POL 05.20.03 – Faculty Workload

Authority: Board of Trustees

History: First Issued: April 26, 2024

Related Policies:

UNC POL 400.3.1 Tenure and Teaching in the University of North Carolina
UNC POL 400.3.1.1 [G] Guidelines on Teaching and Tenure
UNC POL 400.3.4 Policy on Faculty Workload Monitoring Faculty Teaching Workloads
UNC POL 400.3.4 [R] Regulations on Faculty Workload
UNC POL 700.6.1 [R] Academic Integrity Regulations
NCSU POL 05.20.01 Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Permanent Tenure
NCSU REG 05.20.27 Statements of Faculty Responsibilities
NCSU REG 05.20.03 Annual Review of Faculty Members

Additional References:

NCSU REG 05.58.01 Additional Compensation
NCSU REG 05.20.34 Professional Faculty Ranks and Appointments
NCSU REG 05.20.24 Scholarly Reassignment for Faculty

Contact Info:
Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence (919-513-7741)

1. INTRODUCTION

This policy is adopted pursuant to UNC Policy 400.3.4. It addresses the following:

Definitions
Workload Expectations
Statement of Faculty Responsibilities/Annual Work Plan
Annual Evaluation
Annual Reporting

1.1 Board of Trustees’ Authority. The Board of Trustees shall be responsible for ensuring that NC State is implementing a faculty workload policy that advances the institution’s mission, fosters student success, and ensures financial sustainability.

1.2 Chancellor’s Authority. The Chancellor or Chancellor’s designee shall be responsible for developing institutional policies and ensuring that all colleges, schools, departments, and other units develop and implement faculty workload and evaluation procedures that comply with the institutional policy in a fair and consistent manner, with consideration of the institution’s mission and the prudent stewardship of fiscal resources.

1.3 Deans and department heads shall be responsible for working directly with faculty to establish individual workloads that support institutional and strategic objectives in alignment with institutional policies, procedures, resources, and mission.

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 “Academic unit” means academic department, professional school, or an equivalent constituent unit of the university.

2.2. “Faculty” means employees of NC State appointed to carry out responsibilities such as instruction, research/creative activity, service, clinical care, or extension. Faculty may be tenured or untenured and temporary or permanent, with titles, ranks, and duties defined by the university.

2.3. “Full Time Equivalent” (FTE) means a workload that represents a full-time effort at the university in keeping with the university’s faculty workload policy.

2.4. “Routinely expected duties” means those faculty responsibilities, as defined by NC State in accordance with Section III. A of UNC Policy 400.3.4, and which are ordinarily expected of faculty members.

2.5 “Statement of Faculty Responsibilities” (SFR) is a written description of the appropriate mix of the individual faculty member’s realms of responsibility and the mutually agreed-upon expectations from both the faculty member and the department during the faculty member’s appointment as addressed in REG 05.20.27 – Statements of Faculty Responsibilities. At NC State, a faculty member’s SFR constitutes a work load plan as defined by the UNC System.

3. WORKLOAD EXPECTATIONS

3.1 Each full-time faculty member shall engage in approved work that totals to full time workload as defined in their SFR/work plan.

3.2 Determination of Teaching Workload. Teaching and instruction are the primary mission of the university; therefore teaching shall serve as the first component of determining faculty workload expectations. In general, a teaching load of 24 credit hours (or equivalent contact hours) per academic year, along with routinely expected faculty duties such as advising, committee work, and professional development constitute a full workload and a 1.0 FTE appointment.

Faculty members holding responsibilities in other realms as identified in their annual SFR/work plan should have their teaching workload adjusted on a commensurate basis.

Differential teaching loads may also be authorized in recognition of differing individual circumstances including student success considerations, course level (bachelors, master’s, doctoral), course pedagogies, programmatic accreditation requirements, team-taught courses, research productivity, time bought out by external grants, significant administrative or service assignments, significant advising responsibilities, or other activities aligned with the institution’s mission and/or critical to student success as provided for in this policy and identified in the faculty member’s annual SFR/work plan.

4. STATEMENT OF FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES (SFR)/ANNUAL WORK PLAN

Each faculty member shall work with their department head to develop a SFR/work plan for the upcoming academic year, in alignment with NC State’s workload expectations and the needs of the academic department, college/school, and institution. The SFR/work plan shall identify the outputs and efforts a faculty member is expected to complete in the next academic year, recognizing that those items may be part of long-term or multi-year initiatives. The SFR/work plan shall be developed consistent with REG 05.20.27 – Statements of Faculty Responsibilities.

5. ANNUAL EVALUATION

Each faculty member shall engage in an annual review with their department head. As part of that annual review, the department chair/head shall review the work of the faculty member relative to their approved SFR/work plan. A faculty member who does not adequately satisfy their workload expectations for the review period shall be subject to a faculty success plan which must be approved by the department head and dean. Components of the faculty success plan are outlined in REG 05.20.03 – Annual Reviews of Faculty Members.

6. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

6.1 Overview and Timing. An annual report shall be compiled of the previous year’s faculty activity to be presented to and approved by the Board of Trustees each year. The report shall cover an academic/fiscal year basis (July 1 – June 30) and must be approved by the Board of Trustees no later than September 30 each year, with a copy submitted to the UNC System President by October 15.

6.2 Requirements. The annual report shall include quantitative information on faculty workload such as organized course sections taught, student credit hours produced, faculty contact hours, measures of research/creative activity, and service rendered in the previous academic year. The annual report shall include an analysis of faculty FTE allocations by realms of responsibility at the department, school/college, and institutional level. The annual report shall also include information regarding the process by which individual faculty workloads were evaluated relative to the standards therein.

7. TRAINING

Individuals serving in a supervisory capacity should have the training and skills necessary to carry out the duties identified in this policy. A process for reviewing and assessing workload assignments is outlined in REG 05.20.37 – Faculty Workload.