Title
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Data Science and Society: Policy on Faculty Workload
Introduction
Purpose
This policy at the School of Data Science and Society ("SDSS") at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("UNC-Chapel Hill" or "University") has three main goals:
- To meet the needs of our students and other stakeholders,
- To facilitate transparency and accountability about our performance to the public, and
- To establish clear and equitable expectations and guidelines about the distribution of work among faculty members.
Faculty members at UNC-Chapel Hill play a crucial role in teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service to the community. The University wants to support faculty members' use of their talents and skills to do their jobs well while respecting academic freedom.
The University recognizes the importance of creating and applying new knowledge to real-world
problems. At the same time, the University's primary focus is always on student learning. This policy is intended to be inclusive and thus allow campus units at UNC-Chapel Hill to adapt to new teaching methods in line with the unit and university mission. This includes supporting students outside the classroom through advising, mentoring, and other academic activities.
This policy is intended to comply with UNC System Policy 400.3.4 and its implementing regulation 400.3.4[R]. The UNC System requires each UNC System school to create, publish, and monitor academic unit workload requirements. These policies must include criteria and approval processes for adjustment in workload attendant to other faculty responsibilities. The UNC System also requires each institution to:
- Use a consistent method for collecting data about academic workloads, and
- Implement an annual faculty performance evaluation policy that measures and rewards all aspects of faculty workload.
Principles
SDSS consists of faculty from a wide range of academic disciplines since data science is an evolving and highly interdisciplinary field. SDSS highly values the resulting diversity of contributions that each faculty member makes to the development and success of SDSS. SDSS expects that there will be differences among the individual contributions under the same workload policies, reflecting each faculty member’s important and unique strengths and impact on the SDSS as a whole. However, within this diversity, there are common principles that apply as workload policies:
- Transparency: The SDSS workload policy should be clearly articulated to faculty, reviewed regularly, and updated as necessary. The Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs ("SAD") should consult with the SDSS faculty when reviewing and updating the policy. The policy must be consistent with the University Workload Policy and any other relevant University policies.
- Inclusive of all professional activities: The SDSS workload policy should define workload comprehensively, including faculty contributions to teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service (to the SDSS, the University, and their discipline), such that the SDSS recognizes and rewards efforts in all areas of faculty work.
- Equitable: The workload should be equitable, recognizing the range of faculty contributions to the SDSS's mission.
- Mission-aligned: The SDSS workload policy should enable the SDSS to fulfill its mission as it relates to the University’s mission, which includes maintaining course offerings sufficient to allow students to proceed through their degree programs in a timely manner. The SDSS workload policy should explicitly recognize the value of faculty contributions to the SDSS’s mission to educate students of all backgrounds, create fair environments where teaching/learning, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service can thrive, and promote civic good and equity.
- Clarity: The SDSS workload policy should clearly articulate the standards upon which workload adjustments may be awarded. As a rule, workload adjustments should be based only on those activities that make a demonstrable contribution to the SDSS or the University.
- Accountability: SDSS must have mechanisms to ensure faculty members fulfill their work obligations and receive credit for their labor.
Scope
This policy applies to all faculty within the SDSS, including tenured, tenure‐track, and fixed-term faculty who are full‐time (1.0 FTE of either 9 months or 12 months) and appointed for one year or longer. This policy does not apply to fixed‐term faculty with less than 1.0 FTE appointments or temporary adjunct faculty.
Policy
Faculty Workload Expectations
Each faculty member is expected to contribute to the SDSS and the discipline in significant and appropriate ways throughout their career. The following sections establish standard workload distributions by faculty appointment type in teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service.
Teaching
Teaching consists of classroom instruction and teaching-related activities. Tenure-track faculty with 9-month appointments teach two 3-credit equivalent courses per academic year. Tenure-track faculty with 12-month appointments teach two modules, which amount to two 1-credit equivalent courses per academic year. Teaching-track faculty with 9-month appointments teach six 3-credit equivalent courses per academic year. SDSS has several joint faculty appointments, and the instructional workload in SDSS is equivalent to the percentage of FTE in SDSS within the categories described above.
In addition to organized courses, the faculty member’s instructional workload also includes other efforts such as:
- Teaching and preparation time,
- Time spent in one-on-one sessions with students,
- Supervising independent reading/research courses,
- Advising undergraduate students (honors thesis or independent study),
- Mentoring postdoctoral students and fellows,
- Developing curriculum/courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels,
- Chairing or serving on thesis committees for MS and PhD students,
- Advising and mentoring graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill, and
- Co-advising or serving on thesis committees for graduate students of research collaborators at other universities.
Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity
Research, scholarship, and creative activities involve 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 and scholarship, engaging in development or translational work, and/or producing creative works.
Toward that end, faculty write and publish articles, books, and monographs; they write grant proposals and patents; develop scholarly collaborations; develop intellectual property (e.g., developing open-source software); edit scholarly journals; deliver colloquia and seminars at conferences, workshops, and other universities; prepare juried art exhibits; direct centers, and institutes, or perform in plays, concerts, or musical recitals. Faculty also spend time on routine and recommended training, including Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, mentorship training, and other teaching/mentoring sessions/workshops.
Service
Service includes activities that advance the University’s work and role in supporting intellectual communities and the public. Faculty service work may include activities that enhance the scholarly life of the University or the discipline, improve the quality of life in society, or promote the general welfare of the institution, professional and academic societies, the State, the nation, the local or state community, or the global community. Faculty members may also be assigned administrative responsibilities within the SDSS and University.
Some examples of service within the SDSS include:
- Supervising staff;
- Managing operations associated with their research/lab teams;
- Serving as the Director of Undergraduate or Graduate Studies; and
- Serving on student admissions committees, graduate thesis committees, and faculty hiring and review committees.
Some examples of service within the University include:
- Serving on the University’s Faculty Council;
- Taking on administrative roles such as department chair, program director, or associate dean; and
- Participating in university-wide committees, such as those focused on academic policies, research, budget, or strategic planning.
Some examples of service activities outside the University include science outreach and serving on the following:
- Panels for student career advising,
- Advisory boards,
- State boards,
- Workshop or conference organizing committees,
- Grant review panels,
- Departmental external review committees, and
- Professional society committees.
The above examples are not all-encompassing; there are numerous opportunities for service both within and outside the University.
Invisible Labor
We also recognize that some faculty, particularly women and those from underrepresented or historically minoritized or marginalized groups, are called on by administrators, students, and others to engage in important and necessary service, some of which can be documented (e.g., committee service) and some of which is not (e.g., a disproportionate amount of time advising and supporting students). This invisible labor tends not to be compensated nor recognized as a part of the faculty member’s teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, or service load.
We are committed to recognizing this uncompensated and often unrecognized labor in faculty evaluations by adjusting the expected effort distributions to note that this important labor will impact the time and effort put into teaching, service, and especially research/scholarship/creative activity. Although we realize that documenting this work may place an additional burden on those already engaged in this labor, faculty who this labor has impacted will need to clearly indicate this labor and its impact on their teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and/or service statements.
Effort Distribution
Faculty appointment types are defined, in part, by the type of work they are expected to produce and, in part, by how they distribute their time and effort. A faculty member’s distribution of effort across the year, the semester, or the week can vary widely depending on the faculty member’s work obligations and requirements for managing their time.
Table 1 represents the SDSS’s standard distribution of effort for Tenure‐Track and full‐time Fixed‐Term faculty. It offers guidance about how a faculty member should allocate their academic year distribution of effort based on the number of courses they are assigned to teach.
Table 1: Standard Distribution of Effort by Appointment Type
Appointment Type
and Course Load |
Teaching |
Research, Scholarship, &
Creative Activity |
Service |
| Tenure-Track & Tenured |
40% (9-month)
20% (12-month) |
40% (9-month)
60% (12-month) |
20% |
| Fixed Term: Teaching |
60-80% |
0-20% |
20% |
| Fixed Term: Research/Clinical |
0-20% |
60-80% |
20% |
| Fixed Term: Professor of the Practice |
40-80% |
0-40% |
20% |
Variable Workloads
In rare cases, workloads may vary from the standards above with permission from the Dean’s Office. Examples are an enhanced service load, leadership role, and/or administrative work.
Faculty members may be given some course release when they take on specific administrative tasks depending on the scope and complexity of the administrative work and the duration of the administrative responsibilities. The SAD will decide whether an administrative role merits a course release in consultation with the Dean and other senior leadership at the SDSS.
Faculty Workload Plan
Each faculty member must work with the SAD or designee to develop a mutually agreed upon work plan by May 15 for the upcoming academic year. The SDSS will provide a Faculty Workload Plan template for all faculty to use, which will ask for the following information:
- Role and rank specification; and
- Allocation of effort for teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service totaling 100%.
The SAD or designee will review each faculty plan. The SDSS Dean must approve each faculty plan in writing by September 1. Each faculty member will meet with the SAD after completing the Faculty Workload Plan to review and approve the work plan. New faculty whose appointments begin July 1 must submit their Faculty Workload Plan to the SAD or designee by September 1.
Joint Faculty
The University’s Faculty Workload Policy requires that SDSS faculty with joint appointments in other units, refer to their designated primary department for workload expectations and completion of a Faculty Workload Plan. For each joint faculty appointed at SDSS, the SDSS has set clear expectations for the split in their workloads between the two hiring units, based on the split in FTE (percentage in each unit) and the requirements of each unit for teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service.
Joint Appointments
A faculty member with a true joint appointment will spend an equal amount of time (50%) in both the SDSS and the partner unit. The faculty members must submit their Faculty Work Plan to their designated primary department.
For joint faculty members with a primary appointment in SDSS:
- The SAD will coordinate via email with the partnering unit to approve the work plan and provide input for the annual evaluation.
- The SAD must invite the partner unit’s designee to the Faculty Workload Plan review meeting to ensure that both units are reflected in the plan and to seek feedback before submitting the Faculty Workload Plan to the SDSS Dean.
- The workload plan will be approved by the SDSS Dean in consultation with the partner unit’s designee.
Partial Joint Appointments
A faculty member with a partial joint appointment will spend most of their time in either SDSS or the partner unit. Most appointments are split 75% in the designated primary department and 25% in the partner unit.
For any partial joint faculty members with a primary appointment in SDSS:
- The SAD will share the Faculty Workload Plan with the partner unit’s designee for feedback before submitting the Faculty Workload Plan to the SDSS Dean.
- The workload plan will be approved by the SDSS Dean in consultation with the partner unit’s designee.
For any partial joint faculty members with a primary appointment in a partner unit:
- The SAD will coordinate with the partner unit’s designee to review the Faculty Workload Plan before it is approved by the partner unit’s designee.
Faculty Annual Evaluation Process
Requirements
Annual evaluations of SDSS faculty must adhere to the following criteria:
- Be documented in writing;
- Be conducted at least once per academic year;
- Apply universally to all faculty members, irrespective of tenure status;
- Encompass all facets of a faculty member's responsibilities;
- Precede any recommendations for salary increases; and
- Not serve as a replacement for the post-tenure review process established by the University for tenured faculty.
Evaluations will take place each year by June 30. During these evaluations, the SAD or designee will assess the faculty member's performance based on their approved work plan. When a faculty member receives a rating of 'Not Meeting' on one or more agreed-upon performance goals, the SAD (or designee) must develop and provide a 'Faculty Success Plan' to guide the faculty member back to meeting expectations.
Faculty Success Plan
A faculty success plan will be initiated and developed by the SAD (or designee) to address specific areas of improvement identified during the evaluation process for faculty who receive a rating of 'Not Meeting' on one or more of their performance goals.
Success Plan Roles and Responsibilities
The SDSS Dean:
- Must review and approve in writing all Faculty Success Plans in writing; and
- May, as needed and in consultation with the SAD and the faculty member, change or clarify requirements included in a Faculty Success Plan before approving it.
The SAD or Designee:
- Must establish the criteria to judge how well faculty are doing in their school and how much relative weight to give teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service in these reviews.
- Conduct periodic check-ins with each faculty to monitor progress for the Faculty Success Plan and maintain written summaries of the check-in meetings.
Faculty Members:
- Must complete an annual review in partnership with the SAD (or designee); and
- Must comply with the expectations of their Faculty Success Plan, if applicable.
Reporting on Faculty Workloads
SDSS Annual Report Components
The SDSS annual report will include all faculty covered by this policy in accordance with the University’s Faculty Workload Policy. The SDSS annual report will include the following quantitative data to monitor faculty workloads:
- Organized course sections taught;
- Student credit hours produced;
- Faculty contact hours;
- Research/scholarship/creative activity metrics;
- Service rendered in the previous academic year; and
- Analysis of faculty FTE allocations by teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service in SDSS.
This information will be gathered by the SDSS administrative team from the Faculty Workload Plan and the Faculty Activity Report, which faculty will complete annually.
Annual Timeline for Review, Approval, and Distribution of Reports
- SDSS submits an annual report to the UNC-Chapel Hill Provost Office by the designated due date.
- UNC-Chapel Hill submits an annual report of the previous fiscal year’s activity to the Board of Trustees for review and approval.
- The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees must approve the report by September 30 each year.
- UNC-Chapel Hill must provide the UNC System president with a copy of the approved report by October 15 each year.
Policy Review
The SDSS will review this policy at least every three years and submit the revised policy to the UNC-Chapel Hill Provost Office.
Definitions
- Faculty Success Plan: Supportive and personalized documents designed to help individual faculty improve their performance.
- Faculty Workload: The entirety of a faculty member’s responsibilities. This may include teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, clinical duties, public service, and other duties as assigned.
Related Requirements
External Regulations
University Policies, Standards, and Procedures
Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Name: Amarjit Budhiraja
Title: Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, School of Data Science and Society
Telephone: (919) 445-0806
Email: budhiraj@email.unc.edu