2.6 SDC Faculty Workload

The purpose of these guidelines is to articulate transparent expectations for faculty regarding distribution of time spent on various aspects of faculty life. This guide is based on WSU’s Workload Policy. We seek to account for the diversity of activities among individuals, providing formal recognition and value for these contributions, and strive for an equitable assignment of primary duties needed to run the School of Design and Construction (SDC). These assignable duties include teaching, service to department/school and university, and leadership (working group, committee), while accounting for the variable nature of research and graduate student support. It is recognized that other categories beyond research/teaching/service (including administration) may be considered and further delineated in the future.

These guidelines are intended to clarify and document the broader Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture (VCEA)- and university-level policies, specifically for the unit. As stated elsewhere, these are not intended to be a measure of suitability for tenure or promotion, guidance for which is articulated in the SDC promotion and tenure guidelines. The guidelines in this document are delineated for tenured/tenure-track (T/TT) and career track (CT) faculty.

Furthermore, the guidelines in this document consider different career stages. For instance, the guidelines for newly recruited tenure-track faculty must be consistent with their respective offer letters during the pre-tenure period, which may differ from baseline workload allocations for one or more years. Similarly, some faculty may be in transitional periods (e.g., while switching to major committee and/or leadership roles at the department, or while the ratios between research/teaching/service change as reflected in any change of appointments). For such faculty, workload may be negotiated at the school leadership’s discretion during the identified transitional period with approval from the Dean. In this document,” Director” refers to the school Director.

Following is a brief description of the three categories of effort and a justification for the proposed workload balancing process. Following that is matrix for assignment guidance.

Workload Categories Overview:

Research. The description of research for the unit is in line with that delineated in the SDC tenure and promotion guidelines and in the WSU Faculty Manual. This effort consists of scholarly work with and without students. However, for the purposes of this workload category, additional weight may be given to researchers/graduate students supported by a faculty member using external funds.

Teaching. The classroom educational mission of the unit is one of the key pillars of a land grant institution of higher education. The teaching component of workload is measured through the number of course credit equivalents (classes of 3-credits) with the number of expected courses to be taught depending on percent teaching assignment. We recognize that not all classes have the same workload, even with the same number of credits, and thus may not require the same number of hours per week. For instance, teaching a class for the first time, developing a class, managing many teaching assistants (TAs), running a class with one or more laboratory sessions, or having a large or small number of students.

Service. Service is broadly defined as additional contributions to the school/department, the college, the university, or the profession. These responsibilities can manifest in many ways. It is generally expected that all faculty will contribute in some way to service, and faculty should review their commitments annually with the Director to ensure that unit needs are being met, and work effort is appropriate. The default service workload will be 20% (mean 8 hr/wk) for most faculty.

Administration. Credit (course teaching reductions) will be given for significant administrative service such as service as the associate school director, program head, etc. Other course relief may be granted at the discretion of the Director and Dean for similar time commitments for which the unit receives some benefit, either explicitly or to its reputation, and care is taken to minimize impact on course offerings at the school. Note that administration at the unit level is considered service by the university, while administration at the level of Director or higher is included under the university administration workload category.

Tenure Track [TT] Faculty

Teaching. Instructional assignments may be conducted face-to-face or over electronic media via Global Campus. Assignments to teach specific courses may vary from year to year, depending on the needs of the program, SDC, and/or VCEA.

Teaching load may also involve developing new courses that serve the general interests of the students and benefit the overall curriculum, teaching an existing course for the first time, teaching course sections with an exceptionally large number of students (exceeding 100-125 students), developing innovative teaching methods, writing text books, writing grant proposals to secure funding to develop new educational programs, coordinating a program’s accreditation activities, assuming an active role in advising or mentoring undergraduate students, and/or other services as decided in consultation and mutual agreement with the unit Director. Thus, if the number of courses presently being offered in a program or the SDC is smaller than the total number of courses expected to be taught under these guidelines (based on total FTE), then some faculty members may be asked to contribute more to the teaching and development of new courses in interdisciplinary areas, distance learning, on-line (Global Campus) course development, teaching for other academic units, etc.

Research Activities. Externally obtained research funding provides additional resources and facilities that enrich the university experience for faculty and students. Moreover, our collective ability to compete for research funds serves as an important attribute in recruiting highly qualified faculty and graduate students, all of which contribute to the intellectual vitality of the School. Significant indicators of extraordinary research activity include considerable external funding and/or research expenditures per T-T/T faculty member, high-impact scholarship as indicated by publishing in top journals or having high citation indices, or publicly recognized projects by professional design or construction organizations.

Service. All tenure-track faculty are expected to provide service to the SDC, VCEA, university, and/or profession commensurate with their rank. Without such participation, shared governance will not function at a university. Moreover, faculty should also contribute to their professional communities and, indeed, a requirement for promotion to professor rank includes the expectation that a faculty member will have established a national/international reputation within their community that is commensurate with the sought-after rank. Significant indicators of extraordinary service activity include professional service that demands considerable time but contributes significantly to the unit’s reputation, such as National Academy membership, or editorships of prestigious journals, for example.

Tenure-track faculty (including those who have been granted tenure and regardless of rank) are generally expected to teach a 2-2 load (or 4 courses per year). This model meets the needs of associated accreditation and curricular requirements of the programs within the SDC. As a result, the typical workload assignment is 40% teaching, 40% research, and 20% service (mean 8 hr/wk). Faculty without an active research (or scholarly work) agenda are expected to teach more courses and/or engage in a higher level of service to the SDC, VCEA, university, and/or profession. The Director is given latitude to consider all factors to ensure assigned workload equity while also maintaining proper coverage/delivery of courses

Career Track [CT] Faculty

All SDC career-track faculty have scholar sub-track appointments. Faculty in the scholar sub-track have significant responsibilities in at least two (2) of the following areas: (a) teaching, (b) student advising, (c) research or scholarship, (d) creative activity, (e) outreach, (f) practice (e.g., medical, clinical, etc.), (g) educational leadership, (h) administration, or (i) academic service. Where these activities are not accurately reflected by WSU workload categories, scholar sub-track faculty may combine these efforts into the “other” workload category.

Teaching. Instructional assignments may be conducted face-to-face or over electronic media via Global Campus. Assignments to teach specific courses may vary from year to year, depending on the needs of the program, SDC, and/or VCEA.

Teaching load may also include developing new courses that serve the general interests of the students and benefit the overall curriculum, teaching an existing course for the first time, teaching course sections with an exceptionally large number of students (exceeding 100-125 students), developing innovative teaching methods, writing text books, writing grant proposals to secure funding to develop new educational programs, coordinating a program’s accreditation activities, assuming an active role in advising or mentoring undergraduate students, and/or other services as decided in consultation and mutual agreement with the unit Director. Thus, if the number of courses presently being offered in a program or the SDC is smaller than the total number of courses expected to be taught under these guidelines (based on total FTE), then some faculty members may be asked to contribute more to the teaching and development of new courses in interdisciplinary areas, distance learning, on-line (Global Campus) course development, etc.

Career-track faculty (regardless of rank) are generally assigned 20% scholarship/research, 60% teaching and 20% service, where 60% teaching is equivalent to a 3-3 commitment (six 3-credit courses per academic year).

Service. All career-track faculty are expected to provide service to the program, SDC, VCEA, and university commensurate with their rank. As feasible and within the constraints of employment contracts, faculty should also contribute to their professional communities and a requirement for promotion to professor rank includes the expectation that a faculty member will have established a national/international reputation within their community that is commensurate with the sought-after rank.

Leadership Roles and Associated Course Reductions:

Time-consuming leadership roles in service of the program/school, VCEA, university, or professional society, or other activities that are highly valued by the SDC, such as extensive fundraising, are eligible for credit. The faculty may have reduced teaching due to significant contributions to such activities. In this way, we can attempt to equitably and transparently quantify the value of differential contributions in research, teaching, and service.

The following leadership roles are approved for course reduction in the SDC, which will be granted at the discretion of the Director. Other administrative appointments and commensurate course reductions may be offered with approval from both the Director and the Dean.

• Director – The SDC Director is not expected to maintain a teaching load regardless of their appointment track. The SDC Director’s workload assignment will be at the discretion of the Dean and will be negotiated between the Dean and the Director. It is not uncommon for the Director to teach one 3-credit course per academic year.
• Associate Director – The Associate Director of the SDC is granted 1 course reduction per semester. Therefore, the Associate Director would have a 1-1 teaching load or 2 courses per year if tenure-track or a 2-2 teaching load or 4 courses per year if career track.
• Program Head (any discipline: Architecture, Construction Management, Interior Design, or Landscape Architecture) – The Program Head (where appropriate) is granted 1 course reduction per semester. Therefore, the Program Head would have a 1-1 teaching load or 2 courses per year if tenure-track or a 2-2 teaching load or 4 courses per year if career track.
• Graduate Program Coordinator (any discipline) – The Graduate Program Coordinator (where appropriate student enrollment justifies the course reduction) is granted 1 course reduction per academic year. Therefore, the Graduate Program Coordinator would have a 1-2 teaching load or 3 courses per year if tenure-track or a (maximum) 2-3 teaching load or 5 courses per year if career track.

Additional course reductions may be granted to faculty who lead and submit full proposals for major center-level grants (e.g., NSF ERC, NSF STC, DOE Research Centers, NIH Research Centers). However, such reductions must be discussed with and approved by the Director and Dean in advance.

Workload Measurement:

For the University [including SDC], the baseline 3-credit course workload is defined as 10% FTE on an annual basis, and 20% on a semester basis. This is the equivalent of 8 hours per week out of a 40-hour workweek, and accounts for approximately 3 hours of in-class work, plus minimal preparation and some office hours. Additionally, Teaching Assistant (graduate & undergraduate student) mentoring contact hours are embedded in this number.

The SDC course curricula includes lecture-based and studio-based courses with the studio-based courses found in the design disciplines (Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture). While the pedagogical nature of lecture and studio courses differs, the overall instructional, administrative, and student-support workload for a standard 3-credit course (50 or more students) is equivalent to that of a standard 4-6 credit studio (15-18 students). While these course formats differ in instructional modality and pedagogical approach, the total faculty workload associated with a standard enrollment lecture course is comparable to that of a lower-enrollment studio. This equivalency reflects the distinct pedagogical requirements, time commitments, and instructional labor required to deliver quality education. For purposes of faculty workload measurement, treating these two course types as equivalent is appropriate and justified.

Below is a matrix for the workload equivalencies for all the foreseen types of appointments. The unit Director and Dean must approve deviations from these categories.

Assessment of Productivity and Impact:

Given the different research percentages for faculty, there must be a differential expectation for productivity and output. It is understood that every faculty member is different and will have more impact in some areas than others. If scholarly output, as assessed during the annual review, is less than expected (i.e., needs improvement versus meets expectations or exceeds expectations) for the given research percentage (as assessed on a rolling 2-year basis), the Director and Dean can change the workload to require more teaching. However, the faculty is expected to bring the scholarly output to required level as soon as possible. The scholarly output can be replaced with additional teaching in the long term. The Director is given latitude to consider all factors to evaluate faculty’s performance based on the following Assessment of Productivity and Impact. See the Faculty Manual for more information.

Review and Adjustment of Policy:

Every faculty member’s workload will be reviewed and re-assessed as part of the annual review process. To avoid constant changes based on yearly fluctuations in activity, the SDC will use a rolling average over a three-year window to reassess activity and workload allocation. If an adjustment is deemed appropriate by the Director, then the Director typically discusses the adjustment plan with the faculty member prior to making changes. The final decision at the unit level on any workload adjustment is at the discretion of the Director. Any adjustment done in the workload allocation of a faculty member needs to be documented along with a rationale (typically as part of the annual review document or occasionally in subsequent email exchanges) and this adjustment needs to be shared with the VCEA Dean. The VCEA Dean needs to approve such changes, and Provost approval is required for significant changes (>10% FTE).

Appeals and Grievances:

Adjustments to workload allocation should be mutually agreed upon between the faculty member and the Director. In rare cases, where a faculty member does not agree with the workload adjustment made by the Director, the faculty member has the right to appeal the decision to the VCEA Dean for further consideration. A college-level committee to hear such grievances will be constituted by the VCEA Dean to hear such cases and provide an independent recommendation to the Dean. This recommendation is then reviewed by the VCEA Dean for further consideration. If the faculty member wishes to contest the Dean’s final decision, they have a right to petition the Provost for additional consideration.

Course Buyout:

Despite efforts to balance workload, there will be times when faculty may prefer to devote more time to research or other professional activities. Recognizing that course buyouts may be beneficial to the faculty member’s career and to the unit, college, and university reputation, this policy enables such practices. In alignment with the VCEA policy, faculty may use extramural (as allowed by the granting organization) funds to buy out instructional responsibilities, at the rate of 15% of the individual’s annual nine-month salary and benefits per course (i.e., 1/6 of 90%, thus allowing for 10% service). Note that, for any given semester, no more than 75% of the faculty member’s time (e.g., a faculty with 40% teaching appointment can buy out as many as 3 courses per year) may be charged to any single grant/contract. At the discretion of the Dean, all

released salary funds will be retained in the SDC’s reserve account and will be used to cover the costs of hiring other instructors and other activities needed to support the department/school’s instructional (TA’s, instructors, clinical faculty, support staff) or research (RA’s, startup, cost sharing, equipment acquisition) programs, or to advance the intellectual climate (guest speakers, colloquia, seminar series). The above is in conformance with (and equal to) the VCEA course buyout policy.

Courses Outside Standard Teaching Load:

Teaching responsibilities are discussed in terms of courses. In general, a course in the descriptions below refers to a 3-credit undergraduate course with approximately average course enrollments for the SDC and VCEA. It is understood that course offerings that primarily focus on a regional/national/international travel experience (e.g., “study tour” or similar – I_D 277, LND_ARCH 222, SDC 444, and SDC 555), independent or directed study (e.g., ARCH 499, ARCH 600, CST_M 495, CST_M 499, I_D 278, I_D 498, I_D 499, LND_ARCH 499, and LND_ARCH 600) are taught as a voluntary overload and are not included as part of a teaching workload assignment. Similarly, course offerings that facilitate student credit hour generation for on/off-campus internship coordination (e.g., I_D 490, and LND_ARCH 399, LND_ARCH 490) are considered service to the program. The Director is given latitude to adjust these guidelines for individual faculty depending upon course enrollments, level/year, TA support, or other features (such as labs or studios) or resources for the course. Additionally, for career track faculty with a research workload percentage, latitude to adjust these guidelines will be evaluated depending on research activity.

Conclusion:

To facilitate common understanding and uniform assignment of responsibilities for faculty members across the SDC, the Dean and the Director have developed these guidelines. Design and construction research at a land grant university can lead to technology transfer opportunities and may require the faculty to engage in extension or outreach. These activities should be considered when assigning faculty responsibilities. It is recognized that occasionally, due to unforeseen or extenuating circumstances, additional overload requests for teaching may be requested by the Director, in order that the curriculum and student experience can be maintained.

The SDC seeks to balance each faculty member’s contributions to help ensure that all faculty contribute to the SDC’s success. Those who excel in research should support and advise more developing scholars, while those who excel in classroom instruction should teach classes. Moreover, all faculty should participate in service to the SDC, VCEA, university, public and/or profession at levels commensurate with their rank. While the Dean will support these guidelines, the process of teaching load assignment is implemented under the discretion of the SDC Director.