6.2.1 Faculty Work Load

The College shall determine appropriate teaching and non-teaching loads for instructional personnel to meet SACSCOC guidelines. The College faculty is expected to dedicate sufficient time to support the mission of the institution and to ensure the quality and integrity of the academic programs. Faculty members, as professionals, are expected to devote the time required to accomplish their assigned duties.

Full-time faculty workload includes class preparation, instruction, planning and assessment of student learning, shop and lab maintenance, academic and career advising, participation in committee and College meetings and events, student club advising, recruiting and retention efforts, business and industry visits, professional development, and program review. All full-time faculty members are expected to attend each graduation ceremony, as well as program-related ceremonies and events.

Part-time faculty workload includes class preparation, instruction, planning and assessment of student learning, and professional development. Part-time faculty members are encouraged to participate in program and College meetings and activities.

The interaction of faculty members with students represents the essence of the educational process. Full-time faculty workload consists of responsibilities identified in the three areas below.

Learning Facilitation:
Includes, but is not limited to, responsibilities associated with serving students such as teaching, planning, developing lessons and curricular or course content, maintaining mastery in one’s field, holding regular office hours for student interaction and advising, reading and responding to student communication within two faculty work days, maintaining a timely grading schedule and publishing grades to students (as determined by department guidelines and faculty handbook), providing and maintaining availability and course information via locator card and course requirement outlines (CROs), maintaining up-to-date syllabi using the syllabus template, and other curricular-related content, career and academic advising. Learning facilitation occurs in traditional classroom lecture/lab/clinical arrangements, as well as distance learning environments, such as interactive TV, hybrid and online courses.

Institutional Service:
Includes, but is not limited to, responsibilities that support the College achieving its goals such as serving on committees, academic and career advising, mentoring new and adjunct faculty, recruiting and retaining students, guiding of student organizations, developing curriculum, contacting prospective student employers, business/industry & community involvement, attending graduation and all other relevant academic calendar events, keeping timely records and sharing all relevant data, and supporting other administrative processes.

Professional Development:
Includes, but is not limited to, responsibilities associated with staying current in the discipline, as well as the craft of teaching. This also includes maintaining required professional licensure and/or certification. Faculty should follow Procedure 3.21.1 Professional Development.

1. The appropriate workload of each faculty member employed at Blue Ridge Community College will be determined in consultation with the administering Dean/Chair with the approval of the Vice President for Instruction.
   1. Faculty members may be assigned to develop and/or teach any course for which they hold the appropriate credentials. Full-time faculty members may be assigned to mentor new full or part-time faculty who are assigned a new course.
   2. Teaching assignments may be during the day or evening, and occasionally on weekends. Assignments may be at different College sites (including area high schools) and may include multiple delivery methods (blended,hybrid, online).
   3. At a minimum, full-time faculty must hold at least one office hour on a College site per day.Office hours must be included in the course syllabus and posted near the office entrance. Full-time faculty members must also hold office hours for any fully online (internet based- no classroom component) courses they teach at a rate of one hour/week for each contact hour for the course (Ex.: three contact-hour online courses require three office hours/week). See Procedure 3.6.1 Working Hours
   4. Faculty members are expected to use instructional time in a satisfactory manner. Faculty are expected to start class on time and use the full class time. Faculty must contact their immediate supervisor if circumstances cause them to miss any part of scheduled contact hours, and they must document how the instructional time is made up by the end of the semester. A faculty member who chooses to conduct class in another location or format on a continuing basis must include such information in the course syllabus.
   5. Contact hours include actual teaching hours in class, shop, lab or clinic or the equivalent hours for hybrid or online classes. Although teaching loads may vary from term to term, and by department, the general teaching load each semester by position is as follows:
      1. Full time Faculty: 17 -28 non-overlapping course contact hours. More than 28 non-overlapping course contact hours, more than six courses with a minimum of 60 total students, or more than 110 total students at census would constitute an overload. In case of very low enrollment (under 6 students) in the majority of classes taught by an instructor, that instructor may be asked to take on more duties than in the standard workload requirements at the discretion of the Dean or Vice-President. (see examples in the table below)
      2. Program Chairs and Coordinators: 8-10non-overlapping course contact hours in Spring and Fall semesters.Summer load will be determined by the department dean based on student and college needs.
      3. Department Deans:6-8non-overlapping  course contact hours in the fall and spring semesters (equivalent to 2 courses per semester).
      4. Summer Workload - Full time Faculty: 9-16 non-overlapping course contact hours. More than 16 non-overlapping course contact hours, more than three courses with a minimum of 30 total students, or more than 55 total students at census would constitute an overload. In case of very low enrollment (under 6 students) in the majority of classes taught by an instructor, that instructor may be asked to take on more duties than in the standard workload requirements at the discretion of the Dean or Vice-President.
      5. Part-time Faculty: Workloads for adjunct faculty shall be assigned on a semester-by-semester basis as need dictates. Class load assignments should be limited to no more than 29 total work hours (including contact hours and preparatory time) per week unless approved by the Vice President for Instruction and the Human Resources Director.
      6. Curriculum faculty who teach Continuing Education courses will have the workload credit for those courses added to their Curriculum total to determine total workload. Continuing Education hours will be determined by dividing the total contact hours for the class (es) by 16 in order to determine average weekly contact hours.
      7. Curriculum faculty who teach Continuing Education courses will not be eligible for overload consideration unless the workload hours for their curriculum classes is above the range required for their position. Overload payments will be paid through Continuing Education by contract. Faculty should follow Procedure 3.18.1 Secondary Employment.
      8. Course enrollment: There may be times that course caps are increased to accommodate student needs and schedules. If the enrollment for a course exceeds 30 students at the course census date, the instructor will be given credit for two sections.
      9. Definitions:
         1. Full-time faculty: a faculty member who is assigned a full-time class load serves the College for the academic year.  Department coordinators, chairpersons and deans are considered full-time faculty with adjusted contact hours for administrative duties.
         2. Part-time faculty: curriculum adjunct faculty who are on an instructional job assignment on a semester-to-semester basis without promise of future employment. Total work hours are limited to 29 per week and adjunct faculty are not eligible for College benefits. Employee agreements and contracts for part-time instructional employees are set forth in Procedure 3.3.2 Employee Agreements and Contracts.
         3. Class formats:
            1. Traditional: 100% of instruction is face to face; course may have online resources and instructional makeup components
            2. Blended: Up to 49.99% of instruction is online
            3. Hybrid: At least 50% of instruction is online
            4. Internet/Online: 100% of instruction is online
2. An overload occurs when a faculty member teaches in excess of the maximum for the respective position. In any given term, an overload may not exceed five contact hours without the prior approval of the Vice President for Instruction. For full-time faculty, deans determine compensation for overloads, which includes payment at the adjunct faculty rate (see example below). An overload may be written for a portion of a course, as appropriate and agreed upon by all parties. A full-time faculty member must meet all criteria related to learning facilitation, institutional service, and professional development, in addition to the required number of contact hours, to be eligible for an overload assignment. Failure to fulfill other full-time faculty obligations may result in the denial of an overload request. The College determines teaching and non-teaching loads in accordance with SACSCOC guidelines, and faculty members are expected to dedicate sufficient time to support the institution's mission and academic program quality.

Examples Of Appropriate Loads And Overloads