Calculating Service Credit

The Administrative Code Rule specifies that if the actual number of days worked is available, the employer must use days to calculate service credit. As a result, you are required to track the number of days worked for each STRS Ohio member. Any portion of a day worked is considered to be one day worked for STRS Ohio service credit calculation purposes — if a member teaches an hour, four hours or eight hours, STRS Ohio considers it one day.

Full-time teachers are entitled to a full year of service credit upon the completion of 120 days or two semesters of contributing service. If a member is on a nine-month contract for full-time regular service, 120 or more days of contributing service constitutes 1.00 year of service credit.

When calculating service credit for part-time employees, first determine the number of days of service. Another factor to determine is the number of days in the employment relationship. A teacher and an employer have a 120-day employment relationship if the teacher has been employed for at least 120 days of the school year. The school year is defined as the scheduled academic year, usually from late August until early June. In addition, teachers on a leave of absence or on the district's substitute or tutor list for the entire year are also considered to have a 120-day employment relationship.

The calculations below apply to service performed July 1, 2019, and after.

Employment Status	Days Worked	Days in Employment Relationship	Is Compensation Equal to or Greater Than State Minimum?	Service Credit Calculation
Part Time	≥ 90	≥ 120	Yes	1.00
	≥ 90	≥ 120	No	Lesser of: Days ÷ 180 or Actual Compensation ÷ $12,000
	≥ 90	< 120	N/A	Lesser of: Days ÷ 180 or Actual Compensation ÷ $12,000
	< 90	N/A	N/A	Lesser of: Days ÷ 180 or Actual Compensation ÷ $12,000

A list of historical state minimum salaries is available for your reference.

Colleges and universities should use a calculation based on the number of days or partial days of paid service. This calculation should be used for educators whose contract is based on days or hours worked. Please note the following:

• Service credit for full-time (year-round) administrative faculty should be calculated based upon days.
• Service credit for noncredit hour instructors should be based upon days or hours worked.

For more information, please see the Calculating Service Credit (Days or Hours) fact sheet.

Many colleges and universities maintain payroll records that do not reflect the number of days of service. Service credit may be calculated based on the percentage of full-time equivalent (FTE) workload when days are not available. FTE is based upon the school’s definition and varies by institution. A typical FTE based on credit hours is 12 or 15 credit hours.

• A full year of service credit is earned when the educator’s workload exceeds 66% of the FTE when averaged over two semesters during the fiscal year.
• The maximum credit that can be earned for a semester at 100% FTE is .50 of a year.
• The entire semester must occur within the July 1–June 30 fiscal year for the educator to receive full credit for that semester.
• Service credit for sessions that cross fiscal years must be prorated. Credit can be divided between fiscal years by days, weeks or compensation (earnings).
• Service credit granted for semesters divided into shorter units (e.g., split summer sessions) is limited to that unit’s portion of a full semester.

Note: STRS Ohio has established general maximum credit limit guidelines for summer sessions which have been divided into shorter units. Specific situations may vary.

Session Length	Maximum Credit (Cap)
9–16 weeks	.50
5–8 weeks	.25
3–4 weeks	.12
1–2 weeks	.06

Refer to the Calculating Service Credit (FTE) — for College and University Educators fact sheet for examples and sample calculations.

Service credit granted for nonteaching periods, which include unpaid sick leave, professional leaves and sabbatical leaves with partial pay, is calculated by dividing the amount the member earned by the amount the member would have earned had he or she remained working.

Example: $20,000 paid ÷ $50,000 contract = .40 of a year of service credit.

The Service Credit Decision Tree (Effective July 1, 2019) is based on Administrative Code Rule 3307:1-2-01. It is provided as a tool to assist you in understanding the calculation of service credit for service performed July 1, 2019, and after. It is not intended to be a comprehensive description of the rule.