Article 10: Workload

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/971644/uomatters/uauoregon.org/files/2012/11/Article-10-Workload.pdf

1 December 13 and 14, 2012
1 UNITED ACADEMICS PROPOSAL
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3 ARTICLE 10
4 WORKLOAD
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6 Preamble.  It is recognized that, given the diverse nature of faculty work, the varying
7 types of faculty appointments and the needs of the departments and academic units, the
8 weighting of assignments and the particulars of individual assignments will vary both
9 between and within individual departments and academic units.
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11 Section 1. For most faculty, workload consists of some combination of instructional
12 activities (including class preparation, classroom teaching, evaluation of student work,
13 advising and mentoring, and various forms of communication with students); research,
14 scholarship, creative activity; and service, within the department, school or college, and
15 university, and outside the university.
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17 Section 2.  All departments and programs must have a faculty-approved policy that
18 defines workload expectations for all academic ranks employed by the department or
19 program. While faculty shall have the flexibility to design a policy that fits their
20 particular department, no policy can violate the university-valued principles of
21 transparency, fairness, equality, and participation.  Such policies should recognize
22 differences in research methodology and results, as well as course type, size, and
23 pedagogy. These differences should be taken into account in setting workload
24 expectations.
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26 Section 3. The workload policy shall define a 1.0 FTE workload for all academic
27 instructional ranks (including tenure-related ranks, career NNT instructors and lecturers,
28 and adjunct instructors) employed by the department or program and shall address how
29 each of the following items contribute to the overall FTE.  For non-instructional ranks or
30 where tenure-related or non-tenure track faculty are not primarily instructional, specific
31 job descriptions should be developed to address the particular workload of the faculty
32 member.  Instructional faculty workloads will, in general, address the following:
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34 a) Course load (including courses and student credit hours, both regular offerings,
35 irregular offerings including, for example, FIGS, 1-credit course, and independent
36 study credits).  If different course types are “weighted” differently, then
37 equivalences should be specified as well (e.g., if a large class is “worth” the
38 equivalent to 1.5 regular offerings)
39 b) Service expectations (including internal and external service expectations, not
40 including graduate advising).  Service expectations should recognize different
41 types of service commitments (e.g. “weighing” FAC, FPC, DAC, and department
42 and program management functions service as “more” than less time consuming
43 committee assignments)2 December 13 and 14, 2012
1 c) Research, scholarship, creative activity
2 d) Professional development expectations related to teaching or service
3 e) Undergraduate and graduate advising expectations
4 f) Office hours and communication expectations
5 g) Course release policy
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7 Workload policies should also describe a fair and transparent process for accounting for
8 individual faculty needs when assigning workload.  Factors to consider include but are
9 not limited to:
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11 a) Number of new course preparations
12 b) Balance of workload components based on faculty review, promotion and tenure,
13 professional development expectations and research agenda
14 c) Extra administrative duties
15 d) Timing of activities (e.g., publication and grant deadlines, course load in given
16 terms, and promotion review dates)
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18 Given the complexities of faculty work, it is expected that workload policies will not just
19 describe workload as the number of courses taught per term/year without clear processes
20 for accounting for the many differences in activities and faculty needs. Workload policies
21 should also reflect the importance of service, including administrative duties.
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23 Section 4. An individual’s particular workload shall be assigned with the expectation that
24 the faculty member will have the opportunity to meet the criteria for all reviews,
25 including promotion and tenure. Assignments shall reflect
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27 a) The academic needs of the department or program
28 b) The faculty member’s qualifications and expertise
29 c) The faculty member’s evolving professional interests
30 d) The best practices in the field
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32 Department heads or program directors shall be responsible for the scheduling and
33 assignment of all faculty under their direction. In units where there is no department
34 head, the dean or designee will be responsible for the scheduling and assignment of all
35 faculty under his or her direction. The department head or dean will maintain annually a
36 written record of assignments for each faculty member after consultation with the faculty
37 member. Consultation will take place no later than in the Spring term for the coming
38 academic year and will include a discussion of schedule as well as other assignments.
39 The faculty member shall be afforded the opportunity to present his or her preferences
40 regarding assignments before they are assigned.
413 December 13 and 14, 2012
1 A department head, program director, or dean may modify scheduled assignments,
2 provided that the department head discuss changes with the faculty member before they
3 are made and changes are not made for arbitrary or capricious reasons.
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5 Faculty members may request to adjust workload scheduled or assignments.
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7 Any administrative stipends or academic support resources associated with work
8 assignments must be awarded in accordance with a clearly stated policy that does not
9 violate the university-valued principles of transparency, fairness, equality, and
10 participation.
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12 Section 5. Overload compensation is any compensation, other than an administrative
13 stipend, paid to a faculty member who is assigned work beyond that specified in the
14 workload policy.
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16 The following activities are typical sources of overload compensation:
17 a) continuing education
18 b) extension service
19 c) intra-campus consulting
20 d) seminars and similar services
21 e) advising more students than listed in the workload policy
22 f) teaching classes above the number defined as workload expectation at 1.0 FTE in
23 departmental policy
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25 Section 6. Regular on-campus classes as well as time spent in support of grant and
26 research activities shall not be allowable activities for overload compensation except
27 under extraordinary or emergency circumstances.
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29 Section 7. Overload assignments may only be used in emergency situations. Departments
30 and programs are obligated to employ sufficient faculty to perform all expected work
31 within the department. No faculty member can be disciplined or terminated for refusing
32 an overload assignment.
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34 Section 8. Overload appointments will be assigned an FTE percentage commensurate
35 with normal workload duties and compensated accordingly. Faculty may request that
36 overload compensation take the form of class release.
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