Frequently Asked Questions for Faculty

Students who are awarded a UR Summer Fellowship will be eligible to receive up to $5000 for ten weeks of faculty-mentored summer research or work in an unpaid or low-paid internship.

The amount of the awards will be determined based on the number of hours spent in the fellowship at the rate of $12.50/hour. The minimum number of hours is 240 over the course of six weeks; the maximum is 400 over a ten-week period. For example:

• 400 hours = $5000
• 320 hours = $4000
• 240 hours = $3000

The standard rate will be the same for all students receiving a URSF, regardless of whether they are living on- or off-campus, or pursing research or an internship.

No. Students receiving a URSF have the same rate of pay, regardless of where they live. This change which was effective beginning in summer 2022 provides a more equitable experience for students, since many students are pursuing faculty-mentored research projects or internship experiences that cannot be completed in Richmond.

No, all undergraduate summer research students should be paid at least $12.50 an hour, consistent with the rate for URSF recipients. When it is permissible under the grant, the University will help support the incremental cost of this increase (i.e., the difference between what the grant can pay and the new rate). PIs who have a grant that pays a lower amount than $12.50/ hour should reach out to the University’s Director of Grants Accounting, Tammy Hicks, to determine how the University can assist in the additional cost of your student researcher in a way that is compliant for your grant.

The U.S. Department of Labor has rules that define whether a person is an employee of the institution that pays them. All students who receive a URSF to support an internship are paid by stipend, because the University is not their employer; the student is performing work for and being supervised by an external organization. Summer researchers may be paid via stipend or hourly payroll, depending on whether they fit the U.S. Department of Labor definition of an employee. If the student’s project is independent – fully designed and completed by the student, with faculty advice but without faculty input that would rise to the level of co-authorship -- then the student likely qualifies to be paid by stipend (“supervised research”). If the student is part of a team of researchers working alongside a faculty mentor, or is working on a project designed by a faculty member, or for which a faculty member may be a co-author, then the U.S. Department of Labor deems that student to be an employee of the University, and the student will be paid through payroll (“mentored research”). Regardless of how they are paid, URSF students are paid the same rate.

The University uses the terms mentored research and supervised research to distinguish between summer research students who are defined as University employees by the U.S. Department of Labor (mentored) and those who are not deemed employees (supervised) under the Department of Labor definition. The determination of whether a student is mentored or supervised is made through a series of questions completed by the faculty member during the application process. Students who are working on a faculty member’s federally funded grant project will always be considered mentored students and must be paid hourly for time and effort reporting.

If there are questions as to the designation, the faculty mentor may reach out to the University Controller, Laurie Melville. Likewise, the University Controller may reach out to the faculty member to ensure that the most appropriate designation has been determined for a particular student researcher. More information about the assignment of designations can be found here.

The University must follow U.S. Department of Labor guidelines as to who is a University employee. However, the payment of students on an hourly basis should not impinge on the research process. Students should pursue their research based on the faculty member’s direction and the nature of the research project, and report their hours accordingly. If that results in students working more hours on some days and fewer on others, that is fine, as long as they limit their hours to 40 hours each week. If the research demands more than 40 hours of work within a week, please see the FAQ on overtime.

The University must follow U.S. Department of Labor guidelines as to who is a University employee. However, that does not mean that the faculty member needs to track a student’s hours. As part of their work on a project, a student should keep track of their own hours and honestly report them through WebTime entry. A faculty member’s approval of those hours indicates that the student’s reported hours accord with the faculty member’s assessment of the student’s overall hours worked. Faculty members have a responsibility to encourage students to report hours honestly, but are not expected to independently track student time.

While timekeeping should not interfere with the research process, faculty members should discourage students from working more than 40 hours per week. Persistent overtime work is not supportive of the health and well-being of students or their faculty mentors. There may be occasions in which the research process requires extra work in a particular period that results in overtime. If that is needed or expected, please contact the University Controller, Laurie Melville, to discuss how best to manage that research need and the source of funding for those additional payments to students.

The Richmond Guarantee provides every continuing, full-time, degree-seeking University of Richmond undergraduate student in good standing in the School of Arts & Sciences, Robins School of Business, or Jepson School of Leadership the opportunity to receive funding of up to $5,000 for one approved summer research or internship experience before they graduate. Receipt of UR Summer Fellowship funding is contingent upon the student’s submission of high-quality application materials that meet the requirements of the program(s) to which they apply

The start date for summer housing is typically one week after Commencement. Students may sign up for different lengths of summer housing, from five- to eleven- weeks.  All stays must be continuous, and all students must move out of summer housing by the universal move-out date in July.  URSF students who wish to live in the apartments must have a housing start date that aligns with the apartment summer housing start date.  Students who live in residence halls may select any Sunday from the beginning of the transition period to mid-June as their housing start date, so long as their length of stay is at least five weeks and their move-out occurs by the Universal move-out date

More details about summer housing and specific dates can be found here.

Students permitted to live on campus will be able to select different lengths of summer housing, from five- to eleven- weeks. All stays must be continuous, and all students must move out of summer housing by the universal move-out date.

Students will be billed for the length of stay selected. The summer housing and food rate for residence halls and for apartments is the same.

Summer housing and food plan rate details may be found here.

Students who must remain on campus may be accommodated in transition housing before the official summer housing start date.   Students who have been approved to live on campus during the summer will be assigned to transitional housing until their summer housing assignment has been prepared for summer occupancy.

For more information on summer housing and transitional housing, click here:  https://residencelife.richmond.edu/policies-and-services/arrival-break-transitional-housing/index.html

No. The minimum summer housing period is five weeks and the weeks must be continuous. No refund will be provided for students who arrive late, leave early, or are absent for some period in the middle of their summer housing stay.

Exceptions to the five-week minimum will only be made in the case of research-based requirements. For example, a faculty member who takes students to field work for three weeks and mentors students on campus for three weeks will be allowed to have their research students in residence in campus housing for just three weeks. In such instances students will be housed in the residence halls only; apartment housing will not be available. Students will be billed only for those weeks in residence based on the faculty member’s research needs. Faculty members seeking such a research exception to the five-week minimum stay must reach out to Patrick Benner, Director of Housing and Residence Life, as soon as possible and NO LATER THAN March 15^th to make arrangements for such an exception.

Summer housing stays briefer than five weeks for reasons other than faculty research requirements cannot be accommodated. See the University Summer Housing Policy for more details.

No exceptions can be made. Students who wish to live in the apartments must have the required housing start date (or the start date for transitional housing, but apartments will not be available until the summer housing start date). The logistics of performing summer maintenance in the apartments and preparing those units for fall occupancy are intensive. In order to complete that required maintenance, there is only one permissible start date for apartments (or the week prior  for transitional housing). Students who need a later start date for summer housing may live in the residence halls, and the rates in the halls and apartments are the same.

In order to support a safe and vibrant summer residential community, the University does not typically permit non-students to live in campus housing. If a faculty member has a research need for students from another institution to live in campus housing during the summer, such an arrangement may be permissible so long as those non-UR students are sponsored by a UR faculty member who will be supervising their research throughout their period of residency on campus and other conditions are met related to non-UR students living in campus housing. Please see the University Summer Housing Policy for more details.

Arrangements for non-UR students to live in campus housing must be worked out in advance. Faculty members seeking such an exception should reach out to the Office of Residence Life and Housing NO LATER THAN March 15^th to arrange for a summer housing exception.

No. Students who are participating in faculty-mentored summer research or a URSF supported internship may not also enroll in summer courses. As part of the fellowship, students are expected to devote their attention full-time to their research or internship project. In addition, enrolling in coursework while receiving a fellowship will necessitate that the fellowship count as financial aid and could have significant negative consequences to the student’s financial aid package. If a student has a significant extenuating circumstance that makes it necessary to simultaneously hold a fellowship and enroll in summer school, they should contact Brendan Halligan, Associate Director of Experiential Learning in the Office of Alumni and Career Services.

You can access your faculty Slate portal through this link: https://students.richmond.edu/portal/faculty-staff?tab=ursf