Policy Number: I-37
Last Reviewed: December 10, 2020
Responsible Dept.: Vice President of Academic & Workforce Solutions
A signed copy of this policy is available in the President’s Office.
Honoraria may be provided to those who speak for one-time brief periods in classes, seminars, ceremonies, graduations, etc., where a contract of employment is not issued. All consultants or contractors employed by the college must be compensated pursuant to the State Procurement Policy.
The sponsor of the speaker will request payment based on the following typical schedule:
- $50.00 – $100.00 for speaking to a class
- $100.00 – $200.00 for speaking to a training session or all-day seminar
- Graduations, ceremonies, other public gatherings will be determined and approved by the President and will not normally exceed $250.00.
Guest speakers will be presented an honorarium no more than once per semester in classroom situations and no more than once per year in other situations. Honoraria will be charged to the appropriate division or department sponsoring the guest.
In compliance with IRS regulations, honoraria must be paid through the college payroll process. The “Part-Time Payroll Data Report Form” will be utilized to process honoraria requests. The person sponsoring the guest speaker shall process the honorarium request immediately upon scheduling the speaker by clearly specifying the funding source and the appropriate amount. Supervisory approvals should be secured in the normal manner, and all information must be obtained from the speaker. The request for payment will be placed on the earliest possible payroll. The sponsor shall inform the Business Office via memo that the service of the speaker has, in fact, been provided. In the event a payment request has not been provided early enough to provide immediate payment, the sponsor shall inform the speaker when payment will be forwarded. All honoraria payment requests and questions shall be forwarded to the Business Office, payroll section.
Any travel-related expenses that have been agreed to be paid; e.g., lodging, meals, mileage, etc., shall be handled by a separate request to the appropriate dean and in compliance with the current state travel regulations.
State employees shall not be paid honoraria unless it is shown that they are speaking on their own time; i.e., outside normally scheduled work hours, on annual leave, or leave without pay.
