Workload Principles and Guidelines for Regular (Tenured and Tenure-Track) Faculty Members
December 1993; revised August 27, 1998; August 19, 2002
Download PDF versionCollege of Liberal Arts
University of Minnesota
The College of Liberal Arts is dedicated to promoting excellence in research and creative activity, teaching, and service in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. This statement of workload principles is designed to encourage outstanding scholarly and creative achievement; to provide excellent undergraduate and graduate education responsive to curricular needs; and to advance effective service to the University and the community. The college must be appropriately flexible in responding to the needs of a diverse group of departments and faculty members while establishing normative standards for equitable distribution of effort across the faculty.
General expectations
Each CLA faculty member is expected to accomplish superior teaching, scholarship or creative activity, and service, though the proportion of each activity in the workload of an individual faculty member may vary somewhat from one academic year to the next. The annual review of probationary faculty is the vehicle for providing feedback to probationary faculty on how well they are meeting these expectations. The Post-Tenure Review process is a vehicle for providing feedback to a tenured faculty member who experiences a persistent diminution in one or more areas of responsibility, and for assigning additional responsibilities in other areas so that a faculty member will have a full workload. (For more information, see Faculty Tenure, Section 7.a., “Review of Faculty Performance” http://www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/humanresources/FacultyTenure.pdf.)
I. Teaching
Each CLA faculty member is expected to be an excellent teacher and mentor. Each faculty member is also expected to participate in an appropriate mix of teaching activities that involve the offering of courses as well as advising undergraduate and graduate students; supervising of M.A. theses and dissertations; serving on M.A. and preliminary examination committees; supervising undergraduate and graduate research projects, etc. As part of the unit’s submission of annual faculty activity reports, the chair or director shall inform the Dean of any colleague who suffers a persistent diminution in his or her teaching activities and shall take appropriate steps under the Post-Tenure Review process to ensure a full workload.
Except as indicated in Section I.B. below, each 100%–time,
9-month faculty member shall teach four semester courses each academic
year within the college. (Except by special arrangement with the
Dean, a “course” for this purpose shall carry at least
three credits.) In the event that a course is canceled because of
insufficient enrollment (see below Section I.A.), the chair or director
of the unit shall assign the faculty member a substitute course
within a year. Each faculty member’s teaching portfolio will
normally include both undergraduate and graduate courses.
Authority to assign members of the faculty to teach specific courses
rests with the chair/director of the unit in which the faculty member’s
tenure home resides. This authority includes determining whether
a faculty member may teach courses on an overload basis (beyond
the faculty member’s standard four courses taught during the
academic year) during the academic year, during the summer terms,
and through distance education. Faculty who teach courses in CLA
but outside the unit in which their tenure home resides must have
received permission to do so from their own chair/director and the
chair/director of the unit in which the course is to be offered.
Chairs/directors also have the authority to decide whether a faculty
member may increase his or her teaching schedule by teaching an
additional course in one academic year (e.g., five courses) so he
or she can teach one fewer course (e.g., three) in the following
academic year. Chairs and directors who wish to teach an overload
course during the academic year or teach during a summer term must
obtain permission to do so from the Dean.
I.A. Minimum course enrollment
In order for a course to count as part of a faculty member’s normal workload, it should meet the following minimum course enrollments:
1000 level courses: 15 students
3000-4000 level courses: 10 students
5000-8000 graduate level course: 5 students
The unit and college will monitor enrollment figures before the semester begins and cancel courses that do not meet the minimum course enrollment. Alternatively, faculty may elect to offer courses with enrollment that is below the minimum, but these course will not count toward meeting the faculty member’s workload requirements. The college recognizes that enrollments for graduate courses will vary depending on the needs of the graduate program. However, any course enrolling fewer than the minimum number of students will require written approval from the college.
I.B. Course release
There are four circumstances under which a faculty member may teach less than the full complement of four courses:
1. To facilitate the ability of the faculty to assume administrative responsibilities in support of an academic unit and its graduate and undergraduate programs, the college will annually allocate to each academic unit a fixed number of course releases for the chair/director to assign to members of the unit who perform these administrative duties (e.g., chair/director, DGS, DUS, director of language instruction). Administrative course releases may not be carried forward for use in future years.
2. Occasional course releases help ensure that faculty have the time needed to engage in particular research, course-development, and outreach opportunities when the timing of these opportunities does not coincide with research leaves (such as sabbaticals, single semester leaves, or externally funded research leaves). Each year, the college will allocate to each academic unit one (1) course release for every (ten) 10 regular tenure and tenure-track faculty FTEs in the unit. The chair/director shall assign these course releases to faculty to facilitate their research, creative, teaching, and/or outreach activities. A unit may carry forward two academic years its unexpended research / course-development / outreach course releases.
3. With the approval of their chair/director, faculty may use funds provided by external grants to buy out of a course that would otherwise be considered part of the faculty member’s regular teaching load during the academic year. A single course buyout requires a commitment of 25% of the academic year (B-base) salary including fringe benefits. The chair/director will work with the principal investigator to decide what level (between 12.5% and 25%) is appropriate to request in the grant. If an amount between 12.5% and 25% is secured from external support, the college will cost-share on the remaining amount required to make up the full 25%. The O&M funds released from the course buyout shall be used first to provide replacement teaching for one course. Remaining funds stay within the unit under the direction of the chair/director to support faculty research, graduate students, and research infrastructure.
4. In certain circumstances there may be reason to justify substituting on a temporary basis some research or creative activity for some teaching responsibility. All such releases from teaching not covered by Sections I.B.1, I.B.2 or I.B.3. must be recommended by the chair or director in writing and formally approved by the Dean.
Chairs and directors should manage the granting of these course releases in a fashion that protects their unit’s undergraduate and graduate curricula and minimizes the cost of replacement teaching.
II. Research and creative activity
Each CLA faculty member is expected to attain national recognition for research or creative activity relevant to her or his field or discipline. The unit’s statement of indices and standards (mandated by section 7.12 of the Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure) is critical to ensuring quality in research or creative activity. In making recommendations for promotion and tenure, the CLA Promotion and Tenure Committee and the Dean will evaluate the quality of the candidate’s research or creative activity in light of the unit’s 7.12 statement.
After a faculty member has earned tenure, she or he is expected to continue to make significant contributions to the field or discipline. The chair or director of each unit shall take appropriate steps under the Post-Tenure Review process to assure that any colleague who suffers a persistent diminution in scholarly or creative activity has a full workload.
III. Service and outreach
Each faculty member in the College of Liberal Arts is expected to engage in service that contributes to the well-being of his or her unit, the college, and the University. This service includes activities such as participating on departmental, college, and University committees and governance bodies.
The College of Liberal Arts also serves an extended community that includes the citizenry of the state, as well as national and international professional organizations. Service and outreach to that extended community are also an integral part of the mission of the University and the College of Liberal Arts.
Each member of the faculty is expected to engage in service and/or outreach activities on an annual basis. Service or outreach activity shall not abrogate a faculty member’s basic responsibilities to teach, conduct scholarly research or engage in creative activity. As part of the unit’s submission of annual faculty activity reports, the chair or director shall inform the Dean of any colleague who suffers a persistent diminution in service and/or outreach activities and shall take appropriate steps under the Post-Tenure Review process to ensure a full workload.