Policy: Faculty Workload

Document Number: 1.009
Title: Faculty Workload
Effective Date: 08/08/2024
Revised Date: 08/01/2025

Policy Statement

River Parishes Community College (RPCC) has established workload requirements that allow for full-time faculty members to fulfill their teaching duties, as well as other College obligations such as committee assignments, class/lab preparation, participation in meetings, advising, curriculum development and revision, college and programmatic accreditation activities and attendance at Commencement exercises.

Faculty Workload:

All full-time faculty (except Practical Nursing Instructors – see Practical Nursing Instructor Workload and Expectations below) are expected, as a condition of their contract, to:

• teach 15 credit hours each fall and spring semester
• up to 10 credit hours each summer semester (12-month faculty only)
• spend time preparing for class, grading, and improving their courses
• be regularly available to students outside of class time at least 10 hours per week, and
• serve the college in other capacities beyond instruction

All full-time faculty are expected to work a 40-hour work week during the fall and spring semesters.

The standard 40-hour work week is comprised of:

• 15 credit hours of instruction
  • Physical Science and Physics Labs: each credit hour = 1.5 hours toward load
  • Biology 1010L and 1020L: each credit hour = 1.5 hours toward load
  • Chemistry Labs: each credit hour = 2.25 hours toward load
  • All other Biology Labs: each credit hour = 2.25 hours toward load
• 15 hours of class preparation, course improvement, grading, and being available to students
  • A minimum of 10 of the 15 hours should be dedicated to office hours
    • If a faculty member teaches all “face-to-face” classes, 7 of the 10 office hours must be “on campus,” the remaining 3 may be online using online conferencing software (Microsoft Teams) via online appointment scheduler software (Microsoft Bookings). Available appointment times must be consistent each week.
    • If a faculty member teaches all online/virtual classes, then all office hours can be virtual using online conferencing software (Microsoft Teams) via online appointment scheduler software (Microsoft Bookings). Available appointment times must be consistent each week.
    • If a faculty member does not teach all online/virtual classes, then “on-campus” office hours need to be proportional to the number of face-to-face or hybrid classes that faculty member teaches. For example, if a faculty member teaches 3 OL classes, 1 S class, and 1 hybrid or face-to-face class, then 20% of the faculty member’s office hours should be on campus.
    • All office hours, whether on campus or virtual, must be stated in each course syllabus. In the case of virtual office hours, a link to the appointment scheduler (Microsoft Bookings) must be included on the Canvas homepage and office hours listed in the course syllabus.
    • Faculty are expected to respond to student emails and phone calls within 1 business day.
    • Although faculty are not required to keep scheduled office hours after the day final examinations begin, they must continue to be available for consultation with students up to 7 calendar days after the final grade submission deadline.
    • If a faculty member travels between campuses to teach, the faculty member may reduce their office hours in accordance with the table below:

    • Campuses	Reduced Office Hour Time
      Gonzales to Reserve	1 hour/week
      Gonzales to St. Charles	2 hours/week
      Gonzales to Westside	2 hours/week
      Reserve to St. Charles	1 hour/week
      Reserve to Westside	2 hours/week
      St. Charles to Westside	1.5 hours/week

• 10 hours of service
  • Advising Students/Committee Work/Departmental Meetings

Practical Nursing Instructors: Workloads and Expectations

All full-time Practical Nursing faculty are expected, as a condition of their contract, to:

• teach and be available to students 25 clock hours per week during the fall, spring, and summer semesters,
• spend time preparing for class, grading, and improving their courses, and
• serve the college in other capacities beyond instruction.

The standard 40-hour work week for Practical Nursing instructors is comprised of:

• 25 clock hours of instruction and office hours
• 10 hours of class preparation, course improvement, and grading
• 5 hours of service
  • Advising Students/Committee Work/Departmental Meetings

Release Time

Release time from instruction may be granted, upon approval by a Dean and the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, for faculty to work on special assignments such as grants, policies, institutional and/or programmatic accreditation, designing training, etc. A Release Time Agreement must be signed by the faculty member, their Dean, and the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. Every “Release Time Agreement” will be given a credit hour value to document a faculty member’s total semester credit hour workload.

Failure to Teach 15 Credit Hour Load

If a faculty member does not have 15 credit hours of classes in a fall semester, they must make up the instructional time and any associated prep time/course improvement/grading time:

• with a Release Time Agreement, approved by their Dean and the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, or
• or they must make up the credit hours in the spring semester

If a faculty member does not have 15 credit hours of courses in a spring semester, they must make up the instructional time and any associated prep time/course improvement/grading time with a Release Time Agreement, approved by their Dean and the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.

A load deficit of six credit hours or more for two consecutive semesters may result in a non-renewal of the full-time contract the next academic year.

Overloads, Over Capacities, Class Cancellations, and Independent Study

“Overloads” are any credit hours taught above 15 credit hours in a fall or spring semester. Overloads are paid at the adjunct credit hour rate (subject to minimum class size requirements). Overloads may not exceed 6 credit hours per semester per faculty member (e.g., a faculty member’s total teaching load may not exceed 21 credit hours per semester). In extenuating circumstances, the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs may approve an assignment in excess of 21-credit hours for a full-time faculty member.

“Overloads” for Practical Nursing instructors are any clock hours taught above 25 clock hours in the fall, spring, or summer semester. Overloads for Practical Nursing Instructors are paid at $50.00 per clock hour, up to the contact hours required for the course.

Course Compensation and Class Size Calculations

Minimum Class Size & Course Cancellation

The minimum class size is set at 12 students per section.

Courses that do not meet the minimum class size may be cancelled or approved to be offered at the per student adjunct contract rate. Course cancellations will be determined by each respective Department Chair and/or Dean. The Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs may approve low enrollment courses to be paid at the full credit hour rate under extenuating circumstances.

Over Capacities

Over capacities occur if enrollment in an online or virtual course exceeds the enrollment cap (25 for English 1000, 1010, 1020, 2300 and corequisite English and Math classes) classes/36 for all other classes). In such cases, the faculty member will be compensated at the $150 per student rate in excess of the course enrollment cap.

Adjunct Credit Hour Contract Rates

Adjunct courses that meet the minimum class size are compensated based on the adjunct contract rate of $800 per credit hour.

Per Student Adjunct Contract Rate

The per student adjunct contract rate is determined multiplying the credit hour rate by the total credit hours of the course section, and then dividing by minimum class size.

[Credit Hour Rate] X [Section Credit Hours] / [Minimum Class Size] = Per Student Rate