Non-Employee Appointments

Pre-Doc Fellows

Guidelines & Requirements

General Guidelines

Fellowships are generally merit-based grants that are given to individuals to aid them in the pursuit of study or research. Fellowships may be funded internally or through federal funds.

• Internal fellowships are managed by the department and the grant is paid out in accordance with the regulations of the grant
• Federally funded fellowships such as NIH fellowships, need approval by Contracts & Grants

A Pre-Doc Fellow is:

• Not an employee – paid through additional pay (lump sums)
• A student enrolled in graduate school in preparation for their PhD
• Granted financial support for their research through a tuition waiver and/or stipend
• Registered for the minimum credit hours
  • See “Registration Requirements”

Requirements for New Fellowships

When submitting the hire ePAF make sure you follow the New Hire Checklist and provide the required documents.

The following are required documents for a Fellowship:

• Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Direct Deposit Form
• Bank Letter or Voided Check
• Notarized 2-in-1 form
• PWTIF for Tax Services (for Foreign Nationals only)

Note: Fellows do not complete GatorStart packets.

NIH Funded Fellowships: Paperwork for all NIH Grant Fellowships must go to Lisa Yates (lyates@ufl.edu) at Contracts & Grants. The completed and signed C&G approval form must be submitted with the ePAF through OnBase.

Entering Appointment in the System

Creating the ePAF:

• In myUFL, navigate to: Departmental Administration > ePAF Home Page > Start a New EPAF
• Select the link titled Hire an Employee and enter the necessary information for the ePAF
• Must always have an FTE of 0.00 and standard hours per week of 0.05
• Effective dates for Fellowship Hire ePAFs must match the date stated on the MOU
• Empl Class and reason code on the ePAF must correspond to the type of fellowship on the MOU (ex: pre-doc fellow to pre-doc fellow)
• Upload all the appropriate hiring documentation to the ePAF
  • For information on how to upload documents view OnBase Instruction Guide

Processing Payments

Fellowship payments can be paid bi-weekly, quarterly, or as a one-time payment (lump sum).

If you are paying quarterly, or as a one-time payment throughout the academic year, then you should make a calendar note to prepare an Additional Pay ePAF at the beginning of each pay period in which the payment is due, as myUFL does not automatically calculate when each payment is due.

Fellowship Hire ePAFs must have the same effective date stated on the MOU. If the ePAF is submitted after that pay period, the bi-weekly amount must be recalculated.

To recalculate the bi-weekly amount follow the instructions below:

1. Subtract the missed pay periods from the total number of pay periods to find the number of remaining pay periods.
   • Total number of pay periods – missing pay periods = remaining pay periods
2. Divide the total funding by the number of remaining pay periods.
   • Total funding/number of remaining pay periods = recalculated bi-weekly pay

Note: Only one ePAF needs to be submitted with this recalculated bi-weekly amount.

Resources:

• Payroll Schedules
• Fellowship in ePAF Instruction Guide

Employment Changes

Since fellows are not employees and are paid via lump sum payments, a Job Edit ePAF is not available to make updates to Job Codes, Salary Plans, Department IDs, etc. 

If updates to Job Data are needed, please complete a Job Data Correction (JDC) form and submit to Employment Operations and Records; updates to Job Data will be performed manually.

If any updates or stoppages to fellowship payments are needed please also email our office. 

Terminations

Terminations for fellowship records must be processed the pay period after the last payment has been issued.

• The effective date should be the end date stated on the MOU or after the final payment has been issued (whichever is later)
  • Departments can check this by going to Create Additional Pay in MyUFL
• Reason code must be Termination of Additional Pay (TAP)
• Fellows are not employees, thus the “leaving another job” box on the termination ePAF should never be selected

Note: If a payment needs to be stopped early, please indicate this in the ePAF and attach any pertinent documentation. To prevent any overpayment you must ensure that the termination ePAF is submitted by the HR Deadline. 

Post-Doc Fellows

Guidelines & Requirements

General Guidelines

Fellowships are generally merit-based grants that are given to individuals to aid them in the pursuit of study or research. Fellowships may be funded internally or through federal funds.

• Internal fellowships are managed by the department and the grant is paid out in accordance with the regulations of the grant
• Federally funded fellowships such as NIH fellowships, need approval by Contracts & Grants

A Post-Doc Fellow is:

• Not an employee – paid through additional pay (lump sums)
• Conducting research after completion of their doctoral studies
• Encouraged to continue their individual field of study or research
• Granted financial support through a stipend

More information on Post-Doc Fellowships can be located at the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. 

Requirements for New Fellowships

When submitting the hire ePAF make sure you follow the New Hire Checklist and provide the required documents.

The following are required documents for a Fellowship:

• Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Direct Deposit Form
• Bank Letter or Voided Check
• Notarized 2-in-1 form
• PWTIF for Tax Services (for Foreign Nationals only)

Note: Fellows do not complete GatorStart packets.

NIH Funded Fellowships: Paperwork for all NIH Grant Fellowships must go to Lisa Yates (lyates@ufl.edu) at Contracts & Grants. The completed and signed C&G approval form must be submitted with the ePAF through OnBase.

Entering Appointment in the System

Creating the ePAF:

• In myUFL, navigate to: Departmental Administration > ePAF Home Page > Start a New EPAF
• Select the link titled Hire an Employee and enter the necessary information for the ePAF
• Must always have an FTE of 0.00 and standard hours per week of 0.05
• Effective dates for Fellowship Hire ePAFs must match the date stated on the MOU
• Empl Class and reason code on the ePAF must correspond to the type of fellowship on the MOU (ex: post-doc fellow to post-doc fellow)
• Upload all the appropriate hiring documentation to the ePAF
  • For information on how to upload documents view OnBase Instruction Guide

Processing Payments

Fellowship payments can be paid bi-weekly, quarterly, or as a one-time payment (lump sum).

If you are paying quarterly, or as a one-time payment throughout the academic year, then you should make a calendar note to prepare an Additional Pay ePAF at the beginning of each pay period in which the payment is due, as myUFL does not automatically calculate when each payment is due.

Fellowship Hire ePAFs must have the same effective date stated on the MOU. If the ePAF is submitted after that pay period, the bi-weekly amount must be recalculated.

To recalculate the bi-weekly amount follow the instructions below:

1. Subtract the missed pay periods from the total number of pay periods to find the number of remaining pay periods.
   • Total number of pay periods – missing pay periods = remaining pay periods
2. Divide the total funding by the number of remaining pay periods.
   • Total funding/number of remaining pay periods = recalculated bi-weekly pay

Note: Only one ePAF needs to be submitted with this recalculated bi-weekly amount.

Resources:

• Payroll Schedules
• Fellowship in ePAF Instruction Guide

Employment Changes

Since fellows are not employees and are paid via lump sum payments, a Job Edit ePAF is not available to make updates to Job Codes, Salary Plans, Department IDs, etc. 

If updates to Job Data are needed, please complete a Job Data Correction (JDC) form and submit to Employment Operations and Records; updates to Job Data will be performed manually.

If any updates or stoppages to fellowship payments are needed please also email our office.

Terminations

Terminations for fellowship records must be processed the pay period after the last payment has been issued.

• The effective date should be the end date stated on the MOU or after the final payment has been issued (whichever is later)
  • Departments can check this by going to Create Additional Pay in MyUFL
• Reason code must be Termination of Additional Pay (TAP)
• Fellows are not employees, thus the “leaving another job” box on the termination ePAF should never be selected

Note: If a payment needs to be stopped early, please indicate this in the ePAF and attach any pertinent documentation. To prevent any overpayment you must ensure that the termination ePAF is submitted by the HR Deadline.

Courtesy Faculty

Policy Guidelines

Courtesy Faculty Policy

University departments and academic units that engage courtesy faculty must enter each courtesy faculty into the myUFL system. Courtesy faculty appointments may be issued for up to 5 years and may be renewable after the initial 5 years. If departments fail to confirm active courtesy appointments on a yearly basis through the Courtesy Faculty Review File, all courtesy appointments in the department will automatically be terminated (see section on Terminations below). Departments and academic units are responsible for oversight of all courtesy faculty services, as well as for assessing risk associated with courtesy faculty services.

Courtesy faculty are non-remunerative appointments for those individuals who will provide substantive and sustained contributions in achieving the mission of the department and the University. Some examples of contributions are graduate committee service, collaborative research, preceptors, county extension, patient care, clinic oversights, or visiting scholars.

There are 3 types of courtesy faculty modifiers:

1. Courtesy (CO) – This modifier should be used for those individuals not currently employed by the University of Florida in any other capacity.
2. Joint* (JNT)– This modifier should be used to designate an employed faculty member who is performing responsibilities in teaching or graduate supervision in another department on a regular basis
3. Affiliate* (AFFL) – This modifier should be used to designate an employed faculty member’s participation in some function of another department on an infrequent or occasional basis

* The affiliate and joint designations identify those individuals who have another appointment(s) on campus, whereas the standard “CO” courtesy modifiers are exclusive to non-UF employees.

Pre-Employment Screening

• Background checks are recommended for all courtesy faculty. The appropriate level of background checks must be completed prior to beginning to work with minors. Verification of Background Checks shall be kept on file for a minimum of five years.
  • See Florida Statute 409.175 for additional information.

• Research and research support positions are required to undergo additional screening conducted in collaboration between UF Human Resources and UF Research Integrity, Security, and Compliance.
  • See Florida Statute 1010.35 for additional information.

• Courtesy faculty who are listed as Key Personnel in UFIRST (UF Integrated Research Support Tool) are required to disclose reportable outside activities and financial interests through the UF Conflicts of Interest Program’s UFOLIO system (UF Online Interest Organizer).
  • See UF Conflicts of Interest Program for additional information.

Limitations

a) Retirees during the first 12 calendar months after the effective retirement date are not eligible for courtesy faculty appointments per the Florida Retirement System.

b) A person is only considered a courtesy faculty if her or his services were rendered of their own free will, without pressure or coercion.

c) Courtesy faculty may not be used as a replacement of an employee position.

d) Any individual who appears on the Florida Sexual Predator Registry, Florida Sex Offender List, Florida Department of Corrections Offender Network, National Sexual Predator Registry, or Online Wanted Persons Search shall not serve in a courtesy faculty capacity for the University of Florida or affiliated organizations.

e) The University of Florida does not allow courtesy faculty service from any foreign national not authorized to work in the United States. Examples include: H-4, O-3, L-2, F-2, M-2, TD, R-2, B1/B2.

f) Current employees working on an H-1B visa are not eligible to serve as courtesy faculty. Immigration Compliance Services in UFHR can be contacted for questions on courtesy faculty service.

g) Current J-2, H-4, L-2, and E-2 visa holders are also prohibited from courtesy faculty service unless they have employment authorization/EAD Card.

h) Courtesy appointments are not to be issued to extend access for the continuation of work associated with employment for retiring or terminating faculty.

i) Courtesy faculty may not be an instructor of record in the AAR system*.

*Exceptions may apply but will require prior approval from UF Human Resources.

Documentation

Required Documentation

• Curriculum Vitae
• Offer letter with a start and end date
  • Approval from dean or vice president, per college of unit policy and procedure
  • Outlines responsibilities and assignment, duties
  • Include explanation of how the appointment will benefit the applicant, the department, and the college

*Social Security Number is needed for entry into myUFL – a copy of the card is not needed

If Applicable

• Approved Employment of Relatives email, see Policy Procedures for Nepotism
• Work authorizations and approvals, see Policy Procedures for Limitations
• Verification of rehire-ability
  • Only if receiving benefits under the Florida Retirement System (FRS) during the first 12 calendar months after effective retirement date, see Policy Procedures for Limitations

*To ensure you are following all procedures please review the courtesy faculty policy located on the UF Policy Hub as there are more detailed requirements pertaining to screening and limitations.

Entering Appointment in the System

Creating the ePAF:

• In myUFL, navigate to: Departmental Administration > ePAF Home Page > Start a New EPAF
• Select the link titled Hire an Employee and enter the necessary information for the ePAF
• Must always have an FTE of 0.00 and standard hours per week of 0.05
• Affiliate or Joint modifier must be selected if the individual has an active Faculty appointment with UF
  • Title should correspond to their primary appointment; for example, AFF CO ASO PROF (courtesy) – ASO PROF (primary appt)

Employment Changes

The Most Common Changes:

• Department ID
• Supervisor ID
• Job Code/Title

These updates do not require documentation.

Terminations

To ensure an accurate headcount of your courtesy population, your department’s best practice should involve consistently terminating any appointment that is no longer needed to mitigate any risks associated with system access and to reduce costs linked to licensing, subscriptions, etc.

When terminating courtesy appointments the appropriate action and reason codes should be TER-CTY for End of Courtesy Appointment. 

Note: If a CTSY is transitioning to a paid appointment (Faculty, Adjunct, etc.) then the “leaving another job” must not be selected as unpaid appointments should be terminated separately.

Annual Courtesy Faculty Review File

During each spring UF Human Resources will open an annual review file for departments to review their current population. The file will have courtesy appointments marked for termination and will require departments to verify who should remain active by unchecking the box to retain them as active.

Since appointments may be issued up to 5 years, after the 5-year mark their appointment will be set to terminate; however, they may be renewed after the initial 5-year mark by issuing a reappointment letter. The department must enter a Hire ePAF effective the same date as the termination (provided by UFHR each year; date for 2023 is 3/31/23) which will ensure no break in service and no disruption to courtesy faculty member’s system access.

FAQs & Resources

Courtesy Faculty Policy

Offer Letter Template

Frequently Asked Questions