POLICY NO: 3-02
VCCS POLICY NO: 3.0, 3.5, and 3.8
EFFECTIVE DATE: 02/19/1990
REVISED DATE: 12/18/2018

  1. Purpose:

    To provide guidance regarding workload for full-time teaching faculty during the regular academic session, including teaching load and office hours, laboratory instruction, clinical instruction, additional activities, temporary administrative/professional duties, proration, large-scale enrollment, and adjustments in workload for independent study courses and distance learning courses. This policy also provides guidance to full-time administrative and professional faculty and exempt classified staff who teach and earn pay for teaching assignments beyond those that are required as part of their regular duties.

  2. Definitions:

    Administrative faculty: individuals employed by the college to perform work related to the management of the education and general activities of the college, school/division, or department, who are normally employed on a 12-month basis beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, and who are assigned a faculty rank for which they qualify.

    Classified employees: employees normally hired on a full-time basis who occupy positions that are listed in the Commonwealth’s Compensation Reform Plan and who are covered by the Virginia Personnel Act as found in Chapter 10, Title 2.1 of the Code of Virginia, once they have completed the probationary period. Exempt classified employees are ineligible for overtime compensation in accordance with the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

    Clinical hours: the number of hours per week in a clinical setting as defined in the course description in the catalog.

    Course contact hours: actual hours of contact per week, per semester, in a course (lectures, seminars, laboratories, clinicals, shops, supervised practice, and similar instructional activities) or the total of lecture and laboratory/clinical hours. For purposes of calculating workload, the contact hours for distance learning courses will be the same as the established contact hours for oncampus courses.

    Continuing Education Units (CEUs): participation in an organized continuing education/non-credit experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction, whereby one (1) Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is defined as ten (10) contact hours. Four and one-half (4.5) CEUs or forty-five (45) contact hours of non-credit instruction would normally be considered as the workload equivalent to three (3) credit hours of instruction.

    Credit hours: the credit-hour value of a course as defined in the course description in the catalog.

    Equivalent teaching load: teaching load adjustments translated into teaching credits and considered as part of the faculty member’s full semester teaching load.

    Full semester teaching load: twelve to fifteen (12–15) credit hours and fifteen to twenty (15–20) contact hours per week, per semester, in classes in the day or evening, or if the individual has fewer than twelve (12) credit hours and maintains twenty-four (24) contact hours.

    Laboratory hours: the number of hours per week in a laboratory setting as defined in the course description in the catalog.

    Lecture hours: the number of hours per week in a lecture setting as defined in the course description in the catalog.

    Non-credit contact hours: actual hours of contact required to conduct the non-credit instructional activity.

    Overload: a faculty workload consisting of more than thirty (30) credit hours per academic year; more than forty (40) contact hours per academic year; or more than forty-eight (48) contact hours per academic year, if the corresponding credit-hour load is less than twenty-four (24) credits.

    Professional faculty: individuals holding non-teaching positions with continuing responsibilities who are employed on a 12-month basis beginning July 1 and ending June 30, such as librarians, counselors, coordinators, and assistant coordinators, and who are assigned a faculty rank for which they qualify

    Reassigned time: non-teaching duties translated into teaching credits for the purpose of computing a full-time teaching faculty member’s full semester teaching load.

    Regular academic session: consists of the fall and spring semesters and excludes summer session.

    Teaching faculty: full-time teaching faculty hired on 9-month, 10-month, or 12-month appointment

  3. Policy:

    All instructional personnel shall maintain a workload that is consistent with VCCS policy and that provides for the needs of their students as well as the needs of the department, program, or school/division. This policy shall ensure that the major emphasis of faculty remains on teaching, while also allowing for special assignments as well as ensuring consistent application of personnel matters as related to teaching load and teaching-load adjustments.

    1. Normal Workload

      1. Teaching loads for full-time teaching faculty during the regular academic session may include a combination of day, evening, and weekend classes, as the needs of the college require.

      2. During the regular academic session, full-time teaching faculty are required to maintain a workload of twelve to fifteen (12–15) credit hours and fifteen to twenty (15–20) contact hours per semester.

      3. For the purposes of workload calculations, every lecture hour shall equate to one (1) credit hour and one (1) contact hour; and every laboratory hour shall equate to one-half (1/2) credit hour and one (1) contact hour. Similarly, every clinical hour shall equate to one-half (1/2) credit hour and one (1) contact hour. When the number of credit hours falls below twelve (12) because of the number of laboratory/clinical hours involved, the number of contact hours should be increased to bring the teaching load to the minimum of twelve (12) credit hours (utilizing the standard of two [2] laboratory/clinical hours equals one [1] credit hour) or to a maximum of twenty-four (24) contact hours.

      4. Faculty teaching loads shall be calculated for the regular academic session. When a teaching load is less than or in excess of a full load for the fall semester, it may be compensated with adjustments in teaching load in the spring semester.

      5. A faculty member may be assigned to teach non-credit courses as part of the regular teaching load. Generally, the assignment of workload shall be based on fifteen (15) contact hours of non-credit activity for every one (1) hour of lecture credit instruction or thirty (30) contact hours of non-credit activity for every one (1) hour of laboratory/clinical credit instruction. Other determinations of teaching load conversions shall require the approval of the vice president of workforce development and credential attainment and the vice president of academic affairs.

      6. Teaching load adjustments shall be expressed in terms of an equivalent teaching load for the purpose of computing a faculty member’s total teaching load. Teaching load adjustments may include: instructional assistance, team teaching, adjustments for large sections, and proration.

    2. Office hours

      1. To promote the availability of faculty to work with students individually, all full-time teaching faculty are required to provide a minimum of ten (10) posted office hours per week in order to work with students on their individual academic and occupational issues or problems. Office hours may be prorated for those with reduced teaching hours.

      2. Faculty may substitute two (2) of the above office hours for two (2) hours of virtual office hours. Virtual office hours require the instructor to provide opportunity for interaction with students by responding to emails, participating in a virtual classroom, providing an online chat/discussion, and/or telephone or video conferencing with students. Faculty with teaching responsibility for distance learning or hybrid courses may negotiate a larger number of virtual office hours with their respective supervisor.

      3. Faculty are responsible for posting regular and virtual office hours. Supervisors may require faculty to submit documentation of completed virtual office hours.

    3. Additional activities

      In addition to normal workload and office hours, full-time teaching faculty responsibilities include:

      1. Academic advising: During the regular session contract period, fulfillment of advising responsibilities and assignments is a responsibility of faculty. There shall be no supplemental compensation for advising services during the regular contract period.

      2. College and community service activities and contributions: In addition to teaching effectiveness, faculty are expected to engage in and contribute toward the good of the college and its community. This requires that faculty members maintain current competence in their disciplines or specializations and that they share their expertise, time, and talents with the larger college community. Such activities may include, but are not limited to, the list found in VCCS Policy No. 3.5.4, Professional Activities and Contributions, or the procedures section of this policy.

      3. Professional development activities: As required for all other full-time college staff, teaching faculty are required to complete a minimum of twenty (20) clock hours of professional development per regular session, as described in Reynolds Policy 3-18, Professional Development and Renewal.

      4. Attendance at college activities, including but not limited to: Graduation, Convocation, Faculty Professional Development Days, and the Annual Employee Recognition and Awards Program.

    4. Normal limitations on workload

      A full-time faculty shall normally:

      1. have no more than three (3) different course preparations in a given semester, unless a higher number of preparations are requested by the faculty member;

      2. have no more than three (3) sections/courses scheduled in consecutive hours on any given workday;

      3. have no more than four (4) sections of the same course within a given semester; and

      4. not be assigned in excess of twelve (12) workload credits of distance learning coursework in any one semester without the approval of the vice president of academic affairs.

    5. Temporary administrative/professional duties and other non-teaching activities during the regular academic session (reassigned time)

      1. Full-time teaching faculty may be temporarily assigned non-teaching duties (reassigned time) for administrative/professional activities

      2. Reassigned time is typically used to fulfill administrative or professional faculty responsibilities as a result of position vacancies, department chair duties and responsibilities, special administrative or professional projects or programs, or other such activities as approved by the vice president of academic affairs.

      3. All reassigned time and other non-teaching activities during the regular academic session shall be expressed in terms of equivalent teaching load for the purpose of computing a faculty member’s total teaching load. Each eight (8) hours per week of reassigned-time activity is equivalent to three (3) credit hours of instruction.

      4. Additional information can be found in Reynolds Policy 3-04, Instructional Reassigned Time.

    6. Adjustments to teaching loads

      1. Instructional mode/staff differential

        Adjustments to the established course-credit and contact-hour workload may be considered for approval by the school/division dean for a particular section in which the instructional mode or staff differentiation (e.g., team teaching, use of instructional assistants, etc.) constitute reasonable provision for the adjustment.

      2. Adjustments for large sections

        Adjustments for large sections, where the course credits can be adjusted to 1.5 times the credit value, shall be allowed under the following conditions:

        1. The standard teaching load value must be two (2) or more credits.

        2. If the class consists of collapsed sections, these sections must be taught by one instructor at the same place and time and be different sections of the same course, or different sections of related courses (e.g., Painting I, Painting II, and III), which may support a self-paced student learning environment. The standard credit value is the value of one (1) section.

        3. The course enrollment must exceed twice the funding ratio established for that course as of the last day to drop with a refund for that course.

        4. The faculty member’s academic dean or the vice president of student affairs must approve the use of the 1.5 multiplier.

        5. This adjustment does not apply to laboratory/clinical sections.

      3. Proration

        Generally, there shall be no proration of faculty teaching loads due to low enrollment.

        As a guideline, course sections with enrollment equal to or exceeding 75% of the respective funding ratio shall not be cancelled, and the instructor shall be compensated for the full equivalent teaching load associated with that course, as prescribed above. Academic deans may run classes whose enrollment is less than 75% of the funding ratio, compensating the instructor for the full equivalent teaching load, with the written consent of the vice president of academic affairs. Otherwise, course sections with enrollment less than 75% of the funding ratio shall be cancelled. For the purposes of achieving required instructional efficiencies, academic deans may cancel classes whose enrollment is more than 75% of the funding ratio, with the written consent of the vice president of academic affairs. Decisions regarding cancellation of Student Development (SDV) courses are the responsibility of the vice president of student affairs.

      4. Cooperative education/internships, supervised or independent study, and clinical courses

        The teaching load for cooperative education/internships, supervised or independent study, and clinical courses may be pro-rated based on enrollment, at the discretion of the academic dean and with the concurrence of the faculty member. Such decisions must be reached by no later than the last day to drop with a refund. The academic dean shall be responsible for determining final teaching load adjustments. Teaching load adjustments associated with proration of Student Development (SDV) courses offered as cooperative education/internships, supervised or independent study, or clinical courses are the responsibility of the vice president of student affairs.

    7. Overload

      1. Full-time teaching faculty may be offered overload, not exceeding ten (10) credit hours for pay per academic session (consists only of fall and spring semesters).

      2. Extra pay for an overload shall be the rate of the faculty members’ 9-month salary multiplied by .015 for each overload credit hour. Compensation for fall overload shall be paid at the end of the fall semester (February 16 pay date).

      3. The academic deans shall establish and approve, in writing, all overload assignments. Overload assignments and final payment must also be approved by the vice president of academic affairs. For full-time faculty in Student Affairs, overload assignments are approved by the vice president of student affairs with overload assignments and final payment approval provided by the executive vice president.

      4. Additional information can be found in Reynolds Policy 3-03, Teaching Overload.

    8. Workload absences

      Teaching faculty unable to perform full workload assignments (e.g., meeting scheduled classes, fulfilling designated office hours, advising assignments, scheduled professional development activities, and attending annual college events) shall be charged sick leave or personal leave as appropriate, utilizing leave in increments of four (4) or eight (8) hours.

    9. Twelve-month administrative and professional faculty and exempt classified employees teaching credit courses

      1. Twelve-month administrative and professional faculty or any qualified exempt classified employee may earn extra pay for teaching up to and including nine (9) credit hours per fiscal year within the VCCS, for teaching assignments assigned beyond those that are required as part of their regular job responsibilities and documented in their individual position descriptions.

      2. Extra pay for the above teaching assignment(s) shall be at the rate of the faculty member’s equivalent 9-month salary multiplied by .015 for each credit hour.

      3. Faculty-rank staff and exempt classified employees must obtain prior written approval from their immediate supervisor before accepting or performing creditteaching assignments for extra pay. This written approval should be submitted to Human Resources with the teaching contract. Each semester, Human Resources shall provide a report of such activity to the president and the executive vice president.

      4. Courses taught for extra pay must be scheduled outside of the normal working hours, or the faculty member or exempt classified employee shall be required to use accrued leave. Office hours, for the purpose of working with students on their individual academic and occupational issues or problems, must also be held outside of the normal working hours and/or by using appropriate leave time.

      5. Administrators responsible for determining teaching loads and/or securing faculty to teach credit courses (e.g., coordinators, directors, deans, associate vice presidents, vice presidents, etc.) shall not be assigned a course for extra pay until all full-time teaching faculty in a discipline are given an opportunity to accept a teaching assignment for extra pay. Additionally, such administrators shall not be assigned a course for extra pay until all eligible and qualified full-time administrative, professional, and exempt classified staff are given an opportunity to accept a teaching assignment for extra pay. Documentation of above actions must be attached to the “extra pay” faculty contract prior to submitting to Human Resources.

    10. Teaching non-credit courses, seminars, workshops, etc.

      1. Full-time teaching faculty, 12-month administrative and professional faculty, or any qualified exempt classified employee may teach non-credit courses, seminars, etc., in addition to their regular job responsibilities, for extra pay.

      2. Faculty-rank staff and exempt classified employees must obtain prior written approval from their immediate supervisor before accepting or performing non-credit teaching assignments for extra pay. This written approval should be submitted to the college’s Office of Human Resources with the teaching contract.

      3. Courses taught for extra pay must be scheduled outside of the assigned working hours, or the faculty member or exempt classified employee shall be required to use accrued leave. Office hours, for the purpose of working with non-credit students on their individual academic and occupational issues or problems, must also be held outside of the normal working hours and/or by using appropriate leave time.

      4. Non-credit teaching assignments for extra pay should not exceed the equivalent of three (3) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or thirty (30) contact hours of noncredit instruction per semester.

  4. Procedures:

    1. Normal workload

      1. School/division deans and directors will ensure teaching faculty are assigned full teaching loads in accordance with this policy.

      2. Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs are responsible for ensuring that teaching assignments and loads, including all adjustments to teaching loads, are entered into the PeopleSoft Student Information System (SIS) no later than two (2) weeks after the last day to drop with a refund.

      3. Based on the entered SIS data and reported reassigned time, the Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness (SPIE) data analyst will generate a Faculty Workload Report for each school. Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs are required to review their respective reports, return with edits to SPIE’s data analyst, and ensure workload edits are made in SIS by the eighth (8th) week of the semester.

      4. If discrepancies exist or further adjustments are required, the academic deans, the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs, and SPIE’s data analyst are expected to work together to immediately resolve the issues.

    2. Office hours

      1. Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs will ensure teaching faculty office hours are posted outside assigned offices.

      2. Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs are expected to ensure that office hours are included and fully detailed in every class syllabi. Copies of class syllabi will be retained in the respective school/division office.

    3. Additional activities

      1. Academic advising: Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs will establish advising assignments as needed to assist with registration and other academic activities. These assignments are to be performed in addition to normal teaching workload assignments during the regular academic session and will not be compensated via adjunct contracts.

      2. College and community service activities and contributions: Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs will ensure that teaching faculty develop a plan that clearly documents the college and community service activities to be performed by the individual faculty member during the annual performance cycle. Consistent with VCCS policy, such activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

        • membership and activity in professional and civic organizations (general) and/or specialized organizations at the local, state, and/or national levels
        • participating in business or industrial activities related to professional field
        • being active in college and VCCS committees
        • engaging in writing speeches and reports and in consulting (on behalf of the college)
        • engaging in classroom-based research to improve teaching or in disciplinebased research that may lead to publication
        • sharing innovations in using instructional technology with colleagues in other colleges
        • participating in community service programs at the college
        • participating in local colleges’ advisory committees
        • contributing to community welfare and community development

      3. Professional development activities: Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs will ensure that each teaching faculty member develops a plan that clearly documents the professional development activities to be performed by the individual faculty member during the annual performance cycle. Consistent with Reynolds Policy 3-18, Professional Development and Renewal, faculty members will document their individual professional development plan in accordance with guidance provided in the college’s Faculty Performance and Evaluation Plan. Consistent with VCCS policy, such activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

        • the accomplishment of important professional development activities that may or may not be part of an individual professional plan
        • attending and participating in professional conferences, workshops, and meetings
        • keeping current regarding developments in education and industry
        • participating in college- and state-level professional development activities

      4. Attendance at college activities

        1. Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs will ensure that teaching faculty are well informed on the value of supporting the college’s mission, vision, goals, and strategic objectives through attendance at college-wide events, such as: Graduation, Convocation, and the Annual Employee Recognition and Awards Program.

        2. Academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs will ensure that faculty absences from these and other such events are documented with the appropriate use of accrued leave and the submission of an absence request via the HRMS Employee Self-Service.

        3. Absence requests should be submitted prior to the scheduled absence.

    4. Normal limitations of faculty workload

      When establishing or making adjustments to full-time teaching loads, the academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs are also responsible for ensuring that the “normal limitations on faculty workload,” as identified in this policy are applied to all teaching faculty.

    5. Adjustments to teaching loads

      Adjustments to teaching loads can be found in section III.F of this policy.

    6. Workload absences

      1. As the designated supervisor, academic deans and the academic hiring managers in Student Affairs will ensure that faculty workload absences are documented with the appropriate use of accrued leave and the submission of an absence request via the HRMS Employee Self-Service.

      2. In accordance with VCCS policy, sick and personal leave for 9-month and 10-month teaching faculty must be used in increments of four (4) hours or eight (8) hours. Absences of more than one-half (1/2) day will be charged on a day-for-day basis (i.e., 5 days, 40 hours per week) regardless of the faculty member’s teaching schedule.

      3. Absence requests should be submitted upon the faculty member’s return to work.

    7. Twelve-month administrative and professional faculty and exempt classified employees teaching credit courses

      1. Academic deans will make hiring decisions regarding use of 12-month administrative and professional faculty and exempt classified employees to teach credit courses. The vice president of student affairs is responsible for hiring decisions related to student development (SDV) courses.

      2. Academic deans and the vice president of student affairs will ensure that the memorandum indicating supervisor’s approval is attached to the adjunct faculty contract upon submission to Human Resources.

      3. Academic deans and the vice president of student affairs will ensure the following forms/documents are submitted to Human Resources to represent the teaching field of the credit class to be taught:

        1. completed VCCS-10
        2. official college transcripts
        3. updated resume
        4. three (3) letters of reference

      4. Hiring decisions that involve an administrative or professional faculty member teaching courses within his/her own division must be approved by the supervisor of the appropriate hiring manager.

      5. In these instances, the supervisor of the appropriate hiring manager will ensure that the documentation described in policy section I.5., is attached to the “extra pay” faculty contract prior to submitting to Human Resources.

    8. Teaching non-credit courses, seminars, workshops, etc.

      The Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA) will make hiring decisions regarding use of 12-month administrative and professional faculty and exempt classified employees to teach non-credit classes. Personnel documentation required for teaching non-credit courses will be maintained by the college’s Office of Human Resources.

  5. Other Information:

    The college’s Office of Human Resources is responsible for the official interpretation of this policy. Questions regarding the application of this policy should be directed to the associate vice president of human resources.

    Reynolds Policy 3-03, Teaching Overload

    Reynolds Policy 3-04, Instructional Reassigned Time

    Reynolds Policy 3-18, Professional Development and Renewal