traditional elements of faculty workload in the credit hour systems of calculations are quantified in faculty workload units.
| Quantity | Other Metric | Abbr. | Equivalent Quantity WLU | Formula |
|---|
| 1 | credit hour (cr) | cr | 2 WLU | WLU = cr × 2 |
| 1 | release from credit hours (crr)29 | crr | 2 WLU | WLU = crr × 2 |
| 15 | faculty work hours (fwh) | fwh | 1 WLU | 30WLU = fwh / 15 |
| 1.5 | faculty workdays (fwd) | fwd | 1 WLU | 31WLU = (fwd × 10) / 15 |
| 0.333 | office hours triggered by residential teaching per WLU per semester week (ofh/swk) | ofh/swk | 1 WLU | WLU = ofh/swk / (1/3) |
| 450 | pay per WLU ()32 | /WLU | 1 WLU | 33WLU = / \450 |
These crosswalks to WLUs accommodate faculty workload tracking regardless of the known values (whether credit hours, release from teaching credit hours, special projects paid at a flat rate, faculty work hours and workdays).
With this framework of values, faculty workload policies can be articulated more simply with faculty workload units (WLU). The table below presents full-time faculty workload requirements and overload caps in faculty workload units (WLU).
Full-time faculty required teaching/release workload per semester
Undergraduate faculty 24 faculty workload units (WLU) residential teaching/release34
Graduate faculty 18 faculty workload units (WLU) residential teaching/release35
29 The abbreviation for credit hours (cr) has a subscript letter “r” denoting that these are credit hours of contracted teaching from which a faculty member is released; the equivalent workload is directed towards other duties, such as administrative assignments, committee leadership, or special projects.
30 The denominator value of 15 relates to the standard number of weeks of academic engagement per credit hour.
31 The multiplier value of 10 relates to the standard number of faculty work hours in a faculty workday.32 Rate per WLU up to 6 WLU per course; rate per non-course WLU.
33 This formula calculates the WLU represented by an amount of compensation that is not otherwise triggered by a WLU value. It facilitates tracking of faculty workload (or overload) represented by a stipend or flat amount of compensation for workload.
34 The Faculty Handbook articulates this as 12 credit hours of teaching per semester, which can be reduced by teaching release for administrative duties, research, and other workload assignments.
35 The Faculty Handbook articulates this as 9 credit hours of teaching per semester, which can be reduced by teaching release for administrative duties, research, and other workload assignments.
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