SECTION D | PERSONNEL

 

SECTION DCB.1

PERSONNEL
EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
FACULTY TEACHING LOADS

Procedure

DEFINITIONS

"Faculty” is defined as employees of the College whose duties are primarily instructional in nature. The length of full- time faculty contracts (e.g. 12-month, 11 month, 10.5-month, 9-month) shall be assigned by the administration based on the requirements of each position. Faculty members may also have other responsibilities as assigned. A full-time faculty member is an employee who allocates 40 hours per week to the college, which includes time spent (1) teaching, grading, and preparing course materials, (2) providing student support, and (3) performing institutional service.

An adjunct faculty member is an employee who is hired on a semester-by-semester basis, who teaches a limited number of courses and who is not eligible for institutional benefits.  Adjunct faculty are eligible for state benefits based on semester-by-semester course load.

 

TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS

Teaching assignments shall be determined by the appropriate dean and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.  Teaching assignments shall be made based on section and course demand and may include daytime, evening, or weekend classes. Teaching assignments may require faculty to teach at any Navarro College location and may require faculty to deliver their courses using any approved modality, including but not limited to face-to-face, online, and hybrid.  All faculty shall be subject to assignment and reassignment by the college at any time.

 

STUDENT SUPPORT HOURS (FORMERLY OFFICE HOURS)

During the fall and spring semesters, all full-time faculty members shall be required to maintain at least ten student support hours per week to be available to assist students. Eight of the ten hours shall be scheduled student support hours. Faculty are required to be available at their assigned Navarro College location for at least six student support hours each week. Faculty should be available to support students both in person and virtually during the six on-location student support hours each week. The remaining two scheduled support hours may be offered virtually and may be scheduled outside of normal business hours.  Two of the required ten hours may be unscheduled student support hours. The purpose of unscheduled student support hours is to better serve the needs of students who may not be able to participate in student support hours in a face-to-face environment or during regularly scheduled times. Faculty may be available for unscheduled student support hours via electronic communication or at a Navarro College location. Students typically participate in unscheduled student support hours via electronic communication.

Scheduled student support hours are not meant to be restricted to a specific location, such as faculty offices. At the discretion of the appropriate dean, student support hours may be provided at other approved locations.  Approved locations should be easily accessible, student-friendly, and appropriate for the assistance being provided.

 

SCHEDULED LECTURE/LAB HOURS

Scheduled lecture/lab hours are defined as the amount of time a course is scheduled to meet per week in either lecture, laboratory, or both.  A scheduled hour is defined as 50 minutes.  Because courses that require both a lecture and laboratory component require more physical time in the classroom versus courses of the same semester credit hour that only have a lecture or lab component, those faculty who teach courses that are a combination of lecture and lab may reduce their required student support hours by one-half (1/2) of the number of scheduled hours for lab, to a maximum of five hours.

Non-scheduled laboratory courses:

  • Non-scheduled laboratory courses are defined as courses that may or may not be scheduled at specific times.

  • Instructor’s duties are generally limited to making assignments and answering questions.

  • Lab assignments may be assigned and completed online via software.

  • The laboratory is basically a means to provide the student the necessary information to complete class or homework assignments and to give tutorial assistance where needed.

  • Students may complete lab assignments in a computer lab, in the Tutoring Center, or on their personal computers.

These courses are not subject to the reduction in student support hour exception.

 

TEACHING LOAD

Teaching Load for faculty is defined as the number of semester credit hours, with a minimum of 16 students enrolled per section, that a faculty member may teach during a semester.   Minimum and maximum teaching assignments will differ between full-time and adjunct faculty.

 

SMALL CLASSES:

Small classes are those classes whose minimum enrollment is below 10 students.  The institutional average minimum enrollment for classes is 16 students, but the institution recognizes certain courses, cohorts, and programs may operate below this number as a necessity. As such, course sections with an enrollment of 6 students or more shall be paid at the full rate. Courses with fewer than 6 students shall be paid at the standard rate 1/16th the scheduled rate per SCH per student unless otherwise specified below. For the purposes of calculating load, the enrollment of all small classes will be consolidated and calculated in the following manner:

1-15 Students = 1 SCH

16-30 Students = 2 SCH

31-45 Students = 3 SCH

 

PRACTICUM OR CO-OP

Faculty will be paid at the rate of $100 per student, not to exceed 30 students. Load for practicums and co-ops shall be calculated in the same manner as small courses, regardless of total enrollment.

 

FACULTY CONTRACTS IN SPECIALIZED AREAS

Faculty contracts in specialized areas (such as Health Professions, Protective Services, and Cosmetology) may reflect different loads related to the unique discipline.

 

PRIVATE INSTRUCTION

Private instruction: $400 per student per semester for a full hour lesson and $200 per student per semester for the 30 minutes lesson. This is based upon the $25/hour rate for 16 weeks.  Private instruction courses are considered small courses for the purposes of calculating load.

 

ACCOMPANIST

Load for an accompanist shall be determined in the following manner:

Accompanying three (3) ensembles

Accompanying student recitals and juries

Teach any combination of four (4) semester credit hours.

 

BAND AND CHORAL DIRECTORS / ASSISTANT DIRECTORS

Conduct/co-conduct three (3) ensembles.

Recruiting duties equivalent to teaching three (3) semester credit hours.

Teach any combination of three (3) semester credit hours.

Attend/Supervise student recitals and juries.

 

OTHER CREDIT HOUR RELEASES / REDUCTIONS

 

DRAMA/MUSICAL PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Three (3) equated semester credit hours per semester; three (3) equated semester credit hours for recruiting per spring semester only.

 

ADDITIONAL ENSEMBLES/MUSICAL:

Additional ensembles and musicals shall be treated as small classes for the purposes of determining load.

Education Department Chair: One (1) course reduction, equated to three (3) semester credit hours load, fall/spring to compensate for recruiting and coordination of education observations.

Salon Management: One (1) course reduction, equated to three (3) semester credit hours load, fall/spring to compensate for time spent managing the Cosmetology salon on each location.

Department chairs/program directors who are full-time faculty may choose to receive either:

  • A stipend of $5000 for the academic year

  • A stipend of $2800 and a course reduction, equated to the primary load of the courses they teach, to be taken in the fall or spring semester.

  • A department chair/program director who supervises more than one program will receive a $5,000 stipend and one course release. 

Program directors in certain programs with external accreditation or licensing requirements may receive an additional course release if required by their accrediting body.

 

EMBEDDED FACULTY:

Embedded faculty are adjunct faculty who are employed full time by a partner independent school district (ISD) and are credentialed by Navarro College to teach dual credit classes. Embedded faculty who are compensated by Navarro College for teaching dual credit classes, and who only teach for Navarro College during their normal hours of employment for their ISD, shall be limited to no more than 29 clock hours, for the purposes of load. The courses taught by an embedded faculty member who is not compensated by Navarro College, and whose courses occur during the normal hours of employment for their ISD, shall not count toward the adjunct faculty load.  Any embedded faculty member who teaches a course for Navarro College outside of the normal hours of employment for their ISD shall abide by the regular adjunct faculty restrictions.

 

CLOCK HOURS:

The number of hours per week a faculty member can expect to spend teaching, planning, and performing institutional service related to an individual course section.

 

STANDARDS AND CRITERIA

A full-time teaching load for faculty equals fifteen (15) non-pro-rated credit hours per fall/spring semester with a minimum of 65 students enrolled. The 15 hours may be composed of 16-week or 8-week classes.  Courses vary in instructional composition, creating varying load calculations.

If a full-time faculty member does not meet the 15-hour and 65 student minimum load, the faculty member should work with the appropriate dean to find ways to compensate for the load hours.  Credit hours may be earned for actual hours worked per week in areas such as:

  • Tutoring in Tutoring Services.

  • Working in another area of the College as needed (i.e. Recruiting, Contact Center, Pearce Museum, Institutional Effectiveness)

  • Teaching a Continuing Education Course

  • Researching/developing/leading faculty/staff professional development sessions

All substitutions for load hours must be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.  After two (2) consecutive semesters of alternative load, the program and/or position will be evaluated for continued sustainability.  Appropriate actions will be taken as deemed necessary by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

All full-time faculty will be scheduled to teach a minimum of fifteen (15) hours course equivalent and 65 students enrolled unless a departmental need arises and the exception is approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs or his/her designee.

The fifteen (15) hour course equivalent may be taught face to face, hybrid, or online.

Full-time faculty may be assigned to teach a up to seven (7) courses per semester, not to exceed 21 semester credit hours.  Situations where full-time faculty are assigned classes above this limit are exceptions and must be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Faculty contracts in specialized areas (such as Health Professions, Protective Services, and Cosmetology) may reflect different loads related to the unique discipline.

Classes with enrollment below the minimum of six (6) students will be pro-rated. Pro-rated classes below the minimum required enrollment, practicum classes, independent studies, and private lesson classes will be calculated towards load as a small class. 

 Adjunct faculty may be assigned a maximum limit of three (3) courses up to 9 load hours per long semester, or to a number of courses  whose scheduled clock hours does not exceed 20 clock hours per week.  Any exceptions must be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

The following chart indicates how many face-to-face or internet classes an adjunct faculty member may teach per 16-week semester.  Internet/hybrid course clock hours equate to the number of course hours.  Any combination of face-to-face and internet/hybrid courses must stay below 20 clock hours per week. Any exceptions must be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

 

ADJUNCT COURSE LOAD

FACE-TO-FACE CLOCK HOURS

FACE-TO-FACE # ALLOWED

INTERNET  CLOCK HOURS

INTERNET/HYBRID # ALLOWED

11.66

1

8

2

10

1

8

2

6.67

2

8

2

6.67

2

6

3

5

3

6

3

5 or less

3

5

3

Faculty load hours shall not exceed one (1) class or three (3) hours per mini-term. Faculty loads will not exceed three (3) courses during a summer six-week term, with no more than four (4) total courses taught during the entire summer session. 

Overload and adjunct pay will be at the scheduled rates established in the annual budget.

 

CLASSES OF FEWER THAN 16

Classes of fewer students than 16 which meet the requirements for any one of the criteria listed below are authorized to be taught as small classes by Navarro College with approval of the Vice President of Academic Affairs. The load for these classes shall be calculated by the semester credit hours.  Classes of fewer than 10 students may be offered by Navarro College with the approval of the Vice President of Academic Affairs, but their load will be calculated as a small course:

  1. Required course for graduation (the course is not offered each semester or term, and, if cancelled, may affect the date of graduation of those enrolled);

  2. Required course for majors in this field and should be completed this semester (or term) to keep proper sequence in courses;

  3. A course in a newly established degree program, concentration, or support area;

  4. Interdepartmental (cross-listed) courses taught as a single class by the same faculty at the same location, provided that the combined courses do not constitute a small class;

  5. First-time offering of the course;

  6. Class size limited by accreditation or state licensing standards;

  7. Class size limited by availability of laboratory or clinical facilities;

  8. A course offered at the discretion of the Vice President for Academic Affairs due to unique circumstances which justify offering the small class;

  9. Developmental studies course required by the Texas Success Initiative (TSI).

Classes with fewer than six (6) students will be pro-rated regardless of criteria listed above.

No additional compensation will be made for more than 16 students in a face-to-face class.

 

Approved: 2015
Updated: 2020, 2021, 2024
Reviewed: