ACA FAQs for summer teaching jobs

How do I calculate FTE for part-time faculty?
The formula for courses held during the academic year is course credit hours divided by the number of weeks equals FTE.  See the following examples below. When completing standard hours in HRIS, enter total hours in half-hour increments only. 

 Follow this process if the FTE is 0.50 or greater in the summer:

• A spring faculty associate hired for the summer, but returning to a faculty associate position less than .40 FTE in the fall should be hired as a variable summer or winter faculty position.
• A spring faculty associate hired for the summer, but returning to an instructor position greater than .50 FTE in the fall should be hired as an NT or NC academic summer Instructor and offered benefits and mandatory retirement,  not pre-collected — this is for summer positions only. 

If the person did not have benefits in the spring, please indicate the following in the summer offer letter or contract:

• Benefits enrollment deadline date. Inform them that the benefits will terminate if their FTE falls below .50 FTE.
• Must elect a mandatory retirement plan by the same date. Inform them that their retirement contributions will continue for the remainder of the fiscal year, regardless of FTE.

A spring instructor job with pre-collected benefits must be put on a short-work break for the summer, and the person must be hired as a variable summer or winter faculty position.
May I hire a part-time faculty member 0.41 – 0.49 FTE?
No. The department should do the following per the provost’s office:

• Hire other faculty associates so they stay at 0.40 FTE or less. 
• Provide additional duties, raise them to 0.50 FTE or more and make them benefits-eligible instructors.

How do I set up the position attributes for faculty or academic position appointments in the regular or temp field?
Regular positions are limited to academic-year appointments for tenure, tenure-track, continuing-status or continuing-status-eligible positions only.
The following non-benefits-eligible positions are variable:

• Faculty associate, faculty research associate and academic associate positions 0.40 FTE or less.
• Instructional Professional 0.40 FTE or less.
• Summer or winter faculty positions regardless of FTE.
• PRN positions longer than 90 days require advance ACA compliance approval by emailing ASU ACA Compliance prior to making the job offer.
• Graduate and student worker positions.

Nontenure or noncontinuing academic positions are used for benefits-eligible and some nonbenefits-eligible academic positions who are nontenure-track, nontenured, noncontinuing-status-eligible or noncontinuing-status positions:

Examples

• Academic positions with multiyear contracts.
• Benefits-eligible academic associates at 0.50 FTE or more must be retitled using one of the other titles in ACD 505–03 academic professional status, ranks, titles and appointment categories.
• Instructors, lecturers and instructional professionals at 0.50 FTE or more. Exception: If the Instructional Professional has another benefits-eligible position at 1.0 FTE, make the job "variable" to avoid excess paid leave accruals, etc.
• Post-doctoral scholars, regardless of FTE.
• Professors of practice, regardless of FTE.
• Summer instructor – not pre-collected. 

What do I need to know when hiring faculty for consecutive semesters?
If a part-time faculty member has been employed for 90 days or longer, including all short-work breaks, and works 0.50 FTE or more, they are eligible for benefits and retirement under Arizona State statute. If a faculty member becomes eligible for benefits and mandatory retirement, departments are encouraged to utilize the faculty member in benefits-eligible positions for the remainder of the academic years.
Note: Once faculty members become eligible for mandatory retirement, contributions and long-term disability coverage must continue for the remainder of the fiscal year, regardless of their FTE.

Can a faculty associate have a 0.50 FTE or greater for the summer session?
Yes. Please use the appropriate job title and characteristics as defined below:

• If the person worked in the preceding spring semester as a non-benefits-eligible faculty associate, the summer position at 0.40 FTE or less would be a non-benefits-eligible variable summer or winter faculty.
• If the person worked in the preceding spring semester as a non-benefits-eligible faculty associate, the summer position at 0.50 FTE or more would be a non-benefits-eligible variable summer or winter faculty due to employment duration of less than 90 days.
• If the person is expected to return in the fall semester in a benefits-eligible position, i.e. Instructor, the summer position at 0.50 FTE or more would be a benefits-eligible NT/NC Acad SUM Instructor, not pre-collected.

If the person did not have benefits in the spring, please indicate the following in the summer offer letter or contract:

• Benefits enrollment deadline date. Inform them that their benefits will terminate if their FTE falls below 0.50 FTE.
• Must elect a mandatory retirement plan by the same deadline. Inform them that their retirement contributions and long-term disability coverage will continue for the remainder of the fiscal year, regardless of FTE.
• Failure to completed enrollment within 30 calendar days of summer position’s hire or eligibility date will result in the inability to elect benefits until the next open enrollment period unless a qualified life-event occurs.

If the person did not work for ASU in the preceding spring semester, the summer position would be the following:

• Variable summer or winter faculty, regardless of FTE, provided the person does not have a subsequent fall contract for a benefits-eligible position. The person is not eligible for benefits or mandatory retirement since he or she will not work for a minimum of 90 days at .50 FTE or greater.
• Nontenure or noncontinuing academic summer instructor, not pre-collected if 0.50 FTE or more, provided the person has a summer and subsequent fall contract of .50 FTE or greater. The person is eligible for benefits and mandatory retirement since he or she will work for at least 90 days at .50 FTE or greater.

I thought the Affordable Care Act required employees to receive benefits for one year regardless of hours worked if they met the eligibility requirements. Will the person lose benefits in the above scenario if their FTE falls below 0.50?
We must comply with the state statute first, then ACA guidelines. For state eligibility requirements, if the faculty member or academic professional works 0.50 FTE or more and has been employed by ASU for 90 days or longer, including any short-work breaks, the person is eligible for benefits and mandatory retirement.
Yes, they will lose eligibility for state benefits if their FTE falls below 0.50. However, they will become eligible for ACA benefits if they averaged 0.75 FTE 30 hours or more for 12 consecutive months during their initial or standard measurement period. Each department is responsible for monitoring the ACA 30-hours trending report consistently on a biweekly basis.
Example: The faculty member is full-time, works 40 hours per week for 12 months, then the employee's FTE decreases to 0.20. State benefits end and they are offered ACA benefits.
Remember, the department must notify ASU ACA Compliance by email in advance of the FTE change to ensure a smooth and timely transition from state to ACA benefits.
Call 480-727-2359 if you need assistance with state and ACA benefits eligibility. 

Can a benefits-eligible faculty member or instructor hold a summer session position?
Yes. If the person worked in the spring semester, the summer position must be a variable summer or winter faculty.
Note: Only summer or winter faculty and academic professional positions will stay variable to accommodate pre-collected benefits functionality, effort reporting and earnings code summer.

Can a graduate student hold a faculty associate position in the summer?
Yes. Graduate students are the only individuals who can hold both student and non-student positions; however, they must follow the graduate student employment guidelines. 
What do I need to know when hiring a research or teaching assistant or associate into a summer faculty position?
If a graduate student exceeds the 0.625 FTE employment maximum, he or she will not be eligible to be rehired as a research assistant or teacher assistant for six consecutive months. To avoid affecting the benefits and tuition of an RA or TA, please plan carefully using the Student Worker Hours Review and Student Worker Hours Exceeded reports.

If a 0.25 FTE or 0. 50 FTE RA/TA holds a summer faculty 0.50 FTE position, is the graduate student eligible for benefits and retirement?
No, because the duration of a summer faculty position is less than 90 days.
When should I use the title "Academic Associate" and when should I use another academic professional position?
The academic associate job title is limited to part-time, variable and nonbenefits-eligible positions only. Use one of the other titles in ACD 505-3 academic professional status, ranks, titles and appointment categories for benefits-eligible academic professionals.