Teaching assignments and workload including workload equivalencies and related procedures
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Faculty Workload and Workload Equivalents
All full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty of the department are expected to carry a workload of twenty-four (24) credit hours per academic year. Full-time non-tenure track faculty members are expected to carry a workload of thirty (30) credit hours per academic year. (See, University Policy Register 3342-6-18)
The workload for each individual faculty member is assigned by the Chair, with the approval of the Dean. The FAC and the Assistant Chair shall advise the Chair on issues related to teaching assignments, class schedules, and the appropriate application of workload equivalents. The Chair shall provide all faculty members with statements of their workload.
Newly hired untenured Faculty will receive a 3 credit workload assignment in each semester of three of their pre-tenure years to facilitate the development of their research programs and the preparation of the courses they teach.
In the interest of maintaining a high standard of teaching and the desirability of faculty involvement in research and service activities, overload assignments are strongly discouraged. Overload assignments (i.e. workload assignments which total more than twenty-four (24) credit hours per academic year for tenured and tenure-track faculty, and which total more than thirty (30) credit hours for full-time non-tenure-track faculty) will be made only in unusual circumstances. Such assignments require the agreement of the faculty member, and the approval of the Chair and the Dean.
Nevertheless, for the purpose of enhancing their research program, a tenure-track or tenured faculty member may request that the Chair, in consultation with the FAC, allow future credit for workload that exceeds 12 workload hours in any academic year semester, with the intent of applying the excess workload hours (UOMe hours) to their assignment in a future academic year semester. All such accumulated credits shall expire at the end of the fourth academic year semester following the one in which they were earned. Conversely, tenure-track or tenured faculty may request up to 3 hours (IOU hours) in addition to the normal departmentally sponsored research workload assignment in any one academic year semester, with the understanding that the normal departmentally sponsored research workload will be reduced by the same amount in the immediately following academic year semester.
For the purpose of furthering their research programs, tenure-track or tenured faculty members may request to apply a maximum of 8 UOMe or IOU workload hours in any one semester to reduce their teaching assignment in that semester. The Chair, in consultation with the FAC, must approve all such requests. In the event that such a request results in a semester workload assignment in which a Faculty member teaches no classes, that Faculty member is expected to carry out all other normal duties, including committee assignments and graduate student advising. As a consequence, absences from campus for academic reasons in such semesters may not exceed 6 weeks in total, and no one absence may exceed 4 weeks. All such absences must be approved in advance.
The Chair may, in consultation with the FAC and with the concurrence of the Dean, assign workload equivalencies for specific duties that are considered essential to the academic mission of the Department. The Department’s expectations and specifications for such workload equivalencies are given in Tables 1A, 1B, and 1C below.
Table 1A. Administrative Workload Equivalents Table
Assignment
Load equivalent (hours)
Frequency
Brief Description of Expectations
Assistant Chair
5
Semester (including summer)
See Operating Procedures Document
Graduate
Coordinator
3
Semester (including summer)
See Operating Procedures Document
Undergraduate Coordinator
3
Semester (including summer)
See Operating Procedures Document
CAC representative
1
Semester
Serve on the CAC
Multi-Section Course Coordinator (TT)
1
Semester
See Operating Procedures Document
First Year Algebra Coordinator (NTT)
6
Semester
See Operating Procedures Document
Developmental Math Coordinator (NTT)
6
Semester
See Operating Procedures Document
Table 1B. Research and Grant Workload Equivalents TableAssignment
Load equivalent (hours)
Frequency
Brief Description of Expectations
Department Sponsored Research
3-4
Semester
Research activity at F4 Graduate Faculty level in preceding 3 years; expectation of extramural grant application
2-3
Semester
Research activity at F3 Graduate Faculty level in preceding 3 years; expectation of extramural grant application
Grant* Sponsored Research
1-5
Semester
1-3 per grant per semester; amount subject to approval by Chair at time of grant proposal submission
* “Grant” refers to extramural funding administered by RaSP.
Table 1C. Instructional Workload Equivalents Table
Assignment
Load equivalent (hours)
Frequency
Brief Description of Expectations
Doctoral Dissertation and/or Master’s Thesis Advising
1-5
Semester (not to exceed 2 per student per semester)
Direction of students registered for Dissertation or Thesis
Honors Dissertation Advising
1-2
Semester (not to exceed 1 per student per semester)
Direction of students registered for Honors Dissertation
Low Enrollment Graduate Section
.2 per student per credit hour registered
Semester
Teaching a graduate section not essential for graduation (other than Dissertation or Thesis) with fewer than 5 students enrolled
Low Enrollment Undergraduate Section
.1 per student per credit hour registered
Semester
Teaching an undergraduate section not essential for graduation (other than Honors Dissertation) with fewer than 10 students registered
New course preparation
1
Semester
Preparing new course (in addition to usual credit hour load)
Large section allowance
1
Semester
50 – 120 undergraduate students or more than 20 grad students
2
Semester
More than 120 students
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Teaching Assignments and Class Schedules
Faculty members are assigned to teach specific courses by the Chair. The primary considerations for course assignments are prior teaching experience, subject expertise, and shared responsibility among the faculty for service and introductory courses. Questions regarding teaching assignments should be addressed to the Chair. In the case of a dispute concerning a request for reassignment, the faculty member may request review by the FAC, which will make a recommendation to the Chair.
Every instructor is expected to meet classes at the regularly scheduled times. In the event of absence due to illness, the instructor shall notify the department office. Absences for other reasons should be cleared with the Chair, using the proper authorization of absence forms.
Scheduling of classes is the responsibility of the Assistant Chair, with approval of the Chair. The primary consideration for scheduling classes is student need with regard to meeting program or major requirements within a reasonable time frame. In addition, the scheduling of some classes may be determined by the need to serve non-traditional students.
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Summer Teaching Assignments
The Chair welcomes requests for summer teaching assignments from all full-time faculty members. Summer teaching cannot be guaranteed to any faculty member and most summer teaching assignments are for a partial load. The size, content, and staffing of summer courses are dictated by budgetary constraints and curricular needs. Within these requirements faculty members are offered summer teaching assignments on an annual rotation system. The department will endeavor to distribute summer teaching opportunities equitably among members of the bargaining unit without regard to academic rank. Faculty members may elect not to accept a summer assignment. See also CBA Article IX, Section 3.
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Other Faculty Duties
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Advising
Faculty are required to advise and counsel undergraduate and graduate students on academic matters. Individual faculty members are responsible for providing academic counseling to undergraduate students assigned to them, as well as to other undergraduate students who seek such advice as needed. Student advising at the graduate level is conducted by the student's advisor(s) and the student’s dissertation committee members. In order to assist in student advising, faculty members should maintain current knowledge of University, College, and Department programs and requirements.
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Final examinations
Final examinations n all courses must be offered at the time and date specified in the University’s schedule of final examinations. Changes of the time and/or date of a final examination require prior approval of the Chair and the Dean, but in any case, the exam must also be offered at the time scheduled and publicized by the University for those students who desire to take the exam at that time.
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Grades and Student Records
Faculty members must inform students of their progress throughout the semester. Grades are a faculty member's responsibility and should be assigned fairly and objectively. Submission of final grades must comply with University Policy, including but not limited to the deadline for the timely submission of grades. Failure of faculty members to provide grades in compliance with University Policy will be taken into consideration in reappointment, promotion, tenure and merit decisions. Materials used in computing grades (e.g., exams, papers, reports, etc.) should be retained by the faculty member for five (5) years after final grades are submitted. Students have a right to inspect the written work performed during a course and discuss the grade with the faculty member.
All members of the Department must comply with all laws and University Policies that govern the privacy of student education records, including but not limited to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). These regulations require, among other things, that faculty members keep thorough academic records. They also forbid the posting of grades by name, social security number or any other system that might identify a student with her/his education record.
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Office Hours
Faculty members are expected to schedule and attend at least five (5) office hours per week (See, University Policy Register 3342-6-18.101). The office hours shall be posted on the faculty member's office door and communicated to the Department office as well as to the faculty member's students. If a student, for a legitimate reason or reasons, is unable to meet during the faculty member’s scheduled office hours, the faculty member shall make appointments to meet with the student at an alternate time.
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Participation in University Activities
Faculty members are expected to participate in recruitment programs, graduation ceremonies and other activities that are appropriate to their role as a faculty member in the Department.
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Student and Peer Evaluation
A Student Survey of Instruction (hereinafter “SSI”) is required in each course in each semester and will be conducted under the auspices of the Chair pursuant to applicable University policies and procedures (See, Section IX of this Handbook).
Probationary faculty members are required to undergo peer review of teaching during each year of the probationary period.
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Syllabi
Faculty members are required to provide students with a syllabus that includes the subject matter to be covered in a course, a listing of assignments and/or reports, approximate dates of examinations, grading standards, attendance requirements, and other pertinent details of the conduct of the class.
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Annual Workload Summary Reports
All faculty members are required to provide a current curriculum vitae (CV) to be kept on file in the Department office. The faculty member’s CV must be updated annually using the system required by the University. (See, CBA Section IX.2.D).
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