Faculty Incentive Pay Program

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Purpose:

The purpose of the Faculty Incentive Pay Program (FIPP) is to recognize and reward recipients of
external funds that enhance research, scholarship, service and creativity; promote best practices in
teaching and learning; and implement other program improvements that advance the mission of
the University. This Program is the mechanism by which the University may provide incentive
payments to faculty who are effective in securing extramural funding.

Download Faculty Incentive Pay Plan Agreement (.doc)

Eligibility:

To be eligible to participate in the Program, the following minimum criteria must be met:

The participant must be a Boise State University tenure-track or tenured faculty member
serving as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on an externally-sponsored
project;

At least a portion of the participant’s institutional base salary must be paid from stateappropriated
funds;

Individuals who are split-funded from appropriated and other sources shall be eligible to
participate in that portion of their salary supported by appropriated funds;

Provisions:

Incentive payments are contingent upon the faculty member meeting the eligibility requirements
and complying with the terms and conditions of the Program. Incentive payments are limited to
up to 50% of the “recovered” or “bought out” salary, and cumulative payments shall not exceed
25% of the faculty member’s institutional base salary per fiscal year. The amount of the
incentive payment shall be estimated prior to the beginning of the associated academic semester
and reconciled to actual activity before a payment is issued. Incentive payments shall be initiated
with an EAF and shall be paid in a lump sum at the end of the fiscal year. Payments shall be
subject to applicable withholding and issued in adherence to all prevailing laws and policies.

Terms and Conditions:

Faculty Incentive Pay Program participants must comply with the following terms and conditions in order to receive incentive payments:

The faculty member must fulfill all expectations for performance established through a
written work assignment that is agreed upon in advance by the faculty member, the
faculty member’s chair person or other immediate supervisor, and the faculty member’s
dean in consultation with the provost pursuant to Boise State University policy BSU4560,
“Workload for Official Faculty.”
The faculty member must exhibit satisfactory performance in all assigned duties as
determined by his or her chair and dean, including good fiscal and administrative
management of all extramural funds for which he/she is principal investigator or coprincipal
investigator and completion of necessary reports in a timely manner.
The incentive Program applies to salary that is funded by external sources during the oncontract
period.
Incentive payment(s) shall not modify the faculty member’s institutional base salary and
shall not be paid from sponsored project funds.
Participation in the Program is voluntary and is not mandated upon either the faculty
member or the University. Participation is not an entitlement but may be made available
to eligible faculty members when both the University and the faculty member determine
that it is in their mutual best interests to do so. Furthermore, the University reserves the
right to suspend or terminate this Program or the participation of any faculty member at
any time. No verbal commitment to participation or pay under the program is binding and
only the final signatures of all required parties shall constitute a commitment under the
program.
Availability of any payments under the Program is subject to the availability of state
appropriations and to any applicable State or Federal laws, regulations or policies.
Modifications to any aspect of this Program may be implemented at any time, as
determined by the vice president for research in consultation with the provost. Such
modifications may occur through amendment of this Program or through written notice to
the deans of affected academic units.
Final approval for participation in this Program shall be granted by the provost and vice
president for research.

Incentive Pay Calculations:

The maximum amount of the incentive payment is 50% of the net salary savings to the appropriated
funding source.

Since, historically, departments have been able to recover 100% of salary savings generated from
sponsored project activity and may be dependent on salary savings for operational costs, chairs and
deans are not required to pay the maximum incentive of 50% of net recovered salary savings but may
negotiate a smaller incentive payment if necessary.

The following costs may be factored into the incentive payment calculation:

Compensation to the department for costs incurred to replace the faculty member’s
contributions to the department;
Other costs incurred by the department for support of the sponsored project that are not
recovered elsewhere.

Examples of Incentive Pay Calculations:

Teaching Workload Buy Out

A faculty member with a 9 month appointment receives external funding to pay for 10% of her salary
to work on a sponsored project during the fall semester and negotiates with her chair to reduce her
teaching workload proportionally. The faculty member’s base salary is $75,000. The total amount of
salary savings is $7,500. The cost of an instructor to teach the faculty member’s class is $2,700.

Salary savings: $7,500
Instructor costs: $2,700
Net salary savings: $4,800

The faculty member may receive up to $2,400 in incentive pay (50% of the net salary savings).

Research Workload Buy Out:

Dr. Jones’ institutional base salary is $60,000. His annual workload assignment allocates 20% of his
time to research activities. He is a co-PI on a grant that pays for 10% of his time to conduct research
on a sponsored project during his 10 month on-contract period.

Salary savings: $6,000
50% of net salary savings: $3,000

The faculty member may receive up to $3,000 in incentive pay.

Research Workload Buy Out – when faculty institutional base salary is paid from multiple
sources:

Dr. Smiths’ institutional base salary of $50,000 is funded from two sources: 80% from appropriated
funds and 20% from local funds. Dr. Smith is a co-investigator on a grant that pays for 20% of his
salary to conduct research on a sponsored project during his 10 month on-contract period.

Amount of salary paid from appropriated funds during the on-contract period: $40,000
Amount of salary savings to the appropriated funding source: 20% of $40,000, or $8,000

The faculty member may receive up to $4,000 in incentive pay.

Procedure for calculation and disbursement of incentive payments:

Before the buyout period:

At least two weeks before the start of the anticipated buy out period, the faculty member
works with his or her department chair and business manager (if applicable) to complete
the top portion of the Faculty Incentive Pay Program agreement.

The department chair signs the request which confirms that eligibility requirements are
met and that the request is consistent with the faculty member’s written workload
assignment.

The chair or departmental/college administrator (business manager) coordinates obtaining
the dean’s and provost’s signatures and forwards the form to the Division of Research and Economic Development for
review and approval.

The Division of Research and Economic Development signs the form and sends the original form back to the
department chair with a copy to the faculty member and the business manager (if
applicable).

After the buyout period:

The faculty member works with his or her department chair and business manager (if
applicable) to complete the bottom portion of the Faculty Incentive Pay Program
agreement.

The department chair signs the agreement and the departmental or college administrator
coordinates obtaining the dean’s and provost’s signatures. The signed form is sent to the
Division of Research and Economic Development for review and approval.

The Division of Research and Economic Development signs the form and sends the original form back to the
department chair with a copy to the faculty member and the business manager (if
applicable).

The business manager or departmental administrator initiates an EAF
for the lump sum payment and codes it as “FIP.”

An EAF may be submitted at any time after the agreement has been fully signed,
however, it MUST be submitted NO LATER THAN May 15 in order to ensure
adequate time for processing prior to the end of the fiscal year.

Download Faculty Incentive Pay Plan Agreement (.doc)

Contact: Sue Hexum
Email: suehexum@boisestate.edu
Phone: 426-2953