Affordable Care Act for Academic Employees

Scope

Indiana University faculty, adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, and undergraduate assistants.

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Policy Statement

Indiana University adopted the following faculty classifications for purposes of compliance with the Affordable Care Act.

1. Faculty (AC1)
   • Non-instructional faculty who are appointed below 30 Standard Hours (75% FTE) shall be classified as part-time positions (an example of non-instructional faculty is research scientist).
   • Instructional faculty who are appointed below 30 Standard Hours (75% FTE) shall be classified as Adjunct.
   • There should be no faculty (AC1) with an appointment of less than 30 Standard Hours.
2. Adjunct (AC2)
   • Adjunct appointments are to be used for part-time instructional appointments.
   • Adjunct faculty may not work more than 29 hours per week on average during any term (spring, fall, or summer).
   • Adjunct Faculty shall notify the hiring department of any appointment at any other IU school or campus.
   • Only part-time instructional appointments (below 29 Standard Hours) are to be in the Adjunct rank
   • Calculation of Adjunct Hours of Work
3. Graduate Assistant – Graduate (AC3) and Workstudy (WSG)
   
   • These appointments shall only be used for appointments of 15 or more Standard Hours (37.5 or more FTE).
   • Graduate Assistant - Graduate or Workstudy who would otherwise be appointed below 15 Standard Hours shall be classified as part-time.
   • There should be no Graduate Assistant - Graduate or Workstudy with an appointment less than 15 Standard Hours.
4. Undergraduate Assistant (AC4)
   • Undergraduate Assistant - Undergraduates are not eligible for academic appointments. These students/employees should be appointed as part-time positions.
5. Medical Residents (RA)
   
   • Medical Residents should not be appointed below 20 Standard Hours.
     
     

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Reason for Policy

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires Indiana University to clarify several of its policies regarding the appointment of academic employees. Unlike some other federal employment regulations, the ACA does not include special exemptions for academic or student employees. As a result, the university is in the position of fitting general employment requirements to the special setting of academic employment.

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History

This policy was established in 2013 in compliance with the Affordable Care Act.

This policy was updated in March 2014 with guidelines for calculation of adjunct faculty members' hours of work.

Non-substantive updates to this policy were made on October 6, 2021.

On February 10, 2023, the Responsible University Office and Administrator were updated to reflect organizational restructuring.

On June 20, 2023, non-substantive revisions were made to update references to "temporary positions" to "part-time positions."

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