III. The Faculty

a. Faculty Appointments and Salary Payments Annual faculty appointments generally commence on July 1 and extend through June 30 of the following year. The annual appointment presumes a nine-month teaching obligation during the fall and spring terms on the part of teaching faculty members (usually September­May) and a twelve-month working obligation on the part of library faculty, although the precise terms of each appointment may vary. Salaries are paid on a monthly basis on the 25th of each month.

New faculty members must complete personnel records in the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and sign a statement prescribed by the State of New York to support the federal and state constitutions. In addition, they must complete other employment records in the Human Resources Department, including enrollment in the various benefit programs of the University. It is important that these records be completed prior to August 10, since no compensation payments can be processed without this information. The first paycheck for new faculty members is paid on August 25; they will receive two months' salary in September of the first year, since they would not have received a check for July. The benefit programs for new faculty members go into effect on August 16.

b. Salary Advances Salary advances are made at the discretion of the University and may only be requested for emergency circumstances. A request for a salary advance may not exceed 50 percent of the gross monthly base payroll and will be withdrawn from regular paychecks over a period of time not to exceed four months. Requests for salary advance are reviewed by the Associate Provost. If a request is approved, only one salary advance will be made by the University to respond to a particular emergency.

c. Policies Governing Compensation Increases Since the early 1960's, Colgate has made a determined effort to maintain faculty salaries and benefits comparable to those of other leading liberal arts colleges. The Faculty Compensation Guideline, a policy statement first approved by the Board of Trustees in 1973 and later reviewed and modified in 1979, provides a formula for the aggregate budgeting of salary and fringe benefit increases each year. It ties the average increase in faculty compensation to the two-year average increase of national per capita disposable personal income.

Individual salary increases, including recognition of merit, promotion, and overall salary structure, are recommended by the President to the Board of Trustees on the advice of the Dean of the Faculty. The Dean's recommendation is based on consultation with department chairs and division directors.

2. Benefits

The description of the benefit program available to Colgate faculty is described in the Faculty Benefits Guide, a supplement to this Handbook, available at the Human Resources Department.