Requesting payments for/hiring Guest Lecturers, Professional Services, and Students

UT Compensation Policy

The University has strict policies for paying for any services performed by guest speakers, actors, students, lecturers, film editors, colorists, or any other professional services that require payment.

Note: if you're looking to offer compensation, reimbursement, or travel arrangements for a special event speaker (in other words, someone other than a guest to your normally scheduled class activities), please see our Events 101 page for guidance.

Inviting Classroom Guest Lecturers

The Department of Radio-Television-Film encourages faculty to invite guest lecturers to share their expertise with their students. Please refer to the different policies and procedures below for production and studies classes. The respective area heads must approve funding prior to arranging to pay a classroom guest. Because funding is limited, there is no guarantee of approval. Submit your proposals before the end of the first week of classes for priority consideration. Note: These the procedures below are to request funding from the department area heads. If you are using professorship or startup funds, fill out the compensating professional request form.

Request Forms

	Guest Lecture Request Form

	Request for OOEF (when food is involved)

	Request Payment Reimbursement

Guest Lecturers for Production & Screenwriting Classes

Policy

The policy covers the requirements and procedures to be followed for inviting guest lecturers from outside the Department for production classes.

• The production head must approve in advance any payments to guest lecturers. As funding is limited, there is no guarantee of approval. Please submit your proposals before the end of the first week of classes for priority consideration.

There are two options for compensating invited guests:

• Option 1 (Meal/Refreshments)*: If the guest is on campus, and doing an informal Q&A, we can reimburse up to $100 for lunch with the guest, faculty member, and students. 

• Option 2 (Honorarium): If the guest is hosting a workshop, where the person is demo'ing and/or giving student feedback, they can receive a set $250 honorarium.

Procedures

1. Complete and submit the guest request form.

2. At least 30 days prior to the visit/service (at least 60 days in advance for International non-employees). When possible, submit your proposals before the end of the first week of classes for priority consideration.

3. In order for the request to be processed, the RTF Accounting team must first receive approval the production Area Head.

4. *If Option 1 (Meal/Refreshments) is selected, please submit a Request for Food Reimbursement (OOEF) along with your receipts AFTER the visit.

5. RTF Accounting team will notify the requester if there are any questions with the request.

Guest Lecturers for Media Studies Classes

Policy

The policy covers the requirements and procedures to be followed for inviting guest lecturers from outside the Department for media studies classes.

• The media studies area head must approve in advance any payments to guest lecturers.

• Because funding is limited, there is no guarantee of approval. Please submit your proposals before the end of the first week of classes for priority consideration.

• If approved, guest lectures will receive a set honorarium of $200 for a lecture in person or virtually.

• There will be a call for proposals at the beginning of the semester for bringing in guests, and, if funds are still available, another call later in the semester.

Procedures

1. Complete and submit the guest request form at least 30 days prior to the visit/service (at least 60 days in advance for International non-employees). When possible, submit your proposals before the end of the first week of classes for priority consideration.

2. In order for the request to be processed, the RTF Accounting team must first receive approval the media studies Area Head.

3. RTF Accounting team will notify faculty if there are any questions with the request.

Hiring Part-Time Help or Professional Services

Directions on paying contractors and professionals (e.g., colorists, research assistants, videographers, editors) who are not enrolled students.

Request Forms

	Compensating Professionals Request Form

Resources

• UT Handbook of Business Procedures - Independent Contractor Overview and Guidelines

Policies

• The Department Chair must approve funding prior to arranging to compensate a professional or contract their services.

• Because funding is limited, there is no guarantee of approval.

• Because the University is responsible to fulfill IRS requirements for year-end reporting of non-employee compensation, UT does not allow the department to reimburse faculty or staff for paid professional services; instead, we will need to pay the professional/s directly.

• If you fail to notify us until after the services have been performed, you will be required to submit an exception letter to the Dean’s office and the AVP of Purchasing for approval. There is no guarantee these exceptions will be approved, meaning that your business associates would be at risk of not being paid.

Procedures & Timelines

Before you make an agreement with anyone to perform services for which payment may be expected:

1. Fill out the Compensating Professionals Request Form:

   • at least 30 days prior to the visit/service

   • At least 45 days in advance for International Non-employees.

2. If the event is approved, the RTF Accounting team will follow up with directions for you to notify the event speaker about what is needed for compensation, and then they will follow up with the professional in order to process the payment.

Hiring Students

Directions on hiring enrolled students for employment.
(Note: while the policies listed below are specific to hiring students, the hiring request form is the same for both students and non-students.)

Request Forms

	Hiring Students Request Form

Resources

• Hiring Student Employees

• UT guidelines on student employment.

• Semimonthly payroll schedule and deadlines.

• Texas Career Engagement Toolkit for managing undergraduate student employees

  • access via UT Learn by adding it to your playlist (click here). You can also request to join via the SharePoint site.

  • The Toolkit includes resources for the student hiring process including:

    • Pre-Hire (Job posting templates and HireUTexas FAQ)

    • Onboarding (including Student Employment Handbook templates)

    • Training Examples for Student Employees

    • Normal Operations Examples for Front Desk operations

    • Performance Evaluations (Texas GROW worksheet and examples)

• UT Policies on Work Study

Policies

• Enrolled students (even working part-time) need to be hired through Workday as university employees (as opposed to as contractors).

• Submit the request form at least 30 days prior to the service (at least 60 days in advance for International students).

• There will be limits on how many hours students can work. See UT guidelines on student employment, which also cover minimum eligibility requirements and standard appointment dates.

• Students must have an appointment BEFORE they can start working.

• Be aware that there may be additional costs associated with hiring a student: wages, fringe benefits, and background checks (which will need to be requested by staff at least three weeks in advance of start date–see procedures below).

• Graduate Student Employment Rules - 

  • Employment rules for graduate students can be complicated. Please consult with Teresa Warner before making any decisions regarding graduate student employment.

  • Also see: Best Practices for Working with Graduate Students with Dependents.

• See UT Policies on Work Study

Procedures & Timelines

At least 5-6 weeks before the Start of Work:

• If you are trying to find a student for a job, you can submit a description of the job to Handshake. Email RTF-Accounting@austin.utexas.edu for details. Allow time for interviewing candidates.

At least 4 weeks before the Start of Work:

• Once you know you know whom you’re hiring, fill out the Hiring/Compensating Students Request Form at least 30 days in advance of the start of work (even earlier if they are international students) in order to allow time for staff to the set up the Workday appointment—for tasks such as performing background checks, onboarding, filling out I-9s, etc. (Note that background checks may take longer for internatational students and students who have moved across multiple states.)

During Work:

• Supervisors need to track the student’s work and approve Workday timesheets. Semi-monthly payroll periods are completed on the 15^th and end of every month. See semimonthly schedule and deadlines.