Faculty Workload

1. Research and Publications

   Research and publication are a significant part of each faculty member's total contribution as a member of the academic community. Faculty members must be engaged in some form of creative activity in their academic fields, and it is expected that creative activity will be evidenced by publication, which not only signifies the completion of scholarly inquiry but makes it available to other scholars. The number and frequency of publications will vary with the individual, the field of study, and the proportion of time devoted to research; however, no faculty member can be excused from research and its publication on the grounds that all available time is devoted to other activities.

   Conversely, teaching, advising, committee responsibilities, and community service are not to be neglected on the ground that research and publication have a higher priority. Each faculty member is expected to make a balanced contribution to the University.

2. Workload Policy Guidelines
   1. Consistency between Workload Policy and Other Policies

      The University strives for consistency among the following policies:

      1. Workload assignment policies
      2. Promotion and tenure policies and decisions
      3. Faculty appraisals by the department chairperson or college dean, et. al.
      4. Merit salary award policies
      5. Initial contract and contract renewal decision policies
      Faculty holding tenure track positions are expected to perform the activities enumerated in the unit's approved Promotion & Tenure document.

   2. Procedure for Approval of A Unit's Workload Policy
      1. The members of the unit, in consultation with the unit administrator, and following their own by-laws, will prepare and adopt a workload policy that accurately represents the unit's past practice with respect to the composition of each component of the workload, or states a new policy that is acceptable to the members of the unit.
      2. AAUP will review and certify that the workload policy conforms to the bargaining contract provisions. Certification will be required before the policy is transmitted further.
      3. Upon adoption of the policy, the unit administrator will forward the policy and make a recommendation to the dean with respect to the feasibility and appropriateness of the workload policy.
      4. The dean will forward the policy to the provost with a recommendation about the feasibility and appropriateness of the policy or follow the procedure in item 6 (below).
      5. The provost will approve a unit's workload policy as recommended by the dean or follow the procedure in item 6 (below). Approval of a proposed workload policy by the Provost constitutes the final step in the review process.
      6. If the policy is not deemed feasible or appropriate at any stage of the review, it will be returned to the faculty of the unit with specific comments and suggestions. The faculty of a unit shall, after having considered such comments and suggestions, adopt a final workload policy.
      7. A unit's final workload policy and plan can be returned by the appropriate administrator to the unit for revision only if it is inconsistent with documented past practice, and/or the requirements of the Faculty Handbook or the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
      8. In the event that agreement is not reached, then past practice within that unit will prevail. For this purpose the meaning of past practice is that defined in the 1986-88 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article XI, section 11.5, pages 21-22, as interpreted through previous arbitration procedures.
      9. Units may modify their policy at any time by the procedure outlines in section II.

         (Rev. 8/10/92)