Standards for Summer Salary

Faculty members requesting a summer salary to be funded by an external grant should observe any relevant regulations established by the funding source regarding the limit on such salaries. For example, the National Science Foundation and some other major federal agencies limit the summer salary to a figure that is two-ninths of the person’s academic year salary. Summer salary obtained through external grants will not affect a faculty member’s eligibility for summer session teaching at UMW, although faculty members should carefully consider whether they will have the time necessary to both work on the grant project and teach. Any external funding received may be taken in consideration when evaluating an application for an internal UMW grant (such as a summer stipend, Faculty Development Grant) that would support the same project that has received external funds.

In addition, faculty members should be aware that Commonwealth of Virginia policy establishes a limit on the maximum amount that may be earned in the summer session. Total summer salary from all sources must not exceed a percent of the full-time academic year salary; the percent is based on a proportion of the academic year salary so that the pay for summer work would not be paid at a rate that exceeded the rate of pay the faculty member makes during the academic year. At UMW, that figure is 33% of the faculty member academic year base salary.