Faculty Assignment/Workload Policy (CY 2026)

I. Guiding Policies

This policy provides guiding principles for the fair, equitable, and transparent assignment of workloads for all faculty of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing (CELCON), based on the mission and resources of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and CELCON. These policies are an effort to be systematic in faculty assignment and align with FAU and Florida Legislative mandates.

All faculty are assigned instructional effort in compliance with Florida Statute 1012.945 and the UFF-BOT Collective Bargaining Agreement 2025-2028.

Florida Statute 1012.945 Required number of classroom teaching hours for university faculty members. —

(1) As used in this section (a) "State funds" means those funds appropriated annually in the General Appropriations Act. (b)"Classroom contact hour" means a regularly scheduled 1-hour period of classroom activity in a course of instruction which has been approved by the university.

(2) ”Each full-time equivalent teaching faculty member at a university who is paid wholly from state funds shall teach a minimum of 12 classroom contact hours per week at such university… In determining the appropriate hourly weighting of assigned duties other than classroom contact hours, the universities shall develop and apply a formula designed to equate the time required for non-classroom duties with classroom contact hours…” History. —s. 783, Ch. 2002-387. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2018/1012.945

Assignments are negotiated by faculty members with the Associate Dean of Academic Programs to address individual professional goals as well as faculty performance. These guidelines are not intended to be rigidly applied rules, but rather to balance the competing priorities of teaching, research, scholarship, and service at a large public university and academic health center.

UFF-BOT Collective Bargaining Agreement 2025-2028 https://www.fau.edu/administration/provost/faculty/collective-bargaining/

9.3 Considerations in Assignment (a) Assignment will be made with the consideration of the following in no particular order: (1) the needs of the program or department/unit in the areas of teaching, research and services; (2) the employee's qualifications and experiences, including professional growth and development; (3) the character or complexity of the assignment; and

(4) the opportunity to fulfill applicable criteria for tenure, promotion, continuing multi-year appointments, and successive fixed multi-year appointments. (5) The full assignment of faculty, considering status and rank as defined in 9.4(b). The determination of the assignment shall be made by the Chair/Supervisor.

(b) The employee shall be granted, upon written request, a conference within 14 calendar days with the person responsible for making the assignment to express the employee’s concerns. If the conference with the person responsible for making the assignment does not resolve the employee's concerns, the employee shall be granted, upon written request, an opportunity to discuss those concerns with an administrator at the next higher level.

(c) The Board and the UFF recognize that, while the Legislature has described the minimum full academic assignment in terms of twelve (12) contact hours of instruction or equivalent research and service, the professional obligation undertaken by a faculty member will ordinarily be broader than that minimum. In like manner, the professional obligations of other professional employees are not easily quantifiable. The University has the right, in making assignments, to determine the types of duties and responsibilities that comprise the professional obligation and to determine the mix or relative proportion of effort an employee may be required to expend on the various components of the obligation.

(d) No employee's assignment shall be imposed arbitrarily or unreasonably. If an employee believes that the assignment has been so imposed, the employee should proceed to address the matter through the Exclusive Assignment Dispute Procedures of this Agreement, which shall be the exclusive method for resolving such disputes, subject to 9.4 (d)(3).

The Dean shall have the final approval of faculty assignments.

II. CELCON Guidelines for Faculty Assignments/Workload

In determining Academic Year (AY) faculty assignments, the following guidelines are used:

Tenured Faculty

Teaching – 56.25% : Teaching consists of 15 credit hours or the equivalent per AY. This equates to teaching 3 courses one semester and 2 courses additional semester, or three 3-credit courses and 2- 3 credit courses teaching assignment per AY (Fall/Spring).

Scholarship/Research – 33.75% : Tenured faculty are assigned 33.75% research per AY. All tenured faculty members are expected to contribute substantially to the research mission of the CELCON. Tenured faculty without evidence of research outcomes (e.g., grants, refereed publications, creative activities) will be assigned 90% teaching and 10% service.

Service - 10% : Includes service to department, college, university, regional, state, national, and international healthcare discipline organizations. The expectation is that a tenured faculty member not only participates but also leads engagement activities, chairs committees at the department, college, and university levels, and/or engages in leadership at regional, state, national, and international health discipline organization levels, depending on the rank.

Tenure-Earning Faculty

Teaching – 33.75% : Teaching a total of 9 credits or the equivalent contact hours per Academic Year is the expected teaching assignment for tenure-earning faculty in the first two years. This equates to teaching two 3-credit courses one semester and one 3-credit course, or the equivalent, in the additional semester (Fall/Spring) per Academic Year for the first two years. After the first two years, tenure-earning faculty will revert to the assignment guidelines of tenured faculty.

In the event of a course buyout, tenure-earning faculty members are required to teach a minimum of one course per semester or two courses per academic year unless external funding requirements require otherwise.

Scholarship/Research – 56.25% : Tenure-earning faculty are assigned 56.25% research per AY for the first two years. All tenure-earning faculty members are expected to contribute substantially to the research mission of the CELCON. Tenure-earning faculty without evidence of research outcomes (e.g., grants, refereed publications) after the first two years will revert to the assignment guidelines of tenured faculty.

Service - 10% : Includes service to department, college, university, regional, state, national, and international healthcare discipline organizations. The expectation is that the faculty member will participate in committees at the department, college, and/or university level, and engage in regional, state, national, and international health discipline organizations and activities. During the first year, the faculty member will rotate among the standing committees. During the second year and beyond, they will select a standing committee.

Note: In year three, the tenure-earning faculty member assumes the same assignment as a tenured faculty member. No tenure-earning faculty member may be assigned an administrative release, as the College provides four course releases each for the first two academic years to support tenure-earning faculty members’ scholarship/research development expectations. Under extenuating circumstances only, a tenure-earning faculty member may be considered for ESC or administrative assignment based on the needs of the College as determined by the dean.

Clinical Track Faculty and Visiting Clinical Track Faculty

Teaching – 67.5%: Teaching consists of 18 credit hours or the equivalent in the Academic Year. This equates to teaching three 3-credit courses each semester (Fall/Spring).

Scholarship/Research – 22.5%: All clinical professor track faculty members are expected to contribute substantially to the research mission of the CELCON. Clinical Track faculty without evidence of research outcomes (e.g., grants, refereed publications, creative activities) will be assigned 90% teaching and 10% service.

Clinical Track faculty, regardless of rank, may request additional course release to support scholarship or research activities. Requests must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean of Academic Programs and are subject to approval by the Dean, in consultation with the Associate Dean of Research. The written request must include:

• A detailed description of the proposed scholarship or research activity
• A clear plan for how the time will be utilized
• Proposed measurable outcomes

Approval is not guaranteed and will be based on the merit of the proposal and alignment with the College’s priorities. If the stated outcomes are not met, as determined by the Associate Dean of Research, future requests for scholarship/research time may not be approved. Clinical Track faculty may not be allocated more than 11.25% of their workload for scholarship/research, which corresponds to a maximum reduction of teaching allocation to 78.75%, unless external funding is obtained and meets the 22.5% threshold.

Service - 10% : The expectation is active membership, leadership, and /or chairing committees at the department, college, or university levels, and/or participation in regional, state, national, and international health discipline organizations and engagement activities annually, dependent on rank. During the second year and beyond, they will select a standing committee.

Instructor Track and Visiting Instructors

Teaching – 90% : Teaching consists of 24 credit hours or the equivalent in the Academic Year (Fall/Spring).

Service - 10% : The expectation is active membership, leadership, and /or chairing committees at the department, college, or university levels, and/or participation in regional, state, national, and international health discipline organizations and engagement activities annually, dependent on rank. During the second year and beyond, they will select a standing committee.

Scholarship/Research – (0%) : Instructors, regardless of rank, may request a course release to support scholarship or research activities. Requests must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean of Academic Programs and are subject to approval by the Dean, in consultation with the Associate Dean of Research. The written request must include:

• A detailed description of the proposed scholarship or research activity
• A clear plan for how the time will be utilized
• Proposed measurable outcomes

Approval is not guaranteed and will be based on the merit of the proposal and alignment with the College’s priorities. If the stated outcomes are not met, as determined by the Associate Dean of Research, future requests for scholarship/research time may not be approved. Instructors may not be allocated more than 11.25% of their workload for scholarship/research, which corresponds to a maximum reduction of teaching allocation to 78.75%, unless external funding is obtained and meets the 22.5% threshold.

III. Instructional Activity

Faculty instructional assignments are categorized into three areas: Didactic instruction, Clinical/Lab/Simulation instruction, and Other Instructional Activity (OIA).

Didactic Instruction (Online, Face-to-face, and Hybrid) Allocation of Assignment for didactic instruction:

a) Didactic Courses: i) One credit equals 7.5% of the assignment. ii) Two credits equal 15% of the assignment. iii) Three credits equal 22.5% of the assignment, etc.

Clinical, Lab and Simulation Instruction Allocation of Assignment for clinical, lab and simulation instruction:

a) Lab, Clinical and Simulation Courses: i) Direct supervision (faculty onsite entire rotation): 11.25% assignment/credit ii) Indirect supervision (student with preceptor; faculty available and does site visits): 22.5% each group (a) Per standards and legislation: 8 maximum for graduate program and 16 maximum for undergraduate program)

Oher instructional activity Other Instructional Assignments (OIA) encompass activities that support and enhance the College’s instructional mission beyond direct course instruction. Faculty may be allocated time for initiatives such as the substantial development of new teaching strategies, significant enhancement of instructional materials, implementation and evaluation of innovative teaching methodologies, and instructional responsibilities not captured by standard course percentage assignments.

IV. Expectations on Faculty Assignments

All faculty in the CELCON contribute to the mission of the College: The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is a leader in advancing caring science, studying the meaning, practicing the art, and living caring day-to-day. The college is committed to excellence in nursing practice, education, research, scholarship, and service grounded in caring through the arts, sciences, and humanities to improve health globally.

All Faculty Members are assigned 1 Full-Time Equivalency (FTE), which equals a 100% assignment.

The maximum assigned faculty teaching load is 15 credits per semester, which can be a combination of clinical, didactic, and lab courses.

When faculty members share responsibility for a course, the contact hours and preparation time are divided proportionately.

Faculty members with an administrative assignment or special project assignment may have a reduction in teaching as approved by the Associate Dean of Academic Programs and the Dean.

All tenure-track, tenured, and clinical track faculty members are expected to make substantial contributions to the college's research mission.

Clinical practice may be incorporated into a faculty member’s annual assignment when the practice occurs at a designated College of Nursing location. A clinical practice commitment of eight hours per week will be equivalent to a 22.5% workload assignment and will result in a proportional reduction in teaching responsibilities. Faculty members assigned to clinical practice are required to continue engaging in teaching and instruct a minimum of one course per semester.

Chairs/Directors may negotiate with the Dean or Dean’s designee regarding course releases for Tenured/Clinical Track Faculty/Instructors for teaching release time for special projects or administrative assignments per semester, e.g., self-study accreditation, special projects, etc. This negotiated assignment with definitive outcomes must be approved in writing by the Dean or Dean’s designee and must be finalized in the written faculty assignment before the semester commences. If the negotiated assignment is not fulfilled as per the contract, the faculty will owe the college the course release and will be re-assigned the teaching load that was released.

The Dean shall have final determination for all faculty assignments.

Sponsored Research

Sponsored research teaching course buyouts are normally charged at 22.5% per academic year. The percentage of course buy-out refers to the percentage of the faculty member’s base salary (plus fringe benefits) to be paid by the sponsoring granting organization. Because the funding agency is purchasing the faculty member’s time from the University, it should be included in the contract/grant budget at the full rate and needs to be reflected in the faculty assignment. If the faculty teaching assignment is part of a grant, there is no release, as the activity is already part of the faculty member’s teaching assignment. If a faculty member is administering grant activities, an equivalent teaching release per semester or per academic year is acceptable, as this activity is outside of the usual faculty assignment.

Faculty members who receive salary support from external funding will be eligible for a reduction in teaching responsibilities proportional to the percentage of effort committed to the grant, once a minimum threshold of 22.5% is reached.

Upon reaching this threshold, the faculty member will receive a 3-credit teaching reduction. For every additional 7.5% of external funding beyond the initial 22.5%, an additional 1-credit reduction will be granted. Example:

• At 22.5% external funding: 3-credit reduction
• At 30% external funding: 4-credit reduction
• At 37.5% external funding: 5-credit reduction …and so on.

Compensated Outside Employment

Any employment outside the College must be approved in writing by the Dean or the Dean’s designee abiding by FAU Policies.

Office Hour Policy

All faculty members must meet with students on a regular basis, including during posted office hours. The faculty member should provide a copy of office hours to the Associate Dean of Academic Programs prior to the start of each term. Office hours, and availability to meet by appointment, office room number, email address, and telephone number must be included on every syllabus and posted on the office door for those faculty with assigned offices. Faculty members should maintain a presence on campus that extends beyond normal office hours to foster a collaborative and collegial academic and research environment. Adequate office hours, a minimum of two hours per week per online or in-person class, must be available for students during designated times and, in addition, be available by appointment.

Faculty teaching online courses are required to include a minimum of 2 virtual office hours per week per course and must be available to communicate with students by appointment.

Dissertations and Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Dissertation chairs : For faculty members who serve as chairs on dissertations, faculty may bank one credit hour for each completed. Dissertation committee members : For faculty members who serve as dissertation committee members, faculty may bank 0.25 credit hour for each completed. DNP project faculty leaders: For faculty members who serve as leaders of DNP projects, faculty may bank 0.5 credit hours for each completed project.

*After three credit hours have been accrued, the faculty member may request a course release for one semester (3 credits). The semester and course that will be released will be determined by the Associate Dean of Academic Programs based on the instructional needs of the College.

Administrative Assignments

Faculty may be assigned administrative duties by the Associate Dean of Academic Programs or the Dean, based on the College's needs. These assignments will carry an FTE allocation proportionate to the time and responsibilities involved, which may result in reduced teaching or research/scholarship commitments.

Other Duties

Faculty are expected to participate in daily university activities on campus throughout the academic year and regularly attend and participate in departmental, college, and university functions. These activities may include faculty retreats, faculty meetings, commencement ceremonies, presentations by college faculty search candidates, doctoral student defenses, college alumni events, and other campus-wide gatherings. This is the collegial professional duty of a faculty member and reflects the expectations of CELCON.

The professional obligation comprises both scheduled and unscheduled activities. The parties recognize that it is part of the professional responsibility of employees to carry out their duties in an appropriate manner and in the proper place. For example, while instructional activities, office hours, and other duties and responsibilities may be required to be performed at a specific time and place, other non-scheduled activities are more appropriately performed in a manner and at a place determined by the employee in consultation with their supervisor. (BOT- UFF Policy, Article 9 (9.1)).

V. Summer Assignment

Faculty members who are not on contract during the summer semester may request summer teaching assignments. These requests require approval from the Associate Dean of Academic Programs and are subject to the instructional needs of the College and faculty expertise. Approval is not guaranteed and will be granted at the discretion of the Associate Dean. All summer teaching assignments will be made in accordance with Article 9, Section 9.5 of the BOT-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement.

9-month Faculty

Faculty on a 9-month contract will receive a separate contract for summer assignments. Faculty who teach one 3-credit course during the summer will receive the UFF stated 12.5% percentage of their academic year salary for the first course taught.

(4) Compensation. An employee who has received a summer appointment to teach a course in accordance with Article 8.4(b) shall be compensated according to the scale below, prorated for the credit hours of the course. a. First assigned course: 12.5% for a 3-credit course of regular 9-month base salary as of the prior March 1. b. Second assigned course: At the minimum rate set in Appendix H, so long as the rate does not exceed 12.5% for a 3-credit course of regular 9-month base salary as of the prior March 1. (Nursing = $6000/course; $2,000/credit). c. Each additional assigned course: At a rate set by the dean of each college, not to exceed the rate paid for the second course. Article 8, Section 8.4 of the BOT-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement

Approved by Faculty Assembly Date of Action: April 27, 2020; November 11, 2025