Adjunct Faculty Policies
Adjunct Faculty Policies
Policy
________________________________________
Document Number: FacHR--141 Revision #: 1.0
Document Owner: Executive VP Date Last Updated: 07/11/2013
Primary Author: Director of Human Resources Status: Approved
Date Originally Created: 01/20/2012
________________________________________
General Description
Description: Information about adjunct faculty policies relative to faculty HR policy.
Purpose: Delineation of faculty HR policy.
Scope: Faculty
Responsibility: Academic Affairs
Deans
Human Resources
VP for Academic Affairs
________________________________________
Requirements
Relevant Knowledge: In order to comply with this policy you should know:
Current University policy
Standards of good practice
Terms and Definitions: Additional training
Corrective Action
Loss of privilege, general
Suspension
Termination
________________________________________
Policy Provisions
1. Adjunct Faculty Policies
Cumberland University adjunct faculty are subject to and benefit from many of the same policies as full-time faculty as outlined in this Handbook. The adjunct specific guidelines below may be exceptions to the full-time faculty policies and take precedence for adjunct faculty.
1.1 Adjunct Faculty Duties and Responsibilities
1. To report and to be responsible to the appropriate School Dean and/or Program Director and other administrators.
2. To teach classes assigned by the School Dean at the times designated for the full period time, beginning and ending at the scheduled times. Classes may be assigned during the day, evening, and on or off campus.
3. To prepare and develop course syllabi and course materials which reflect sound and current scholarship in the teaching area and which are consistent with both University curriculum and policy.
4. To prepare and develop course syllabi and course materials which reflect sound and current scholarship in the teaching area and which are consistent with both University curriculum and policy.
5. All Faculty are responsible for assessment of their courses and programs of study to make continual academic quality enhancement.
6. To submit electronically to the Office of the Registrar, School Dean, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and/or other appropriate administrators’ course syllabi, final
assessment activity, and copies of attendance and grade reports and deficiencies as requested.
7. To participate in any required evaluation activities including but not limited to student course evaluations.
8. To meet each class session at the assigned place for the full period time, beginning and ending at the scheduled times.
9. To attend faculty orientations and other meetings as required.
10. To be professional in all associations with other faculty, staff, and students, to demonstrate teaching excellence, and to practice respectful, courteous behavior at all times.
11. To be accessible to students through phone conversations and appointments before and after class when possible.
12. To exhibit a professional attitude regarding the University and one’s position, to comply with administrative decisions, and to express concerns or criticism in a professional manner to the appropriate administrator, avoiding inappropriate expression in the presence or hearing of students.
13. To perform other tasks as assigned by the School Dean/Program Director, and/or Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Failure to Comply with Faculty Duties and/or University Policies
Failure to comply with the duties, responsibilities, and/or policies of this handbook or failure to comply with other university policies or administrative decisions may result in revision of responsibilities, denial of promotion, exclusion from salary increases, salary reduction, non-renewal of appointment, immediate dismissal, or other disciplinary action by the President of the University.
1.2 Adjunct Faculty Work Loads
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that, beginning January 1, 2014, employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer health coverage to those employees. The ACA classifies employees as “full-time” employees if they work at least thirty (30) hours per week on average, or some equivalent amount. Like many academic institutions, Cumberland continues to evaluate its employment policies to determine how the ACA’s mandate applies to its adjunct instructors.
Recent articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education indicate the current consensus for colleges and universities is to allocate a work credit of three (3) hours for every credit hour of instruction taught per week.
In a good faith effort to maintain adjunct workloads below the critical limit of 30 hours, Cumberland will move forward with the following Policy, effective August 15, 2013:
1. Adjunct instructional workloads will be calculated at the rate of 3 hours for every credit hour.
2. Adjunct faculty will be limited to a maximum of 9 credit hours of instruction per semester.
3. The exceptions to this Policy are as follows --
a. Applied Music courses are calculated as 1 credit hour equals one work hour.
b. Laboratory courses listed as zero credits are calculated as clock hours.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Labor are still developing guidelines for calculating adjunct faculty work hours for the purposes of the ACA mandate. The University therefore reserves the right to change this policy in the future.
1.3 Procedure for Employment of Adjunct Teaching Faculty
Adjunct or part-time instructional personnel must possess the qualifications required for the academic discipline and degree program in which they will teach. Vacancies for adjunct and part-time faculty positions will be advertised. All resumes should be forwarded to the Director of Human Resources and the School Dean The Vice President for Academic Affairs and the School Dean will work together to select the best-qualified candidate. Employment of all adjunct and part-time faculty must be approved and authorized by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Upon employment of an adjunct Faculty, attendance of a pre-semester orientation offered by the office of Academic Affairs is required. It is the responsibility of the School Dean to provide proper orientation regarding the specific intricacies of the School, department and course. Coverage of course material and course assessment should be coordinated with the Program Director of the major.
1.4 Supervision and Evaluation
Adjunct Faculty are subject to the same supervision and evaluation as full-time faculty. He/she is expected to administer course evaluation and assessment, and the results of these may be used in evaluation for future teaching appointments.
________________________________________
Performance Evaluation
Performance Metrics: Compliance with standard policy and procedure
Consequences: Further training
Loss of privileges
Suspension
Job Termination
________________________________________
Subject Experts
The following may be consulted for additional information.
Academic Affairs Support Staff
Director of Human Resources
VP for Academic Affairs