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Faculty Workload Equity Model

Questions? Contact Communications Director Elaine Cole at e.cole@tcu.edu. 

 

To ensure that TCU has and is implementing clear faculty workload equity, TCU Deans, led by Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs Fran Huckaby, partnered to develop a university-level, adaptable Faculty Workload Equity Model to be used as a guideline for colleges and schools to develop their individual Faculty Workload Equity Policies.

Project Lead: M. Francyne Huckaby, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs

2018-19 –  The Faculty Relations Committee recommended special charges that included workload and teaching load. Access the 2018-19 annual report here: fsn.tcu.edu/committees/faculty-relations-committee.

2019 – The Faculty Senate passed a resolution defining the teacher/scholar concept at TCU, affirmed by the Faculty Relations Committee, which stated that “the purpose of a faculty workload model is to promote equity, transparency, clarity, and accountability across campus.” Review the recommendation here: The Teacher-Scholar Model: A Lens for Faculty Assessment.

2020 – Project delayed by the pandemic.

2021 – The Provost appointed a committee consisting of all TCU deans, Institutional Research, Faculty Senate Executive Committee and Faculty Relations Committee to revisit the recommendations and design a model for the university level. Review the Provost’s update on the project here: provost-faqs-10-27-21.

2022 Spring-Summer – The deans and Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs Fran Huckaby discussed and designed a university-wide Faculty Workload Equity Model (not a policy) to address policies on workload, overload permission and instructional staff permissions, and identify logistics for implementation.

2022 Fall – A few departments will test the model. Each college and school will develop a specific Faculty Workload Equity Policy for the unit.

2023 Spring – Continue testing and refining, complete workload agreements and processes during the annual review cycle, and plan Fall 2023 courses and activities accordingly,

2023 Summer – Review feedback, debrief and identify refinements.

2023 Fall – Focus on work Faculty 180 worksheets to define faculty workloads and a set of initial reports that chairs and directors can use to analyze data from the reports.

  • Refine process.
  • Professional development webinar for pilot test leaders on FWE, Faculty180, and dashboards in late fall.
  • Plan panel session with Pilot department chairs for January ACDC meeting

2024

  • January 2024 ACDC meeting panel with department chairs in the pilot. Sharing results of pilot test and preparation of other units for rolling out of FWE
  • January – April 2024: All chairs/directors map workloads for 5 faculty members in time for ACDC Academy.
  • ACDC Academy will provide sessions that prepare unit leaders to use data from FWE worksheets to enhance equity in their units (including merit increases).
  • May – September: Faculty Affairs will develop more dashboards to assist unit leaders in summer.
  • Fall – encourage use of FEW data and begin comparison analyses at the university and unit levels.

2025: The spring semester will be the first term in which all departments must take faculty workload into account with the assignment of faculty work.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Faculty Workload Equity: A means to enhance equity within departments, disciplines and academic units. It sheds a light on workload inequities – both evident and unseen – in relation to specific responsibilities, to help faculty document their efforts within and outside of their unit. Since Faculty Workload Equity focuses on quantity rather than quality, it represents only one aspect to use in faculty evaluation, the criteria of which is decided by each college/school. The goal is neither to increase nor decrease the overall work accomplished within a department; rather, to ensure equitable distribution among department members.

Faculty Workload Equity Model (FWEM): University-level structure and parameters for faculty workload at TCU. Considers total workload as 100%.

  • Teaching: 3 credit hour course = 10%
    • Loads: Class sizes vary by discipline/field
    • Zero load: Requires Provost approval for any semester and any faculty
    • If greater % for larger classes (or other class characteristic), then lower % for smaller classes
  • Research & Creative Activity: Determined by department/college.
  • Service: Determined by department/college and can include service performed within administrative appointments.
  • Administrative Appointments:  ≤ 49% of total load. Service related to administrative duties can be in addition to the administrative load.
  • Total load = 100%
    • Overload is part > 100% and is at the discretion and judgment of dean/chair
    • Adjustments within load ≠ overload

Faculty Workload Equity Policy: Defined by each college given the processes established by the dean.

  • Determines parameters for units within the college given the university model, as well as processes and procedures within the college.
  • Makes connections between the model, policy, agreement, merit and promotion within the college.
  • Provides means to consider and enhance equity within individual departments and disciplines.

Faculty Workload Equity Agreement: Annual agreement between faculty/chair(s) or dean about workload for the upcoming academic year.

  • Completed in Faculty180 during the annual review cycle.
  • Variations of workload will exist across and within positions.
  • An addendum to the agreement will be available in Faculty180 for use as needed within departments and academic units.