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UTCE-MnSCU Master Agreement 1999-2001

ARTICLE 14
Workload

Section 1. Basic Work Year.

Subd. 1. Duty Days.

The academic calendar of each College shall be established by the College President. Prior to establishing or making changes in the calendar, the president shall place the subject of the academic calendar on the agenda of the Faculty Senate.

Faculty will have 175 duty days consisting of the following:

  1. 166 student contact days.
  2. Six (6) workshop or in-service days.
  3. The remaining three (3) days to consist of projects or activities mutually agreed upon by the faculty member and College President or designee.

Subd. 2. Holidays.

Except as noted below, no faculty members will be scheduled to work on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday*, Presidents' Day*, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans' Day*, Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving Friday*, Christmas Day, and any other holidays provided by statute. When any of the above holidays fall on Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be the holiday. When any of the above holidays fall on Sunday, the following Monday shall be the holiday.

*With mutual agreement between the UTCE Chapter and the College President, the College may designate alternate non-duty days for the observance of these days for the College and academic units, when such revisions are in the best interest of the College. With mutual agreement between the affected faculty member, the UTCE Chapter and the College President, the College may designate alternate non-duty days for the observance of these days for an individual faculty member(s) when such revisions are in the best interest of the College.

Subd. 3. Religious Holidays.

Any faculty member who observes a religious holiday on a day that does not fall on a Sunday or a legal holiday shall be entitled to such day off from his/her employment for such observance. Such day off shall be taken without pay except where the faculty member has unused personal leave, and in that case such day may be charged against the personal leave of the faculty member upon request of the faculty member. The faculty member shall inform the College administration at least ten (10) calendar days in advance of his/her intention to take the religious holiday off of work.

Subd. 4. State UTCE Meetings.

The two (2) days when the state UTCE organization meets shall not be duty days.

Section 2. Workload Assignment.

Subd. 1. Work Week.

It is recognized that full-time faculty members, including counselors and librarians, normally average forty (40) hours per week in carrying out their professional responsibilities and that part-time faculty members work a proportionate amount of time. The reference to forty (40) hours is a generalization intended for recognition of the many non-assignable duties that faculty members perform. It does not establish a threshold of maximum assignable hours. It is further recognized that a faculty member's work assignment includes a number of diverse professional responsibilities. Classroom teaching and other contacts with students form the core of the faculty work assignment. Faculty members will plan to engage in such activities as: student advising, course evaluation, classroom preparation, the evaluation of student performance, committee assignments, conferences, departmental meetings, curriculum/program review and revision, business and industry contacts, student recruitment, retention and placement, and staff meetings as part of their professional responsibilities. In regard to student advising, it is recognized that faculty will establish the necessary level of advising time to meet this obligation. Non-teaching activities may be completed off campus. This method of workload assignment is known as the "open campus" concept. The faculty are required to be on campus to cover their assigned classes. It is also recognized that the work assignments of part-time faculty include similar duties performed on a proportional basis.

  1. Schedules. It is understood that faculty members and the College administration shall work collaboratively in the development of schedules. Schedules for each faculty member shall be developed by that faculty member, in consultation with the College President or designee, and submitted to the College administration for consideration and, if approved, consolidation into a master schedule as appropriate. In the case of multi-faculty programs, the faculty shall first work in consultation with each other to develop schedules prior to submitting them to the College administration.
  2. Elapsed Time. The work must be scheduled within an eight (8) hour continuous timespan between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Any variation of the continuous duty day or work week shall be by mutual agreement between the faculty member, UTCE Chapter and the College President or designee.

Subd. 2. Instructors.

Workload. A full-time faculty member may be assigned an annual maximum of up to thirty-two (32) credits, or up to twenty-seven (27) contact hours a week. Whenever either limit has been reached, the instructor may accept additional credit or contact hour assignments as overload. When making part-time faculty assignments, the credit/contact hour limitation shall be a proration of the FTE.

  1. For purposes of calculating "student contact hours," one (1) lecture credit equals one (1) weekly student contact hour and one (1) lab credit equals two (2) weekly student contact hours. Two (2) weekly student contact hours in any lab is equal to one (1) lab credit.
  2. Professional Accreditation Assignments: Programs that have professional accreditation requirements dictating extensive faculty monitoring of students on assignment outside the College, shall be administered in accordance with the language in Article 14, Section 3, Unique Assignments. Criteria such as the number of students served, number of credits, location of sites, number of visits required, and preparation for and evaluation of the educational experience will be considered when determining student contact hours.
  3. Internships: An internship shall include supervision of a planned educational experience in a work setting, and/or a supervised occupational experience, and/or a cooperative work experience. Programs that have students on these assignments outside the College shall be administered in accordance with the language in Article 14, Section 3, Unique Assignments. Criteria such as the number of students served, number of credits, location of sites, number of visits required, and preparation for an evaluation of the educational experience will be considered when determining student contact hours.

Subd. 3. Alternative Delivery.

Whenever possible, the Administration will work cooperatively with faculty when assignments for distance learning, combined classes or flex labs are necessary.

  1. Distance Learning. The intent of distance learning, including telecourses, is to provide student access to instruction and services. Tapes or other materials developed expressly for distance learning by the faculty on their own time may not be reused without the faculty members' permission. The faculty member shall not be responsible for maintenance of equipment. The terms of this contract shall apply to faculty that are providing such services. The parties agree to establish a sub-committee to discuss the mutual concerns of the parties on this issue. The sub-committee will recommend changes to this agreement to address those concerns.
  2. Combined Classes. This is an assignment to teach two (2) or more classes of different content at the same time. Workload for combined classes shall be based on the credit value of the course with the greatest number of credits.
  3. Flex Labs/Individualized Instruction. These courses are taught on an individualized basis. Workload is based on contact hours.

Subd. 4. Workload for Management Programs.

The workload for management programs shall be determined in accordance with Appendix A in the back of this contract.

Subd. 5. Travel Time.

Compensation for travel will be determined by the following:

  1. When a faculty member is assigned to travel between campuses or sites on the same day, the travel time shall be applied to the faculty member's student contact hours. The travel time shall be determined by dividing the number of miles between the work locations by fifty (50).
  2. When a faculty member is assigned to travel to different campuses or sites on alternating days, mileage compensation will be determined by Article 20, Section 2, for travel from the faculty member's permanent work location to and from the assigned location.

Section 3. Unique Assignments.

A faculty member may be assigned duties that are not described in this agreement by mutual agreement between the faculty member, UTCE Chapter and the College President or designee. Credit/student contact hour equivalence for the assignment will be determined by the faculty member and the College administration before the assignment is made. The instructor's regular workload will be reduced by an equal number of credit/student contact hours. The College administration will schedule the unique assignment within the parameters described in this Article for work day, work week, and elapsed time except by mutual agreement between the faculty member and the College President or designee. If an overload condition is created, compensation shall be according to the overload calculation in Article 15.