Post Doctoral Fellows Policy
I. Policy Application
This policy applies to all post doctoral fellows, whether funded by federal sources, such as the NRSA fellowship program, or from other, non-federal sources.
II. Policy Authority.
As provided by Title 4, Chapter 7, Sections 5 of the Board of Regents’ Handbook, a postdoctoral fellow appointment is a temporary advanced scholarly appointment of at least 50%. It is a specialized education and training position in research or scholarship under the direction of a faculty sponsor established for the Postdoctoral Fellow’s continuing education and professional growth. Postdoctoral Fellow appointments serve to advance the competence of a person who has recently completed higher professional training marked by a doctoral degree.
Full time students, candidates for a degree, visiting scholars who are not at the university for the purpose of receiving further training are excluded from Postdoctoral Fellow status.
III. Recruitment and Appointment.
A. Recruitment. Postdoctoral Fellows are not subject to the open and competitive recruitment policies of the Board of Regents and may be appointed without a public search. However, if more than one individual is to be considered for a given postdoctoral fellowship, the principals of equal employment opportunity and competitive selection shall apply.
B. Employee Appointment. Postdoctoral Fellows may be appointed as employees of the University in accordance with Title 4, Chapter 7, Section 6 of the Board of Regents’ Handbook if the fellowship entails at least 20 hours of supervised work per week. Fellows who are appointed as employees of the University will be paid through the University’s payroll system are entitled to the employment-related benefits established at Title 4, Chapter 7, Section 7 of the Board of Regents’ Handbook.
C. Non-employee Appointment. Alternatively, Postdoctoral Fellows who are recipients of non-employment based fellowships (such as the NSRA fellowship program) may be appointed as Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellows which does not entail an employment relationship with the University, but is typically supported by a living allowance or stipend for the duration of the fellowship. Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellows are paid through Accounts Payable.
IV. Fellowship appointment process
When a fellowship has been awarded, the fellow must obtain a faculty mentor. Once a mentor has been chosen, the mentoring faculty member should make an offer of appointment to the candidate, which sets out the basic terms of the appointment, including the period of the appointment, the compensation or stipend level, and a statement that the candidate’s appointment is subject to all university policies.
If a determination has been made that the fellowship does not create an employer-employee relationship between the fellow and the university, upon acceptance of the appointment by the fellow, the fellow’s department should prepare an Adjunct Postdoctoral Scholar form to provide eligibility for workers’ compensation.
V. Duration of fellowship appointment
Post doctoral appointments are ordinarily made for one year and are renewable annually based on satisfactory performance and availability of funding, not to exceed five years.
VI. Supplemental compensation
As provided at Title 4, Chapter 7, Section 5 of the Board of Regents’ Handbook, Postdoctoral Fellows are not precluded from applying for any grant, contract, or postdoctoral training grants or nationally competitive postdoctoral fellowships permitted under guidelines of the research office of the University and consistent with sponsor rules governing allowability.
NRSA fellowships, for example, provide a living stipend to recipients, but the fellowship does not create an employment relationship with the host institution. However, NRSA fellowships permit part time employment by the fellow at the institution for work performed which is not related to the fellowship, under certain circumstances. If part time employment is contemplated, the fellow should discuss arrangements with his/her department and with the Office of Sponsored Programs. If part time employment is provided by the university in addition to the fellowship, the fellow will be considered an employee and all compensation to the fellow, including the fellowship, will be processed through Payroll and such compensation will be subject to withholding.
VII. University benefits available to post doctoral fellows
A. Postdoctoral Fellows who are employees.
Post doctoral fellows who are considered employees are eligible for those benefits authorized by the Board of Regents at Title 4, Chapter 7, Section 7 of the Board of Regents Handbook including annual leave, sick leave, participation in the NSHE group health insurance plan, participation in a 403(b) retirement program with a 6.2% of salary matching contribution from the University, workers compensation coverage, Medicare coverage with a 1.45% matching contribution from the University, issuance of a University ID card, and eligibility for in-state tuition for themselves and dependent family members.
B. Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellows who are not employees
Post doctoral fellows who are not considered employees are not eligible for employment-based benefits, with the exception of workers’ compensation and issuance of a University ID card.
Medical Insurance: Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellows are not eligible to participate in the NSHE health insurance plan. However, some fellowships permit charging medical insurance benefits to the fellowship award. In such instances, the amount of the award allowed for health insurance benefits will be disbursed to the Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellow through Accounts Payable, together with any other stipends for which the Fellow is eligible.
Medical insurance premium payments must, then be made by the fellow directly to health insurance providers. The fellow’s department will initiate paperwork to obtain payment from the award to the fellow directly for medical insurance coverage. The fellow should then use these funds to pay insurance premiums directly to the medical insurance company.
Workers’ Compensation: Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellows, working under the supervision of a UNLV faculty member and subject to the control of the university, qualify as university volunteers and are covered by the State of Nevada workers’ compensation program. Eligibility for workers’ compensation is dependent upon Human Resources receipt of a completed “Adjunct Postdoctoral Scholar” form, which should be routed through the fellow’s academic chain of command to the Vice President for Research for final authorization.
VIII. Obligations of mentors
The responsibilities of mentors include: (1) in consultation with the post doctoral fellow, developing a mutually satisfactory research project or scholarly program; (2) encouraging the post doctoral fellow to publish results in a timely fashion; (3) encouraging post doctoral fellows to acquire and enhance their knowledge and technical skills; (4) arrangement and oversight of teaching opportunities as appropriate; (5) encouraging the fellow to apply for training and research support; (6) providing an annual review of performance; (7) instructing the fellow in university research policies; (8) providing career counseling and (9) informing the fellow of all ethical and compliance obligations of the university.
IX. Obligations of post doctoral fellows
Post doctoral fellows have obligations to their mentors, the group in which they work, their department and college, their sponsor, and the university. These obligations include: (1) the ethical discharge of their research, scholarly, and teaching responsibilities; (2) compliance with good scholarly practices, including maintenance of research records and data; (3) observation of university and sponsor requirements related to human subjects, animal subjects, use of isotopes, chemicals, infectious agents and radiation; (4) understanding and compliance with all university policies including intellectual property policies and export control; and (5) collegial conduct towards coworkers.
X. Resignation or termination of fellowship.
When a post doctoral fellow decides to resign prior to the end of the period indicated in the Fellowship or Letter of Appointment, it is expected that at least one month’s notice will be provided. Upon leaving the laboratory, a post doctoral fellow must leave all original notebooks, data, reagents and any other study components or university property with the mentor in a state that will allow uninterrupted continuation of the project and ensure compliance with university policies.
Termination of Postdoctoral Fellows with employee status should be undertaken in accordance with university employment policies with such notice provided as specified in employment contracts.
Termination of Adjunct Postdoctoral Scholars who are non-employees will be undertaken as follows: under normal circumstances, adjunct postdoctoral scholars will be given thirty days notice if termination of the appointment is prior to the date initially agreed upon in the Fellowship Letter. Gross violations of obligations or university policies may be grounds for immediate dismissal.
Version 1, 05/2008