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3-6: Faculty Workload – Policy

Policy Overview


Santa Fe Community College’s (SFCC or College) Faculty Workload policy defines equitable faculty workloads for full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty. This policy is intended to serve the best interests of students, faculty and staff by providing a quality working and learning environment.

Scope and Applicability


This policy applies to the workload assigned to all full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty.

Policy Statement


All faculty are expected to meet their contractual obligations as defined in this policy. The College shall have current published procedures for determining faculty workload as well as overload and alternate time assignments. All procedures shall note their effective date.

Definitions


  1. Adjunct Faculty Contracted to teach on a course by course basis.
  2. Alternate-Time Assignment (ATA) An assignment of a full-time faculty member to duties in lieu of teaching responsibilities.
  3. Audit The term used for registration in a credit class in which a student bears no responsibilities for completing assignments. Students receive neither grades or credit.
  4. Available Hours Time in which full-time and part-time faculty are available to work with students on campus outside of class time and may include office hours or time spent in the tutoring center or learning labs.
  5. Chairs and Directors Full-time faculty members who receive appropriate course release in order to assume managerial duties to support their academic programs and deans. These managerial duties include supervision and evaluation of full-time and adjunct faculty; developing class schedules; recommending the hiring of adjunct faculty; budget management; curriculum and program development, addressing concerns and complaints, assessment and review; and oversight of laboratories and equipment. Chair contract periods may include nine month, ten and one-half month, or twelve month depending on departmental and programmatic needs.
  6. College Service furthers SFCC’s mission and operations, and may include the following: a. Student-related activities such as advising student clubs, recruiting new students, advising outside of office hours, and sponsoring extracurricular field trips to enrich student learning. b. Community service including unpaid collaboration with non-SFCC entities or individuals producing demonstrable outcomes directly connected to SFCC’s mission. Examples could include participation in school partnerships, serving on boards and advisory groups, making community presentations, and participation in community service organizations. c. College-related activities such as fostering cultural diversity, interacting with representatives from other academic institutions, participating in administratively convened committees (e.g., curriculum, assessment), participating in faculty-convened committees (e.g., Faculty Senate), special project groups (e.g., program review), hiring panels, program-level curriculum development, writing and implementing grants, and helping coordinate off-campus programs. d. Active participation in professional organizations related to teaching field. e. Professional presentations and publications as appropriate.
  7. Credit Hours are awarded in terms of semester credit. Each semester hour of credit in a lecture class requires a minimum of 750 minutes of instruction per semester; each semester hour of credit in a laboratory class requires a minimum of 1,500 minutes of instruction per semester (SFCC Policy 3-1 Audit of Credit Courses).
  8. Directed Studies Credit courses that make use of on- or off--site, practical experience or other independent projects. Directed studies must be taken for credit (they may not be audited) and include independent studies, practicum courses, internships and externships, honors add-ons or prior learning portfolio evaluation.
  9. Full-Time Faculty Contracted to provide teaching, available hours, service, and college service on either a nine-month or 12-month contract.
  10. Honors Add-ons are independent study courses that include scholarly inquiry beyond the expectations of standard coursework. Written contracts between students and faculty members specify discipline-specific outcomes for each course.
  11. Independent Study is an approved arrangement between a faculty member and an individual student or a small group of students, and consists of the student(s) fulfilling the requirements for an existing credit course or a special project (SFCC 2017-2018 Catalog, p. 27).
  12. Internships/Externships Students enroll in an internship course and work in their field for at least 50 clock hours for each internship credit earned. Students are evaluated by faculty and training site supervisors for work they complete in the field. Internships may be paid or unpaid (SFCC 2017-2018 Catalog, p. 27).
  13. Laboratory Hour Each semester hour of credit in a laboratory class requires a minimum of 1,500 minutes of instruction per semester. Students participate in an applied learning environment working with the faculty using hands-on methods to acquire the technical and conceptual skills.
  14. Lecture Hour Each semester hour of credit in a lecture class requires a minimum of 750 minutes of instruction per semester. The main methods of instruction include lecture, class discussion, presentation, demonstration, and multi-media presentation in a regular classroom setting.
  15. Lecture, Laboratory and Clinical Hours Hours defined in each master syllabus with the total number of credit hours the course carries and broken down in lecture, laboratory and/or clinical components, which are directly related to contact time requirements and to method of instruction.
  16. Lead Faculty /Program Heads Full-time or adjunct faculty who receive appropriate course release or pay in order to assist their department chairs with managerial duties including supervision and evaluation of adjunct faculty; developing class schedules; recommending the hiring of adjunct faculty; curriculum and program development, addressing concerns and complaints, assessment and review; and oversight of laboratories and equipment.
  17. Master Course Syllabus A document for each credit course that is approved by the Curriculum Committee and Vice President for Academic Affairs and includes the course credits broken into lecture, laboratory and/or clinical hours; the catalog description; major topics covered; learning outcomes; and evaluation criteria.
  18. Part-Time Faculty Faculty who are contracted to teach a specific number of credit hours per semester rather than on a course by course basis. Part-time faculty will be required to provide availability hours to students and do college service.
  19. Pay hours Compensation received for time and effort by a faculty member for teaching a course.
  20. Practicum Courses are designed to give students hands-on field experiences that complement their classroom learning. Students work under the supervision of faculty as part of their course work (SFCC 2017-2018 Catalog, p. 28).
  21. Student credit hours (SCH) The number of credit hours for a particular course multiplied by the number of students enrolled in that course.
  22. Student Prior Learning Portfolio is a formal communication presented by the student to the College as a petition requesting credit or recognition for self-directed learning that has taken place outside of the classroom. A typical portfolio contains documents to provide sufficient evidence that a subject matter expert can use as a basis for an evaluation to measure if certain learning objectives have been met (Policy 3-18 Credit for Prior Learning).

Policy Process


  1. Full-Time Faculty are expected to fulfill the following during the academic year:
    1. Nine-month faculty are contractually obligated to the following:
      1. Teach 30 pay hours normally divided equally between the fall and spring semesters.
      2. Maintain no fewer than seven available hours for students each week during the academic semester. These hours must be approved by the Dean of the school and posted on faculty office doors.
      3. Provide no fewer than 50 hours of College service per academic semester.
    2. Twelve-month faculty are contractually obligated to the following:
      1. Teach 38 pay hours per academic year with 15 pay hours normally taught during the fall and spring semesters and an additional eight pay hours taught during the summer semester.
      2. Maintain no fewer than seven available hours for students each week during the three academic semesters. These hours must be approved by the Dean of the school and posted on faculty office doors.
      3. Provide no fewer than 50 hours of College service per fall and spring semester.
      4. Unless the College is closed or the faculty member is on approved leave, work a 40-hour schedule during those weeks between academic semesters. Typical duties during this time match the definition of College service.
    3. Full-time faculty not classified as 12-month faculty who teach in the summer will be paid as an adjunct faculty member on a course-by-course basis and are not expected to hold available hours or to perform College service.
    4. All full-time faculty are expected to remain current in their field and to pursue ongoing professional development. When possible and with prior approval, the College will provide financial support for professional development activities.
  2. Chairs are classified as full-time faculty and are required to meet the non-instructional obligations of full-time faculty less Alternate-Time Assignment assigned for fulfilling the duties assigned.
    1. Full-time faculty designated as nine-month chairs will receive a minimum of 15 Alternate-Time Assignment per year in lieu of some of their teaching responsibilities.
    2. Full-time faculty designated as 10.5-month chairs will:
      1. Receive a minimum of 18 Alternate-Time Assignment per year in lieu of some of their teaching responsibilities,
      2. Work an additional six weeks (240 hours) with the schedule to be approved by their Dean, and
      3. Receive supplemental pay for the additional six weeks of work based upon their nine-month faculty rate of pay.
    3. With approval of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, academic areas which require chair presence over the summer may appoint faculty to carry on department work.
      1. Summer chair duties may be shared among one or more faculty.
      2. Summer chairs will be compensated on an hourly basis in accordance with the Miscellaneous Wage and Salary Schedule.
    4. Those designated as 12-month directors will:
      1. Teach 38 pay hours per academic year less Alternate-Time Assignment assigned by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
      2. Unless the College is closed or the 12-month director is on approved leave, work a 40-hour schedule during those weeks between academic semesters. Typical duties during this time match the definition of college service.
  3. Pay Hours are calculated using the following criteria defined in each approved master course syllabus:
    1. One lecture hour equals one credit hour which equals one pay hour.
    2. Two laboratory hours equal one credit hour which equals 1.5 pay hours.
    3. Three clinical hours equal one credit hour which equals three (3) pay hours.
  4. Faculty teaching directed studies are paid on a per-student basis not to exceed regular adjunct pay rate for that section.
    1. Directed studies, with the exception of a practicum that meets minimum enrollment requirements, do not count toward fulfilling a full-time faculty member’s required teaching load unless approved by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
    2. All directed studies are treated as overload for full-time faculty and are paid based on each faculty member’s adjunct pay rate. The rate of pay is based upon one-sixth of each faculty member’s adjunct rate paid for each student enrolled at census date.
    3. Lab pay rates do not apply to directed studies. Faculty are paid (at the faculty member’s adjunct pay rate) for the number of credit hours the course carries, not for the number of pay hours. Science labs, when offered as independent study, are compensated at lab pay rates.
  5. Overloads
    1. Faculty workload including any Alternate-Time Assignment may not exceed 18 pay hours per semester without approval of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
    2. Any overload pay will be based on the Adjunct Faculty Salary Schedule.
  6. Other Alternate-Time Assignments
    1. Each full-time faculty member serving as an officer in Faculty Senate will receive two Alternate-Time Assignments each fall or spring semester while in office.
    2. Each adjunct faculty member serving as an officer in Faculty Senate will be paid for two pay hours at their respective adjunct faculty salary rate for each fall or spring semester served.
    3. A full-time faculty member serving as chair of the Curriculum Committee will receive four Alternate-Time Assignments per semester.
    4. A full-time faculty member serving as chair of the President’s Diversity Advisory Committee will receive two Alternate-Time Assignments per semester.
    5. A full-time faculty member serving as co-chair of the Assessment Committee will receive three Alternate-Time Assignments per semester.
    6. A full-time faculty member serving as chair of the Program Review Committee will receive three Alternate-Time Assignments per semester.
    7. A full-time faculty member serving as Lead Faculty/Program Head will receive a minimum of two Alternate-Time Assignments per fall or spring semester.
    8. Adjunct faculty serving as Lead Faculty/Program Head will be paid for a minimum of two pay hours at their respective adjunct faculty salary rate for each fall or spring semester served.
  7. Adjunct Faculty are those faculty who are contracted to teach on a course-by-course basis.
    1. Adjunct faculty pay is based on the SFCC Governing Board-approved Adjunct Faculty Salary Schedule in effect for the semester.
    2. The number of credit hours taught by an adjunct faculty member cannot exceed 12 per semester. All exceptions must be approved by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
    3. For each course contracted, adjunct faculty are expected to provide the following:
      1. Class preparation
      2. Classroom and/or online instruction
      3. Grading and record keeping
      4. Student communication outside of the scheduled class time
      5. Communication with peers and supervisors and participation in department meetings when possible
      6. Participation in any required College training, and
      7. Compliance with the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
    4. Adjunct faculty may be asked to provide additional non-teaching service and will be compensated by the College on an hourly basis.
  8. Part-Time Faculty will be defined on a case-by-case basis
    1. Part-time faculty will be contracted to teach a specific number of credit hours for a fall or spring semester.
    2. The workload for part-time faculty cannot exceed 12 pay hours per semester without the approval of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
    3. Part-time faculty are expected to provide the same services as full-time faculty with the amount being prorated if teaching less than the load required of full-time faculty.
  9. At least once every three years, this policy and supporting documents shall be reviewed by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and the Faculty Senate. The proposed changes shall be presented to the Governance Council by the designated Faculty Senate representative(s) and the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. The President shall present the final draft to the Governing Board for approval.

Statement of Accountability and Responsibility


The President, through the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and the Office of Academic and Student Affairs, shall be responsible for enforcing faculty workload policies and procedures. The Office of Academic and Student Affairs shall work with the different departments and offices to comply with this policy and develop procedures that will enforce this policy regarding awareness, prevention and remediation. 

Authority

Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
SFCC 2017-2018 Catalog
SFCC Policy 3-10 Audit of Credit Courses
SFCC Policy 3-18 Credit for Prior Learning
SFCC Adjunct Faculty Salary Schedule
SFCC Faculty Contact Times
SFCC Miscellaneous Wage and Salary Schedule

Reference

Faculty Contact Times

Policy Approval

SFCC Governing Board approved: 8/07/03
Revised and Governing Board approved: 10/19/09
Revised and Governing Board approved: 2/25/10
Revised and Governing Board approved: 6/24/15
Revised and Governing Board approved: 12/13/17

Associated Procedures