purpose.
Bonus Award Only:
If the faculty member is not receiving a merit increase but is receiving a bonus award, they
should be issued the standard contract template (renewal), a “Bonus Only Notification” a
VCU 403(b) Lump Sum Salary Reduction Agreement, and the One-Time Deferral form for
the 457 plan. .
Contract with No Merit and No Bonus:
If the faculty member is not receiving a merit increase or bonus award, issue the applicable
standard faculty contract template (renewal).
Contract, Salary, and/or Bonus Notifications for Tenured Faculty:
For tenured faculty who have been approved for a merit increase, you have the option of
issuing a “superseding” contract (reflecting date of last contract at the top) with the new
salary (including merit and any promotion amount) or issuing a salary notification with the
merit and/or promotion amount. For tenured faculty who were promoted in rank, use their
new rank in the contract.
If tenured faculty are approved for a merit increase and a bonus award, bonus language
(shown above) must be added to either the “superseding” contract or the salary notification
and attach to the contract both the VCU 403(b) Lump Sum Salary Reduction Agreement
and the One-Time Deferral form for the 457 plan.
If tenured faculty are awarded a bonus (no merit increase), issue a “Bonus Only
Notification” and include the VCU 403(b) Lump Sum Salary Reduction Agreement and the
One-Time Deferral form for the 457 plan forms.
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
Page 3 of 8
General Reminders for Preparing Contracts Renewals:

Before preparing faculty contract renewals:
o Always review the most current contract in the faculty member’s file to ensure
you are using the correct type of faculty contract template (e.g. term,
tenure eligible, professional, etc.). Include any current “asterisk clause” that
is to continue with the next contract (i.e. administrative or salary supplement).
Any new asterisk clause requires prior approval by the respective Vice
President’s office. Samples of the most common asterisk clauses are
provided in the e-mail communication from the OFRR.
o Contract language in the templates provided by the OFRR must be adhered to
(other than adding in the required information). Any deviations from the
standard contract language (e.g. special terms, asterisk clauses, changes in
wording, etc.), requires approval from the respective VP's office and/or the
University Counsel's office, as applicable.
o Use the Faculty Contract Prep Master Report and the Faculty Rank,
Tenure, and Working Title report located in the PA folder in the Banner
Reporting Center to verify personnel data such as type of faculty appointment,
tenure status, tenure review dates, rank, working title, home address, etc.
This report is also a good way to ensure faculty data in Banner is accurate.
These reports can also be used to set up mail merge documents with the
contract templates.
NOTE: For faculty receiving a merit increase, the salary on this report will not
include merit until the new salary has been updated by HR in Banner. The merit
spreadsheet will be the source document to use for faculty receiving a merit
increase.

If rank, tenure status, or working title information in Banner is missing or
information appears to be incorrect, the “Super” PA should update the PEAFACT form
in Banner by following the PEAFACT INSTRUCTIONS. As noted below, the “Super
PA” in each school is responsible for updating the rank and tenure status for faculty
who were approved for promotion and/or tenure at the May BOV meeting.

If a faculty member is currently on a one-year appointment, the contract should not
be renewed without a search or an approved “waiver” of a search.

All contracts should be prepared in draft and proofed well before they are signed by
the respective Dean/Vice President as they are legal documents.

When issuing faculty contract renewals, the PA should send (by mail or electronically)
the faculty member the following items:
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
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
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
An original and a copy of the faculty contract (or salary notification in lieu of
contract for tenured faculty)
A copy of the 2015 Terms and Conditions of Employment (T&C) document
If awarded a bonus, include the VCU 403(b) Lump Sum Salary Reduction
Agreement and the One-Time Deferral form for the 457 plan
If mailing, include a return envelope (postage paid) (If they are mailing)
Contracts for Faculty Being Reviewed for Promotion and/or Tenure (P&T):
1. The PA should prepare the contract in draft and include any proposed change in
rank, tenure status, and/or salary. The faculty merit and bonus award spreadsheets
indicated faculty who were expected to be tenured and/or promoted at the May BOV
meeting. If faculty are being reviewed for P&T and are also receiving a merit and/or
bonus award, draft the contract using the template from the merit/bonus group of
templates (sent by e-mail).
2. If the promotion is for a 12-month faculty position, the effective date of the
promotion is July 1, 2015. Accordingly, if the 12-month faculty member is also
receiving a merit increase, use the applicable contract template for 12 Month Faculty
receiving both a promotion and merit increase.
If the faculty are also receiving a bonus, add in the bonus language as shown above
and attach the VCU 403(b) Lump Sum Salary Reduction Agreement and the OneTime Deferral form for the 457 plan.
3. Upon the BOV approval of the P&T recommendations, the Provost’s Office will
prepare and submit a spreadsheet to HR to process 12-month faculty promotions
which are effective on June 25, 2015. 9/10 month faculty promotions will be
processed as part of the merit process since they are effective on the same date (8-1015). Any merit awarded will be added to the promotion amounts. 12-month faculty
promotions are effective on June 25, 2015 (included in the July 16, 2015 paycheck)
and 9/10-month promotions are effective on August 10, 2015 (included in the
September 1, 2015 paycheck).
4. Once the BOV approves promotion and/or tenure changes in May, it is up to the
“Super” PA to update the rank and tenure status in the PEAFACT form in
Banner as soon as possible after the BOV approval.
Note for units reporting to the Provost: When faculty have signed and returned their
contracts, the PA should obtain all original, signed contracts and email a copy of the
contract to the HR Administrator in the OFRR. This can be done in one PDF file or if the
file is too large, multiple PDF files. For faculty who are issued a bonus or salary
notification, scan a copy of these documents to the OFRR.
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
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Formatting Reminders for Contract Renewals and New Faculty Contracts:

When drafting all faculty contracts, remove the name of the type of contract template
in right corner.

The templates will most likely need to be sized to fit on your letterhead. The margins
and spacing may need to be adjusted.

All faculty position numbers have six (6) digits. Be sure the position number on the
faculty contract matches the position number in Banner.

Be sure all contract renewals contain an accurate Banner V#.

Use complete names (as it appears on Social Security card) on faculty contracts;
include prefix (i.e. Dr. Mr., Ms., etc.), middle initial, and any suffix (e.g. III).

Contract dates for 9-month faculty are generally from August 16th to May 15th of the
following year as reflected on the 9/10 month contract templates. If the contract is
for a 10-month faculty appointment, the contract dates will need to be changed to
reflect the term of the 10-month appointment.
o Faculty appointments that are 10-month must follow a 10-month, payroll
deferral schedule in Banner. Accordingly, the Banner begin dates for these
appointments are July 10, July 25, August 10, or August 25. 10-month
contracts should be issued to correspond to these Banner dates (e.g. July 16th
to May 15th or August 1st to May 30th).

Contract dates for 12-month faculty are generally from July 1st through June 30th of
the following year.

All faculty have a rank (i.e. Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor,
Instructor, etc.). Faculty with administrative responsibilities usually have a working
title (e.g. Dean, Department Chair, Associate Dean, Director, etc.) and many of these
faculty are in an Administrative, Professional (A&P), or 12-month collateral faculty
appointments.
o If there is no title, the rank should not be duplicated in the title field (i.e. This
appointment is a full-time position as Assistant Professor, in the …...).
o If there is a title, the contract should have both the rank and title (i.e. This
appointment is a full-time position as Dean, with faculty rank of Professor, in
the…….).

In general, decimal places should not be in the stated salary, only whole numbers are
to be used (i.e. $40,000, not $40,000.00).

If the faculty position is part-time (less than 100%), the wording in the contract
should indicate that it is a part-time position rather than a full-time position and
include the percent effort as shown below: …….“This appointment is a part-time
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
Page 6 of 8
position (50%) as Assistant Professor, in the Department of English, College of
Humanities and Sciences….”

If the position is grant or contract funded, include the grant/contract language found
in the grant/contract funded collateral template. This language can be added to
any type of contract if the position is funded by grants and/or contracts as
shown below:
The appointment is for the period indicated only and will terminate on the ending date
without advance notice of termination and may be subject to earlier termination for
cause or in the event the grant or contract funds which support this position are lost or
withdrawn. While this appointment is grant or contract funded, you are entitled to state
benefits. However, funds are not available for any accrued annual or sick leave
payment upon your separation from the University.

Contract templates for one year appointments only (e.g. where there is a waiver for
one year appointment) are available by contacting Carol Ann Irby in the Office of the
Vice President of Health Sciences or Amy Unger in the OFRR.
Adjunct Faculty Contracts- Reminders:
Prior to hiring an adjunct faculty member, please refer to VCU’s Adjunct Faculty
Appointments- Procedures for Compliance with IRS Guidelines and the Manpower Control Act
at http://provost.vcu.edu/media/provostdevelopment/pdfs/additional-sitedocs/AdjunctFacultyAppointments-ProceduresforCompliancewiththeIRSandMCARevOct2014.pdf as these procedures detail the limit of hours worked by adjunct faculty. As
PAs, you have a critical role in ensuring that no adjunct is provided adjunct employment
through a contract or an overload, where they would be working more 29 hours per week,
on average, during the “Standard Measurement Period” from May 1 through April 30. We
must comply with this law and there are very significant penalties if we do not.
Here are a few steps that will help ensure compliance with these hourly restrictions for
adjunct appointments:

Prior to hiring an adjunct faculty member, check the “Management of 29 Hours
(Individual Audit)” report in the Banner Reporting Center to make sure the adjunct
faculty member will not exceed the hourly restrictions. This report shows adjunct
position(s), number of hours worked to date for each position and the projected hours
expected to be worked during the Standard Measurement Period (May 1 through
April 30).

When preparing contracts for adjunct appointments, use the most current adjunct
contract templates and the adjunct Terms and Conditions document provided by the
OFRR. The FTE on contracts for non-instructional adjunct appointments should
match the FTE on the corresponding personnel action (PAF). The non-teaching
adjunct faculty template requires an FTE in the PAF section that matches the FTE
derived from the FTE calculator (currently on the PAF). The FTE will be used to
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
Page 7 of 8
monitor the average hours worked per week during the “Standard Measurement
Period”.

When preparing the PAF, overload form or the PAF section of the adjunct nonteaching position description form, use the adjunct calculator to determine the hours
worked. It is important the FTE is accurate as the FTE is used for tracking hours
worked.

Once the adjunct appointment has been keyed by HR, ensure the PAF has the correct
FTE (based on credit hours and/or hours worked per week using the applicable FTE
calculator), the correct hours per day, and the correct hours per pay for each adjunct
position.
Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention/Academic and Faculty Affairs/Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
901 W. Franklin St., Suite 107• Richmond, VA 23284-2527 • (804) 828-5948 • Fax (804) 827-0779
May 2015
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