Feedback from faculty and unit administrators has indicated a need to simplify the estimation of teaching responsibility and facilitate more engagement between instructors and unit administrators on expectations for teaching and learning activities. Some of the challenges that have been identified include:
- The complexity of the equation approach combined with adjustments and associated delays in reporting. On average, 20% of instructors submit an adjustment.
- Limited flexibility to account for new and emerging instructional models and the engagement of professional advisors.
- Potential for double-counting of activities, e.g., teaching credit for thesis-based graduate students
- Over-emphasis on quantity at the expense of quality and impact
- 100 level courses and laboratories are valued less than upper level/graduate courses
Hence, a new simplified approach is needed that fosters more intentional conversations between faculty and unit administrators on appropriate teaching responsibilities. We appreciate the CASNR Faculty Advisory Committee’s input and feedback to the new guidelines. Some guiding principles of this approach include:
- Everyone with a teaching appointment should be directly engaged in teaching
- Units should have flexibility in managing their Full-time Teaching Equivalent (FTE) to support unit and college goals, and better align teaching expectations with peer programs at other institutions
- Recognize diversity of position descriptions and range of teaching apportionments
- Account for differences in enrollment and instructional modalities, i.e., not every course is the same
- Account for unique situations such as:
- Retention-focused courses
- Significant organization and supervision of TAs in multi-section courses
- Significant curricular leadership, high advising loads, and NSE activities
- Ensure equity in teaching assignments across all ranks and position types
A starting point for teaching expectations was the long-standing definition of the CASNR academic appointment as a percentage of each instructor’s FTE.
- 1.0 CASNR FTE on a 12-month appointment: 32 credit hours of instruction (four 3-credit hour courses per semester and 8 credit hours of instruction during the summer sessions)
- 1.0 CASNR FTE on a 9-month appointment: 24 credit hours of instruction (four 3-credit hour courses per semester).
The 32 or 24 credit hour base has been commonly used in higher education to define the full-time faculty instructional FTE (12-month or 9-month appointment, respectively). Often institutions assume that 25% of the FTE is in service and advising and 75% is in instruction. Additionally, there is an expectation that CASNR faculty with an academic appointment participate in undergraduate and graduate advising, instructional improvement; committee service at the department, program, college, or university level; recruitment and retention activities and community service activities. More information on the CASNR Academic Apportionment Guidelines (PDF).
Based on these expectations, a recommended baseline for teaching assignments for a faculty member with 0.5 FTE teaching appointment would be 3-4 classes per year for a 9-month appointment and 4-5 courses per year for a 12-month appointment. Units in CASNR should use this as a basis for a unit-specific approach to determine and manage teaching expectations that align with the guiding principles mentioned earlier. Some recommended best practices:
- Incorporate annual discussions between faculty and unit administrators on teaching expectations relative to position description, apportionment, and unit/college needs. These discussions should be the foundation for any adjustments to baseline expectations due to significant leadership and service related to teaching and learning.
- Establish expectations for annual reporting of goals, accomplishments, and impacts of teaching and learning activities for everyone with a teaching appointment.
- Foster a culture of appreciating both the quantity of teaching and learning activities and impact on learners.
Faculty are encouraged to engage with their unit administrator on an on-going basis to ensure their teaching responsibilities reflect unit and college goals, and their professional career goals. Unit leaders should document apportionment conversations with faculty.
January 2022; Revised April 2022.