Workload Reporting Guidelines

Faculty Workload Reporting Guidelines

Office of the Provost, 2009 February 19

 

These guidelines are based on the policies of the City University of New York as reflected in the provisions of the PSC/CUNY contract and CUNY Board of Trustees resolutions. On June 26, 1995, the Board passed a series of budget planning and policy proposals. Sections that focus on workload read as follows:

6. It shall be the University policy that (1) all faculty be assigned the contractual maximum for the teaching portion of their workload unless they are granted reassigned time for specific purposes or purchase reassigned time through sponsored projects; (2) each college review its reassigned time policies and practices to obtain the maximum aggregate contribution of each faculty member to instruction, scholarship, and public service; (3) there is no requirement that the instructional portion of each faculty member’s workload be identical within each college or department, but rather that the instructional portion of the workload reflect the college’s judgment about how each faculty member can best contribute to the overall work of the college.

7. It shall be the University’s goal to maintain or increase reassigned time for research for those faculty who are actively engaged in professionally recognized research and scholarship, including junior faculty establishing their professional reputations.

Based on these policies and prior practice at Queens College, the following guidelines, reflecting discussions with an ad-hoc committee of department chairs and the College P&B, shall apply.

Instructional Workload
  1. The annual instructional workload is mandated by the contract. This is 18 contact hours for faculty in professorial titles and 24 contact hours per academic year for those in the title of lecturer or instructor. Distinguished Professors are expected to teach four courses per academic year (12 to 16 contact hours). Substitute appointments are expected to teach 3 more contact hours per academic year than is standard for the corresponding non-substitute appointment. A contact hour is defined as an organized class meeting weekly at a regularly scheduled time during the semester for a 50-minute period or equivalent. For teaching commitments that do not involve weekly meetings at regularly scheduled times (independent study/tutorials/thesis supervision), assignable contact hours are as indicated below. These limits are not to be exceeded.
  2. Doctoral courses (students registered at the Graduate School and University Center – GSUC) are credited on the basis of actual contact hours.
  3. Independent study/tutorials/thesis supervision at GSUC:
    1. Doctoral (GSUC registered) independent study/tutorials are credited at the rate of 0.6 contact hours per student registration. Use Table B to list students supervised.
    2. Doctoral dissertation supervision is credited at the rate of 0.6 contact hours per student per semester. For any one student, credit in this category may be assigned for no more than six semesters. Use Table B to list students supervised.
    3. The maximum amount that can be applied to the instructional workload for doctoral (GSUC) independent study/tutorials and dissertation supervision is 3 contact hours per semester.
  4. Independent study/tutorials/thesis supervision at Queens College:
    1. Independent study/tutorials at Queens College (graduate and undergraduate) are credited at the rate of 0.1 contact hour per student credit hour registered. Use Table A to list students supervised.
    2. Master level thesis dissertation supervision at Queens College is credited at the rate of 0.5 contact hours per student per semester. For any one student, credit in this category may be assigned for no more than two semesters. Use Table A to list students supervised.
    3. The maximum amount that can be applied to the instructional workload for Queens College independent study and tutorial/thesis supervision is 3 contact hours per semester.
  5. Extra instructional workload may be granted with prior approval of the Divisional Dean for large enrollments in a specific class, depending on department and divisional norms and with documentation that illustrates the additional workload.
  6. For laboratory teaching, assigned workload is determined by actual laboratory contact hours/week rather than by student credit registration. For graduate courses of the “2 hour + conference; 3 credit” type, 3 contact hours are to be credited. For courses not requiring faculty supervision in hours beyond the credit registration (non-laboratory, but with extra hours e.g. 6 hours, 3 credits), workload is assigned by student credit registration.
  7. Other teaching credit: For workload credit for activities in supervision of internships, student teaching, or other similar activities, consult with the Divisional Dean for QC standards.
  8. Except for the use of 24 hours of reassigned time by new faculty, faculty members must teach at least one course each semester (fall and spring). Exceptions (e.g., fellowships, grant obligations) must be approved by the Dean and Provost.
Scholarship Workload
  1. In accordance with the contract, untenured assistant, associate, and full professors initially appointed on or after Sept. 1, 2006 will, following College procedures, apply for 24 contact hours of reassigned time during their first five annual appointments, in order to engage themselves in scholarly and/or creative activities related to their academic disciplines.
  2. Reassigned time (up to 3 workload credits) for effort on sponsored projects may be granted subject to approval of the Dean. Chairs must provide documentation to the Dean by Feb. 15th for workload credit to be awarded in the next academic year.
  3. Reassigned time (up to 3 workload credits) for effort on unsponsored projects (scholarship, creative activity, or other projects not reimbursed from sources outside the university) must be justified annually with a list of past accomplishments, including works published or exhibited within the past three years (as listed in the CUNY scholarship reports), a list of grants applied for and received, a plan for use of reassigned time, and documentation of progress resulting from reassigned time in the prior three years. Chairs must provide documentation to the Dean by Feb. 15th for workload credit to be awarded in the next academic year. The Dean may, in consultation with the Chair, reduce or decline the number of hours requested.
Administrative Workload

In view of the need to maximize the teaching capacity of our full-time faculty, administrative reassigned time should be kept to a minimum.

  1. Department chairpersons are expected to teach one to two courses per semester, depending on the size and complexity of the department and the scholarly and other service activities of the chair, as approved by the Dean.
  2. Other departmental administrative reassigned time (associate chairs, undergraduate and graduate advisors, etc.) will be allocated in advance of the academic year and in consultation with the Dean. By Feb. 15th of each year, each department will submit for the Dean’s approval a plan for use of administrative hours in the following academic year. The Dean will work with the chairs and with the Provost to assure that administrative hours are distributed equitably..
  3. Executive Officers at GSUC receive full release from workload assignments at QC.
  4. Deputy Executive Officers and Subdisciplinary Chairs at GSUC receive credit for 3 administrative workload hours per semester.
  5. Program Directors at QC may receive credit for up to 6 administrative workload hours per year, subject to the approval of the Dean or Provost, where appropriate.
Teaching Load Averaging

With the approval of the Dean and Provost, academic year instructional workload can be “managed over a three-year period,” as long as the average equals the specified hours, as allowed by the university guidelines.

Reports to the College P&B Committee

The Provost will provide a detailed annual report to the College P&B on the distribution of reassigned time in the College.