March 11, 2025: FTE at Whitman

Requesting journalist: Chloe Williams

Respondent: Erika Cerda, Associate Vice President for Human Resources

1) How does the Full Time Equivalency system work at Whitman? Can you confirm that non-tenure track professors need a full 1 FTE to qualify for benefits? What level of FTE is necessary for an adjunct/ non-tenure track professor to qualify for benefits? 

Full time equivalency (FTE) at Whitman is a standard calculation indicating the annual workload of the position. We do not require a 1.0 FTE for any employed member of our faculty or staff to qualify for benefits. We consider regular employees who work .75 FTE or greater as full time, which provides them with the full range of Whitman benefits. However, regular employees who work between .44-.75 FTE are eligible for part-time employee benefits for themselves and their eligible dependents, including medical, prescription, and vision plans; access to retirement savings plan, health and dependent care flexible spending plan, and our Employee Assistance Program through Canopy. 

There is a minor distinction for staff in truly temporary roles. For staff hired in temporary roles of less than 3 months or for those in temporary roles at or greater than 3 months but who work under an average of 30 hours a week, these individuals are not benefit eligible per our plan documents. For staff hired in temporary roles of 3 months or greater, who work an average of 30 hours a week or greater, there is full-time eligibility. 

We publish eligibility information in our Benefits Guide, which is on the Whitman public website and can be found here: https://www.whitman.edu/human-resources/benefits

2) Could you explain how the one year “look back” system for health benefits works? Theoretically, if a non-tenure track professor had their contract renewed with an FTE lower than the threshold necessary for benefits, when would they lose their benefits? 

The lookback period at Whitman runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30th of the current year. If the faculty or staff member has averaged 1,560 hours or greater during that lookback period, they will maintain their full-time eligibility for the next calendar year. As an example, this coming October of 2025, the lookback period will be October 1, 2024 through September 30th, 2025 to impact benefits effective January 1, 2026. 

If they fall below 1,560 hours during the lookback period, their full-time premium will end effective December 31st of the current year. If they are at or above the .44 FTE, they will be offered the part-time benefits and premium rate beginning January 1 of the next calendar year, as well as an offer to continue their current dental election for 18 months via COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) benefit continuation. If they are below .44 FTE, then they are not eligible for benefits effective January 1 of the next calendar year but will be offered COBRA for their current dental, medical and vision elections for 18 months.