From the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Posted: Friday, November 12, 20212022-2023 Academic Year
As we near completion of the fall 2021 semester and have settled into our new rhythm, I would like to extend a thank-you for your continued flexibility in all facets of delivering an outstanding education to our students. Your passion and adaptability during the previous year have aided the institution despite the pandemic. We have been navigating our new normal since spring 2020, and I appreciate the tremendous efforts put forth in keeping our students on a path to success. It is inspiring that we continue to adapt with the latest public health circumstances, and I ask that we continue to extend understanding, sympathy, and compassion as we navigate this year.
As we plan for the 2022–2023 academic year, the academic deans will begin to meet with department chairs and faculty to develop individual faculty work plans.
The DOPS Policy VI:23:00 states the following:
All faculty are expected to engage in teaching, scholarship or creative activity, and service. The specific mix of these various components is determined by the needs and policies of the institution, the needs of the students, the interests and skills of the faculty, the availability of resources and facilities, and various programmatic requirements. The teaching responsibilities for a department may vary from semester to semester. The numbers of courses taught on an annual basis is based on interrelated factors: programmatic requirements; availability of faculty and laboratory support staff; pedagogical norms of the discipline; importance of studio or laboratory experiences; level of instruction; and demand and historical patterns within the area. The expectation for teaching is six to eight courses each academic year. In addition, faculty members may be reassigned to other professional activities: research or scholarly activity that is expected to result in significant products in their field, significant administrative assignments or extraordinary service, or externally funded projects that benefit the department and/or the college. Decisions on reassignment from teaching are reached by department chairs and deans in consultation with faculty members.
The consultation meetings of chairs and faculty will occur over the course of the next few weeks in order to develop individual plans for the 2022–2023 academic year. I look forward to our working together to achieve our goals while fostering new growth and opportunities for our faculty and students alike.