Unit Policy
Title
College of Arts and Sciences: Policy on Faculty Workload
Introduction
Purpose
This policy provides guidance to academic units in The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“University” or “UNC-Chapel Hill”)’s College of Arts and Sciences (“College”) on establishing and updating faculty workloads.
Scope
This policy applies to:
- All academic units within the College; and
- All full-time tenured, tenure-track, fixed-term, and teaching-track faculty who have their primary appointment in the College and whose appointments are greater than one year.
Policy
Policy Statement
Faculty Workload
College faculty engage in three essential areas: teaching, research/scholarship/clinical, and service. Academic unit faculty workload policies should describe the type of activities and peer-recognized products in each function to ensure these align with unit promotion and tenure requirements. Table 1 outlines the standard distribution of effort across those three areas during the academic year, not including the summer terms. For 12-month faculty, the effort includes the summer terms.
Table 1: Standard Distribution of Effort
*Clinical and research faculty are funded by non-state sources in the College and do not teach unless they have a specified, funded teaching component to their appointment.
**Professor of the Practice faculty workloads are varied across the College’s departments and dependent on the source of funds. Workloads are approved by academic unit heads and senior associate deans.
| Area |
Teaching-Track Faculty |
Tenure-Track/Tenured Faculty |
Clinical-Track/Research-Track * |
Professor of the Practice ** |
| Teaching |
80% |
40% |
0% |
Variable |
| Research/Scholarship/Clinical |
0% |
40% |
80% |
Variable |
| Service |
20% |
20% |
20% |
Variable |
UNC System and University policies outline faculty’s diverse activities across these three areas, and these definitions are available at the end of this document. Workload policies for academic units in the College should describe peer-recognized research/scholarship/clinical, teaching, and service activities appropriate to the academic unit’s faculty.
Workload Flexibility
In rare cases, faculty may have workloads that vary from the standards above. One example is an enhanced service load. Service to academic units, the College, and the University furthers the mission of the University and is critical to students, faculty, and staff. Table 2 provides an example of the distribution of effort for leadership roles. The academic unit head should determine these differentiated workloads, and the appropriate senior associate dean will review these.
Table 2: Distribution of Effort for Leadership Roles
| Area |
Academic Department Chair |
| Teaching |
20% |
| Research/Scholarship/Clinical |
20% |
| Service |
60% |
Workload policies for academic units in the College must provide specific expectations, examples, and metrics for evaluating these activities for differentiated workloads.
Annual Workload Planning
Each faculty member must work with their academic unit head to develop a mutually agreed upon work plan. Plans can be developed during the faculty member’s annual evaluation meeting in the spring and must be completed by September 1 each year. The plans should outline anticipated faculty efforts in teaching, research/scholarship/clinical and service for the year. Annual plans should link to expectations and metrics used in the academic unit’s appointment, tenure, and promotion decisions.
For faculty with appointments in more than one academic unit, the head of the academic unit where the faculty member has their primary appointment is responsible for planning the faculty member’s workload in consultation with the heads of the other appointing units.
Each faculty workload plan should be well-organized and provide a clear roadmap to support faculty planning, growth, and assessment.
The faculty member and their academic unit head should consider the following components when developing the annual faculty work plan:
- Position description
- Summary of role,
- Rank, and
- Essential duties of the position.
- Specific Outputs and Efforts for:
- Teaching,
- Research/creative expression,
- Service, and
- Other (e.g., professional development).
- Workload Expectations
- Allocation of time/percentage for:
- Teaching,
- Research/creative expression, and
- Service.
- Assessment
- Determine how goal achievement/success/progress will be measured.
- Timeline, with specific deliverables.
- Resources needed to achieve goal(s).
Each faculty member’s workload plan must be approved in writing by the following:
- The faculty member’s academic unit head; and
- The academic unit head’s supervisor or that person’s designee.
For faculty with appointments in more than one academic unit, each faculty member’s workload plan must be approved in writing by the head(s) of the other appointing unit(s).
Annual Faculty Evaluation
The annual evaluation process for faculty involves the assessment of the faculty member’s performance, contributions, and accomplishments for the academic year based on that faculty member’s approved work plan. Every academic unit must have policies and procedures to assess how well faculty members are doing their jobs.
Annual evaluations of faculty must:
- Be in writing;
- Be completed at least once per academic year;
- Apply to every faculty member, regardless of tenure status;
- Cover all areas of a faculty's duties;
- Occur before salary increase recommendations; and
- Not replace the post-tenure review process already set by the University for tenured faculty.
The academic unit head will meet with each faculty member to discuss the evaluation of their performance based on their approved work plan. These meetings must be completed by May 30 each year. Unit heads must provide any faculty member rated as "Not Meeting" on one or more of their agreed-upon performance goals with a "Faculty Success Plan" to address the concerns identified.
Faculty Success Plans
Faculty Success Plans are intended to be a supportive and personalized approach to help individual faculty improve their performance and excel in their role.
Each Faculty Success Plan must be in writing and include the following components:
- Specific steps designed to lead to improvement;
- Targeted resources the faculty member can use to help them improve (e.g., Center for Faculty Excellence);
- A specific timeline during which the academic unit head expects the faculty member’s performance to improve; and
- A clear statement of consequences should improvement not occur within the designated timeline.
Faculty Success Plans must be approved in writing by the faculty member’s second-level supervisor.
Definitions
- Teaching: Consistent with N.C.G.S. 116-1(b), teaching and instruction are the central responsibilities of the UNC System and form a critical base of workload expectations for faculty. In addition to organized courses, the faculty member’s instructional workload also includes, but is not limited to, other instructional efforts such as developing materials for a new course, updating materials for an existing course, weekly course preparation activities, developing courseware or other materials for technology-based instruction, supervising undergraduate research and masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations, directing students in co-curricular activities such as plays, preparing and equipping new laboratories, supervision of teaching assistants, supervision of internships, academic advising, mentoring, and other activities that support student success.
- Research/Scholarship/Clinical: Faculty members engage in the work of discovering, disseminating, and applying knowledge and professional expertise. These activities may include, but are not limited to, working in laboratories, studios, clinical or community settings conducting empirical and/or theoretical research, engaging in development or translational work, and/or producing creative works. For example, faculty write articles, books, monographs, and grant proposals, write patents, develop intellectual property, edit scholarly journals, prepare juried art exhibits, direct centers and institutes, or perform in plays, concerts, or musical recitals. These research/creative activities have significant implications for teaching. They enable faculty members to design course materials that reflect their respective fields’ state-of-the-art and cutting-edge knowledge.
- Service: As a public university, UNC-Chapel Hill provides substantial benefits to the people and the State of North Carolina. Faculty members engage in service activities that advance the institution’s work and the institution’s role in supporting North Carolina. Faculty service work may include activities that enhance the scholarly life of the University or the discipline, improve the quality of life of society, or promote the general welfare of the institution, professional and academic societies, the state, the nation, the local community, or the global community. Faculty members may also be assigned administrative responsibilities, including but not limited to, Academic unit Chair/head, program director, and center director. Institutional policies must specify the means and extent by which administrative responsibilities count toward a faculty member’s total workload.
Related Requirements
External Regulations
Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Office: Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Telephone: 919-962-1165