Article XXIX - Faculty Workload (2003

ARTICLE XXIX

XXIX. - FACULTY WORKLOAD

Full-time Members of the Instructional Staff
1. 1. Except as otherwise provided in Section A 1.c. of this Article, a full-time member of the instructional staff shall be required to teach a maximum of fifteen (15) credit or equivalent contact hours per semester, requiring no more than three (3) separate course preparations, and shall perform all duties related to teaching including the submission of grades and reports, shall fulfill proctoring requirements, shall keep no fewer than three (3) scheduled office hours per week in order to counsel students and shall serve on faculty or other College committees, if given the opportunity. In addition, faculty shall be required to be available up to two (2) hours per week, by appointment, if required by students’ classroom schedules.
    It is imperative that all full-time members of the faculty attend the regularly scheduled annual plenary session. Absences will be reported by the department chairs to the academic vice president.
  2. A faculty member shall be available during the academic year to provide advisement to five (5) students assigned by the Director of Counseling. Department Chairpersons and Coordinators shall be available for five (5) working days and evenings prior to the commencement of each semester. The obligation of a chairperson or coordinator may be met, in part, by telephone.
  3. Teaching load requirements for full-time members of the instructional staff shall be modified only as follows:
    1. Department Chairpersons shall be required to teach a maximum of nine (9) contact hours per semester unless the number of faculty members in the department is fewer than ten (10) in which case Department Chairpersons may be assigned a maximum of twelve (12) contact hours per semester.
    2. Department Chairpersons in departments requiring the supervision of laboratories shall teach as part of their required teaching load a maximum of nine (9) contact hours per semester even if the number of faculty members is fewer than ten (10).
    3. The Chairperson of the Faculty shall have his or her teaching load reduced by three (3) credit or equivalent contact hours each semester. The Chairperson of the Peer Evaluation Committee, the Chairperson of the Curriculum Committee, the Chairperson of the Professional Development Committee, and the President of the Union County College AAUP shall have their teaching loads reduced by three (3) credits or equivalent contact hours each semester.
    4. Full-time members of the instructional staff having agreed to assume administrative duties shall have their teaching load reduced proportionately with these duties up to a maximum reduction of twelve (12) credit hours or equivalent contact hours for the academic year.
    5. Where the terms and conditions of a grant or fellowship require a reduction of the teaching load of a faculty member, his or her teaching load shall be reduced in accordance with the requirement of the grant.
    6. With the approval of the Academic Vice President and the Department Chairperson, a faculty member shall be given a reduced teaching load proportional to his or her work in developing new curricula, new options of existing curricula, new courses, laboratory exercises or similar activities. Where there is a request in writing such approval shall be given in writing and a copy shall be forwarded to the Department Chairperson and the Chapter.
    7. A full-time member of the instructional staff may, with the prior written approval of the appropriate Academic Officer, in the form of a memo to the appropriate Department Chairperson, agree to more than three (3) separate preparations per semester within his/her required teaching load of fifteen (15) credit or equivalent contact hours if s/he is compensated at the overload rate specified in Article XXI (Compensation), Part D of this Agreement for each credit hour of the course or courses requiring additional preparation. For purposes of this provision, the additional course preparation(s) shall be for that course(s) with the greatest number of credit or equivalent contact hours. Lecture and laboratory sections of the same course shall be considered as two separate course preparations.
      
      If a faculty member agrees to teach beyond the required load of fifteen (15) credit or equivalent contact hours per semester and receives overload compensation for additional or equivalent contact hours beyond his or her required or reduced load and this additional teaching results in a fourth preparation, double compensation will not be paid for this course as a fourth preparation.
  4. During the Fall, Spring, Winter or Late start semester, a full-time member of the instructional staff may, in lieu of compensation specified in Article XXI (Compensation), Part D, of this Agreement, agree to teach more than fifteen (15) credit hours or equivalent contact hours per semester if his or her teaching load in the following Spring or Fall semester is similarly reduced from fifteen (15) credit or equivalent contact hours or if s/he is compensated at the overload rate specified in Article XXI (Compensation), Part D, of this Agreement. Such an arrangement must have prior approval of the Department Chairperson and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. A faculty member may not reduce his/her teaching load by more than two courses under this provision.
  5. Committee Service obligations within the meaning of Part A. Section 1.a. of this Article shall be deemed met if a full-time member of the instructional staff serves on at least one faculty or other College Committee.
  6. The Chapter and the College agree that released time for faculty, for whatever reason, should continue to be counted as part of the fifteen (15) credit/contact hours teaching load in accordance with past practice.
2. 1. Every effort shall be made to avoid assigning a faculty member to teach courses commencing after 5 p.m. as part of his or her required teaching load except where the faculty member requests this assignment in which case the request will be granted if at all possible. In any event, no faculty member shall be assigned to teach more than six (6) credits or equivalent contact hours after 5 p.m. as part of his or her required teaching load during an academic year, unless the assignment of more than six (6) credits or equivalent contact hours is required in order to provide the faculty member with a full teaching load. At the request of a faculty member and with the agreement of the Academic Vice President, or his or her designee, a faculty member may be assigned additional hours after 5 p.m.
  2. No faculty member shall be assigned to teach classes scheduled on Saturdays or Sundays as part of his or her required teaching load except where s/he requests this assignment, in which case the request will be granted if at all practicable.
  3. Beginning with the Academic year 1995-96, Faculty of the Practical Nursing Program may be assigned all or part of their load during Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings in order to provide coverage for an evening program or on Thursday evening, Friday evening, and Saturday in order to provide coverage for a weekend program. A maximum of four (4) hours may be assigned on a single evening. A maximum of seven (7) hours may be assigned on a Saturday. A Practical Nursing faculty member may not be assigned to teach in both an evening program and a weekend program as part of her/his regular teaching load during the same semester.
3. 1. No faculty member shall be assigned to teach courses scheduled to meet on the same day as part of his or her required teaching load where the time between the end of the first class hour and the beginning of the last class hour exceeds eight and one-half (8½) hours except under unusual circumstances, in which case the faculty member shall receive additional compensation at the rate specified in Article XXI (Compensation), Part F, Section 1, of this Agreement. However, if the faculty member is receiving overload compensation during the semester, s/he will not be additionally compensated.
  2. No faculty member shall be assigned to teach courses scheduled to meet on consecutive days as part of his or her required teaching load where the time between the end of the last class hour one day and the beginning of the first class on the succeeding day is less than ten (10) hours.
4. 1. No faculty member shall be assigned to teach courses meeting on more than two campuses or other locations on the same day nor be assigned to teach on two (2) campuses/locations more than three (3) days a week. A faculty member shall not be assigned to teach courses on three (3) campuses or campuses/locations while having more than four (4) course preparations.
  2. Where a lecture or any other classroom activity is transmitted electronically for a semester to any location or locations the following provisions will apply:
    1. Each location to which the transmission is sent shall be considered an additional section, if enrollment in said section satisfies the provisions of Part A, Section 5. a. and b. of this Article, toward the faculty member’s load and therefore shall be considered as part of his/her regular load or as an overload which shall be compensated according to the provisions of Article XXI, Part D of this Agreement.
    2. The number of students in each of the additional sections shall be regulated by the provisions of Part A, Section 5. a. and b. of this Article.
    3. If enrollment in said section does not satisfy the provisions of Part A, Section 5. a. and b. of this Article, then aggregate enrollment of live and electronically transmitted sections of a course will be used to calculate the class size provisions of Part A, Section 5. a. and b. of this Article and the compensation provisions of Article XXI (Compensation) Part D, and Part F, Section 3 and Article XXIX (Faculty Workload), Part A, Section 1.a. of this Agreement.
    4. The recording and/or transmission of any lecture, recitation, laboratory, tutorial or other instructional activity shall be agreed to by the appropriate faculty member(s) and the Vice President of Academic Affairs before such activity takes place. In addition the terms of compensation for use shall be agreed to in advance.
  3. 1. Distance learning courses offered for credit by the College shall be subject to the appropriate conditions and limitations referred to in Article IX (Work of the Faculty), Article X (Appointment of Part-Time Members of the Instructional Staff and Professional Library Staff), and Article XXIX (Faculty Workload).
    2. No faculty member shall be required to teach any distance learning course provided that no other teaching assignments are available and the assignment of a distance learning course is required to provide the faculty member with a full teaching load. The use of distance learning technology shall not be used to reduce, eliminate, or consolidate full-time faculty positions at Union County College. The decision of a faculty member not to teach one or more distance learning courses shall not be used in any evaluative manner in the personnel process.
    3. All courses to be offered utilizing distance learning technology must, before they are offered, be reviewed by the Faculty Academic Technology Committee, and approved by the Faculty Curriculum Committee.
    4. Any faculty member who agrees to teach a course utilizing distance learning technology for the first time shall be given a course reduction equal to the number of credits or equivalent contact hours in the course in the semester prior to the offering of the course, in order to properly prepare for the course, and an additional reduced load equal to the number of credits or equivalent contact hours in the course during the first semester s/he teaches the course. If a faculty member subsequently chooses to teach additional courses utilizing distance technology, he/she shall receive one half (1/2) the number of credit or equivalent contact hours in the course in the semester prior to the offering of the course. If a faculty member agrees to accept these course reductions, the individual faculty member will agree to teach two additional sections of the course over the next three semesters. If a faculty member refuses to teach the additional sections in accordance with the statement above (i.e., two additional sections of the course over the next three semesters), he/she must reimburse the College for the reductions received at the overload rate or the appropriate proportion thereof. However, if for academic, financial, or other reasons it is deemed after the course has been taught for the first time that it is not viable to teach it again utilizing this methodology by the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the faculty member involved, the faculty member shall not held liable for the above requirements or reimbursements.
    5. Union County College shall provide adequate support services at both the sending and receiving sites for distance learning courses, including the necessary equipment and personnel. The Faculty Academic Technology Committee and appropriate administrative officers shall meet jointly in order to continually review and if necessary recommend modifications and improvements to distance learning support services.
    6. Methods of presentation and course materials are to be under the control of the instructor and the individual or individuals who actually developed the methods or materials. Any recording of the classroom lecture, recitation, laboratory, tutorial or other instructional activity shall be made only with advance permission of the participating faculty member. Any such recordings shall be the property of the instructor. The use of any such material, such as its transmission over a network, shall be subject to the instructor’s approval. Terms for compensation for the use of such material shall be negotiated between the faculty member and the appropriate academic officer of the College.
      Intellectual property created, made or originated by a faculty member shall be the sole and exclusive property of that faculty member for perpetuity or so long as the federal law applicable thereto allows.
    7. A faculty member shall not be required to utilize more than one sending site for a particular course, unless s/he chooses to do so. A faculty member shall not be required to travel to any receiving site to which the course is being transmitted.
    8. Distance learning equipment shall not be used to evaluate faculty performance. Faculty members teaching distance learning courses shall be evaluated in the same manner as all bargaining unit members, in accordance with the Agreement. In the case of peer observations or evaluations, the observer shall be present in the same room as the instructor.
      Outside visitors (either at the sending or receiving sites) will not be allowed during distance learning courses unless the faculty member agrees in advance to their presence.
    9. A faculty member may choose to teach a distance learning course as part of their base load or as an overload.
    10. The teaching load limits for a distance learning course shall be the same as those stated in Article XXIX (Faculty Workload), 5a. The total number of students registered for a distance learning course shall not exceed these limits. If the limits are exceeded, the provisions of Article XXIX,5b(1,2) shall apply.
5. 1. The nominal class teaching load limits for faculty members shall apply to all courses taught during the academic year and summer sessions and shall be:
    1. twenty (20) in developmental classes, modern language conversation classes and interpreter for the deaf classes with practice laboratories and developmental laboratories.
    2. twenty-five (25) in English composition and speech classes, modern language classes, and fine arts studio classes.
    3. thirty (30) in all other classes except large lecture classes.
    4. seventy-five (75) in large lecture classes. Such large lecture classes shall receive double credit toward a faculty member’s teaching load.
    5. twenty-four (24) in laboratories; twenty (20) in chemistry laboratories, except in Chemistry , (CHE 211 and CHE 212) where the limit shall be 16.
  2. 1. If the number of students in a class exceeds the nominal limits noted in Part A, Section 5.a. of this Article, a faculty member shall be compensated at the rate specified in Article XXI, Part F, Section 3, of this Agreement.
    2. Calculation of student overages shall be on the basis of the number of students officially registered in classes immediately following the last date of official withdrawal.
    3. No courses shall be canceled without direct consultation with the Department Chairperson. Each Department Chairperson may run one low-enrollment course (under ten (10) students) for each eighteen (18) sections scheduled in the Department. Regardless of the number of sections scheduled within a department, the following low-enrollment courses shall not be canceled, unless the Department Chairperson agrees to the cancellation:
      1. New courses, including telecourses, for four (4) semesters;
      2. Any courses needed for graduation;
      3. Courses not needed for graduation, providing that the courses have not run for three (3) semesters due to low enrollment.
6. Except as provided in Section 1.b. of this Article, no faculty member shall be required to be in attendance at the College during the Winter and Spring recesses, on holidays recognized on the College calendar or Saturdays and Sundays, during intersession, or at other times when his or her classes are not scheduled to meet, when s/he is not proctoring, when office hours are not scheduled, or when committees on which the faculty member serves are not scheduled to meet.
7. 1. A faculty member who requests it will be assigned up to two overload courses in one semester provided every faculty member in his or her department who has requested overload assignments and who is qualified to teach the course in question has been assigned at least three (3) overload hours.
  2. The distribution of overload assignments to full-time members who desire overload assignments shall be as follows:
    1. Selection shall be on the basis of seniority as defined in Article I (Definitions), X., except that:
    2. Full-time faculty members who desire to teach overload sections, but were not assigned for that semester shall have first priority in the following semester.
8. 1. Tutoring in other than a specialized facility shall be voluntary and shall not be compensated.
  2. A faculty member who works in a specialized facility or program in which students receive help on an individualized basis shall receive credit toward his/her required teaching load or shall receive overload compensation on the basis specified in Article XXI (Compensation), Part G, Section 2 of this Agreement.
9. A faculty member assigned field work supervision shall receive additional compensation at the rate specified in Article XXI (Compensation), Part G, Section 2, of this Agreement.
Academic Learning Center Staffing
1. Faculty members assigned to the Academic Learning Center shall work thirty (30) hours per week.
2. Up to two (2) developmental or other regular courses per semester may be assigned, in which case there will be a six-hour reduction in Academic Learning Center hours assigned for each three (3) credit or equivalent credit hour course assigned.
Specialized Facility Staffing
1. Two sections (150) minutes of Developmental Courses taught in conjunction with a specialized facility shall be credited as one section (150 minutes) for the instructor’s schedule with these provisions:
  1. The decision to offer developmental courses in standardized classroom structure and/or individualized instruction in conjunction with audio-tutorial instruction in a specialized facility shall be determined by the Department.
  2. In the audio-tutorial individualized instruction, utilizing a specialized facility, the instructor will meet with each section for fifty (50) minutes per week.
    1. The fifty (50) minutes per week may include:
      1. individualized instruction.
      2. small group instruction
      3. entire class instruction
2. The instructor will be responsible for prescribing and for evaluating the individualized instruction to be undertaken in a specialized facility.
3. The laboratory instructor(s) will supervise the learning activities prescribed by the instructor in the remaining 100 minutes per week in the specialized facility.
The referral work in the Academic Learning Center shall be treated in a fashion similar to the above, e.g., six (6) contact hours of the instructor’s load are to be counted as three (3) credit or equivalent contact hours, such work to include:
1. Preliminary diagnosis and program prescription.
2. Conferences with students.
3. Ongoing evaluation of student progress

Full-Time Members of the Professional Library Staff

Except as otherwise provided in section A.1.c. of this Article, a full-time member of the professional library staff shall work thirty-five (35) hours a week on a twelve (12) month contract.
A full-time member of the professional library staff who serves on faculty or other College committees shall have his/her weekly hours reduced to the extent necessary for him/her to attend and to participate fully in all meetings of one (1) committee per academic year.

Holiday benefits shall be as follows:

Librarians in the employ of the College during the week of each recognized holiday are to receive the following holidays without deduction in pay:

New Year’s Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Washington’s Birthday

Good Friday

Memorial Day

Independence Day

Labor Day

Thanksgiving Day

Friday following Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day

Whenever said holidays are celebrated, employees shall be considered as having worked that day. Any holiday which falls on Saturday shall usually be observed on the preceding Friday, but in no event later than the succeeding Monday. Any holiday, which falls on Sunday shall be observed on the following Monday. Holidays which are observed during a scheduled vacation shall extend that vacation by a period equal to the holiday(s).
In addition, librarians are to receive three (3) holidays to be designated by the College, without deduction in pay.
No holiday pay shall be granted for any period for which a leave of absence has been granted, e.g. sick leave, leave of absence without pay.

Vacation benefits shall be as stated in Article XXVI Section A.4. and 5.
A full-time member of the professional library staff who teaches a course for credit, developmental course or laboratory, in addition to his/her regularly assigned duties shall receive compensation in accordance with Article XXI, Part D.

Reduced Teaching Load
1. A faculty member (Librarian) who has completed 15 years of continuous full-time teaching service at Union County College (including service at the former Union College or Union County Technical Institute) may request to have a reduced required teaching load for the academic year. This reduction may be by as much as 50 percent of the required academic year teaching load. The Board shall consider the request, provided such a reduction is in the best interests of the College. Application for such a reduced load must be submitted each academic year.
2. A faculty member granted a reduced teaching load shall have his/her base salary reduced proportionately to the reduced teaching load.
3. A faculty member granted a reduced teaching load shall be considered "faculty" as defined in this Agreement.
4. A faculty member requesting a reduced teaching load shall notify the Academic Vice President no later than February 1 of the academic year prior to the academic year s/he seeks a reduced teaching load, except in unusual circumstances.
5. The benefits a faculty member receives on such a reduced teaching load will be in accordance with State law and regulations and the faculty member shall be informed in writing as to these benefits prior to being granted a reduced teaching load.
Three hours of overload payment or released timed for each of the two semesters preceding completion of a comprehensive self-study by a specialized accrediting agency shall be made available to the chair, coordinator, or designated faculty of the program. Distribution of the overload hours or released time will be assigned by the appropriate academic officer, in consultation with the program coordinator and department chair.

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