Faculty Compensation

Below is an overview of TU faculty compensation, contracts and workload policies. It includes information on automated contract systems and additional compensation, salary increases, pay for administrative and service roles, courseload adjustments, compensation for student supervision and guidelines for pay beyond institutional salary.

Faculty Automated Contract System (FACS)

The Faculty Automated Contract System (FACS) is used to process contracts for adjunct, offload, and per-student teaching assignments.

Faculty Additional Compensation eForm

The Additional Compensation Faculty eForm is used to pay regular and contingent faculty for non-teaching assignments.

Promotion and Salary Increases

  • Faculty promoted to “Associate Professor” (from “Assistant Professor”) receive a $6,000 increase to base salary beginning the ensuing academic year (as per the ART policy)
  • Faculty promoted to “Full Professor” (from “Associate Professor”) receive a $7,500 increase to base salary beginning the ensuing academic year (as per the ART policy)

Faculty do not receive salary increases to base salaries for being awarded tenure.

Salary to pay for faculty whose ongoing base salaries are increased because of an external award and/or honor (e.g., USM Elkin’s Award) will be funded from the college’s faculty salary pool.

  • Assistant Teaching Professors promoted to Associate Teaching Professor receive a $2,000 increase to base salary beginning the ensuing academic year
  • Associate Teaching Professor promoted to Teaching Professor receive a $4,000 increase to base salary beginning the ensuing academic year
  • Full-time contingent hired Teaching Professors who serve six consecutive years as a full-time contingent Teaching Professor secondary payments equal to 7.25% of their annual salary in lieu of an employer contribution to or service credit for a state-sponsored retirement or pension plan (see USM Policy II 1.05)

Librarians promoted to the next librarian level / status receive a $6,000 increase beginning the ensuing fiscal year (as per the ART policy).

Faculty Compensation for Administrative Work

Department Chairperson serving a three-year term: $23,000 flat stipend per year (July 1 - June 30)

(Acting) Department Chairperson on a term-by-term basis (not an annual contract): $9,000 flat stipend per term

Director of significantly large cross-college academic or significantly large special program (e.g., MB2, ESS, Actuarial Science):

  • $6,250 flat stipend per term (fall and spring terms)
  • $2,500 flat stipend per term (summer term),
  • $15,000 total (must work as director during summer)

Director of large academic or special program (e.g., interdisciplinary programs; core curriculum):

  • $4,250 flat stipend per term (fall and spring terms)
  • $2,500 flat stipend per term (summer term)
  • $11,000 total (must work as director during summer)

Graduate Program Directors: $5,340 flat stipend (must work as Graduate Program Director during summer)

Adjunct Faculty and University Level Service

Adjunct faculty who attend meetings of the Academic Senate in their role as an elected adjunct faculty representative or as an appointed or elected college representative to the Provost’s Adjunct Faculty Advisory Board will be compensated $50 per meeting.

Payment will be processed at the end of each academic semester based on attendance at the scheduled meetings.

Courseload Adjustments

Reassigned Time and Offload Teaching

Faculty generating eight (8) or more course units in an academic year may be assigned up to two (2) off-load courses in an academic year as approved by the department chair and dean.

Faculty generating seven (7) course units in an academic year may be assigned one (1) off-load courses in an academic year as approved by the department chair and dean.

In extraordinary circumstances faculty generating six (6) course units in an academic year may be assigned one (1) off-load course in an academic year as approved by the department chair, dean and provost.

Compensation for Student Supervision, Internships

Effective fall 2020, during fall and spring terms: 

  • Both full-time and part-time instructional faculty may receive compensation for all undergraduate and graduate direct readings, independent studies, master thesis and other courses approved by the dean for per student payment — maximum pay $800 per term.
  • Both full-time and part-time instructional faculty may receive compensation for undergraduate internships for credit.
  • Both full-time and part-time instructional faculty may receive payments for supervising undergraduates participating in internships for credit (however, full-time instructional faculty who receive payments for supervising undergraduates participating in internships for credit may not claim this instruction in calculating course units for the faculty instructional workload report).

During Minimester and Summer Terms

  • Full-time and part-time instructional faculty may receive per student payments for all undergraduate and graduate per student instruction.
  • Full-time and part-time instructional faculty may receive payments for supervising undergraduates participating in internships for credit.

Pay Above and Beyond Institutional Salary

Additional Compensation Earned from TU per Fiscal Year

Full-time faculty members may earn additional pay above and beyond their institutional base salary at Towson University (“University”) during an appointment period.

For more information visit the Policy on Institutional Base Salary for Full-Time Faculty.