Course Expenses for Lecturers
Course Funds
Course Funds may be available to support your class by providing funding for a guest speaker, additional materials/equipment, and/or funding for a field trip. In limited instances and with prior approval, course funds may be used for food-related expense if all other class needs have been met. Please connect with Department staff to verify available funding and for additional policy information.
- Art Practice lecturers should discuss needs with your Lab Manager: Photography, Experimental Media Arts (EMA), or Studio & Sculpture.
- Film & Media Studies and Documentary Film lecturers should discuss needs with the Film & Media Studies Technical Manager.
- Art History lecturers should discuss needs with the Assistant Director of Finance and Operations.
Lecturers must seek pre-approval from your course's lab manager prior to making any purchases allocated against Department funds. Please submit a copy of the approval email with your reimbursement request. This process enables the department to ensure there is sufficient available and allocable funding to support the expense. If you have any questions about the policies, please contact the Assistant DFO.
Common Course Expenses
Guest speaker honoraria
- Review sliding scale based upon the course length and audience.
- Verify funding with Department staff.
- Submit Honorarium Request Form.
- For additional staff support regarding class speakers, including travel, see Faculty Support Specialist.
Field Trip expenses
- Verify funding with Department staff.
- Expenses may include transportation, meals, and museum admission (please note - the SFMoMA offers free admission for classes with advanced registration).
- For support to organize a field trip, including travel, see Faculty Support Specialist.
Supplies
- For courses with funding available for supplies, please arrange with your lab manager to secure the supplies necessary for your course.
Guest Speaker Honoraria
Honoraria Amounts
The Department has a sliding scale for honoraria based upon the course length and the audience:
- $250 for a 1-hour undergraduate course visit
- $350 for a 2-hour undergraduate course visit
- $300 for a 1-hour graduate seminar course visit
- $400 for a 2-hour graduate seminar course visit
- $500 for a 3-hour graduate seminar course visit
- $500 for a workshop for either graduates or undergraduates
The honoraria is inclusive of all compensation paid to the guest. Additional compensation or arrangements for parking or transportation are not permitted. It is expected that the guest will make their own arrangements, if applicable.
Arranging Honoraria Payments
Honoraria will not be paid sooner than the date of the guest speaker's visit; however, the Department recommends submitting your Guest Honorarium webform as soon as the speaking engagement is confirmed. Delays in submitting your request will result in payment delays for the services.
Before submitting a webform, please confirm with the appropriate Department staff to verify funding and to identify the PTA (the funding account) to which the honorarium will be applied. Please also gather the following information from the guest:
- Full Legal Name
- Email Address
- Legal Address
- Citizenship (Required for tax purposes; foreign speakers visiting the U.S. typically must be visiting on a J-1, B-1, or WB visa [OR request for a visa waiver (ESTA)] to receive honoraria from the University if they are speaking on campus or remotely from a location in the U.S. Visas are not required if the guest is speaking remotely from a foreign location).
- Preferred Payment Method (Mailed Check, Electronic/ACH Deposit, or Foreign Wire). Please note:
- Mailed Check is the default payment method and is the easiest/quickest account to set up.
- Electronic/ACH Deposit requires payees to later input their bank routing information, requiring additional steps in the payee setup process.
- Foreign Wire incurrs an additional $35 fee that will be allocated against your available funding. Foreign wires are typically required when paying any Foreign guest as most foreign banking instutions no longer accept physical checks. The setup process for Foreign Wire also requires additional steps in the payee setup process.
Additional Considerations
- The federal government requires the University to withhold 30% of any honorarium payment when the payee does not have an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) or Social Security Number (SSN). If a foreign payee has an ITIN or SSN, they will need to claim their country's tax treaty throught the appropriate IRS forms in order to avoid the 30% withholding.The Department cannot assist with this.
- The Department does not permit "topping" up honoraria to account for tax withholding.
For additional information, please refer to Stanford's Administrative Guide, Chapter 5.3.6 Payments to Nonemployees, Section 5. Foreign Visitors.