Policy Statement

This policy governs the standard credit load for Teaching Specialists, Senior Teaching Specialists, Lecturers, and Senior Lecturers with 9-month, 12-month, and partial appointments in the College of Continuing & Professional Studies.

Overview

In CCAPS academic programs where CCAPS teaches a majority of the coursework, it is common to use a combination of full-time instructors (resident faculty) and adjunct instructors. The balance between the two varies among programs, and is based on staffing, the number of courses taught, the number of students in the program, expertise required, and availability of the expertise.

Teaching Load

12-month appointments, Non-MELP

A full-time (12 month, 100%) teaching load for CCAPS instructors (other than MELP) is 25-26 credits per year.

9-month appointments, Non-MELP

A full-time (100%) teaching load for instructors with 9-month appointments (Fall and Spring semester) is 17-18 credits.

9-month appointments, MELP

The full-time (100%) teaching load for MELP instructors with 9-month appointments is 14-16 credits per semester (28-32 for Fall and Spring semester combined). The MELP teaching load is higher because a higher percentage of effort per credit for MELP students is spent in the classroom compared to other CCAPS courses.

Partial appointments, Non-MELP and MELP

Instructors with reduced appointments or partial teaching appointments (in conjunction with other responsibilities) are assigned proportionally reduced teaching loads.

Overload

12-month appointments

Instructors on 12-month appointments may be allowed to teach a maximum of 12 credits of overload per fiscal year (Summer, Fall, and Spring terms combined) with permission from the Director of their academic unit (Undergraduate Education, Graduate Education, or MELP). Exceptions to exceed this limit can be authorized by the unit leader on a semester basis in cases where additional overload teaching is required to deliver the curriculum to students. See the Procedures section for additional information.

9-month appointments

Instructors on 9-month appointments may be allowed to teach a maximum of 4 credits (6 credits for MELP) of overload each semester with permission from the leader of their academic unit. Instructors on 9-month appointments may also teach during the summer, staying within the regular teaching load for a term (i.e., 8-9 credits for non-MELP instructors, 14-16 credits for MELP instructors).

Course Release

A temporary reduction in teaching load to take on a special project (course release) may be granted to an instructor by the leader of their academic unit. Course releases will be determined on a case-by-case basis. See the Procedures section for additional information.

Reason for this Policy

Placing a cap on the total number of credits an instructor can teach helps assure quality instruction for students, adequate coverage of the breadth of material in an academic program, appropriate staffing levels, and exposure of students to a variety of instructional approaches.

Credit loads for MELP instructors are calculated differently, due to the higher percentage of effort per credit for MELP students that is spent in the classroom compared to other CCAPS courses.

Procedures

Please contact the leader of your academic unit (See Contacts section for more information) to request a credit overload or course release.

Definitions

Course Release

A temporary reduction in teaching load to take on a special project .

Overload

A temporary increase in an instructor’s credit count, which exceeds the teaching load of that instructor’s original appointment.

Responsibilities

Academic Unit Leaders

Assess requests from instructors for course releases and credit overloads.

Instructors

Submit requests for course releases and credit overloads as appropriate.

Contacts

Michael Anderson, MELP, Undergraduate Education: [email protected]

Ritu Saksena, Graduate Education: [email protected]

History

Effective March 2015

Revised 2024