Exempt Staff with Adjunct Faculty Teaching Assignments

Approved by: Allana Hamilton

Jackson State Community College recognizes that some full-time staff members may be qualified for adjunct faculty teaching. This personnel policy provides direction to those staff members who may wish to perform adjunct teaching assignments.

Qualified exempt staff members who chose to teach as an adjunct faculty member may do so during non-working hours with approval from his or her supervisor that it does not conflict with his or her normal work hours and the operations of the department using the proper approval form.

Although the College recognizes that some non-exempt employees may also qualify for adjunct faculty teaching we cannot permit non-exempt employees to have dual employment with the College. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, "Employees that perform non-exempt work as his or her primary duty, he or she will be considered non-exempt and must be paid overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a week". Compensation for adjunct teaching would therefore not be in alignment with the College adjunct faculty salary schedule, which represents equitable compensation. Therefore, the only teaching permitted by a non-exempt employee is teaching that is part of his or her normal job responsibilities.

As a general rule, Jackson State Community College exempt staff members may not teach classes during his or her normally scheduled working hours. On a rare occasion, the College may approve exceptions to this personnel policy for exempt employees. When this circumstance arises, the Dean responsible for the course must submit an Exempt Staff Adjunct Faculty Assignment Approval Form to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for approval for the staff member to teach during his or her regularly scheduled work hours. The Dean's request must include the extenuating circumstances that make it impossible to fill the position with another qualified individual.

The Vice President of Academic Affairs will work with the supervisor and the Human Resource Director to determine the operational impact the absence from his or her full-time position will have. The Vice President of Academic Affairs will provide his or her final decision to the Dean through the Exempt Staff Adjunct Faculty Assignment Approval Form.

Exempt staff members must complete all preparation, grading, advising, e-mail responses and other work associated with the class outside regularly scheduled work hours. Exempt staff members are permitted to teach up to six (6) credit hours per semester, with a maximum of twelve (12) credit hours per academic year. The staff members serving as adjunct faculty may not leave early from regularly scheduled work to accommodate adjunct faculty teaching preparation or instruction.

In the event that an exempt staff member does teach during his or her regularly scheduled work hours, his or her compensation will be determined as follows:

If hours missed to teach the course are documented and made up within each week the exempt staff member will receive compensation at the current adjunct faculty rate.
If hours missed to teach the course are charged to annual leave and exempt staff member will receive compensation at the current adjunct faculty rate.
If hours are not made up nor is annual leave or comp time charged administrator or staff member will not receive additional compensation.

Note: This administrative procedure does not apply to exempt staff employees that are required to teach specific courses as part of his or her normal job responsibilities with no additional compensation or to administrators maintaining faculty rank status.