Paying people

Salaries for all UW faculty, staff and students must be paid through UW Payroll, facilitated by the home department and working in collaboration with UW Study Abroad.

There are three methods by which faculty and staff can be paid for their work on faculty-led programs:

1. The department chair agrees to continue to pay a faculty or staff member from the department’s budget. The faculty or staff member then remains on salary and no coordination with UW Study Abroad is needed.
2. The faculty or staff member is paid from the study abroad program budget. In this case, UW Study Abroad will work with the faculty or staff member’s payroll administrator to arrange for salary distribution. See the table below for UW Study Abroad’s salary policy.
3. A portion of the faculty member’s salary is charged to the program budget. This portion is often equivalent to the cost of hiring a temporary replacement to teach the courses on campus that the faculty member would have normally instructed. Some departments refer to this as a salary buy-out. In this case, UW Study Abroad will work with the faculty or staff member’s payroll administrator to arrange for salary distribution. In the case of tenured faculty whose home department is in the College of Arts & Sciences who are leading a quarter-long program, a minimum of $7,000 + benefits MUST come out of the program budget. For more information on the Arts & Sciences replacement teaching fee (RTF) salary policy, see FLP Policies.

The following policy apply to salaries for program leaders that are charged to the program budget administered by UW Study Abroad. In cases where salaries for program leaders are paid by a department (and do not appear on the program budget) program leaders should work with their home department/college to determine salaries. All salaries should be approved by the program leader’s home department/college. Salary will be paid within the pay periods that correspond to the program term.

*Where salary is included in the program budget, the appropriate Benefits Load rate should be included corresponding to the appointment.

• Coordinate with UW Study Abroad and your home department to determine appropriate salary amounts during the budgeting process. Consult the table above.
• Work with your Departmental Payroll Coordinator to ensure that a proper appointment is in place for the duration of the program and determine appropriate salary payment options.
• Your Departmental Payment Coordinator and UW Study Abroad will work together to enter appointments and salary distributions for the period of the program.
• Make sure you have set up direct deposit in Workday so your salary is directly deposited to your personal bank account.

All salaries incorporated into the program budget must include a line item for the correct Benefits Load rate for your UW appointment, regardless of whether or not the faculty or staff member is receiving benefits from the UW. If a faculty or staff member is not receiving benefits from UW, this line item still must be included into the program budget, however the faculty or staff member will not be paid this amount to cover their own benefits. This benefits load will be paid to the UW.

The benefits load rate is already included in the spending plan template.

All Faculty-led programs require two UW staff people to run. Graduate students can be hired to work on these programs. As with Graduate Assistantships offered on campus, G.A.s, T.A.s and R.A.s hired to work with study abroad programs are hired directly by the employing department (generally the department sponsoring the study abroad program) and are covered by a union contract. Each individual department must conduct its own hiring process; UW Study Abroad cannot appoint Graduate Assistants. Faculty interested in hiring a Graduate Assistant should consult with their department to determine the appropriate appointment and requirements to hire a Graduate Assistant.

There are two types of appointments:

1. Teaching Assistant: work with students in a teaching capacity: grading, lecturing, facilitating discussion.
2. Hourly Appointment: other types of duties, such as advising, logistical support or administration.

These appointments entitle the student to certain benefits and compensation. Additional information about terms, benefits, and responsibilities is summarized below. Departmental administrators or HR representatives may also be able to provide guidance on this process. For more detailed information please refer to the Graduate School Assistantships web page.

Graduate Assistantships should be advertised. Sponsoring departments often have an internal mechanism to publish available Graduate Assistantships.

Graduate Assistants should be provided with the following:

1. A job description that includes a detailed breakdown of tasks and percentages of time to be spent on task categories
2. An appointment letter outlining:
   • Appointment for which the student was hired
   • Supervisor
   • Payroll Title
   • Compensation
   • Beginning & End Dates of Appointment

The appointment should be entered into the UW Payroll system and administered by the sponsoring academic department.

Whether through departmental support, student program fees or other sources of funding, the program is responsible for providing the following salary and benefits and should plan for these expenses in the program budget:

• A salary according to rates outlined in the negotiated agreement. See the Graduate School website for current figures. As a UW employee, the student will be paid through the UW payroll system.
• Benefits through the Graduate Appointee Insurance Program (GAIP) according to the rates outlined in the negotiated agreement. See the UW’s Benefits website for information about current benefits.

Salary and benefits can be included in the program budget and charged to the program budget. The Departmental Administrator or Payroll Coordinator will set up the grad student’s payroll and will work with UW Study Abroad to obtain the appropriate budget number to charge the salary.

Make sure your graduate assistant sets up direct deposit in Workday so their salary is directly deposited to their personal bank account.

Most Graduate Assistants are 50% appointments that carry an average workload of 20 hours per week. Graduate Assistants must also fulfill the requirements of their academic workload (generally 10 credits). This balance can be difficult to maintain in the context of study abroad. There should be a realistic plan in place to help balance professional and academic responsibilities.

Graduate Assistantships can be more than 50% FTE, but if the appointment carries a 75% workload, the Graduate Assistant must also be compensated at that level.

Graduate Assistants should be enrolled in at least 10 graduate credits, the minimum number of credits for full-time enrollment as a graduate student. There are a few options for funding tuition associated with these credits.

1. The Graduate Assistant may register for credits on the MyUW system and pay their usual tuition and fees. A tuition waiver may be provided by the department or the cost of tuition can be included in the program budget and paid by the program.
2. Graduate Assistants participating in faculty-led programs can enroll for 10 credits of Independent Learning through UW Study Abroad (includes independent research, practicum, internship or externship). This is often the most affordable option for programs. There are no tuition charges associated with this option so the department will not need to provide a tuition waiver and the program will not need to budget for the cost of tuition. There is a Study Abroad Fee for this process. The Study Abroad Fee will be charged to the student’s account and can be budgeted and paid for by the program.

In the second case, the student must apply for and meet the requirements set out by UW Study Abroad for Independent Learning, separate from their role as a Graduate Assistant. The student should submit the Independent Learning application by the deadlines outlined below. The student will need to get at least 10 graduate credits pre-approved by his/her department, supervised by someone other than faculty leading the study abroad program. Contact your program manager to open an Independent Learning application for a Teaching Assistant.

Recognizing the unique context of study abroad, the sponsoring department can submit a Petition for Reduced Enrollment to the Graduate School. If approved, this would allow a Graduate Assistant appointment for a student registered for 0-2 credits, depending on the circumstances. The cost of the 0-2 graduate credits can be paid for by the program and included in the program budget.

During the summer quarter, Graduate Assistants need to enroll in a minimum of 2 graduate credits.

1. They can enroll in 2 credits through the MyUW system, and the cost of tuition for these two credits can be included in the program budget and paid by the program, as outlined above.
2. They can also apply for 2 credits of Independent Learning through UW Study Abroad for summer quarter as outlined above.

For more information and instructions on how to purchase the UW Student Abroad Insurance see the UW Student Abroad Insurance page.

Faculty often remain on salary with their home department for the duration of their time teaching on a UW Faculty-led Program. It is also possible for faculty to be paid by study abroad program budget rather than use departmental resources. Please see Faculty-led Program Policies for information on budgeting for salaries.

If the faculty’s home department cannot fully cover the cost of the faculty salary for the duration of the program, the program budget may include the cost of a Teaching Assistant to replace the faculty member while abroad. The department may then charge the amount of the faculty’s salary that is equal to the cost of the Teaching Assistant’s salary and tuition to the program budget. The program budget should not directly pay for the cost of teaching staff that are not actually teaching on the program.

Department administrators will work with UW Study Abroad to confirm any buy-out arrangements and arrange for payment.

Your program staff might include a local coordinator, whose job it is to do any or all of the following:

• Make arrangements for program lodging, travel, or activities
• Make payments to vendors on your behalf
• Assist you in the field with program logistics

A local coordinator might be an individual, a travel agency, or a program coordination company.

STEP 1: Draw up an Independent Coordinator contract (U.S. Citizen version or Foreign National version) that includes services to be rendered, service dates, payment amounts for individual services, and payment terms. This should include both amounts needed to make payments on your behalf, and the independent contractor’s fees. This agreement should be signed by both you and the contractor.

STEP 2: Submit an invoice (see our template here) to UW Study Abroad F&A with vendor information and payment request. In most cases, up to 50% of the agreed-upon funds can be paid as a deposit as soon as your program is confirmed. The remaining 50% will be paid upon completion of service. You must submit a SECOND invoice for this amount as soon as you are satisfied that all services have been rendered as arranged.

Please note that the University of Washington now requires us to have foreign vendors supply us with a current, valid copy of the appropriate IRS form (normally the W-8BEN-E) before we can send payment to them. For more information, see the UW Tax Office’s website.

In addition to your salaried program staff, you may wish to employ individuals to provide services such as instruction, translation, and guided tours. We generally call these individuals “Independent Contractors.” If you are employing individuals to perform such services for one day or event, please refer to the Short term instructors, guides, and translators tab below. The information in this tab refers to paying individuals for longer term service.

STEP 1:Draw up an Independent Coordinator contract (U.S. Citizen version or Foreign National version) that includes services to be rendered, service dates, and payment terms. This agreement should be signed by both you and the contractor.

STEP 2: Submit an invoice (see our template here) to UW Study Abroad F&A with vendor information and payment request. In most cases, up to 50% of the contracted fees can be paid as a deposit as soon as your program is confirmed. The remaining 50% will be paid upon completion of service. You must submit a SECOND invoice for this amount as soon as you are satisfied that all services have been rendered as arranged.

Please note that the University of Washington now requires us to have foreign vendors supply us with a current, valid copy of the appropriate IRS form (normally the W-8BEN-E) before we can send payment to them. For more information, see the UW Tax Office’s website.

Programs often bring in individuals to provide one-time and/or one-day services to enrich curriculum. Examples include guest speakers or instructors, translators, or tour guides. If you are employing individuals to perform such services for longer than one day or event, please refer to the Long-term instructors, guides, and translators tab above.

In most cases, individuals providing short-term services can be paid in cash from your field advance. For each short term contractor, please do the following:

STEP 1: Fill out a Field advance payment form. Have the individual read the section that states that they are responsible for paying any taxes, or read it to them. Have them sign the form and sign it yourself.

STEP 1: Enter each payment as a line item in your field advance tracking spreadsheet and retain the Field Advance Payment Form to include as a receipt.