Introduction

The totality of the professional responsibilities of full-time faculty members in the William States
Lee College of Engineering are evaluated according to the broad categories of teaching,
scholarship or creative activity, and service. These responsibilities require that faculty members
teach students, colleagues, and members of the broader community. Thus, faculty members
bring their own and others' scholarship and creations to their institutions, professions and
communities. Over their careers, faculty members may emphasize these broad categories
differently. Early in their careers, faculty members may stress research or creative activity to
establish themselves in a field; in later stages of their careers, faculty may stress classroom
teaching or service to the institution and the community in order to pass their wisdom to the next
generation.

The instructional activities of faculty members can take the form of contact inside or outside
classrooms, offices, studios, and laboratories in both on- and off-campus settings. In-class
instruction may be large group, small group, or one-on-one. Faculty members teach in defined
university settings; in the evenings or on weekends, they may also teach in workshops, institutes,
and short courses for public school teachers and students in professional applied areas and with
internship agencies. Out-of-class teaching involves mentoring, counseling, directing of theses and
dissertations, supervising student projects, overseeing educational field experiences, and
supervising performances in clinical settings and industrial sites. Both in-class and out-of-class
teaching requires additional time and effort for preparation, reflection, and improvement; a onehour
contact in a classroom typically takes more than one hour of preparation and many follow-up
hours in advising and evaluating papers and projects; the use of educational technology can
consume many hours of development time.

While the category of scholarship or creative activity of faculty members is sometimes considered
separate from teaching, the two are closely linked. University instruction requires a level of
knowledge and mastery of material that can only be attained and maintained by continuous
scholarship. Such scholarship takes the form of original research or creative endeavors,
integrative scholarship, and the use and representation of knowledge with peers in the
profession. It involves attending professional conferences and presenting papers at them, writing
books, articles, or book reviews, and seeking and managing external funding to support their own
scholarship or programs at their institutions.

The service activities of faculty members involve the use of their expertise in their departments,
college, institutions, professions, and communities. Service activities include academic and other
advising, sponsoring of student and other organizations, laboratory and studio management,
involvement in departmental, college and university committees, participation in faculty
governance bodies, administrative assignments, and fundraising. Outside the university setting, it
often involves service in professional organizations; editorship of professional journals, lectures,
performances, and readings at local, regional, or state clubs and organizations; reviewing
research proposals and articles for publication in professional journals or conferences;
sponsorship or organization of conferences; consulting at local and regional businesses and
social agencies; and other service to community groups or organizations.

The way in which a faculty member's activities are combined to define the individual faculty
member's total workload depends on the mission of the institution, the college and the
department. In major research institutions, faculty members spend relatively more time on
graduate student teaching and research activities than on undergraduate student teaching
because the mission of the institution is to deliver that mix of services; and faculty responsibilities
reflect that obligation. By contrast, in baccalaureate institutions, faculty members spend most of
their time on undergraduate student teaching because the overriding mission of the institution is
to deliver baccalaureate-level courses and degrees. Between these two extremes are
comprehensive institutions whose responsibilities for graduate-Ievel instruction and research vary
from heavy to light and where classroom-teaching responsibilities may show considerable
variation. Consequently, the Board of Governors has established a system for monitoring
teaching course loads at UNC institutions that generally calls for standard annual three (3) credit hour
course loads no lower than the following:

A potential direct implication of this system of standard course loads for departments within the
William States Lee College of Engineering is that departments with doctoral programs would have
"standard" annual course loads of five (5), those with master's programs would have six (6), and
those with only baccalaureate programs would have eight (8). However, UNC Charlotte is now
classified as a doctoral university I with a standard faculty teaching course load of five three-hour
courses per year.

Teaching Course Load Assignments

University funding from both state appropriations and student tuition for faculty positions is based
upon the concept of a "full-time equivalent student as an" undergraduate student who takes 12 or
more course credit hours, or a graduate student who takes at least nine (9) course credit hours."
Part-time students are considered as an appropriate fractional FTE. The present instructional
funding formula for UNC Charlotte provides for one full-time faculty position for approximately
every 15 FTE's.

The University (and the departments and colleges therein) assume the responsibility to provide
each enrolled student with the courses, academic and career advising, consultation, and other
services appropriate to the student's chosen major. Thus, the instructional activities for each fulltime
faculty member is ordinarily composed of classroom or laboratory teaching, academic
advising, course-related consultation, thesis, dissertation and project supervision, course
development, and the other activities described in the introduction. The formal teaching course
load assignment for a faculty member may vary from semester to semester and from faculty
member to faculty member depending upon the other components in the faculty member's total
workload within the department and/or college. A faculty member can be assigned more or less
than the "standard" teaching course load commensurate with other responsibilities. Also, such
factors as class size, number of preparations, lecture vs. lab, project supervision, student contact
hours, etc. must be taken into consideration. In addition, the following definitions are very
important in describing and reporting a faculty member's workload:

Release time - A portion of a faculty member's time is "bought" from the department by
some source of "real dollars" for working on some specific project. The corresponding
"released instructional funds" are available to the department for hiring of replacement
teaching faculty. Example: research grant funds enable a faculty member to be “released”
from some classroom instructional duties to work on the research project. The "release
funds" could then be used to hire part-time instructional faculty or graduate teaching
assistants.

Reduced Workload - A faculty member can be given a reduced workload only if it is
accompanied by a commensurate reduction in salary. Examples: educational leave
without pay or reduced load and pay due to prolonged illness.

Reduced Course Load - A faculty member is assigned a course load less than the
"standard" for justifiable reasons related to total workload. Examples: newly hired faculty
might be assigned only one or two courses to “get started”; faculty “released” by means
of "release time" funding, etc.

Course Overload - A faculty member is assigned a course load greater than the "standard"
for justifiable reasons related to total workload. Examples: non-tenure track faculty hired
primarily to "teach”; faculty might be assigned an “overload' in fall in exchange for a
"reduction” in the spring, etc.

Assignment of Faculty Workloads and Annual Performance Evaluations

The assignment of faculty duties and course loads is the fundamental responsibility of the
department chair in consultation with individual faculty members and subject to review by the
dean. For an individual faculty member, such assignment would normally include some
combination of a formal teaching course load and other instructional activities such as academic
advising, thesis, dissertation and project supervision, curriculum development, etc.; scholarly and
creative activities such as conducting research, the writing of papers and books, seeking and
managing externally-funded projects, etc.; and service activities internal and external to the
university such as committee assignments, administrative duties, recruiting of students, and
service to the professional and industrial community.

While the instructional activities form the fundamental basis for the performance evaluation of a
faculty member, all of the faculty member's activities - instructional, scholarly, and service--and
the results emanating there from - are weighed in an appropriate manner in the annual
performance evaluation process for each faculty member. The annual evaluation is done within
the context of "performance expectations" through which the chair attempts to guide the faculty
member on how he/she might direct or redirect their energy or modify the emphases of their
activities. When appropriate, such expectations may include "targets" for short and/or long-term
accomplishments. For a new faculty member, these expectations are developed by the
department chair shortly after initial employment with input from the faculty member and are
subsequently reviewed and/or modified at the time of the annual performance evaluation with the
participation of the faculty member. (For present faculty, their performance expectations have
been "evolving," albeit to different degrees, as part of the existing annual performance evaluation
process.)

The annual performance evaluation process begins in late spring and is concluded by the start of
the fall semester. It is composed of the following elements: the gathering and assimilation of
appropriate information; the preparation by the chair of a formal document (the evaluation
including appropriate performance expectations); an opportunity for discussion and/or rebuttal;
and a final document, a copy (including any rebuttal) of which is forwarded to the dean. The
faculty member is expected to sign the annual performance evaluation document merely
acknowledging his/her receipt of the document and an opportunity for discussion and/or rebuttal.
The faculty member may submit a document to be attached to the annual performance evaluation
indicating any disagreement or rebuttal to the evaluation and/or performance expectations. The
annual performance evaluation with any appended document is part of the formal personnel
record of the faculty member (with a copy forwarded to the dean) and is included in appropriate
personnel actions related to reappointment, promotion, tenure, and salary increase.

Principles of Employment for Non-Tenure Track Faculty-Appended 5/30/03

The professional responsibilities and workload of non-tenure track faculty members in the William
States Lee College of Engineering are assigned in a manner that enables the college to complete
its broad mission. Assignments are generally focused on teaching, student mentoring and
advising. However, scholarship directed at educational pedagogy, institutional research,
administration, service duties and program assessment may be an important component of the
workload assignment. The distribution of responsibilities can change over time and the
distribution of duties is assigned by the appropriate supervisor.

As is the case with all faculty members, instructional and learning activities can take the form of
contact inside or outside classrooms, offices, studios, and laboratories in both on and off-campus
settings. In-class instruction may be large group, small group, or one-on-one. Teaching
assignments can be in the evenings or on weekends, and may also be in workshops, institutes,
and short courses for public school teachers and students in professional applied areas and with
internship agencies. Out-of-class teaching involves mentoring, advising, counseling, supervising
student projects, overseeing field educational experiences, and supervising performances in
clinical settings and industrial sites. Traditional in-class teaching requires additional time and
effort for preparation, reflection, and improvement; a one-hour contact in a classroom generally
takes several hours of preparation. Review of papers and projects, distance education, advising
individual and project teams, supervising student organizations and making use of educational
technology can consume many hours of development time.

Non-tenure track faculty associates often engage in creative activity as it pertains to educational
outcomes, and it is sometimes closely linked to the instructional role. In many cases, it involves
preparing proposals for soliciting external grants and gifts to support the educational goals of the
college. Educational scholarship emerging in these areas can also involve attending professional
conferences or presenting papers at them. These activities help to disseminate methods
developed and promote the college to the broader engineering community. Non-tenure track
faculty members are not ordinarily engaged in extensive engineering research, and it would rarely
constitute a primary portion of their workload.

Non-tenure track faculty members often have service assignments directed at institutional
research and/or supporting processes that assess student learning outcomes and program goals.
Service can also include substantial administrative assignments, student recruiting, overseeing
international student exchange programs, career guidance and liaison to the community.
Non-tenure track faculty member’s activities are assigned by their college or unit supervisor and
depend on the mix of a unit’s need. Nominally, non-tenure track faculty with a full-time
assignment involving primarily traditional classroom instruction will teach four three-hour courses
or the equivalent per semester. Additionally, occasional administrative duties in support of the
department may be assigned to all faculty members. Correspondingly, a 50% conventional
teaching assignment would imply two three-hour courses per semester. Similarly, a 75% teaching
assignment would consist of three courses. The distribution of conventional teaching is made by
the supervisor and depends on the assignment of the other duties described above.

Part-time faculty members are selected based on proven teaching skills and their unique
expertise which complements college faculty. Two-semester continuing contracts for part-time
faculty can only be issued to faculty who have effectively discharged their assigned duties in the
past and when a two-semester back-to-back course offering is planned. Many engineering
courses and/or sequences are not generally offered every semester and, when offered, are
dependent upon sufficient enrollments; therefore, the opportunity to offer two-semester contracts
is limited.

September 1996
Non-Tenure Track - Appended 5/30/03
Revised – March 06, 2007