North Carolina A&T State University
Institutional Guidelines for Implementation
of the Phased Retirement Program
January 1998

 

1.0 Introduction

The Board of Governors, at its meeting on March 14, 1997, adopted the recommendations in the report of the University of North Carolina Committee to Study Early Retirement entitled, "Phased Retirement in the University of North Carolina." The goals of the program are to promote renewal of the professoriate in order to ensure institutional vitality and to provide additional flexibility and support for individual faculty members who are nearing retirement. The expected outcomes on implementing this policy include the following:

• Better personnel planning - institutions will be able to anticipate position changes and plan for them at an earlier time than is currently the case;

• Enhanced recruitment and retention - institutions will realize an additional benefit available to tenured faculty members that should help in recruiting and retaining quality faculty members;

• Increased quality of faculty - institutions will be able to fill tenure track faculty positions while retaining the skills and knowledge of experienced faculty on a half-time basis throughout their phased retirement period.

The University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Program is designed to provide an opportunity for eligible full-time tenured faculty members to make an orderly transition to retirement through half-time service. The Program is entirely voluntary and will be entered into by a written agreement between an Eligible Faculty Member and the institution. Electing Eligible Faculty Members may elect to begin receiving the benefits they have accrued under either the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System ("TSERS") or the Optional Retirement System (the "ORP"), but are not required to do so.

Eligible Faculty Members are tenured individuals who are at least age 60 with five (5) years of contributory service, or at least age 50 with twenty (20) years of contributory service in either the Teacher’s and State Employees’ Retirement System ("TSERS") or the Optional Retirement System (the "ORP"). In addition, an Eligible Faculty Member must have at least five years of full-time service at their current institution.

The Phased Retirement Program contemplates actual retirement and reemployment of participating faculty on part-time status for a limited period. For those who have not yet reached "normal retirement age" retirement must be demonstrated by a clear break in service of at least 30 days between cessation of full-time employment and return to institutional employment under the Program. For participants in the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) "normal retirement" is the later of one’s 65th birthday and the date on which one completes five years of service. For those in the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System ((TSERS) "normal retirement" is the age at which the participating faculty member first satisfies an age-and/or-service requirement for "service" (unreduced) retirement. Under TSERS unreduced retirement is available if one is age 60 with 25 years of credited service time, if one is age 65 with five years of credited service, or if one has 30 years of credited service, at whatever age.

The Program is scheduled to be available February 1, 1998 through January 31, 2003. Eligible Faculty Members may enroll in the Program effective any Fall semester at any time during this five-year period.

 

2.0 Institutional Limits on Participation

Due to instructional demands for each of the academic programs, North Carolina A&T State University will limit participation in the University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Program to 20% of the total number of faculty members associated with a given department at a time. For example, if there are five (5) faculty members associated with a given department, then at most one (1) faculty member would be allowed to participate in the Phased Retirement Program at a time.

This institutionally imposed limit would allow the University to maintain the integrity of the academic program in a given department and to remain in compliance with University-specific and/or program-specific accreditation standards.

 

2.1 Limits on Participation Due to Financial Exigencies

Due to a decline in enrollment at North Carolina A&T during the 1996-97 academic year, the University lost twenty-four (24) positions from its 1997-98 budget. The potential loss of additional faculty positions during the Phased Retirement Program would create a significant financial exigency for the University. If the financial exigency created by the decline in enrollment were to continue, the University would have to review and possibly reduce the limit on the number of faculty members eligible to participate in the program on a department-by-department basis. This would insure that the impact of potential further budget cuts and the number of persons electing phased retirement would not adversely diminish the quality of a department or degree program.

Faculty who occupy full-time administrative or staff positions are not eligible for the Program until they vacate the administrative or staff position.

 

3.0 Time Period for Participation in Program

To provide a reasonable period of time for Eligible Faculty Members to participate in the Phased Retirement Program, the time period for participation in the Program will be limited to two (2) consecutive academic years. This 2-year period of time will also provide a broader opportunity for a larger number of faculty members to participate in the Program.

 

4.0 Procedure for Informing Eligible Faculty Members

The Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will notify in writing, no earlier than February 1, 1998, those tenured faculty who appear to meet the age and service requirements for eligibility on or before August 1, 1998. Such faculty will be sent a "Letter to Eligible Faculty Announcing the Phased Retirement Program" along with the following program materials:

• "Summary: University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Program"

• "University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Application and Reemployment Agreement"

• "University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Program General Release"

• List of individuals, by faculty rank, who appear eligible or ineligible to participate in the Program.

A notice will also be placed in the faculty newsletter and all the documents related to Phased Retirement from General Administration will be posted at a web site created for that purpose.

Following the inaugural announcement, program materials will be sent every September 1 occurring within the five-year Program period to those tenured faculty who appear to qualify for participation by the following August 1.

The University will schedule ongoing information sessions for Eligible Faculty Members coordinated by designated Program officials. At least two such sessions will be held before March 1, 1998. Subsequently, Program officials will schedule at least one information session per semester for each academic year of the Program. This is designed to fully inform those faculty who become eligible during the five-year period.

 

5.0 Procedure for Accepting, Reviewing, and Approving Applicants

Eligible Faculty Members should arrange to meet with their departmental chairs and deans to discuss their interest in participating in the Phased Retirement Program. During these initial meetings, Eligible Faculty Members should discuss their intent to participate in the program, the potential limits on participation for faculty members in the department, the formal application process, etc.

Assuming that the University’s 20% school/college, or departmental limit has not been met, such faculty members should discuss with their chairs and deans the initial details of their half-time work plan. Once a preliminary half-time work plan has been agreed upon, based on departmental needs and schedules, the details of the plan are to be submitted to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs by the dean for preparation of:

(1) the official University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Application and Reemployment Agreement, and

(2) the General Release.

Duplicate copies of these two documents will be sent to the faculty member for review and signature. Once executed, one copy of the University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Application and Reemployment Agreement and the General Release will be returned to the faculty member within ten (10) days of being signed by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and one copy will be maintained on file in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

A faculty member will have at least forty-five (45) days to return the duplicate copies of the signed Agreement and the Release. The University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Application and Reemployment Agreement and Release must be reviewed and signed by the faculty member, the chair, the dean, and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Faculty members electing to participate in the Program have the right to revoke the Agreement and Release anytime within seven (7) days of the date the Release is signed by the parties. An election to participate in the Program does not become final until after the seven-day period has run. If the Agreement and Release are revoked, the Agreement is void.

Applications for participation in the Phased Retirement Program from Eligible Faculty Members will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis until the University’s 20% limit on the total number of faculty associated with a degree program is reached. If a department or school/college received more elections for the Program than it has available spaces due to the limit, then eligibility will be determined based on institutional seniority; that is, the faculty member with the most institutional seniority will have priority to participate in the Program.

 

6.0 The Half-Time Work Plan

The activities appropriate for consideration in the development of an Eligible Faculty Member’s half-time work plan covers the range of typical activities in which the faculty member has been engaged in throughout his or her career. Such activities include teaching, research and creative activities, service, advising, writing of grants, publications, etc. In general, assuming a campus wide teaching load for full-time tenure-track faculty to be twelve (12) credit hours per semester, the standard half-time work plan should include:

(a) three (3) to six (6) credit hours of instruction 25-50%

at the undergraduate and/or graduate level

(b) research activity 0-25%

- faculty members who are engaged in funded research activity will be allowed to reduce their teaching load by one course through released time

- continue to serve as PI/Co-PI of ongoing research grant(s)

- academic advisor or committee member for graduate student (MS/PhD) thesis/dissertation research

- publications/presentations: faculty members will continue to be encouraged to publish their research results and to present their work at national/international meetings

(c) other departmental activities, including: 0-25%

- academic advisor to approximately 50% of normal undergraduate/graduate advisee assignment

- committee assignments at department, school/college, or university level

- participation in public service-related activities

- participation in professional society-related activities

The percent of time in which an Eligible Faculty Member will be involved in activities in items (b) and (c) will depend upon the level of time commitment agreed upon between the faculty member and the appropriate university administrator, i.e., department chair and/or dean.

 

6.1 Negotiating the Half-Time Schedule

As indicated in section 6.0, Eligible Faculty Members should arrange to meet with their chairperson and/or dean to discuss their interest in participating in the Phased Retirement Program. Assuming that the institutional, school/college, or departmental limits have not been met, such faculty members should negotiate with their chairperson and/or dean the initial details of their half-time work plan. The negotiated half-time work plan may be arranged to allow a faculty member to be primarily involved in teaching along with other departmental activities, or some combination of teaching, research and scholarship, and other departmental activities. With this level of flexibility, the Eligible Faculty Member is provided the opportunity to negotiate a half-time work plan that is agreeable to all parties.

 

7.0 The Agreement and Release Package

Once a preliminary half-time work plan has been agreed to, the details of the plan are to be submitted to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs by the dean for preparation of:

1. the official University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Application and Reemployment Agreement (Attachment C), and

2. the General Release (Attachment D).

Duplicate copies of the University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Application and Reemploy