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Handbook of Operating Procedures
  • Policy Process

    • Handbook of Operating Procedures
    Chapter 2 - Faculty and Academics
    Previous Publication Date: December 10, 2018
    Publication Date: September 29, 2020
    Policy Owner: VP for Academic Affairs


    2.14 Faculty Workload Requirement 

    This is not the current policy. For the latest, click here.

    I. POLICY STATEMENT

    State law requires the Board of Regents to adopt rules concerning academic workload for faculty employed at an academic institution of higher education, as well as reporting requirements associated with the workload. Texas Education Code Section 51.402 recognizes that important elements of workload include classroom teaching, basic and applied research, and professional development.
    Faculty play a fundamental role in advancing UTSA and in fostering the success of our students. The quality and value of a UTSA education are in large part defined by the faculty. The curricula the faculty design, the programs they offer, the learning environment they create, the instructional methods they employ, the research they conduct, the creative works they produce, the service they provide, and their professional engagement with students inside and outside of the classroom, including advising, are important components of the educational experience. As such, UTSA, as an institution of higher education supported by public funds has the responsibility to fully utilize our faculty resources in ways that achieve the greatest possible educational benefit.

    For specifics of the overarching University of Texas System, refer to Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents’ Rule 31006, Faculty Workload and Reporting Requirements.

    II. RATIONALE

    The Intent of this policy is to set forth equitable and fair guidelines that permit each department chair, under the supervision of the dean and oversight of the Provost, to best deploy departmental faculty to foster student success and advance UTSA’s academic mission and excellence, in compliance with Regents’ Rule 31006.

    III. SCOPE

    This policy applies to faculty workload assignments, which includes teaching, research, and service activities of all UTSA faculty and those who approve or report the workload assignments.

    IV. WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY

    http://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter2/2.14.html

    V. RELATED STATUTES, POLICIES, REQUIREMENTS OR STANDARDS

    UTSA or UT System Policies or the Board of Regents Rules & Regulations        

    1. UT System Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents' Rule 31006, Faculty Workload and Reporting Requirements 
    2. UTSA HOP policy 2.11, Annual Faculty Performance Evaluation for Merit Consideration    

    Other Policies & Standards

    1. Texas Education Code Chapter 51, Provisions Generally Applicable to Higher Education, Section 402

    VI. CONTACTS

    If you have any questions about HOP policy 2.14, Faculty Workload Requirement, contact the following office:

    Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
    210-458-4110

    VII. DEFINITIONS

    Faculty Workload
    Each tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure track faculty member employed by UTSA shall be assigned a faculty workload, which is constituted by the faculty member’s classroom teaching, basic, applied and translational research, service, and professional development weighted duties and responsibilities.

    Source of Funding
    For a faculty member paid partially from a source of funds other than state appropriations, the teaching load shall be paid from state appropriations.

    VIII. RESPONSIBILITIES

    1. Department Chair
      1. See Section IX, A.
    2. Dean (or Dean's Delegate)
      1. See Section IX, B.
    3. Provost
      1. See Section IX, C.
      2. Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
        1. See Section IX, C.1.
      3. Associate Vice Provost and Chief Analytics Officer Senior
        1. See Section IX, C.2

    IX. PROCEDURES

    1. Department Chair
      1. Under supervision of the dean, develops the local departmental Faculty Workload policies supplemental to and in alignment with the college and university Faculty Workload policies by which departmental faculty are deployed to foster student success and advance the institution’s excellence. The department chair ensures that departmental Faculty Workload policy includes the following elements:
        1. An outline of available teaching load options, expressed in the number of courses taught in the two long semesters of the 9-month academic year (e.g., 4-4, 3-3, 3-2, 2-2, etc.) See Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14.
        2. Specific criteria by which faculty qualify for each available teaching load option, including research, service and professional development commitments, which utilizes the list of authorized course load release activities in the Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14. These criteria shall be stated independently of workload releases.
        3. A required annual Faculty Workload assignment for each faculty member that:
          1. uploaded to the designated university-approved database referenced in the Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14;
          2. Documents qualifications for the assigned Faculty Workload;
          3. Projects a plan of teaching, research, service and professional development activities for a defined period of one or more years;
          4. Is acknowledged by the faculty member and  approved by the department chair and dean;
          5. Contains an explicit statement that the dean or delegate shall assign workload in instances where there is failure to submit a signed faculty workload agreement.
      2. Assigns faculty members in the department a Faculty Workload, in consultation with the faculty member that is: a) differential to circumstances such as graduate instruction, research activities, effort supported by external grants or contracts, commercialization and/or innovation activities, administrative assignments, large class sizes, team-taught courses, experiential and/or engaged learning activities, significant advising responsibilities, or other activities aligned with the institution’s mission and excellence and/or critical to student success; and b) based on the expectations of tenured and tenure-track faculty who have active and productive research/scholarly/creative programs, and tenured faculty who are less active in research/scholarly/ creative work, and non-tenure track faculty.
        1. The faculty member’s teaching workload is expressed in the number of courses taught in two long semesters of the 9-month academic year (e.g., 4-4, 3-3, 3-2, 2-2, etc.)
        2. Total teaching workload is the sum of assigned teaching workload plus approved teaching workload releases
        3. Research workload is the percent effort devoted to basic, applied, and translational research, scholarship and creative activity, commercialization, and/or innovation activities.
        4. Service workload is the percent effort devoted to service and/or professional development activities.
        5. In concordance with Regent’s rule 31006, Sections 4.3 and 4.4, differential workload assignment shall:
          1. take into account discipline-specific best practices and are equitable among all faculty of differing rank, disciplinary area, gender, race, etc.,
          2. allow variance over the course of a faculty member’s career, and
          3. be flexible to the extent possible to that assignment of differential teaching loads allows faculty members to pursue opportunities that enhance the excellence and reputation of the institution, add value to the department, and allow for professional growth and innovation in the areas of teaching, research, and service.
      3. Ensures department Faculty Workload is correct and workload releases reflective of workload distribution agreements are entered into the designated university-approved database as referenced in the Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14.
      4. Approves the Faculty Workload and workload release report for the department faculty in the designated university- approved database as referenced in the Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14.
      5. Monitors the resulting Faculty Workload activities and ensures the assigned Faculty Workload is executed accordingly.
    2. Dean (or Dean's Delegate)
      1. Develops, under the supervision of the Provost, the college-level Faculty Workload policy to foster student success and advance university excellence that is used in institutional evaluations of faculty, including those at tenure and/or promotion, annual evaluation and post-tenure reviews.
      2. Reviews and approves the local departmental Faculty Workload policies for compliance with the supplementary college-level Faculty Workload policy.
      3. Reviews Faculty Workload assignments and releases for each department in the college for compliance with Regents’ Rule 31006, ensuring that the department’s Faculty Workload policy recognizes that classroom teaching, basic, applied and translational research, service, and professional development are important elements of Faculty Workloads by giving appropriate weight to each activity when determining the standards for Faculty Workload.
      4. Approves the college Faculty Workload and workload release report in the designated university-approved database referenced in Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14.
      5. Monitors the resulting overall Faculty Workload activities for each department and ensures the assigned workload is executed according to dean’s college goals.
    3. Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs
      1. Develops and posts, in consultation with deans and chairs, a list of the authorized workload release activities as per Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14 and posts it on the Provost’s web site.
      2. Reviews and approves the supplemental college-level Faculty Workload policies for compliance with Regents Rule 31006, ensuring that the college’s Faculty Workload policy recognizes that classroom teaching and innovative pedagogy, basic, applied and translational research, service, and institutional service and professional development are important elements of Faculty Workloads by giving appropriate weight to each activity when determining the standards for Faculty Workload.
      3. Oversees and monitors the Faculty Workload assignment and reporting processes.
      4. Monitors the resulting overall Faculty Workload activities for each college and ensures the assigned workload is executed according to president’s goals for the university.

      C.1 Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

      1. Reviews each college’s workload reports for compliance with Regents’ Rule 31006.
      2. Works with the colleges to ensure that Faculty Workload data is correct for the current term.
      3. Works with the colleges to ensure that all full-time faculty and continuing part-time faculty have current and approved Faculty Workload distribution agreements in the designated university-approved database referenced in the Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14.
      4. Ensures that all colleges have approved their Faculty Workload in the designated university-approved database referenced in the Guidelines for Application of HOP 2.14.
      5. Audits each college’s workload reports for compliance with Regents’ Rule 31006.
      6. Archives Faculty Workload and release reports by term.
      7. Submits the annual report for all Faculty Workload assignments to the provost and president for approval.

      C.2 Associate Vice Provost and Chief Analytics Officer
      1. Files with the UT System for the Board of Regents a report, by department, of the academic duties and services performed by each member of the faculty during the nine-month academic year, showing evidence of compliance with requirements established by the Board in Regents’ Rule 31006 within 30 days of the end of each academic year.
      2. Includes the Faculty Workload policy in its operating budget reported to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
      3. Submits the Faculty Reports (CBM-008) required by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, reporting the academic duties and services performed by each member of the faculty, based on data submitted in the CBM-008, indicating all appointments held by the faculty member in the employing institution, the salary paid to each appointment, the percent of time of each appointment, and the source of funds from which salary payments were made.

    X. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION

    None

    XI. FORMS AND TOOLS/ONLINE PROCESSES

    The current designated university approved faculty database is the Digital Measures. Guidelines and information for faculty workload reporting can be found at http://provost.utsa.edu/VPAFS/dm/faculty-workload.asp

    XII. APPENDIX

    None