Faculty Engagement and Expectations Procedure | SCC

About

Faculty Engagement and Expectations Procedure

Division: Academics
SCC Procedure Number: SPR2.26
OPR: Provost
Issued: 8/23/2024
Revised: 
Effective: 
Approved SCC President/CEO: 9/27/2024
Reference KCTCS Policy: 2.14.1.1 Faculty Vacation Leave, 2.11 Work Load, 2.0.2-P Employee Responsibilities and Corrective Action Procedure, and 2.11.3 KCTCS Outside Employment

Procedure

  1. Purpose
    • This procedure develops and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of Faculty to maximize engagement and build on the existing KCTCS policies and procedures in support of the college's mission and academic excellence. This procedure does not supersede the existing KCTCS Board of Regents policy 2.14.1.1 Administrative Policies 2.11 and 2.11.3, or Procedure 2.0.2-P.
  2. Teaching Load and Classroom Hours
    • Regular full-time Faculty are required to teach a minimum of 15 credit hours per semester, equating to 30 credit hours over the academic year (fall and spring semesters), or a maximum of 25 contact hours per week as the normal full-time teaching load (See Rules of the Senate, Section V, 2.0 Credit, Loads, and Academic Standards for further clarification).
    • College administration understands that some faculty positions require additional duties, which may be extensive, depending on the position. Examples include program coordinators, clinical coordinators, etc. In these cases, a reduction in teaching load or supplemental/overload pay may be appropriate and is considered on a case-by-case basis, dependent upon the additional responsibilities specific to the program/job title.
    • Any deviation (reduction in hours, overloads, etc.) from the standard teaching load must be discussed with and approved by the Associate Dean, Division Dean, and Chief Academic Officer.
  3. Campus Presence Requirements
    • Regular full-time Faculty are required to be physically present on campus for a minimum of 15 hours per week, distributed over at least three days. “On-campus" could include events such as road shows, other recruiting events, high school visits, university visits, in-person teaching, office hours, committee service, and other situations that include a physical presence. This requirement is not intended to only include office hours and is consistent for all regular full-time faculty regardless of their primary mode of instruction. The ideal scenario would be one where Faculty are available for collaboration, events, and activities on campus for more than 15 hours per week, but 15 hours is the minimum expectation. This requirement may be adjusted only with advance approval of the immediate supervisor to accommodate particular circumstances, such as off-campus activities or other significant commitments.
    • The schedule for campus presence must be arranged in advance with the faculty member's supervisor to ensure it aligns with departmental needs, office hours, and instructional responsibilities. It should also be available for students and employees to view (posted outside the office, included in the Blackboard shell, etc.).
  4. Office Hours and Student Accessibility
    • Regular full-time Faculty must maintain at least 10 office hours per week to ensure student accessibility. Specific hours must be posted outside faculty offices and communicated to students via the course syllabus, Blackboard shell, etc. The 10-office hour requirement can be included in the 15-hour campus presence requirement discussed above.
    • Each faculty member's office hours should be distributed throughout the week to accommodate diverse student schedules and included in the required campus presence hours.
  5. Requirements Beyond Teaching
    • Faculty members are encouraged to participate in all College activities that promote student learning and support their professional growth. Faculty are expected to engage in internal and external service, professional development, and educational leadership activities as part of the Performance, Planning, and Evaluation (PPE) process. The percentage of effort for each PPE requirement should be determined during the planning phase of the PPE process.
  6. Meetings and College Commitments
    • Regular full-time Faculty are expected to attend all faculty, department/division, program, and assigned committee meetings in the designated appropriate format for the meeting. The faculty member's immediate supervisor must approve any deviation from this expectation.
    • Attendance at specific college events (e.g., commencement, convocation, etc.) is mandatory unless excused by the relevant authority.
    • Attendance at these commitments can be counted toward the required 15 campus presence hours.
  7. Leave and Absence
    • Adherence to the SCC and KCTCS Leave and Absence policies is mandatory.
    • Regular full-time Faculty must request leave for absences due to medical or personal reasons, following the guidelines outlined in the KCTCS Administrative Policy. KCTCS Policy 2.14.1.1 states that "Except for emergencies or other special reasons as approved by the college president/CEO, faculty shall not take a vacation during the academic year while classes (including labs, clinicals, committee work, advising, office hours, and other responsibilities assigned by the supervisor and college officials) are in session." This policy statement should be interpreted to mean that Faculty can request vacation time only when the individual faculty member does not have a scheduled class or mandatory institutional commitment.
    • KCTCS Policy 2.14.1.1 also states that "With prior administrative approval, faculty members may take vacation leave at appropriate times during the period in which they are eligible to take such leave; however, each member of the teaching faculty shall be in actual attendance at least until after commencement and until all reports have been made, and at least three (3) days before the first day of registration for the fall semester, unless for emergencies or other special reasons, leave is approved by the college president/CEO." Based on this policy, faculty members should generally plan their vacation requests after the May commencement and before the first three days before the start of the class. However, such requests should not overlap with mandatory college functions such as convocation. Additionally, faculty members can schedule their vacations during spring and fall breaks, when classes are not in session.
  8. Overloads and External Employment
    • Faculty overloads are limited to six (6) credit hours per semester or ten (10) contact hours per week, with exceptions requiring administrative approval.
    • Adhering to KCTCS policy 2.11.3 Outside Employment, engagement in external employment must be reported, and an Outside Employment form must be completed and approval granted for any faculty member “performing “related” outside employment or consulting work if it is the type of instruction, or training, or other related services that KCTCS provides to the public. Related work is work that uses substantially the same professional knowledge and skills required in an employee’s KCTCS position.” External employment approval can be revoked if it interferes with employee performance.
  9. Advising Responsibilities
    • Regular full-time Faculty are responsible for advising assigned students based on departmental, programmatic, and institutional needs. The assignment of faculty advisees will follow the current process outlined in the Advising Process Guidance documents.
    • Faculty are responsible for completing Graduation Applications and SAP appeals for their advisees.
    • Faculty must schedule availability for advising and make that schedule available to students and their immediate supervisor.
  10. Teaching Responsibilities
    • Faculty must adhere to the minimum expectations outlined on the approved syllabus template provided each semester, include office hours in the syllabus, and upload the course syllabus to the course's Blackboard shell. Some accrediting bodies have specific requirements for syllabi that go beyond the SCC-approved template. In these cases, those expectations must also be met.
    • Full and part-time faculty members shall complete mandatory no-show reporting for each class following the current procedure. Program coordinators and associate deans are responsible for ensuring that all faculty complete no-show reporting on time.
    • Grading:
      1. 16-week Session classes—All grading shall be completed within a maximum of one week of the assignment's due date. Rare exceptions may be made for assignments that take significant time to grade.
      2. 8-week Session classes—All grading shall be completed within a maximum of 72 hours of the assignment's due date. Rare exceptions may be made for assignments that take more time to grade.
      3. 4-week Session classes—All grading shall be completed within a maximum of 48 hours of the assignment due date. Rare exceptions may be made for assignments that take a significant time to grade.
      4. Grading in Blackboard should be current one week before midterm so students know their standing in the course.
      5. Grading deadlines may be extended or altered for individual students if a student’s academic adjustment/accommodation under the ADA is to allow for extended time on assignments or tests/exams/quizzes.
    • Communication with Students—Communication with students is crucial for student success. All student communication will be addressed in some form (i.e., returned phone calls, emails, office appointments, etc.) on a timely basis.
      1. KCTCS email is the official email accepted by all Faculty from students. Instructors who accept only Blackboard messages may be at risk in a student appeal case if they ignore the student's KCTCS email correspondence.
      2. Faculty members may, at their discretion, choose to communicate with students using various modes. The appropriateness of these modes is contextual and individualized, allowing Faculty flexibility in maintaining communication with students.
      3. Faculty members shall respond to student emails or other contact efforts within 24 hours of the initial email/contact from the student. Regular business hours do not typically include weekends or holidays; however, should assigned work be due during non-business hours, the Faculty member shall be available via email during this time, especially if non-contact could negatively affect a student's performance.
      4. If any Faculty member plans to be out of the office and is unable to reply to students in any mode for more than 48 hours, it is required they leave an automated reply communicating that with a referral to an immediate contact for an emergency.
      5. Faculty who require their students to check Blackboard for communication a set number of times weekly shall reciprocate by checking Blackboard regularly.
  11. Non-Compliance
    • Failure to comply with the minimum requirements outlined in this policy and procedure may result in disciplinary action as outlined in KCTCS Administrative Policy 2.0.2-P, Employee Responsibilities, and Corrective Action Procedure.
  12. Review and Amendments
    • This policy shall be reviewed annually as part of the Leadership Council institutional policy review process.