Faculty Equitable Work Expectations
Faculty Equitable Work Expectations enhance transparency, clarity, and accountability within departments, disciplines and academic units. It sheds a light on workload inequities – both evident and unseen – in relation to specific job responsibilities, to help faculty document their efforts within and outside of their unit. The goal is neither to increase nor decrease the overall work accomplished within a department, but to ensure equitable distribution among department members. Completed during the annual review cycle via Faculty180 or Excel spreadsheet provided by the Office of Faculty Affairs. Due each January for the next academic year.
Project Lead: M. Francyne Huckaby, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs
2018 – The Faculty Relations Committee of the Faculty Senate recommended special charges that included work load and teaching load.
2019 – 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.
2021 – A committee lead by Associate Provost Huckaby and consisting of all deans plus representatives from Institutional Research, Faculty Senate Executive Committee and Faculty Relations Committee. Reviewed the resolution to design a model to address workload, overload permission and instructional staff permissions.
2022 – Chosen departments tested and refined the model.
2023 – Continued testing, reviewing feedback and making refinements. Designed Faculty 180 worksheets to define faculty equitable work expectations and a set of initial reports for chairs and directors to use to analyze data. Provided professional development webinar for pilot test chairs.
2024 – Pilot test chairs shared results with the Academic Chairs and Directors Council to prepare for implementation across campus. All chairs/directors mapped equitable work expectations for five faculty members in Spring. Academic Chairs and Program Directors Council took part in summer sessions to prepare to use data to enhance equity in their units (including merit increases). Dashboards were developed. Final revision were made.
2025 – All departments across TCU participate. Chairs and directors assess each faculty member’s past work to create equitable work expectations for the 2025-26 academic year.
University Faculty Equitable Work Expectations (variations of workload will exist across and within positions)
- 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