Faculty Workload and Workload Equivalents
All faculty members are expected to work full-time for the University. This does not mean that each contributes in the same way. For all Faculty of the Tuscarawas Campus the normal teaching load is the equivalent of twenty-four (24) credit hours per academic year and includes formal teaching and appropriate workload equivalencies for special assignments as determined by the Campus Dean. For non-tenure-track faculty of the Tuscarawas Campus the normal teaching load is the equivalent of thirty credit (30) hours per year. Some Faculty members may serve the public professionally and without remuneration in ways that lie outside the classroom, laboratory, or studio. When this service contributes toward fulfilling the goals of the University, it may be part of the Faculty member’s workload. University service, such as committee work, is expected from all Faculty members as part of their normal service. Because the nature of work differs among disciplines, load equivalencies are not applied uniformly. Therefore, the Campus Dean in consultation with the Campus Faculty Council determines which assignments are eligible for workload equivalents of twenty-four (24) credits of formal teaching per academic year.
Special assignments that may merit load equivalencies, when budget resources to support them are available, are:
1. Faculty Governance Positions
a. Faculty Council Chair – minimum of six (6) credit hours per year
b. Other Campus Faculty Council Officer Positions – maximum of three (3) combined credit hours per year, shared when possible.
2. Academic Program Coordinators – one (1) to six (6) credit hours per year dependent upon program enrollment and level of administrative responsibilities
3. Special Assignments – The following special assignments are awarded for a three-year term with a possible three-year renewal. However, a faculty member, or the Dean, may decide not to continue the appointment at the end of an academic year. Upon expiration of a first term and upon mutual agreement, the faculty member and the Dean can negotiate a second term. After two consecutive three-year terms, the Campus Dean’s office will announce the position and solicit applications from interested faculty. All special assignments must go through a competitive process before further re-appointment. Faculty members, including the current coordinator, interested in the position will submit an application letter detailing his/her strengths for the position. The Campus Dean in consultation with the Faculty Council will form a committee to review applications. After reviewing applications the committee will submit a recommendation to the Campus Dean. Other special assignments, as identified by the Campus Dean in consultation with the Faculty Council, may be awarded from one (1) to six (6) credit hours per year.
a. Writing Center Coordinator – one (1) to six (6) credit hours per year
b. Community Engagement Coordinator – one (1) to six (6) credit hours per year
c. Honors Coordinator – one (1) to six (6) credit hours per year
d. FYE Coordinator – one (1) to six (6) credit hours per year
e. Discipline Coordinators -- The Campus Dean or any Faculty Council member can propose to the Faculty Council the establishment of a discipline coordinator. Discipline coordinators receive one (1) to six (6) credit hours per academic year if the discipline satisfies at least one of the following criteria:
- The discipline has a significant number of credit hours towards the Kent Core or a degree program.
- The discipline has a reasonable number of faculty (both full-time and part-time).
- The discipline serves a significant number of students.
The terms “significant” and “reasonable” will be determined by the Campus Dean in consultation with the Faculty Council. The level of administrative responsibilities of the coordinator will be determined by the Campus Dean.
f. TT and FTNTT Faculty Mentors – one (1) to six (6) credit hours per year. One senior TT faculty mentor and one promoted FTNTT faculty mentor are appointed after an application process. These mentors should be familiar with the University system used for submitting reappointment and tenure/promotion files. These individuals would be responsible for the following activities:
- Orient new faculty to the campus and operation of the regional campus system.
- Meet with first year faculty as a group to discuss any issues (problems with teaching, difficulty finding time for research, problems with student conduct, etc.)
- Offer workshops on reappointment materials and provide junior faculty with good examples of reappointment documents.
- Meet at least twice a semester with each junior faculty member to discuss upcoming personnel actions.
- Serve as possible peer reviewers for classroom observations.
- Meet periodically with the Campus Dean to discuss progress.
- Other duties as determined by the Campus Dean in consultation with the mentors.
These positions will not replace individual faculty mentors.
4. Faculty Professional Development Time – one (1) to three (3) credit hours per academic year when eligible. See Section III.G.4 for more details.
5. New Course Development – Credit hours equivalent up to the semester hours of the class (i.e., developing a three-hour class may carry a workload equivalency of up to three (3) hours). These workload equivalencies would apply only to those courses specifically requested and assigned for development by the Dean and which have not previously appeared in the Kent State University catalog.
6. Distance Learning Course Development – Workload hours equivalent to the semester hours of the class (i.e. developing a three-hour class has a workload equivalency of three hours). Alternatively, a faculty member who initially develops a course for DL instruction may elect to receive a one-time cash payment, payment to be made upon completion of the development of the course. The amount of the cash payment shall be agreed to by the faculty member and the Campus Dean prior to the undertaking of the development of the course. These equivalencies would apply only to those courses specifically requested and assigned by the Dean for development.
7. Extensive Revision of a Distance Learning Course – One-half of the workload hours equivalent to the semester hours of the class (i.e., revising a three-hour class has a workload equivalency of 1.5 hours). These equivalencies would apply only to those course revisions requested and assigned by the Dean and agreed to by the individual faculty member.
8. Individual Investigation – One-tenth (1/10) of workload equivalency per student credit hour for each hour of direct supervision of credit individual investigation. Such student investigation shall be approved by the Campus Dean only when the individual instruction is a program requirement or is being taken by the student as a substitute for a program requirement, and when the credit hours satisfy a specific and immediate graduation requirement that cannot be satisfied in any other way.
Since needs, budgets, and faculty change over time, these appointments will be modified as well. When adjustments need to be made, the Dean will consult with the Faculty Council in the spring of each year to discuss the reasons for adding to or subtracting from these assignments for the subsequent academic year.
Evening assignments vary by academic unit. However, all faculty members could expect a portion of their contract load to be assigned during the evening hours. Faculty may also expect to be assigned to teach at other Regional Campuses if enrollments do not justify a full teaching load at the Tuscarawas Campus. At the discretion and assignment of the Dean, special assignments of a non-teaching nature may be part of a faculty member's workload.
For each term of the regular academic year, each member of the faculty shall receive a statement of his/her workload. This statement shall include the number of workload hours to be devoted to instructional assignments and the number of hours within the Campus’ workload equivalency policy to be devoted to the discharge of responsibilities in the areas of research, special service and advising activities significantly above the level expected of all faculty, services of an administrative nature, and other applicable workload equivalents, as assigned by the Dean. Faculty areas of expertise and programmatic need are among the factors taken into consideration in the assignment of instructional workload. Normally, this individual workload statement should be provided to the faculty member in accordance with the current CBA. If a faculty member’s instructional assignments and/or workload equivalencies change after the initial statement has been issued, an updated version will be given to the affected faculty member. Questions regarding the assignment should be addressed to the Campus Assistant Dean. In case of dispute or request for special consideration, the faculty member may request a review by the Faculty Council, which, following such review, will make a non-binding recommendation to the Campus Dean.