Challenge X: Faculty Loads
Response:
Contracts are issued and mutually agreed upon for twelve months on yearly terms. Yearly teaching assignments are considered to be 30 semester hours of instruction per year. The average regular teaching assignment/load in an academic year is:12 semester hours/4 courses-Fall semester, 12 semester hours/ 4 courses-Spring semester, 6 semester hours/2 courses in Summer Session I or Summer Session II, but may vary based on the needs of the College. Full-time faculty load is utilized before hiring adjunct faculty. As the College is new, but still growing, class size is sometimes very low. The number of preparations is a determining factor in the Faculty load decision for each faculty member.
The Dean of each School is responsible for the compliance with the Faculty Load Policy. Miller College provides a balanced approach to professional assignments (teaching, committee assignments, office hours, community service, scholarship, and advising students). Faculty members are not paid for hourly work. They are not required to publish/research. Faculty members are assigned to committee work and carry a regular advisee list each semester and they still have opportunities to effectively engage in scholarship and service as part of the agreed upon responsibilities.
The use of part-time higher education faculty members who have been with the College since the inception of the programs allow the college to provide consistent quality programs with highly qualified and dedicated faculty members while the institution continues to grow. The issue of Accreditation was a primary factor that needed to be dealt with as potential hires/individuals decided whether to take a risk with a new institution. Now that we are accredited, that will no longer be an issue.
All of the Miller College part-time faculty members are expected to attend department staff meetings. They are invited to attend College Forum, Academic Affairs Committee and are required to attend Orientation for faculty training. In the Orientation session, part- time faculty members receive extensive training on course development, delivery, consistency, assessment, etc. The College uses The Worldwide Instructional Design System (WIDS). All faculty (full-time, percent- time, or adjunct) use the same syllabus for each class.
Miller College requires faculty to employ teaching practices that foster and support student learning. To ensure this, faculty have identified learning outcomes for each of the schools, and learning objectives for each degree program and general education. These are directly related to course outcomes, student competencies, and assessment tools identified in course syllabi. The College strives to have all syllabi developed using the Worldwide Instructional Design System® (WIDS®). All syllabi are developed in the WIDS format. Faculty members update WIDS® prior to the start of each semester. The use of WIDS® ensures that the College’s faculty and instructors consistently expose their students to the Learning Outcomes of their degree programs. The WIDS® process ties the degree program learning objectives with the core abilities, competencies, objectives, and learning activities of each course.
The WIDS consistency has been the vehicle used to ensure integrity, quality, and continuity of the following areas:
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