Faculty Workload, Teaching Load, and Office Hours
Blinn College Administrative Regulations Manual
- Subject:
- Faculty Workload, Teaching Load, and Office Hours
- Effective Date:
- January 10, 2024; Amended June 20, 2024
- Board Policy Reference:
- DJ(LOCAL)
Purpose
In compliance with Blinn College District’s (the College) Board Policy DJ(LOCAL), this regulation outlines faculty duty hours, faculty teaching workload, faculty teaching overloads, leadership load and overloads, and faculty office hours.
Full-Time Faculty Duty Hours
All full-time faculty members are required to work 40 hours a week, with a minimum of 35-hour on-campus duty hours per week (Monday through Friday), and to be on campus during that time to be available for meetings with deans, assistant deans, department heads, administration, committees, and students. The specific duty hours must be approved each semester by the appropriate instructional dean or designee.
Faculty members are encouraged to work the traditional 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. workday, except when teaching evening or weekend classes. Based on College needs, traditional faculty workday hours may be changed to include evenings and weekend teaching assignments.
Sufficiency of Full-Time Faculty
In support of the College’s mission, all instructional programs shall maintain a sufficient number of full-time faculty to ensure program quality, integrity, and review regardless of modality or location, including off-campus instructional sites.
Each of the College’s instructional divisions shall review their programs’ full-time faculty adequacy each academic year during the budget cycle.
- For academic transfer programs: If the percentage of semester credit hours delivered by full-time faculty falls below 55%, division leadership will initiate discussions with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs to address potential need for additional full-time faculty.
- For technical and workforce programs: A threshold of 40% semester credit hours delivered by full-time faculty is considered sufficient. If the percentage falls below 40%, division leadership will consult with the Vice Chancellor for Applied Sciences, Workforce, and Economic Development.
Faculty Teaching Load and Overloads
The normal teaching load for a full-time faculty member is 15 Instructional Load Units (ILU) per regular long semester (fall/spring). ILU is a metric quantifying time and effort for different course offerings. A full-time faculty member may teach a maximum of 21 ILU during a regular semester. ILU above 15 are considered “overloads.”
- Assignment of 1–5 ILU overloads requires approval of the appropriate dean.
- Overloads greater than 5 ILU require vice chancellor approval.
A faculty member may teach a maximum of 6–10 ILU in each summer session and up to 5 ILU during the extended ten-week summer term unless approved by the dean or vice chancellor.
- Courses with 65–80 students count as two courses for load calculation.
- No more than three Internet sections per semester as part of load for full-time faculty; those teaching four-hour courses may teach no more than two Internet sections.
- Exceptions may be approved by the Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs or designee on a temporary basis.
Teaching Load for Part-Time Faculty
Part-time faculty cannot work more than 29 hours per week (including teaching and other assignments), per Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations. Part-time faculty are not eligible to teach during any minimester.
Instructional Leadership Contracts
- Department Heads: 10-month contracts. Teaching loads are contact hours per long semester. Overloads not to exceed 48 contact hours per semester and require division dean approval. Overloads must be performed outside the 40-hour workweek.
- Coordinators: 9-, 10-, or 12-month contracts. 192 contact hours per long semester. Overloads not to exceed 48 contact hours per semester and require division dean approval. Overloads performed outside the 40-hour workweek.
- Health Science Program Directors and Coordinators: Contract length and salary based on accreditation recommendations and program needs. Most receive a release of 48 contact hours per long semester; Directors of Dental Hygiene and Fire Science receive 96. Directors of Nursing and Vocational Nursing must abide by accreditation limits.
- Assistant Deans: 96 contact hours per long semester. Overload requires dean approval and must not exceed 48 contact hours per semester. No Winter-minimester overloads. Overload duties outside the 40-hour workweek.
Conversion: Semester Credit Hour to Instructional Load Unit
The standard teaching load for full-time faculty on an academic year contract is thirty (30) ILUs.
ILU for All Divisions Other Than Health Science, Visual/Performing Arts, and Kinesiology
| Semester Credit Hours | Weekly Lec Hrs (1:1) | Weekly Lab Hrs (.67:1) | ILUs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 3 | 2.01 |
| 1 | 0 | 4 | 2.68 |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.34 |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 2.67 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 3.34 |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 4.01 |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 4.68 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 3.67 |
| 4 | 2 | 5 | 5.35 |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 4.34 |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 5.01 |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 4.67 |
ILUs for Visual and Performing Arts and Kinesiology Division
| Course | Semester Credit Hours | Weekly Lec Hrs (1:1) | Weekly Lab Hrs (0.66:1) | ILUs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARCH/ARTS | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| MUAP 11XX & 21XX (.33 per student) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.33 |
| MUAP 12XX & 22XX (.66 per student) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.66 |
| MUEN 2125 Concert Band | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| MUEN 2142 Concert Choir | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| MUSI 1181 & 2181 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.34 |
| PHED 11XX Activity Classes | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2.25 |
| PHED 1164 (lab 1:1*) | 1 | 0 | 3* | 3 |
| DRAM 1120-1121 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| All others Lec 1:1, Lab 1:1 |
ILUs for Health Science Division (only)
Group A: All Health Science Programs
| SCH | Weekly Lec Hrs (1:1) | Weekly Lab Hrs (1:1) | ILU's |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.00 |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.00 |
| 1 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 |
| 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.00 |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 3.00 |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 4.00 |
| 2 | 1 | 4 | 5.00 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 4.00 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 4.00 |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 5.00 |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 6.00 |
| 3 | 1 | 7 | 8.00 |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 5.00 |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 5.00 |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 6.00 |
| 4 | 3 | 4 | 7.00 |
| 4 | 2 | 5 | 7.00 |
| 4 | 2 | 6 | 8.00 |
| 4 | 2 | 8 | 10.00 |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 7.00 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 8.00 |
| 5 | 3 | 6 | 9.00 |
| 5 | 3 | 7 | 10.00 |
| 5 | 2 | 9 | 11.00 |
Group B: Health Science Programs – ADN, DH, & VOCN
| SCH | Type | Weekly Ext Hrs (1:1) | ILU's |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clinical/Internship | 3 | 3.00 |
| 1 | Clinical/Internship | 4 | 4.00 |
| 2 | Clinical/Internship | 6 | 6.00 |
| 2 | Clinical/Internship | 8 | 8.00 |
| 2 | Clinical/Internship | 12 | 12.00 |
| 3 | Clinical/Internship | 15 | 15.00 |
| 3 | Clinical/Internship | 18 | 18.00 |
| 4 | Clinical/Internship | 16 | 16.00 |
| 5 | Clinical/Internship | 25 | 25.00 |
| 6 | Clinical/Internship | 30 | 30.00 |
Group C: Health Science Programs – EMT, HIT, PTA, Rad Tech, Surg Tech
| SCH | Type | Weekly Ext Hrs (1:0.67) | ILU's |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Clinical/Internship | 6 | 4.02 |
| 2 | Clinical/Internship | 8 | 5.36 |
| 2 | Clinical/Internship | 10 | 6.70 |
| 2 | Clinical/Internship | 12 | 8.04 |
| 2 | Practicum | 16 | 10.72 |
| 3 | Clinical/Internship | 12 | 8.04 |
| 3 | Clinical/Internship | 15 | 10.05 |
| 3 | Practicum | 21 | 14.07 |
| 3 | Practicum | 24 | 16.08 |
| 4 | Clinical/Internship | 12 | 8.04 |
| 4 | Clinical/Internship | 16 | 10.72 |
| 4 | Clinical/Internship | 20 | 13.4 |
| 4 | Clinical/Internship | 24 | 16.08 |
Faculty Office Hours
- Full-time and part-time faculty are required to maintain office hours defined by teaching load: one-half hour per week per section taught.
- Office hour details must be included in the syllabus, posted prior to the start of classes each semester, and a copy sent to the instructional dean or designee.
- The hours for employees on contracts over nine months are set by the Chancellor.
- Summer duty hours must allow time before/after classes for student visits.
- Full-time faculty may not exceed 10 off-campus office hours per week; may accumulate 2 off-campus office hours per week per online or blended course (not to exceed 10 hours).
- During finals week, full-time faculty shall post revised office hours and be available for student consultation.
- Part-time faculty must schedule office hours of one-half hour per week per section taught. See Board Policy DJ(LOCAL) for complete information.