Policy: 6.5 Faculty Teaching Load and Pay/Fall and Spring; Mini and Summer Sessions

Policy: 6.5 Faculty Teaching Load and Pay/Fall and Spring; Mini and Summer Sessions

Adoption Date: August 26, 2024 Revised

Full-time faculty work 38 hours per week/prison faculty 40 hours per week, inclusive of class time, office hours (see policy 6.2), prep time or course management, campus/community activities, and assigned job responsibilities. Faculty are expected to be on campus or the instructional site as needed and to be engaged in the campus community.

Duties considered to be normal concomitant faculty assignments include academic counseling of students, aiding in registration, serving on committees, sponsoring student organizations, and participating in college and community events.  Each full‑time member of the faculty will be required to perform such extra duties as may be assigned without additional remuneration.

The load policy has no bearing on whether the college has a program or not.  The Board of Trustees makes that determination.  Music, art, drama, and athletics are programs the college desires to have on certain sites to promote a comprehensive community college atmosphere.

In the event of an underloaded teaching schedule, and unless they have leave without pay, no faculty member will receive less than their base salary but would be assigned additional professional duties as appropriate.

Faculty schedules must be approved by instructional administrators.  Efforts will be made to meet faculty schedule requests.  Course location, mode, date/time, and length may be adjusted to meet student and/or college needs.  Faculty members may be assigned to teach late afternoon, evening, weekend, and/or eLearning courses.  Consistent schedules are not guaranteed.

I.   Standard Teaching Load for Instructors

A.    The standard teaching load for full-time faculty employed on an academic year 9-month basis is 30 instructional load units (ILU)/15 ILU’s each fall and spring semester (see ILU table below). The standard teaching load and contract length for health professions, cosmetology, and programs based at correctional facilities varies. These loads are based on program requirements, and ILUs are not calculated. In some instances, contract length for other faculty will be greater than 9 months if consistent need exists. Contract length can change from year-to-year based on course demand trends. Efforts will be made to find additional teaching assignments or projects to offset the loss if possible.

B.    During the fall and spring terms, full-time faculty will teach no more than three internet/online sections per semester as part of their load unless requested to do so by the instructional dean (based on enrollment needs and/or unusual circumstances) and approved by the site lead. Faculty teaching four-hour courses will teach no more than two online sections per semester. If specific needs arise, the site lead is allowed to make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Instructional leaders from each site will collaborate on developing the online course schedule to best meet students’ needs and to ensure the quality of online courses meets the established standards.

C.    To Be Arranged Courses (TBA):  TBA courses may be taught at an arranged time by full-time faculty only under special circumstances and with approval from the appropriate instructional dean and the site lead. A contract must be in place with the student that outlines course expectations, requirements, and deadlines. Instructors teaching a student by arrangement will be compensated $500.

D.    Two or more courses taught in the same time period, are considered one course as part of the ILU load.

E.    The determination of student enrollment for a course generally depends on the seating availability of a classroom chosen, safety concerns, program requirements, or instruction mode.

F.     In some instances, the student number available for enrollment will decrease or increase as determined by the site-based instructional dean in discussion with the instructor and approved by the site lead:

1.   Ten students is considered a minimum number for a course to make except in special circumstances or due to program requirements and at SWCD based on student need.

2.    A maximum enrollment of 35 students will be used for online classes.  Due to dual credit site enrollments, attrition or faculty underload, an unusual contingency of a minimum number of students above 35 will be considered by the site based instructional dean in discussion with the instructor and approved by the site lead.

ILUs

This table does not apply to activity courses within the Visual/Performing Arts and Kinesiology Divisions or structured science laboratory courses (see tables below).

Internships, cooperatives, and/or practicums are calculated as one lab hour (0-1) with an ILU ratio of .33:1 regardless of how many students enroll in the course.

Structured Science Laboratory Courses

Structured Science Laboratory Class:

1.   Labs are

•  scheduled at a specific time;
•  taught and set-up by an instructor (not a lab assistant);
•  structured with specific assignments and projects to be completed each period; and
•  a continuation of the lecture.

2.   Extensive one on one instruction or tutoring are required.

3.   Lectures or demonstrations to the class are common.

4.   The lab is taught face-to-face, not online (online labs are calculated at .67:1 ratio as in the table above).

ILUs for Certain Courses in the Visual and Performing Arts and Kinesiology Divisions

II.   Overload Calculation Policy

The maximum load permitted for instructors will be 21 ILUs per semester. Any load that exceeds this maximum must be approved by the site lead and must meet an unusual contingency and should be on a temporary per semester basis. When overload is assigned, the instructional load increases and instructional hours will increase accordingly.

This overload policy does not apply to health professions and cosmetology due to the format of course and clinical/lab instruction. Faculty in these programs receive a stipend in lieu of overload pay based on contract length and administrative responsibility. Faculty teaching at correctional facilities receive an overload/safety stipend.

When appropriate, needed and showing a consistent trend for an overload, compensation for work above the standard teaching load for full‑time faculty will be calculated in the academic contract/letter. This trend will be evaluated on an annual basis prior to the next contract year and can be changed if the trend is not consistent. Effort will be made to find other teaching assignments or projects to offset the loss in pay if possible.

In the event a course(s) does not make, the course(s) will be taught in a mini or summer session for no additional compensation or a faculty member will be asked to do additional work such as tutoring, supplemental instruction, etc. if the course(s) that did not make during the fall and/or spring semester is not needed during a mini or summer session. If overload pay is not built into the contract/letter, compensation will be paid in two equal payments the first banking day of November and December for the fall semester; and, April and May for the spring semester.

Overload pay for full-time faculty is paid at $300 per ILU over 15 (per each fall and spring semester). Overload pay for full-time faculty is the same for all faculty, regardless of educational attainment (associate, bachelors, masters, or doctorate).

III.  Travel

The instructor will be reimbursed for mileage if the off-site location is outside the city limits of the instructor’s home site. A mileage log must be maintained and a reimbursement report must be submitted monthly.

FACULTY TEACHING LOAD and Pay/MINI AND SUMMER SESSIONS

I.       Teaching Load for Instructors                                                                             

The maximum load for an instructor in a 4 week term is 6 ILUs If maximum load must be exceeded, it must be an unusual contingency and must be approved by the appropriate instructional dean and the site lead. If approval is received to exceed the maximum load, payment for the additional course will be at the same rate. Faculty are expected to maintain a minimum of four office hours per week during these shortened sessions consistent with the delivery mode. Faculty will accommodate students’ reasonable requests to communicate outside scheduled office hours.

II.        Pay

If a course has fewer than 10 students, the decision to cancel will be at the discretion of the site lead, based on the needs at that site.  Low enrollment courses that cannot be cancelled due to program requirements will be paid at full rate, as approved by the site lead. December and May mini classes are not counted as part of the fall/spring maximum 21 hour teaching load.

Mini and Summer session course assignments for full‑time instructors will be paid $900 per ILU.

SWCD summer courses will be offered dependent upon the revenue generated and approved on a case-by-case basis by the instructional dean and site lead.

Pay for mini and summer terms will be on the first banking day following the end of each term. Exception:  If the term ends after the payroll due date pay will be received the following month.