Faculty

Twelve-month faculty provide services year-round, during both the academic year and non-academic year periods. These employees are paid on the biweekly payroll schedule over a period of 12 months or 26 biweekly pay periods.

Nine-month faculty provide services during the academic year period (August 16 – May 15). These employees are paid on a biweekly payroll schedule. There are two payment options in which nine-month faculty can be paid: non-deferred pay (9-over-9 or 20 biweekly pay periods) and deferred pay (9-over-12 or 26 biweekly pay periods).

Non-Deferred Pay Option (20 biweekly pay periods or 9-over-9)
Nine-month faculty members have the option of receiving the nine months of pay over the 20 academic-year biweekly pay periods. With this option, salary is fully disbursed as it is earned during the nine-month appointment.

Deferred Pay Option (26 biweekly pay periods or 9-over-12)
Nine-month faculty members also have the option of receiving nine months of pay over a twelve-month period (26 biweekly pay periods). With the deferred pay (9-over-12 option), salary is not fully disbursed as it is earned. That is, a portion of the salary is held back or “deferred” from the payments made during the academic year period and paid during the non-academic year period. The term “deferred compensation” is used to distinguish between the amount earned versus the amount paid.

4.5 contracts are distributed over a single academic semester (Fall or Spring) and are paid through a total of 10 biweekly paychecks. Please see the academic payroll calendar for a complete list of pay days.

• NEW Nine-Month Faculty: Beginning Fall 2024, there will no longer be a default payment option for new nine-month faculty. Departments submitting hire ePAFs must attach the Faculty Payment Option Form to the ePAF.
  • New faculty members are required to complete the Faculty Payment Option Form and submit it to their department payroll/HR coordinator by August 1st (for fall start dates) or by the first day of their appointment for midyear start dates.
  • The ePAF effective date for new faculty hires should be the first day of the first biweekly pay period for the semester in which they are starting. Refer to the Academic Payroll Calendar for guidance.
  • Hire ePAFs submitted without the Faculty Payment Option Form attached will be recycled or denied.
     
• EXISTING Nine-Month Faculty: Existing nine-month faculty members wishing to change their payment option, must complete the Faculty Payment Option Form and submit it to their department payroll/HR coordinator by August 1st each year. 
  • Departments must submit a job change ePAF to update the payment option with an ePAF effective date reflecting the first day of the first biweekly pay period for the academic year. Refer to the Academic Payroll Calendar for guidance. Job change ePAFs must be submitted prior to the start of the academic year.
  • ePAFs missing the signed Faculty Payment Option Form attached will be recycled or denied.
     
• Faculty Stepping Down from Twelve-Month Appointments: Faculty transitioning from twelve-month positions to nine-month positions must complete the Faculty Payment Option Form. Forms must be submitted to their department payroll/HR coordinator prior to the first day of the effective date of the step down. 
  • Job change ePAFs for faculty transitioning to nine-month positions wihtout the Faculty Payment Option Form attached will be recycled or denied.

For questions about the Faculty Payment Option form please email payroll@ou.edu.

Nine month faculty members in benefits eligible positions are eligible to participate in benefits throughout the entire calendar year. Participation is not limited to the nine month service period. Your payment election will have no impact on your benefits coverage, if enrolled, but will change the amount of premiums deducted from your paychecks:

• Nine month faculty paid over 12 months (26 biweekly paychecks) will have benefits deducted over 26 paychecks, if enrolled.
• Nine month faculty paid over 9 months (20 biweekly paychecks) will have benefits deducted over 16 paychecks (September – April), if enrolled.
   

Premiums for benefits deducted over the 20 paychecks will be higher to allow for the value of the full calendar year premium to be deducted over the academic year. The higher premiums collected during the academic year will be used to maintain employee benefit coverage during the non-academic year period.

The maximum summer salary a 9-month faculty member can receive is one-third of their annual academic year or contract salary (i.e. 3 months).

How to Calculate:

To calculate the maximum summer salary you will take one-third of the annual academic year salary (NPBR field in Job Data divided by three).

To calculate the maximum biweekly rate for summer salary take the figure above (maximum total for summer salary) and divide by six (there are six biweekly pay periods during the summer).

Example:

If you are calculating two months of summer salary, it would look like this:

Annual Academic Year Salary (NPBR): $150,000
1/3 of Annual Salary/Max Summer Salary: $50,000
Summer Biweekly Rate: $8333.33
Two Months of Summer Salary: $33,333.33

(Total summer salary/3 months)*2 months OR biweekly rate * 4

The pay periods below are the summer pay periods in which you may process summer salary for summer 2025. Two biweekly pay periods below = one month of summer salary. If the faculty member is to get half a month of summer salary for May, then you would take the summer biweekly rate and process on the pay period ending 5/30/25.

Please note that the faculty member’s summer biweekly rate is different than their academic year biweekly rate. So, please make sure you follow the instructions provided above to calculate the correct summer salary rate.

New hire ePAFs must include the annual salary amount, which should align with the figure stated in the offer letter issued by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost.

Attachments to Include on the hire ePAF:

• Current CV and/or page 2 of the Personal Data Form
• Related MOU and/or Offer Letter
• Faculty Payment Option Form - Please note that for mid-year hires, they will be paid over nine-months for their first term but may elect to be paid over twelve-months beginning in August.
   

The effective date on the ePAF is the first day of the first biweekly pay period of the fall semester. For mid- year hires, the effective date is the first day of the first biweekly pay period of the spring semester.

Faculty hires should be made in August or January. If you have any extenuating circumstances, please contact Lizi Young, Director of Academic Personnel Records.

If an ePAF is submitted after the payroll deadline and the new hire is owed payment for a previous pay period, a retro-pay ePAF (RTP) must be submitted. The RTP should accurately refelct the amount missed, such that when combined with the remaining contract year payments, it aligns with the total compensation specified in the offer letter and the annual amount indicated on the hire ePAF.

When nine-month faculty are promoted to a twelve-month chair or director position, this is referred to as a 'step-up.' Conversely, when a twelve-month chair or director transitions back to a nine-month faculty position, it is referred to as a 'step-down.' In either scenario, both the pay group and the length of the appointment are adjusted accordingly.

Step-ups and step-downs should take effect on the first day of the first biweekly pay period of the academic year. Any exceptions to this timeline must receive approval from the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost. Please contact the Director of Academic Personnel Records to seek an exception.

If a twelve-month chair or director elects to step down before the first day of the first biweekly pay period of the academic year, they may choose to utilize PTO during the summer period between their final working day as chair or director and the commencement of their nine-month faculty appointment.

If a nine-month faculty member transitions to a twelve-month appointment prior to the first day of the first biweekly pay period of the academic year, they may receive additional pay for the time worked prior to the start of the academic year.

Please note that twelve-month faculty transitioning to a nine-month position must include a Faculty Payment Option Form attached to their job change ePAF, in addition to the step-down MOU.

Placing an employee on sabbatical with half pay requires TWO ePAFs, executed sequentially. To avoid overpayment, it is crucial to initiate and complete both ePAFs in time to meet the appropriate payroll deadlines. A third ePAF is required to bring the employee back from sabbatical.

Step 1: Paid Leave ePAF
Submit a Paid Leave ePAF effective the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the fall semester. This ePAF will place the faculty member in leave status only.

    Instructions:

1. Enter the employee’s name or EMPL ID in the "Start a Personnel Action Form" field in the top left corner.
2. Select PAID LEAVE from the drop-down menu under their photo.
3. On the next page, select SABBATICAL W/HALF PAY as the reason.
4. Enter the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the fall semester in the "First Day of Leave" field. 
5. Attach the Sabbatical Memo to the ePAF.

Step 2: Job Change ePAF
After executing the Paid Leave ePAF, submit a Job Change ePAF to reduce the faculty member’s salary to half of their annual rate.

    Instructions:

1. Enter the employee’s name or EMPL ID in the "Start a Personnel Action Form" field in the top left corner.
2. Select JOB CHANGE from the drop-down menu under their photo.
3. On the next page, select PAY/FTE CHANGE as the reason.
4. Enter the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the fall semester in the "Effective Date for Changes" field.
5. The Goal Amount should be left unchanged and should equal the employee's academic year annual salary (i.e. the full amount).
6. Take the biweekly rate and divide it in half, and then enter into the biweekly rate field.
7. Attach the Sabbatical Memo and reference the eForm number of the Paid Leave ePAF submitted in Step 1.

Step 3: Return from Leave ePAF
To return the employee from leave, submit a Return from Leave ePAF effective the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the following fall semester.

    Instructions:

1. Enter the employee’s name or EMPL ID in the "Start a Personnel Action Form" field in the top left corner.
2. Select RETURN FROM LEAVE from the drop-down menu under their photo.
3. On the next page, enter the first day back at work as the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the fall semester.
4. When prompted to "Update or review job details," toggle to YES.
5. In the "Components of Pay" section, update the biweekly rate back to the full amount. Failure to update the salary in the Return from Leave ePAF will result in the employee continuing to receive half pay.
6. You may need to consider any raise programs that may have occurred or are occuring at the same time you are bringing the employee back from leave.

Additional Notes: If the employee elects to self-fund the remaining portion of their salary (or any portion) during sabbatical using research funding, an additional pay ePAF(s) must be submitted. Use OLB as the earnings code for this ePAF.

Placing an employee on sabbatical with half pay requires TWO ePAFs, executed sequentially. To avoid overpayment, it is crucial to initiate and complete both ePAFs in time to meet the appropriate payroll deadlines. A third ePAF is required to bring the employee back from sabbatical.

Step 1: Paid Leave ePAF
Submit a Paid Leave ePAF effective the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the spring semester. This ePAF will place the faculty member in leave status only.

    Instructions:

1. Enter the employee’s name or EMPL ID in the "Start a Personnel Action Form" field in the top left corner.
2. Select PAID LEAVE from the drop-down menu under their photo.
3. On the next page, select SABBATICAL W/HALF PAY as the reason.
4. Enter the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the spring semester in the "First Day of Leave" field. 
5. Attach the Sabbatical Memo to the ePAF.

Step 2: Job Change ePAF
After executing the Paid Leave ePAF, submit a Job Change ePAF to reduce the faculty member’s salary to half of their annual rate.

    Instructions:

1. Enter the employee’s name or EMPL ID in the "Start a Personnel Action Form" field in the top left corner.
2. Select JOB CHANGE from the drop-down menu under their photo.
3. On the next page, select PAY/FTE CHANGE as the reason.
4. Enter the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the fall semester in the "Effective Date for Changes" field.
5. The Goal Amount should be left unchanged and should equal the employee's academic year annual salary (i.e. the full amount).
6. Take the biweekly rate and divide it in half, and then enter into the biweekly rate field.
7. Attach the Sabbatical Memo and reference the eForm number of the Paid Leave ePAF submitted in Step 1.

Step 3: Return from Leave ePAF
To return the employee from leave, submit a Return from Leave ePAF effective the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the following spring semester.

    Instructions:

1. Enter the employee’s name or EMPL ID in the "Start a Personnel Action Form" field in the top left corner.
2. Select RETURN FROM LEAVE from the drop-down menu under their photo.
3. On the next page, enter the first day back at work as the first day of the first biweekly pay period in the spring semester.
4. When prompted to "Update or review job details," toggle to YES.
5. In the "Components of Pay" section, update the biweekly rate back to the full amount. Failure to update the salary in the Return from Leave ePAF will result in the employee continuing to receive half pay.
6. You may need to consider any raise programs that may have occurred or are occuring at the same time you are bringing the employee back from leave.

Additional Notes: If the employee elects to self-fund the remaining portion of their salary (or any portion) during sabbatical using research funding, an additional pay ePAF(s) must be submitted. Use OLB as the earnings code for this ePAF.

Faculty may resign at the end of the spring semester or before receiving their full contracted salary. For instance, if a 9/12 faculty member resigns with an effective date in May, at the conclusion of the spring semester, they will have completed a full academic contract year’s worth of work. However, due to their election to have their pay distributed over 12 months, they are still owed the remainder of that academic year’s contract salary, which has been deferred across the summer months.

To calculate the remainder of the contract that is owed to the employee: