Faculty Workload and Workload Equivalents

All full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty of the department are expected to carry a maximum workload of twenty-four (24) credit hours per academic year. Full-time non-tenure track faculty members are expected to carry a maximum 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 shall advise the Chair on issues related to teaching assignments, class schedules and the appropriate application of workload equivalents. The Chair shall provide each faculty member with a statement of her/his workload. Every attempt is made by the Chairperson to maintain the average load per semester assigned to the Department by the Dean. However, it is understood that exigencies of staffing and demands of enrollment may require a greater load for a given semester which may be balanced out by a lighter load on a preceding or succeeding semester. In the interests of a high standard of teaching and the desirability of faculty involvement in research and service activities, the teaching of extra courses and overloads is discouraged. Overload assignments (that is, classroom teaching assignments which total more than 24-semester credit hours per academic year) will be made only in unusual circumstances, such as a sudden and unexpected staffing need, the unavailability of a qualified temporary appointee, or the necessity for a specific faculty member's expertise in a relevant course. Such assignments require the agreement of the faculty member and the approval of the Department Chairperson and Dean.

The first obligation of the Department is teaching; therefore, staffing of service courses and courses required for graduation at the baccalaureate and at graduate levels has first priority.

Workload credit for lab instruction.  Normally, the workload credited to the faculty member will be the credit hours for the course, with TA assistance provided for courses with labs. If a faculty member is in charge of a laboratory course or CORE lab with no TA assistance so that they have to be present in the lab the entire time, then the workload of the assignment is equal to the lab contact hours rounded to the nearest half-workload credit. For example, for a 1-credit hour lab with 1.6-2 hours of contact, the faculty member would receive a total of 2 workload credit hours. If enrollment requires more than one lab section per course, then the faculty member will receive one additional workload credit if assigned a TA, or incrementally more credits based on lab contact hours if not assigned a TA. The maximum allowable lab workload credits will be 4 per semester.  This lab workload equivalency is only advisory for RC faculty.

All faculty course load decisions are made by the Chairperson following consultation with the Faculty Advisory Committee, are subject to the Dean's approval, are reviewed periodically, and follow the Load Policy in the Kent State University Policy Register and in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Teaching Load Limits. Normally, no full-time faculty member teaches more than four classroom courses per semester. Newly hired full-time tenure-track faculty members, entering as assistant professors, receive reduced formal course teaching loads during their first year in order to facilitate preparation of their courses, organization of their laboratories, and initiation of their research and graduate teaching programs. For all new full-time TT faculty at the Kent Campus, the teaching load assigned during the first year involves one course per semester.

Workload Equivalencies. The Chair may, in consultation with the FAC and with the concurrence of the Dean, assign workload equivalencies for specific duties which are considered essential to the academic mission of the Department. The department’s expectations and specifications for common workload equivalencies are given in the table below. Situations may arise in which course equivalencies are appropriate. When such special circumstances arise, the Chair may assign an equivalency after consultation with the FAC.

Table 1. Common Workload Equivalents Table