Frequently Asked Questions for Adjunct Faculty

Regarding Non-Exempt Classification

What does “non-exempt classification” mean?

Non-exempt employees are paid on an hourly basis and are required to submit timesheets. They are also afforded legal protections regarding meal breaks, payment for overtime work, and working during designated employment periods.

Adjunct faculty are classified as non-exempt because the state of California mandates that to be “exempt” requires a minimum annual salary of $68,640 (on 1/1/26, this increases to $70,304). As part-time employees, adjunct faculty do not make this salary, and the state of California does not allow this to be prorated for part-time employment.

What is the hourly pay rate?

These are the four hourly pay rates:

• Adjunct without terminal degree: $32.00
• Adjunct with terminal degree: $34.50
• Senior Adjunct without terminal degree: $37.00
• Senior Adjunct with terminal degree: $39.50

A terminal degree is a doctorate, or a MFA in the Arts disciplines.

When will I be paid?

Adjunct faculty will be compensated on a bi-weekly basis based on the hours submitted through your timesheet in Self Service. For current payroll calendars and pay-related forms, please visit the Payroll Department website.

How do I enter my hours?

Timesheets are due in Self Service every other Sunday by 5:00 p.m. and pay day is the following Friday. You will be provided with reminders via your Cal Lutheran email address to submit your bi-weekly timesheet in Self Service. View the Adjunct Timesheet Training Video for detailed instructions.

Will I need to track my hours? How will I do this?

Adjunct faculty members will need to track hours and submit timesheets for all hours worked. The hours allocated for course assignments are dependent upon student enrollment and the number of faculty load credits assigned for the course. The allocated hours encompass the following types of work (this is an estimate of how the total hours for fully enrolled courses (8 or more students) are allocated, and they can vary from course to course):

How do I know how many hours are allocated for me to work?

Adjunct faculty are sent a Scheduling Notification from the Provost’s Office when their contract is issued, generally one month before classes begin. The Scheduling Notification will summarize the total number of hours allocated and distribute those hours across the pay periods related to the duration of your assignment. This is only a sample schedule as we realize that you may work a different number of hours from week-to-week pending the needs of your assignment.

Adjunct faculty will also receive a Balance of Hours Notification via their Cal Lutheran email every two weeks, usually in the afternoon on the Friday pay date. In addition to summarizing the number of hours that have been paid to date on each timecard, the notification will also provide a summary of the assignment(s), the number of weeks remaining, and the remaining balance of the allocated hours.

What if I need extra hours to complete my assignment?

In some circumstances, additional hours are needed to deliver the course to students. We also know that additional hours are sometimes needed for other parts of the position that are required as an employee of the institution (e.g., mandatory HR trainings). Sometimes the additional hours needed to do the work are easily incorporated into your allotted hours, other times you may need to spend more time than the allocated hours. If it appears that extra hours may be necessary to complete the required work, you should first discuss the circumstances with your Department Chair or Program Director, then submit a “Request for Exceptions for Additional Hours” form on the Academic Affairs website under Adjunct Faculty Resources if needed.

What is the contract period?

Please review your contract for your exact employment period. Timesheets are usually activated one month prior to each semester/term start date (coinciding with when adjunct faculty have access to Canvas), and remain open for approximately two weeks beyond the conclusion of final exams for grading and any correspondence with students.

What if I need to work outside of the contract period?

If you have a particular situation that requires you to begin preparation prior to one month in advance of the
semester/term, or if you are required to provide other work outside of the contract period (e.g., resolving a grade dispute), you will need to complete the “Request for Exceptions for Additional Hours” form on the Academic Affairs website under Adjunct Faculty Resources.

How is my course preparation time compensated?

All time spent directly preparing for a course during the contract period is compensable time. Adjunct faculty are not to prepare for a course, or perform any work outside of the contract period. Direct course preparation includes preparing the syllabus, creating assignments, and preparation for each individual class, lab, or lecture.
Compensable course preparation does not include time spent on professional development. For example, time spent reviewing a selection of books to decide which is the most suitable textbook for your course or which books you will assign as reading for the course, would be considered compensable time that you should report on your timesheet. In contrast, time spent reading and reviewing articles or books in the field or subject matter of your expertise would not be compensable time, but rather time spent on your own professional development.

What are the guidelines for compensable time?

Compensable time includes:

• Instructional time spent teaching the course, grading assignments, papers, and exams, and entering grades.
• Time spent reading and responding to student emails regarding your course.
• Time spent holding office hours (regardless of whether any students attend). One hour of office hours is expected each week for each class taught. Some adjunct faculty conduct office hours virtually, and others conduct them face-to-face.
• Time spent answering student questions before and after class.
• Time spent proctoring an exam.
• Time spent in mandatory department meetings, orientations, safety trainings, sexual harassment training,
  mandatory HR trainings, or other meetings where your presence is required.
• Time spent directly preparing for the course. Compensable course preparation includes preparing the syllabus, creating assignments, and preparation for each individual class, lab, or lecture.

Will I receive holiday pay if I work on a holiday?

If you choose to work on a University recognized holiday, you will be paid at your regular hourly rate for those hours. You will not receive any additional compensation or holiday pay premium.

What happens if I work on weekend?

If you choose to work on a weekend, you will be paid at your regular hourly rate for those hours.

NOTE: If you work more than 6 consecutive days, overtime pay goes into effect on the 7th day of the work week. Cal Lutheran’s work week is Saturday to Friday. Because of this, adjunct faculty are not permitted to work more than 6 consecutive days. This means that you must plan to take one day off each week from completing work for Cal Lutheran. It is recommended that you note in your syllabus which day of the week you are not available so students do not expect a response from you on that day.

Would teaching an evening course be considered overtime?

Typically, no. Overtime is paid for time worked beyond eight hours for Cal Lutheran in any single day. Adjunct faculty are not permitted to work more than eight hours in a single day.

What if I need to work overtime?

Overtime work is not permitted without advance approval by the appropriate Dean or Program Director. To avoid incurring overtime, adjunct faculty:

• Should not work more than 6 days in a row across all assignments.
• Should not work more than 8 hours in a day across all assignments.
• Should remember that 25 hours per week is the standard maximum threshold for part-time adjunct faculty to work across all assignments.

As adjunct faculty are responsible for their own schedule of hours worked outside of class instruction time, you should be able to schedule your hours to stay within the parameters above.

If I commute to Cal Lutheran to teach, is my commute time considered hours worked?

No. An individual’s normal commute time to and from work is not considered hours worked. Any travel that you are required to make for your teaching assignment, other than your commute, would be considered time worked and should be reported on your timesheet.

If I attend a conference, is that compensated?

No. Conferences are for personal professional development and are not required to teach a course.

Who approves my timesheet?

A member of the Provost’s office will approve your timesheet. If there are any questions regarding time submitted, they may discuss this with your Chair or Program Director and you before approving your timesheet.

What happens if I forget to enter my hours?

Prior to the time entry deadline, you will receive a notification from Payroll via your Cal Lutheran email reminding you of the deadline to submit your hours by 5:00 p.m. on the Sunday directly following the end of the pay period. If you forget to enter your hours, you will be sent a notification that you will only be paid for your in-class instruction hours per your current schedule in Colleague. If you do not have a set schedule in Colleague, zero hours will be paid. In the notification, you will be provided the opportunity to submit an exception timesheet for any additional you hours worked during the pay period. This exception timesheet must be submitted no later than 3:00 p.m. on the Tuesday following the end of the pay period to be processed for the current pay cycle. Please note deadlines may be affected by holiday schedules.

What if I forgot to enter hours in a previous pay cycle?

You will need to complete an exception timesheet. Please contact facultycontracts@CalLutheran.edu for the link to the appropriate electronic form.