POLICY ON FACULTY TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS (discussion draft)

Teaching Missions of academic units: Academic units within the University have missions that include research, service, and teaching responsibilities. The teaching responsibilities of a unit may be both general to the discipline and may be in support of other university functions or academic programs. The teaching missions of an academic unit have been developed over time. Any new teaching missions should be created as a joint agreement between the administration and the majority of the faculty in the unit, with appropriate validation by the Graduate or Undergraduate Council and the Academic Council.

Responsibility of unit chairs and deans: A chair is responsible for assigning teaching duties to individual faculty members to meet teaching needs consistent with the unit’s mission. The teaching need is determined by the chairman in consultation with both the faculty and the office of the dean. The central administration will have final authority in determining the need to teach courses within a unit. Assignments of courses to particular faculty members should be done with consideration of the faculty member’s skills, limitations, other university responsibilities, and professional development goals. Assignments should be made known to faculty in a timely manner via appropriate channels.

Responsibility of Faculty: Faculty are responsible for carrying out their teaching assignments. If a faculty member believes that his or her assignment is unfair or is a hardship, he or she may appeal through the faculty grievance process. In making an appeal, the faculty member must show that the assignment is unfair or a hardship when weighed in the context of the unit’s mission. Until a resolution is reached, the faculty member must continue to teach his or her assigned classes.