Effective Date

7/1/2022

Key Contacts

If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact CLAS Undergraduate Programs. If you have questions regarding the allocation of funds, please contact your departmental accountant.

Applicability

Faculty, Staff, DEOs, Departmental Administrators, Departmental Accountants

Policy Purpose and Description

First-Year Seminar (FYS) funds are received in September of each year by CLAS Finance from the Provost Office. If an instructor for CLAS teaches a First-Year Seminar course, then CLAS will receive the funds from the Provost Office for that course. Allocations are made based on information provided by the Provost Office as to who was approved to teach a First-Year Seminar course and verified with section search results on MyUI for Fall of each year.

If an instructor receives an acceptance email in the spring from the Provost Office for their Fall FYS course and then accepts a Professional Development Award for that same time period, they will not receive the FYS funds. If another instructor steps in to cover that course, that instructor will receive the funding instead.

Definitions

N/A

Procedure

Please see these policies, procedures, and practices for the application process at https://clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/academic-programs-first-year-seminars.

Faculty:

Tenure track and Clinical track faculty who teach a FYS course will have their funds allocated as Research. Expenses that are allowed on this account are travel, research related expenses, and any supplies related to the course. Food, scholarships, and the faculty members own salary should not be expensed to this account. Certain wages are allowable, please check with your departmental accountant.

P&S, Instructional Track Faculty, and Visitors/Adjuncts:

P&S, Instructional Track Faculty, and Visitors/Adjuncts who teach a FYS course will have their funds allocated as Salary plus Fringe. The department will need to submit an HR Appointment form (Special Comp-Payment) for approval. (Note: If the course is off-cycle and not for the full semester, the dates to use on the form should be the dates of the course.)

Carry-Over of Funds

Carry-over of First-Year Seminar funds is not allowed. They must be fully spent in the year in which they are received. If they are not spent, they will be pulled back.

Forms

N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

I am a staff member/lecturer, can I have my stipend in research funds so I can travel to a conference?

No, we are not able to offer a choice to individuals as to research funds or compensation. The IRS policy surrounding constructive constraint states that we must have a policy compensating groups of individuals in the same way. If we allowed a choice, then the IRS considers the amount taxable income, regardless if you take it as research funds or special compensation.

Can I use these funds to pay for student travel to a conference?

If you are a Tenure Track or Clinical Track faculty, you may use the funds for student or staff travel.

I am enrolled in a UI course, can I use this to help offset my tuition?

No, these are not scholarship funds which must be processed through the MAUI system.  You can use these these funds for professional development courses offered through UI Learning and Development or a Professional Association. 

I am co-teaching with someone outside of CLAS, how will the funds be allocated?

The funds will be distributed from the Provost's Office to the academic home of the course, in this instance, CLAS. Once the funds are distributed, they will be allocated to the department. If you are a faculty member, your departmental accountant will need to reach out the the other Org for an MFK to transfer 50% of the funds.

For P&S, Instructional Track, and Adjunct/Visitors, the departments HR Hub coordinator will need to process a special comp pay form to pay CLAS' 50% portion of the teaching (salary + fringe). They will then need to either 1) process the special comp pay form for the other Org's 50% portion of the teaching (salary + fringe); or 2) reach out to the other Org and ask them to process the special comp pay form on the CLAS departments MFK.

Related Information

N/A

Revision History

12/2021