New Academic Appointment Dates (2024)

• What is changing for August 2024?

  The academic appointments for new and rehired FTE faculty, teaching assistants, and instructional assistants will begin on August 16 rather than September 1. Appointments will end on May 15 instead of May 31. This two week “shift” aligns academic appointments with the academic calendar rather than the fiscal calendar. Continuing employees will remain unchanged.

• What are the benefits of this change?

  New and rehired faculty and graduate student employees will have active university appointments when they begin work, including:

  • Access to university systems before the start of the academic term.
  • Insurance coverage and workers compensation upon commencing employment. Please note GIA/GTA are still subject to the 60-day waiting period before medical benefits take effect.
  • Receiving first paycheck on September 1, rather than October 1.

• What are the affected appointments for August 2024?

  1. New and rehired FTE faculty: Faculty of instruction, faculty of practice, research faculty, tenure line faculty (excludes per course faculty and phased retirement status)
  2. New and rehired graduate/ doctoral instructional assistants and graduate/ doctoral teaching assistants

  Position	Start Dates
  FTE faculty assigned as instructor of record	August 16
  Per course faculty	September 1
  Graduate instructional assistants and doctoral instructional assistants (GIA/DIA)	August 16
  Graduate teaching assistants and doctoral teaching assistants (GTA/DTA)	August 16
  Graduate research assistants and doctoral research assistants (GRA/DRA)	No defined start or end date
  Graduate assistants and doctoral assistants (GA/DA)	No defined start or end date

  We acknowledge that there may be specific situations related to visas and work authorization dates that interfere with the ability to start work and be in residence on August 16. These situations will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

• How will this change in appointment dates affect paychecks?

  If you are a new or rehired faculty member with a nine-month appointment, effective August 16, your nine months of compensation will be distributed differently. You will receive your first two weeks of compensation on September 1. This paycheck will be compensation for the two weeks worked from August 16-31. Your final paycheck on June 1 will be compensation for the two weeks worked from May 1-15.

• How will this change my Retirement Service Credit?

  Retirement service credit is used to determine eligibility for TRS retirement and retiree insurance. To earn a year of retirement service credit, Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas and Optional Retirement Program (ORP) participants must have a minimum of 90 paid days during each September 1 – August 31 plan year, except for the final year before retirement. Employees paid for the full fall semester who retire December 31 will earn a year of retirement service credit. Review theTRS Service Credit Brochure for more information.

  It is possible for an eligible employee to contribute to TRS or ORP without earning a year of retirement service credit. This occurs when:

  • Employees separate prior to earning 90 paid days for the plan year and don’t retire at the end of the fall semester.
  • Unpaid time-off or leave results in fewer than 90 paid days for the plan year.
  • Faculty are only assigned for the fall semester and either don’t return for the subsequent fall semester or don’t retire at the end of the fall semester. Review table below for details.

  Benefits Eligible Employment	Assignment Dates	Eligible Employment for September 1, 2024 – August 31, 2025 Plan Year	Start Dates
  Fall Semester Only	August 16 – December 31, 2024	September 1 – December 31, 2024	No credit due to fewer than 90 paid days, unless retiring December 31, 2024
  Subsequent Fall Semester	August 16 – December 31, 2025	August 16 – 31, 2025	One year of credit, when combined with previous fall semester to earn 90 paid days.

• University Holiday Pay

  The holidays below will shift to different semesters beginning in 2024 and might impact the number of holidays you are paid for each year.

  Holiday	Current Semester	New Semester
  New Year’s Day	Fall	Spring
  Memorial Day	Spring	Summer
  Independence Day	First Summer Session	Second Summer Session

• Salary Spread Notification

  Employees with an 8/16-5/15 nine-month contract will not be able to elect salary spread.

• Hourly to salary position changes

  Within SAP, an employee cannot cross payroll areas within the same calendar month (Hourly and NSNR employees are paid on the S-1 semi-monthly payroll; regular status salaried employees are paid on the monthly M-1 payroll). All hourly and NSNR employees must complete their temporary hours within the previous month of the new hire date of the regular faculty position. For example, an hourly employee must end work on July 31, to start in a new faculty position on August 16, 2024.

  All hours worked in the hourly position must be entered and approved in time management within the month earned and prior to the processing of the new appointment. If you have an employee moving from one payroll area to another - hourly to salary or salary to hourly, please contact Human Resources for guidance

CONTACT THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS