To:The Faculty

From:Karen Walton

Re:Reduced Course Load SemesterPlease note the deadline dates

at the bottom of page 2.

Date:July 8, 2013

DeSalesUniversity prides itself in being a “teaching” institution. Although teaching, professional activities, and service are the three important areas of faculty evaluation for promotion and tenure, a faculty member cannot expect to remain at DeSalesUniversity unless he/she is an excellent teacher. The University’s goal is to provide our students with the valuable educational experience of one-to-one learning, guidance, motivation, and inspiration from faculty members with excellent academic credentials, professional experience, and pedagogical skills. Hence it is not only for financial reasons, but also for educational reasons, that the usual teaching load for full-time faculty member is four courses (or 12 semester hours) per semester.

DeSales faculty members are excellent teachers and active scholars. A reduced course load semester can enable a faculty member to engage in a scholarly or other professional activity that would be difficult or impossible to undertake while teaching four classes.

I welcome proposals from full-time faculty members for a teaching load of three courses for the spring 2014 semester, or one fewer course for a faculty member who is presently teaching fewer than four courses because he/she has an administrative appointment (such as division head or department chair). Among the criteria and conditions of the reduced-load semester are the following:

  1. The faculty member’s division head and department chair must support the proposal and must affirm the availability of an appropriate adjunct faculty member to ensure that our students’ academic experience is not diminished by the absence of the full-time faculty member from a course.
  1. The proposal should include both an abstract (not to exceed 200 words) as well as a full description of the project and/or activity the faculty member will pursue during the reduced-course semester.
  2. The proposal should include the value of the activity or project to DeSalesUniversity students and/or faculty.
  3. The proposal should include evidence of the faculty member’s ability to accomplish the proposed goal(s) and the proposed project’s relationship to the faculty member’s previous scholarly or professional activities.
  4. The proposal should include the method of assessing or measuring the accomplishment of the activity or project.
  5. The proposal should state the accomplishment or “product” which will result from the one-course reduction.
  6. The proposal should include a timeline for accomplishing the activity or project.
  7. The faculty member will not teach any paid overload courses (day, ACCESS, or graduate) during the reduced-load semester.
  8. The faculty member will not engage in any form of paid employment inside or outside the University during the reduced-load semester, unless prior written approval is given by the division head, department chair and Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.
  9. The faculty member’s department will receive no more than one reduced-load course per semester.

The proposals will be evaluated by the Dean of Undergraduate Education, the Dean of Graduate Education, and the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. Priority will be given to proposals that satisfy some of the following criteria:

  1. The faculty member has not taken a sabbatical leave within two years of application for a reduced-load semester.
  2. The faculty member has not received a reduced-load semester for at least one year prior to the semester for which a reduced load is requested.
  3. The nexus between the proposed activities and the enhancement of DeSales students’ educational experience is close.

Deadlines:

The deadlines are August 1st for a reduced load during the spring semester and January 1st for a reduced load during the fall semester.

c:President’s Cabinet

Academic Affairs Staff