Title:     #IV-13.  Faculty Position Description             

 

Date:    December 9, 2005 (replaces version dated April 11, 2002)

 

 

I.          QUALIFICATIONS

 

To be eligible for a faculty appointment to teach credit classes, either on a full-time or a part-time basis, a person must hold appropriate credentials as outlined below and must take full responsibility for submitting verification of credentials with the Human Resources Office.

 

Documents verifying qualifications may include (a) official college transcripts of all academic credit and earned degrees; (b) licensure or certificates validating professional status such as Registered Nurse, Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Life Underwriter, Licensed Professional Engineer, etc.; and/or (c) certificates indicating journeyman status in recognized vocational fields.

 

All academic credit and degrees appropriate to a teaching appointment must have been taken at recognized, regionally accredited colleges or universities.  All questions regarding status of degree-granting institutions shall be referred to the Executive Dean of Academic Affairs.

 

A.      Baccalaureate Level Courses.  Persons who teach courses that are typically associated with the junior and senior years of Baccalaureate degree programs and are transferable to other institutions as upper division credit must hold, minimally, a master’s degree from a recognized institution with at least 15 semester hours graduate credit in the teaching field or the equivalent.  Relevant educational/teaching/professional experience may be considered equivalent to the 15 semester hours of graduate credit in the teaching field.  In the fine and performing arts, professional recognition through performance or production may be considered equivalent to qualifications outlined above.  In all cases, persons teaching in Baccalaureate degree programs must meet criteria established by discipline-related accrediting agencies.  In particular, such criteria shall be the determining factor in deciding whether a faculty member’s equivalence record suffices in lieu of the required 15 semester hours of graduate credit.

 

B.     Transfer-level courses.  Persons who teach courses that are regularly and customarily applied to the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degrees and are transferable to other institutions to apply towards the baccalaureate degree must hold, minimally, a master's degree from a recognized institution with at least l5 semester hours' graduate credit in the teaching field or the equivalent.  Relevant educational/teaching/professional experience may be considered equivalence to the 15 semester hours’ graduate credit in the teaching field.  In the fine and performing arts, professional recognition through performance or production may be considered equivalence to qualifications outlined above.

 

C.     Vocational, Technical, or Career Courses.  Persons who teach courses that are associated with the Associate in Applied Science degree or the certificate degrees must hold, minimally, either a bachelor's degree from a recognized institution with major emphasis in teaching area, or certifying documentation of journeyman status in a recognized vocational field plus at least five years' successful work experience in that field, or work experience which the appropriate division chair can certify as meeting the equivalent of one of the above.

 

Persons who teach courses that are associated with an Associate in Applied Science degree program that transfers to a Baccalaureate degree must hold, minimally, a master’s degree, or the equivalent from a recognized institution or the equivalent.  Relevant educational/teaching/professional experience may be considered equivalence.  In all cases, persons teaching in Associate in Applied Science or Certificate programs must meet criteria established by discipline-related accrediting agencies.

 

D.        Foundations Courses.  Persons who teach courses in remedial and developmental areas for foundations credit must hold, minimally, a bachelor's degree from a recognized institution with major in the teaching field or in a related field.  Persons may also qualify to teach remedial and developmental courses by holding, minimally, a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution and having significant educational, teaching, and/or professional work experience in the field. Additional study and/or experience in remedial and developmental teaching are desirable but not necessarily required.

 

 

E.         Degree Equivalencies

 

1.         Faculty who do not hold at least a Master's degree in discipline may be considered to hold the equivalent of a Master's degree in the following circumstances:

 

a.                  Bachelor's degree plus CPA to teach accounting.

b.                  Bachelor's degree plus CLU to teach insurance or related courses.

c.                  Bachelor's degree plus professional engineering license to teach engineering courses in areas of licensure.

d.                  Bachelor's degree plus LL. B. (or J.D.) to teach law, business law, or related courses.

e.                  Bachelor's degree plus 36 graduate hours' credit in an approved master's program of study.

f.                    Journeyman rating (or equivalent) plus 5 or more years of successful experience as a journeyman for people teaching in appropriate applied technology programs.

g.                  Bachelor's degree plus 5 years of successful employment outside the field of education in the subject field to be taught (particularly appropriate to faculty in business, accounting, computer science, and similar areas).

h.                  Distinguished professional record in a special field which can be equated to a Master's level of achievement (particularly appropriate to creative writing, applied music, and similar areas in the creative arts).

 

2.         Bachelor's degree equivalent - Persons teaching in career, technical or occupational programs, particularly in areas where there may be no appropriate academic degree available, may be considered to have a Bachelor's degree equivalency if they hold successful experience as a journeyman or equivalent while employed in the field to be taught.

 

 

II.                  FACULTY ASSIGNMENT, WORKLOAD AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Full-time members of the faculty are classified according to the ranks of Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor.  Faculty members report directly to a division chairperson and they work cooperatively with other college personnel.

 

A.         Teaching Load

 

Definition of Terms

 

·         Student Credit Hour: The credits students receive for attending a particular course.

 

·         Contact Hour: The time a teacher spends with the students as scheduled hours during the semester.

 

·         Teaching Load Hour:  The hours teachers will be awarded toward their teaching load of 15 hours per semester.

 

The teaching load hours could be different from the student hours or contact hours.  One lecture hour (50 minutes plus 10 minute break) is equal to one teaching load hour.  One laboratory hour (50 minutes plus 10 minutes of continuation time) is counted as .75 teaching load hours.  For example:  a three hour per week lecture meeting class, for which students generally get three credit hours, will be counted as three teaching load hours.  A two-hour lab class, which usually lasts for 110 minutes, will be counted as 1.5 teaching load hours.  A three-hour lab class (170 minutes) will be counted as 2.25 teaching load hours.

 

The teaching responsibilities for a full-time faculty member are considered to be 15 teaching load hours per semester and 30 load hours per academic year.  Any instructional load below 15 teaching load hours must be approved by the Executive Dean of Academic Affairs on the basis of a recommendation from the chairperson for an effective 30 load hours per academic year.

 

The load for faculty teaching in the professional education unit and instructional strategies/reading courses does not exceed 12 semester hours each semester.  Assignments for faculty who supervise student teachers do not exceed a ratio of 18 full-time students to one full-time faculty member.  Workload assignments include teaching, scholarship curriculum development, advising, committee work and service responsibilities.

 

Faculty members are not encouraged to teach overload classes, unless it is needed by the division for their programs.  The arrangement is to be made between the division chair and the faculty member.  However, under no circumstances will the faculty member have more than 21 teaching load hours.  Ordinarily, division chairs will not teach an overload.  In special circumstances when a chair is assigned an overload, it will be for no more than four credit hours and will require prior approval of the Executive Dean of Academic Affairs.

 

Non-traditional classes such as television/newspaper courses, field placement/practicum, correspondence/programmed courses and some courses in education, physical education, business and industry training, and nursing areas fall under special categories.  The load for these classes may also come under some state and federal regulation and national accrediting agencies, which will be determined by the respective division chairs and the Executive Dean of Academic Affairs. 

 

B.         Office Hours

 

Each faculty member will maintain office hours during which time the faculty member is available to students for private conferences and consultation.  During the weeks in which classes are conducted, faculty members will schedule office hours for a minimum of five hours a week during students' "prime time." The schedule for each faculty member is approved by the respective chairperson and posted outside the faculty member's office.  A copy is forwarded to the office of the Executive Dean of Academic Affairs.

 

C.        Scholarship and Service to Profession

 

Faculty members have an obligation to maintain updated knowledge of their teaching field.  An informed faculty improves courses, programs, and the reputation of the university.  The success of programs is a faculty responsibility.  The community's perception of the quality of education the program offers is a reflection of faculty involvement.

 

Scholarship and service to profession are met by each faculty member and each department in several different ways.  Within certain guidelines, each department has its own workload policy. The following list of activities is an example of the involvement of faculty in scholarship and service that each department may use in preparing its own policy.

 

·         Conventions, workshops, and seminars

·         Re-certification

·         Creation or performance of artistic works

·         Professional organizations

·         Participation in activities, professional, promotional and others, of their discipline organized by the professional organizations

·         Professional service to the community

·         Additional coursework

·         Research

·         Publications and scholarly works

 

D.        Institutional Committees and Other Internal Service 

 

WVUP faculty are obligated to:

 

·         Serve on committees and participate in related service activities;

·         Spend time in preparation and research for classes; 

·         Maintain syllabi for all courses included in the teaching assignments;

·         Maintain accurate records of student attendance and performance in classes;

·         Participate in advisement and registration of students;

·         Turn in rosters and grades at the appropriate time;

·         Attend meetings called by the president, dean, or chairperson;

·         Contribute to the processes of division planning, budgeting, and curriculum review.

 

Additional responsibilities may be determined in conference with the appropriate division chairperson.  Additional responsibilities may include:

 

·         Advising student organizations

·         Attending professional conferences and meetings

·         Providing professional service to the community

·         Serving on accrediting boards

·         Organizing advisory boards and developing curriculum

·         Contacting program-related industries and affiliating agencies

·         Recruiting

·         Participating in retention activities

·         Organizing fairs and expositions

·         Participating in activities, professional, promotional, and others, of the university

·         Mentoring adjunct faculty

·         Advising students

·         Tutoring students

·         Supporting student activities

·         Supporting student (fine art) productions

·         Providing administrative service within the university

·         Participating in professional development activities

·         Participating in division projects

 

E. Expectation for Faculty on 12-Month Contracts:

 

1.      Faculty on 12-month contracts are normally expected to maintain standard 37 l/2-hour work weeks with appropriate compensatory time to be taken when they are assigned evening classes.

 

2.      Faculty on 12-month contracts are expected to observe all business days of the year, including those days on which classes are not scheduled.

 

3.      Faculty on 12-month contracts earn two days of annual leave per month; such leave to be taken during times when they are not scheduled to teach classes.