PAR Section 2

Owned by
Ann Kelble
Last updated: Apr 15, 2024
5 min read

Purpose: 

Provide expectations and guidelines for entering funding commitments in Section 2 of DEFINE when creating a PAR to hire a faculty member; typically only applies to TTT hires.

Relevant Definitions: 

PAR: Prior Approval Request; includes a *DEFINE doc and a PDF packet; final approval required before formally extending an offer to a faculty recruit.

DEFINE: UT mainframe financial and admin system; accessed via VIRTEL.

Commitment: item promised to a faculty recruit and included in the contract (offer letter)

Assoc Dean: Unless otherwise specified, refers to Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; currently Steven Hoelscher.

Course load: number of courses a faculty member is required to teach in a given semester/academic year 

Recurring: a long-term commitment that is expected to continue

Non-recurring: a short-term commitment with a fixed end date; note: some commitments can be multi-year, but are considered non-recurring for purposes of our processes because they have fixed terms.

Example: $5,000/year in research funds for first 5 years: would want that listed out as 5 line items, $5K per each of the five fiscal years, with notes including "year 1 of 5", etc.

Generations computer: new computers provided periodically by Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services (LAITS)

 

Process: 

  1. Once you have created the PAR in DEFINE, and you have gathered the commitments being made for the particular hire, you are ready to process section 2 of the PAR (along with the Offers Database record).
    1. Please remember that commitments must be approved in writing prior to routing PAR forward. (see COLA Policies below)
  2. Commitments will be entered in Section 2 of the PAR: (see Section 2 of EVPP PAR Handbook for screenshots)
    1. Commitment Details:
      1. Date Approved should correspond the date(s) of the email(s) from the Assoc Dean where said commitment(s) were approved.
        1. If a commitment is specifically from a Provost or Dean Stevens, the date would match the email from that approver.
      2. Multi-year, non-recurring commitments will be entered as individual, one-year commitments, such as: “Yr 1 of 6: $5K annual research funds for 6 years.”
        1. The begin and end dates will correspond to the beginning and ending dates of the given fiscal year; e.g., for FY23-24, Date Applies: 09 01 2023; Date Expires: 08 31 2024 
      3. A Department account must be entered for each Department commitment made, e.g., for research support or lab equipment.
      4. Supporting Documentation Status:
        1. "Y" (on file): 
          1. Dean commitments
          2. Department commitments
        2. "A" (attached):
          1. Institution commitments
    2. Some Common Commitment Types, with details (Not exhaustive; see above re: Approval Dates):
      1. Relocation Expenses:
        1. Type: RL (Relocation)
        2. Source: Dean (unless Monkey Wrench)
        3. Account: 1916004623 (unless Monkey Wrench)
        4. Recurring: N
        5. Dates: Per the Handbook of Business Procedures, relocation payments can be made no earlier than 45 days prior to a start date. Relocation payments made for Fall starts should be effective through 12/31 of the year, and relocation payments for Spring should be made through 5/15 of the year. 
          1. 8/16 start: Start: 7/10/YY, Expire 12/31/YY
          2. 1/1 start: Start: 11/25/YY, Expire 5/15/YY
        6. Supporting Doc Status: Y
        7. Comment: what, $basis, distance/brief address: e.g., "lump sum; $6/mi cola; 956mi -123 wiley bridge ct, GA" (see also COLA Policies)
        8. Monkey Wrench: If department wants to offer candidate additional relocation funds (above COLA portion), Relocation should be entered as two commitments, same as above except;
          1. Department contribution would be marked as "Dept" and
          2. requires a department account;
          3. Comments: "dept additional contribution to lump sum; total RL sum: $total" (e.g., COLA portion is $5,736, and dept wants to give $4,264 so that the total is $10K; noting the desired total helps in checking the offer letter and your math)
      2. New Faculty Computer
        1. Type: CP (Computer)
        2. Source: Dean
        3. Account: Leave blank
        4. Amount: Actual
        5. Recurring: N
        6. Date of Commit: Start: 09 01 202x, Expire: 08 31 202x (first FY dates)
        7. Supporting Doc Status: Y
        8. Comment: "New faculty computer - LAITS/Generations program"
        9. Monkey Wrench: This is the 'standard' beginning faculty computer – PC or Mac, per faculty choice. Any other computer included as part of hire agreement would be included in a different commitment, such as part of start-up equipment (SU).
      3. Research Support
        1. Type: RS (Research support)
        2. Source: Varies; should match the commitment documentation; if funds come from more than one source, this should be broken out into separate entries, by source
        3. Account: If source is Department, be sure to include account
        4. Amount: Total cost of the research funds committed, unless it is a multiple-year commitment. E.g., "$5K of research funding for 5 years": each year of funding should be recorded as its own commitment entry; in the example listed here, there would be 5 different entries, each for 5,000. 
          1. If the commitment is recurring indefinitely (rare), the amount would be the annual amount.
        5. Recurring: N; if multi-year, each year would be recorded individually as non-recurring.
        6. Date of Commit: Start: 09 01 202x, Expire: 08 31 202x (FY dates); if multi-year, see Amount, and Recurring.
          1. Sometimes research funds are given in one initial transfer, with an expiration date; e.g., "$25,000 to be expended within the first three years or will revert to (source)"; in that case, there would be one entry of $25K covering the three-year period.
          2. If a recurring commitment (rare), the end date would be 99999.
        7. Supporting Doc Status: Y; unless the source is from the Provost's Office, in which case, "A" - Attached.
        8. Comment: Should be descriptive; if multi-year, each year should be labeled and should reference the total; e.g., "Yr 1/5, $5K/yr COLA res sppt; $25K total"; then "Yr 2/5..." and so forth.
          1. If recurring but subject to review, please note the year of review/renewal. 
        9. Monkey Wrench: Try to verify whether research support (from any given source) is meant to be transferred in installments ($X/yr for Y years) or in one installment with (or without) an expiration date ($X in research support, exp after 5 years). 
          1. Unless the funding is for something specific, don't specify how it will be used; however, do try to ensure that PAR matches Offers DB record.
          2. If it Is for something specific, make sure that is noted in Comment.
      4. Summer Salary
        1. Type: FS (Faculty Salary)
        2. Source: Dean, or Department, depending? 
        3. Account: If Department, must list the account
        4. Amount: Actual; unless there is a fixed amount being given, for some reason
        5. Recurring: N
        6. Date of Commit: Start: 06 01 202x, Expire: 08 31 202x; corresponding to the summer in which the salary has been promised; or, if given a range of years in which to take, list the start and end dates of the first summer within that range. Don't cross fiscal years.
        7. Supporting Doc Status: Y
        8. Comment: useful description; for example, if a new FY23-24 hire is being given if 2 months of summer salary to be taken before the end of their third year at UT, "2mos. summer sal, taken in or before 8/31/26." In this example, the Start/Expire Dates would be 06 01 2024 to 08 31 2024, as those would be the first summer in which the salary may be taken. Would expect clear, thorough explanation in Offers DB, especially if there are any conditions attached to the summer salary.
        9. Monkey Wrench: If both Dean and Department provide summer salary support for a new hire, they should decide who "goes first".
      5. Teaching Reductions (Temporary or otherwise): Any release from standard teaching obligations, including, for example, any temporary or permanent course reduction of any length or quantity; typically non-recurring and in the first year.
      6. Renovation (RN) (Less common); Any commitments tied to space, including, for example, new or renovated lab space; usually includes square footage, is non-recurring, and costs are typically "Actual"; LAITS & Associate Deans will have been involved.

 

COLA Policies

  • The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs must approve all commitments made, regardless of source.
    • This includes "standard" commitments, such as orientation pay and new computer.
  • Department chairs are responsible for opening lines of communication directly with the Associate Dean of Instructional Technology and Facilities regarding space commitments and keeping the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs informed of those discussions.
  • Relocation stipends will be calculated and paid according to COLA rates. (See also Relocation Payments) Current COLA rates are: 
    • Assistant and Associate Professor: $6/mile, $4K minimum; 
    • Full Professor: $7/mile; $5K minimum; 
    • Dual Career: 1.5 times the rate of the highest-ranking partner with funds split 50/50. 
    • Departments may self-fund additional relocation stipends with Associate Dean approval. 

 

 

Other Related Links: 

COLA PAR checklist (Section 2 begins Row 20); last updated 9/1/22

Provost PAR Handbook, Section 2 

COLA Offers Database (wiki article)

 

 

 

 

 

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