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Faculty Guidelines

Faculty Load

“Faculty load” refers to the standard instructional assignment for a full-time faculty member. Minimum requirements for instructional and office hours are established in Florida statute, 1012.82. College Procedure 606(a) specifically apportions the forty hour workweek of instructional employee among instruction, office hours, and preparation, research, or college activities and provides authority to the Vice President of Academic Affairs/College Provost to approve of reassignment time and faculty load formulas.

Faculty Workload

The balance of instructional hours, office hours, and preparation time varies depending upon the primary instructional assignments of the faculty member. The following proportions apply to each type of assignment.


(a) Upper Division Advanced and Professional (A&P) Courses

Weekly workload

  1. Total work week of 40 hours.
  2. Fifteen (15) load credits of teaching.
  3. Ten (10) scheduled office hours must be included for student conferences and/or academic advising in the faculty member’s assigned office, the Academic Support Center, or a location approved by the appropriate Associate Vice President.
  4. Fifteen (15) hours for scholarly activities, research, or preparation in support of the college on or off campus.

(b) Lower Division Advanced and Professional (A&P) and Postsecondary Vocational (PSV) Courses
(1) Nursing Department

Weekly Workload

  1. Total work week of 40 hours.

  2. Twenty (20) load credits of teaching.

  3. Five (5) scheduled office hours must be included for student conferences and/or academic advising in the faculty member's assigned office, the Academic Support Center, or a location approved by the appropriate Associate Vice President.

  4. Fifteen (15) hours for preparation or research in support of the college on or off campus.

  5. When instructional hours exceed twenty (20) contact hours per week, office hours may be reduced by an equivalent amount.

(2) All other departments

Weekly Workload

  1. Total work week of 40 hours.
  2. Fifteen (15) load credits of teaching.
  3. Ten (10) scheduled office hours must be included for student conferences and/or academic advising in the faculty member's assigned office, the Academic Support Center, or a location approved by the appropriate Associate Vice President.
  4. Fifteen (15) hours for preparation or research in support of the college on or off campus.
  5. When instructional hours exceed fifteen (15) contact hours per week, up to five (5) office hours per week may be reduced by an equivalent amount.

(c) Postsecondary Adult Vocational (PSAV) Courses

Weekly Workload

  1. Total work week of 40 hours.
  2. Twenty-four (24) to thirty (30) load credits or contact hours of teaching. (Load may vary by 1-2 credits based on program design.)
  3. Up to six (6) scheduled office hours must be included for student conferences and/or academic advising in the faculty member's assigned office, the Academic Support Center, or a location approved by the appropriate Associate Vice President.
  4. Up to ten (10) hours for preparation, research, or College activities on or off campus.

(d) Adult Education Courses

Weekly Workload

  1. Total work week of 40 hours.
  2. Thirty (30) hours of teaching.
  3. One (1) scheduled office hour must be included for student conferences and/or academic advising in the faculty member's assigned office, the Academic Support Center, or a location approved by the appropriate Associate Vice President.
  4. Nine (9) hours for preparation, research or activities in support of the college on or off campus.

(e) Special Cases and Additional Guidelines
(1) Online instruction

Full-time faculty are required to work on campus at least 25 hours per week. As a result, when faculty are teaching more than six credits online, some of their preparation hours must be scheduled on campus. The following table provides an example for an instructor with a full-time load of 15 credit hours. This does not apply to hybrid courses.

Full-time Load Face-to-Face Online

Additional
on-campus
hours

Office
Hours
Preparation
time
Total Weekly
Hours
15 15 0 0 10 15 40
15 12 3 0 10 15 40
15 9 6 0 10 15 40
15 6 9 3 10 12 40
15 3 12 4 10 11 40
15 0 15 5 10 10 40
(2) Release time

If a faculty member’s release is approved, they will incorporate those hours normally taught, along with the corresponding proportion of course preparation and student conference hours into an on-campus schedule.

(3) Department chairs

All department chairs will have a 40 hours on-campus schedule. No time will be allotted for preparation, research, or other activities off campus.

(4) Work week

The faculty workweek is 40 hours per week over five (5) days per week (Monday – Friday) during fall and spring semesters. Variations to this standard may be approved by the appropriate AVP and VP, but will include no fewer than four (4) days per week on campus or other approved workplace facility, or three (3) days on campus/approved workplace facility and one day of Virtual Office Hours (VOH) as described below. Each on-campus workday must include at least one scheduled office hour or face to face class meeting. Each Virtual Office Hour workday must include two (2) continuous office hours at a set time (same time each week). No more than two hours of office hours can be scheduled as virtual. Virtual Office Hours must meet the following criteria:

  • One 2-hour continuous time block must be scheduled
  • VOH apply to the portion of faculty time identified for office hours, not “on campus” or other non-instructional time required in the faculty schedule.
  • Hours are scheduled at the same time each week throughout the semester • Hours must be 7-10 pm on Monday-Thurs, or on Saturday or Sunday between noon and 10 pm
  • Hours are held in a web conferencing application (such as YouSeeU or Microsoft Teams) with the faculty present the entire time, using a live web camera • Note: because VOH are conducted with a camera, the setting and attire should be work-appropriate, and interruptions should be minimized
  • Department chairs can check faculty compliance with these standards by logging in to the VOH session
  • AVP approval is required to use VOH, and approval is on a semester-by semester basis

For summer contracts: The standard workweek for summer contracts requires classes and/or office hours to be scheduled on at least two days per week (Monday-Friday). Faculty whose classes meet only on one day, and/ or who teach fully online, may be on campus one day per week if they hold six office hours per week (two must be on an alternate day), per the guidelines above.

(5) Maximum enrollment

Maximum class enrollment is determined by each department and approved by the appropriate Associate Vice President and the Vice President of Academic Affairs/College Provost.

Faculty Duty Days, Absences, and Substitutes

Full-time and adjunct faculty members are required to meet all scheduled classes.  Full‑time faculty are required to meet all scheduled office hours.  All absences must be reported in advance, if possible, to the appropriate department chairperson. In cases where little advance notice can be given, faculty should contact the department chair, as well as the campus director if on a regional campus. All efforts should be made to avoid canceling a class. Whenever possible, faculty should work with the department chairperson to arrange for a substitute. Adjunct faculty are subject to pay reduction for missed classes. Full-time faculty should submit leave requests for all absences (see Faculty Leave).  

All full-time faculty shall post their office hours and schedule of classes on or near their office door and will include them in the syllabus. Any absence during office hours needs to be noted near the posted schedule.  Missed office hours may be rescheduled within the same week if notice of new hours is posted.

Full-time faculty members are required to be present the first and last faculty duty day of the term as noted on the academic calendar. If not, leave forms should be submitted. All full-time faculty are required to attend at least one of the student graduations.

Additional guidance is provided in the next section, “Faculty Absences and Substitutes: A Guideline.”

Faculty Absences and Substitutes: A Guideline

  1. Although it is sometimes necessary, canceling a face-to-face class should be a last resort. Students have paid for and been promised a certain amount of instructional time and arranged work and family schedules around being in class. Even if a notice is sent out to students prior to the class being canceled, some will invariably not get the message and will come to campus anyway. To find a note on the door telling them class is canceled makes them feel like they wasted time and also undermines our repeated message that attending every class is very important.
  2. The best option is to find another faculty member (full-time or part-time) in the same field who can cover the content the instructor would normally cover. If an absence is known in advance, this can be arranged between the faculty member and the substitute. In these circumstances, the faculty member should identify and make arrangements with a substitute, with notification to the department chair. The department chair may need to assist in this effort if the faculty member isn’t sure whom to ask, or is the only person in the discipline on a campus, etc.
  3. If another instructor in the same field cannot be secured, an instructor from a related field may be asked to be a “guest speaker” for the day on a topic common to both fields. This would still be beneficial to students and reinforce the same learning outcomes.
  4. If neither of these options is available, the class time is still a good opportunity to assist and advise students. Different programs may have specific needs not on this list, but some suggestions for guest speakers include:
    1. The Advisor on the Go can visit the class with printouts of every student’s degree plan and have an advising session. Another faculty member or department chair can also do a group advising session, especially if the class is part of a cohort.
    2. The Career Center can make a presentation about tools to match students with prospective careers.
    3. Speaker(s) from baccalaureate programs can address students about transferring to one of our programs upon graduation from an AA or AS.
    4. If planned in advance and a faculty substitute is also present, an ASC or Writing Center representative can give a tutoring session, a discussion of support available, a demonstration of tools, or a review of an upcoming writing assignment.
  5. It is always best if the faculty member arranges this or at least has input into who is chosen to substitute. However, if sick leave or personal leave is taken by faculty and no arrangements are made, the department chair has the responsibility to arrange for a substitute if necessary.
  6. When time constraints prevent finding a suitable substitute or speaker, the class can be cancelled and a DSC Alert message sent to students alerting them of the cancellation as well as a note on the classroom door. In this case it is best if the faculty member can post a message in the course shell with a link to materials to review for the next class.
  7. Leave must be taken for time missed, whether or not a substitute covers the class. If the class is in-load, appropriate leave is taken; if the class is in overload, pay is adjusted to account for class time missed.

Faculty Load Agreement

Adjunct Faculty & Faculty Teaching Overloads*

*This section is solely for Adjunct Faculty and Faculty teaching overloads (all other faculty do not need to submit a Load Agreement).

Steps to Access Faculty Load Agreement
  1. Go to My.DaytonaState.Edu and select Falcon Self-Service.
  2. Login using your college credentials.
  3. Click the Faculty Center tile.
  4. Select Faculty Agreement.
  5. Review your course(s) and salary.
  6. Click the checkbox to indicate that you have read and agree to the details presented.
  7. Click Accept.
  8. You should then get a confirmation message. 
  9. Print the page or safe it as a PDF for your records.

Note: Notify your department chair if you believe there is incorrect information on the Load Agreement.