Definitions
“Academic Cooperative Course” – an instructional program designed to integrate on-campus study with practical, relevant hands-on experience.
“Adjunct faculty” – non-staffing table employees of the College who hold an academic rank or title and are paid using the adjunct faculty pay scale.
“Contact hour” – A unit of measure that represents an hour of scheduled instruction given to students, of which 50 minutes must be instruction.
“Course cap” – enrollment limit of a section, as reflected in the College’s current course inventory.
“Course load” – number of sections assigned to a faculty member in a specified period of time, usually a semester.
“Course load reduction” – a reduction in the number of sections assigned to a faculty member.
“Credit hour” – A unit of measure that represents an hour (50 minutes) of instruction per week during a 16-week semester, or the equivalent weekly amount for other semester session lengths.
“Distance education” – a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction occurs when student and instructor are not in the same physical setting.
“Faculty” – employees of the College who hold an academic rank or title and are paid using a faculty pay scale.
“Full-time faculty” – staffing table employees of the College who hold an academic rank or title and are paid using the full-time faculty pay scale.
“Good evaluative standing”- the standing of a faculty member who is not in a probationary status.
“Instructional faculty” – Faculty whose primary regular assignment is teaching.
“Laboratory contact hours” – The number of hours per week students are required to spend in contact with teaching staff in a laboratory setting that is associated with a course. For workload calculation purposes, one laboratory contact hour equals 0.75 hours unless defined differently elsewhere in this document. The number of lab hours required for a course is found in the course descriptions in the official College Catalog.
“Lecture contact hours” – The number of hours per week students are required to spend in contact with teaching staff in a learning situation associated with a course. The number of lecture hours for a course is found in the course description in the official College catalog.
“Lecture equivalent hour (LEH)” – the sum of Lecture Contact Hours per week plus 0.75 times the number of Laboratory Contact Hours per week that are required for a course.
“Overload” – for fulltime faculty, sections or LEH taught in addition to a faculty member’s required course load or work load in a specified time period (usually a semester), and which are paid at the adjunct faculty rate of pay.
“Release time” – a reduction in the faculty member’s regular course load or work load.
“Section” – a class identified in the College’s Semester Course Schedule by a unique section/synonym number.
“Staffing table” – the status of College employees who are eligible for benefits and who accrue leave.
“Student Support Services” – services provided for students to help them accomplish their academic goals, to achieve success in College, and/or to fulfill course requirements (e.g., counseling, advising, tutoring, testing and assessment).
“Teaching assignment (also, “Teaching Load”)” – sections that a faculty member is assigned to teach within a specified period of time, usually a semester.
“Workload” – the amount of work assigned or expected of a full-time faculty member within a specified period of time, usually 40 hours per week.
Guidelines
Section 1. Counseling Faculty
1A. Assignment
For counseling faculty, primary responsibility for workloads and assignments is with the Dean, in consultation with the faculty member, and subject to approval by other administrators as appropriate.
1B. Contracts
Counseling faculty annual contractual obligations begin one week prior to the first instructional day of the fall semester, and end eight (8) days prior to the first instructional day of the subsequent fall semester.
Counseling faculty contract hours for the academic year, based on a 40-hour work week, are determined by the length of the contract, as follows:
| Contract Period | # Total Days | # Work Days* | # Work Hours* | # Holidays |
| 9-month | 170 | 166 | 1328 | 4 |
| 10.5-month | 200 | 194-195 | 1552-1560 | 5-6 |
| 11-month | 210 | 204-205 | 1632-1640 | 5-6 |
| 12-month | 230 | 224-225 | 1792-1800 | 5-6 |
*depends on number of holidays in the contract period.
1C. Workload
Counseling faculty will adhere to a weekly schedule that is usually allocated as follows:
- Thirty (30) direct student contact and student support services hours including: walk-ins; appointments; group intervention; workshops; faculty consultation; class visits; college activities and events; student activities; and case management (student follow-up via email and/or phone, and record entry); and
- The remaining ten (10) hours designated for administrative work including: planning; shared governance council and committee participation; faculty liaison meetings; program development; professional development; and supervision.
1D. Teaching
Counseling faculty may elect to teach credit courses outside their regular workload as “overloads.” Faculty will be compensated for overloads at the adjunct faculty rate of pay and must be in good evaluative standing to be eligible to teach overloads. Faculty who teach the maximum number of overloads must be in very good or excellent evaluative standing, according to their most recent annual evaluation. The maximum overload that a counseling faculty member may teach during a semester is as follows:
Fall – 6 LEH
Spring – 6 – LEH
Summer – 12 LEH (with no more than 10.50 total LEH in any summer session)
Overloads are subject to the same semester LEH limits and other eligibility requirements as are overloads for instructional faculty. The in-class teaching hours, required office hours, and preparation time for overloads must occur outside of the counseling faculty member’s regular work schedule in Student Services.
Section 2. Librarian Faculty
2A. Assignment
For Librarian faculty, primary responsibility for workloads and assignments is with the Dean, in consultation with the faculty member, and subject to approval by other administrators as appropriate.
2B. Contracts
Librarian faculty annual contractual obligations begin one week prior to the first instructional day of the fall semester, and end on the last work day of the contract period.
Librarian faculty contract hours are for the academic year, are based on a 40-hour work week, and are determined by the length of the contract.
2C. Workload
Librarian faculty will adhere to a weekly schedule that is usually allocated as follows:
Librarian – Public Services
- Twenty (20) student contact hours per week including: reference desk student instruction; student instruction; office hours; one-on-one information literacy instruction; group information literacy instruction; and library-use instruction (in class or online). A minimum of fifteen (15) hours per week of this 20-hour total is designated for reference desk student instruction.
- The remaining twenty (20) hours per week is designated for collection development; design of information literacy materials and instructional materials for students and faculty; shared governance council and committee participation; projects related to IRT committee assignments; other IRT-related activities; and other college-related activities.
Librarian – Technical Services
- Twenty (20) hours per week for activities which include: reference desk student instruction support; one-on-one information literacy instruction; group information literacy instruction; library-use instruction (in class or online); design of information literacy materials and instructional materials for students and faculty; shared governance council and committee participation, projects related to IRT committee assignments; other IRT related activities; and other college-related activities. A minimum of ten (10) hours per week of this 20-hour total is designated for reference desk student instruction support; one on-one information literacy instruction; group information literacy instruction; library-use instruction (in class or online); student instruction; and design of information literacy materials and instructional materials for students and faculty.
- Twenty (20) hours per week for oversight of library automation system maintenance, including: software support and configuration; coordination of upgrades; gathering and analyzing statistics; generating, analyzing, disseminating reports; and other duties, including: procurement of library resources and materials; data or record transfer and maintenance; and collection development and management. These duties are contingent on technology, budget, workflow, and Library Services’ needs. A minimum of fifteen (15) hours per week of this 20-hour total is designated for oversight of library automation system maintenance, including software support and configuration; coordination of upgrades; gathering and analyzing statistics; generating, analyzing, and disseminating reports.
2D. Teaching
Librarian faculty may elect to teach credit courses outside their regular workload, as “overloads.” Faculty will be compensated for overloads at the adjunct faculty rate of pay and must be in good evaluative standing to be eligible to teach overloads. Faculty who teach the maximum number of overloads must be in very good or excellent evaluative standing, according to their most recent annual evaluation. The maximum overload that a librarian faculty member may teach during a semester is as follows:
Fall – 6 LEH
Spring – 6 LEH
Summer – 12 LEH (with no more than 10.50 total LEH in any summer session)
Overloads are subject to the same semester LEH limits and other eligibility requirements as are overloads for instructional faculty. The in-class teaching hours, required office hours, and preparation time for overloads must occur outside of the librarian faculty member’s regular work schedule in Library Services.
Section 3. Head Librarian Faculty
3A. Assignment
For Head Librarians, primary responsibility for workloads and assignments is with the Dean, in consultation with the faculty member, and subject to approval by other administrators as appropriate.
3B. Contracts
Head Librarian contracts are for a 12-month period.
Head Librarian annual contractual obligations begin one week prior to the first instructional day of the fall semester, and end on the last instructional day of the summer semester.
Head Librarian contract hours are for the academic year, are based on a 40-hour work week, and are determined by the length of the contract
Head librarians receive additional compensation for management duties, according to the schedule in the annual “Department Chair Salary Supplement” provided by Human Resources.
Head librarians receive four (4) weeks annual leave per year.
3C. Workload
A Head Librarian will adhere to a weekly schedule that is usually allocated as follows:
Head Librarian – Public Services
- Fifteen (15) student contact hours per week, including reference desk student instruction; student instruction; office hours; one-on-one information literacy instruction; group information literacy instruction; and library-use instruction (in-class or online). A minimum of ten (10) hours per week of this 15-hour total is designated for public service, reference desk student instruction.
- The remaining twenty-five (25) hours per week designated for administrative responsibilities and department management including: faculty and staff supervision; planning; reporting; budgeting; coordinating; collection development; design of information literacy materials and instructional materials for students and faculty; and other duties, including shared governance council and committee participation; projects related to IRT committee assignments; other IRT-related activities; and other college related activities.
Head Librarian – Technical Services
- Twenty (20) hours per week designated for administrative responsibilities and department management including: faculty and staff supervision; planning; reporting; budgeting; coordinating; procurement of library resources and materials; data or record transfer and maintenance; collection development and management; and interlibrary loan.
- Twenty (20) student contact hours per week including: reference desk student instruction support; student instruction; office hours; one-on-one information literacy instruction; group information literacy instruction; library-use instruction (in class or online); design of information literacy materials and instructional materials for students and faculty; and other duties, including: shared governance council and committee participation; projects related to IRT committee assignments; other IRT-related activities, and other College related activities.
3D. Teaching
Head Librarian faculty may elect to teach credit courses outside their regular workload, as “overloads.” Faculty will be compensated for overloads at the adjunct faculty rate of pay and must be in good evaluative standing to be eligible to teach overloads. Faculty who teach the maximum number of overloads must be in very good or excellent evaluative standing, according to their most recent annual evaluation. The maximum overload that a Head Librarian faculty member may teach during a semester is as follows:
Fall – 6 LEH
Spring – 6 LEH
Summer – 12 LEH (with no more than 10.50 total LEH in any summer session)
Overloads are subject to the same semester LEH limits and other eligibility requirements as are overloads for instructional faculty. The in-class teaching hours, required office hours, and preparation time for overloads must occur outside of the head librarian faculty member’s regular work schedule in Library Services.
Section 4. Instructional Faculty
4A. Assignment
For instructional faculty, primary responsibility for faculty workloads and assignments is with the Department Chair, in consultation with the faculty member, and subject to approval of the Dean, and other administrators as appropriate.
Sections are assigned to fulltime faculty members by Department Chairs, in consultation with the faculty member, and subject to approval of the appropriate Dean. Department Chairs shall assign sections to faculty, based on:
- meeting the instructional needs of the college; and
- the qualifications of the faculty member to teach a specific course; and
- faculty preference, according to the faculty member’s seniority (fulltime hire date) within the department OR an alternate departmental faculty course selection process (e.g., departmental “round robin”) if the alternate process is adopted by a majority of full-time faculty members in the department/discipline.
Faculty may teach no more than 60% of their regular teaching load in distance education courses.
For good cause, this requirement may be waived by the Department Chair.
4B. Contracts
In the fall and spring semesters, full-time instructional faculty contractual obligations begin one week prior to the first instructional day of the semester and end with the last instructional day of the semester. In the summer semester, contractual obligations begin and end with the first and last instructional days of the assigned class session(s).
Instructional faculty are expected to share responsibilities related to the total concern of the college, including curriculum development, department meetings, student advising, professional development and service on shared governance councils and committees.
Faculty who accept special assignments, projects or activities in excess of what is usually required of most instructional faculty will receive release time or additional compensation in the form of a stipend, as determined by the Department Chair, Dean, and Vice President of Instruction. See also “Section 4J. Release Time.”
Faculty contracts are approved by the Dean.
4C. Workload
Instructional faculty workload for the academic year is determined by contract period as follows:
| Contract Period | Total # LEH required for the contract period (does not include overloads) |
| 9 month | 30 |
| 10.5 month | 36 |
| 12 month | 42 |
The usual required minimum teaching load per semester is as follows:
| Contract Period | Minimum # LEH Fall Semester |
Minimum# LEH Spring Semester |
Minimum # LEH Summer Semester |
| 9 month | 15* | 15* | N/A |
| 10.5 month | 15* | 15* | 5.25 or 6 ** |
| 12 month | 15* | 15* | 10.5 – 12 |
* 15.75 for faculty who teach 5.25 LEH courses.
** 5.25 for faculty who teach a 5.25 LEH course.
The usual required maximum teaching load per semester is as follows:
| Contract Period | Minimum # Fall Semester (including overloads) |
Maximum # LEH Spring Semester (including overloads) |
Maximum # LEH Summer Semester (including overloads) |
| 9 month | 21 | 21 | N/A |
| 10.5 month | 21 | 21 | 18, with no more than 10.5 LEH in any summer session |
| 12 month | 21 | 21 | 21, with no more than 10.50 LEH in any summer session |
Workload credit of 3 or fewer LEH may be “carried over” to a subsequent semester only within the same academic year and with approval of the Department Chair and Dean. When LEH is carried over into a subsequent semester, the LEH is included when calculating the maximum teaching load in the semester to which it is carried over; not in the semester in which it is taught.
Exceptions to minimum and maximum teaching loads must be approved by the Department Chair, Dean and Vice President of Instruction.
Lecture equivalent hours (LEH) are calculated as follows:
| Type of Course | # Contact Hours | # LEH |
| Lecture | 1 | 1 |
| Laboratory | 1 | 0.75 |
The number of lab hours required for a course is found in the course description in the official College Catalog.
For courses with an external learning experience (e.g., internships, field experience), credit toward an instructor’s workload is given only if the experience is required for all students in the course and is a standard requirement of the course each semester.
4D. Health Sciences Faculty Workload
Lecture equivalent hours (LEH) for Health Sciences courses are calculated as follows:
| Type of Course | # Contact Hours | # LEH |
| Lecture | 1 | 1 |
| On-campus Laboratory | 1 | 0.75 |
| Clinical/Practicum in which ACC faculty are continually on-site with students and coordinate all student learning experiences | 1 | 1 |
| Clinical/Practicum in which ACC students are supervised by an employee of the clinical facility and in which ACC faculty make occasional visits to the faculty. | 1 | 0.75 |
For Health Sciences faculty who teach a combination of clinical and practicum courses, the actual hours of each are used to calculate the workload.
4E. Workload for Faculty Who Teach Field Experience/Practicum Internships (e.g., Child Development, Human Services, etc.) Courses
Lecture equivalent hours (LEH) for faculty who teach Field Experience/Practicum Internships courses are calculated as follows:
| Weekly # of Hours in Practicum or Field Experience | # of Students | # LEH |
| 1-2 | 12 | 1 |
| 3-4 | 8 | 1 |
| 5-7 | 5 | 1 |
| 8 + hours | 3 | 1 |
For loading purposes, the number of students may be aggregated over an academic year.
4F. Workload for Faculty who Teach Cooperative Work Experience (e.g., Marketing, etc.) Courses
The LEH for supervision of students involved in cooperative work experience shall be calculated as follows:
| Number of Students in Cooperative Work Experience (requiring 8 or more hours/week) | # Lecture Equivalent Hours (LEH) |
| 1-5 | 1 |
| 6-11 | 2 |
| 12-25 | 3 |
| 26-34 | 6 |
| 35-4- + | 9 |
For loading purposes, the number of students may be aggregated over a year. Recommendation of the appropriate Dean and Associate Vice President is required for any exceptions to the above for determining lecture equivalent hours.
4G. Workload for Faculty Who Teach Academic Cooperative Courses
The LEH for the supervision of students involved in academic cooperative courses shall be calculated as follows:
| # of Students | # LEH |
| 1 – 5 | 1 |
| 6 – 10 | 2 |
| 11 – 15 | 3 |
4H. Workload for Faculty Who Teach Applied Music Courses
| # of Students | # LEH |
| 1 | .67 |
| 2 | 1.3 |
| 3 | 2 |
No more than 60% of a full-time faculty member’s regular load may be earned by teaching applied music courses. Applied music courses are restricted to current music majors.
4I. Overloads
Faculty may elect to teach LEH in addition to the minimum required workload each semester.
Faculty will be compensated for overloads at the adjunct faculty rate of pay and must be in good evaluative standing to be eligible to teach overloads. Faculty who teach the maximum number of overloads must be in very good or excellent evaluative standing, according to their most recent annual evaluation.
The maximum overload LEH that a faculty member may teach during a semester is as follows:
Fall – 6 LEH
Spring – 6 LEH
Summer – 12 LEH (with no more than 10.50 total LEH in any summer session)
Exceptions to this limit must be approved in advance by the Department Chair, Dean, and Vice President of Instruction.
Full-time faculty may select a second overload section after adjunct faculty who are designated “Multiple Semester Term Appointment” (MSTA), “Highest Priority to Hire” (HPH or HPTH) and “College/Instructional Associates” have made their course selections. Any exceptions to this rule must be approved by the Department Chair, Dean, and Vice President of Instruction.
4J. Release Time
A faculty member may be given “release time”, that is, a reduced teaching load for a specified period of time, usually for the purpose of accepting a special assignment, or special/additional duties not expected of most faculty.
An offer of release time will be submitted by the Department Chair via electronic or written format. An offer of release time may be not be reversed or rescinded without the faculty member’s consent within a period of 30 days prior to the start of the semester in which release time would be applied.
Release time is calculated as a reduction in LEH. The total LEH for hours taught plus release time may not exceed the maximum workload. That is, release time is included in the 21 maximum LEH per fall or spring semester, the 18 LEH in summer and the 10.50 LEH in any summer session.
Release time requires approval of the Department Chair, Dean and Vice President of Instruction.
4K. Office Hours
Faculty members are expected to establish, publicize, and maintain office hours, during which they are available to students. Interaction between faculty and students may occur in-person, or may take place via telephone, email, electronic chats, on-site meetings, video teleconference or other methods. Office hours for on-campus courses will be held on campus.
Faculty are required to publish office hours, office location, and instructor contact information in the course syllabus, in Lighthouse, and in any other location required by the College.
Instructional faculty must schedule a minimum number of office hours per week, as follows:
|
Number of Office Hours Required Per Week |
||||
| Semester | Regularly Scheduled Office Hours | Plus Additional Office Hours By Appointment | Equals Weekly Total (without overloads) |
Additional Hours Required Overload Section |
| Fall | 5 | 5 | 10 | 1 hour per overload section |
| Spring | 5 | 5 | 10 | 1 hour per overload section |
| Summer | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 hour per overload section |
Section 5. Department Chairs, Assistant Department Chairs and Assistant Deans
For faculty who serve as Department Chairs, contracts are for a 10.5-month period, with an option to add a second summer session. Department Chair annual contractual obligations begin at the end of the spring semester in which the faculty member is elected or appointed Department Chair and end on the last work day of the contract period.
Release time and compensation for faculty who serve as Department Chairs is in accordance with the annual “Department Chair Salary Supplement,” provided by the College’s Human Resources Department.
For faculty who serve as Assistant Department Chairs, the workload, release time, and/or compensation will be approved by the Dean and Vice President of Instruction, in consultation with the Department Chair.
For faculty who serve as Instructional Assistant Deans, the workload, release time, and/or compensation will be determined by the Vice President of Instruction, in consultation with the faculty member’s Dean and Department Chair.
Department Chairs and Assistant Deans who choose to work a second summer session will receive a stipend for working 7 hours per week for the additional session.
For Department Chairs, Assistant Department Chairs, and Assistant Deans, office hours will be based on the actual LEH taught, in accordance with the “Required Office Hours” Table in Section 4K above.
Section 6. Distance Education Courses
Distance education course sections are scheduled by the Department Chair, in consultation with the College’s Distance Learning Office, and subject to administrative approval.
Distance Education sections are assigned to faculty members by Department Chairs, in consultation with the faculty member, and subject to approval of the appropriate dean. Department
Chairs shall assign distance education sections to faculty, based on the same criteria contained in section 4A above.
Faculty who have successfully completed the college’s required distance education training as certified by the Department Chair, are eligible to teach distance education courses.
6A. Computing LEH and Compensation for Distance Education Courses
A Distance education course section earns the same number of LEH as the on-campus equivalent and is compensated in the same manner as an on-campus course section.
The class enrollment limit for a Distance education section is the same as an on-campus course section. Enrollments from sections that do not meet the minimum required to avoid cancellation may be combined in order to achieve the required minimum.
Student limit (maximum) per Distance Learning section is determined by the “Course Cap” identified for each course in the Approved Active Course Inventory. The minimum will be governed by the current standard.
Approval for a different limit may be granted in unusual cases. The approval process to obtain an exception to this rule is the same as that for offering a course via Distance Learning with the additional required approval of the Academic and Student Affairs Council.
When ACC faculty provide instruction for students receiving credit at another institution via the Virtual College of Texas, those students will be counted for loading purposes in the same way as students who receive course credit from ACC.
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