The University of Maine at Augusta, which has campuses in Augusta and Bangor and controls the nine University College sites around the state, has clarified its reimbursement policies for courses taught via videoconferencing.
UMA uses a brand of videoconferencing called Polycom. In such courses, a teacher in, say, Augusta can see and hear students in various other classrooms around the state. Under UMA’s revised policy, all courses offered through videoconference must include a minimum of four sites.
UMA adjuncts are eligible for reimbursement when they travel to the various sites where students take the course. They are not required to visit the other sites.
UMA adjuncts also are eligible for a $250 stipend if they visit the minimum four sites during a semester.
In a policy revised in November 2013, UMA said full-time faculty will be reimbursed for travel to off-campus locations regardless of distance traveled. “Per the terms of the PATFA Agreement, part-time faculty are eligible for reimbursement for travel to Receive sites [places where students gather for class via video] if the round trip distance exceeds 30 miles.”
UMA said it will calculate reimbursement “from the Broadcast location” – where the teacher normally teaches the course – or the faculty member’s residence, “whichever distance is closer to the Receive site.”
UMA’s current reimbursement rate for travel is 44 cents per mile. UMA said those who seek reimbursement should submit travel vouchers to their deans monthly.
The $250 stipend requires an adjunct to submit paperwork to the UMA provost’s office by the end of a semester and before the start of a new semester.