|
According to BoR policy (USG Academic & Student Affairs Handbook 4.2), part-time faculty are non-tenured faculty employed at a single USG institution or at more than one USG institution and are subject to the following conditions:
- Are employed as-needed, on a per-course, per semester limited term basis at the discretion of the institution and will receive no compensation unless a part-time assignment is given;
- Are not accruing time toward tenure;
- Are required to sign a letter of agreement for each appointment period and are not issued contracts;
- Are not the same as adjunct (courtesy) faculty appointments;
- Are not eligible for USG benefits, unless the part-time appointment is regular and half-time (.5 FTE) or greater, in which case the benefits offered will be based on FTE in accordance with the Employees Categories policy in the Human Resources Administrative Practices Manual; and
- Are required to work an average of less than 30 hours per week over the academic year. Hours worked per week are based on Contact hours. See conversion chart to determine the number of contact hours that can be assigned to the part-time faculty to meet the less than 30 hours per week condition. A faculty member employed at an institution at a .75 FTE or greater, other than in a temporary status based on the definition in the Employee Categories policy in the Human Resources Administrative Practices Manual, https://www.usg.edu/hr/manual/employee_categories, must be considered benefits eligible and treated accordingly.
Academic Qualifications
Part-time faculty must meet the same minimum requirements for academic preparation and credentials as their full-time counterparts and have qualifications that satisfy all SACSCOC accreditation requirements. In order to teach undergraduate classes, part-time faculty must hold at least a master’s degree in the teaching discipline OR master’s degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline). A terminal degree in the teaching discipline is required for part-time faculty to teach graduate courses. In exceptional cases, outstanding professional experience and demonstrated contributions to the teaching discipline may be presented for consideration as justification for how outstanding professional experiences equates to the academic preparation to qualify part-time faculty to teach a course.
Appointment of Part-Time Faculty
No guarantee of employment is issued to part-time faculty at the time of appointment. An appointment as a part-time faculty member only constitutes eligibility to be employed if needed and as needed by the University at some future date. The department chair arranges part-time teaching assignments on a semester-by-semester basis and is not obligated to employ part-time faculty for subsequent semesters. These appointments are reviewed comprehensively each spring by department chairs for the purpose of determining formal reappointments for the coming year. In keeping with the temporary and as-needed status of part-time faculty, a decision not to renew an appointment can be made at the institution’s discretion; non-renewal notice provisions do not apply to part-time faculty. All part-time faculty, regardless of the academic rank they hold, are not eligible for tenure or tenure-track status.
Compensation and Benefits
Total compensation for part-time faculty is determined on a course-by-course basis, semester by semester. Part-time faculty employed on an as-needed basis are not eligible to participate in the University’s fringe benefit programs. In order for KSU to comply with reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all part-time workloads (both teaching and additional duties) must be tracked and reported. Calculations for standard work hours can be found in the BoR Human Resources Administrative Practices Manual (https://www.usg.edu/hr/manual/).
Attainment of an earned doctorate or terminal degree will raise the compensation level and rank of a part-time faculty member effective the next semester after receipt of official graduate transcripts. The department chair must notify the Office of Academic Affairs of this achievement and official transcripts showing the new degree must be provided for the personnel files in that office.
Teaching Load (Academic Course Assignments)
At Kennesaw State University, a non-benefitted part-time faculty member cannot exceed more than one-half time for the year at KSU and a part-time faculty member teaching at KSU and one or more other USG institutions must limit employment to less than half-time employment for the year across all the USG institutions. When two or more KSU departments need to employ the same part-time faculty member, the department of the primary assignment is responsible for coordinating the part-time faculty member’s total load and keeping it within the bounds of less than half-time. Faculty receiving Georgia Teacher Retirement System benefits also must restrict their part-time employment to a less-than-half-time basis following retirement. Upon appointment at KSU, part-time faculty will verify in writing that they are in compliance with this policy.
At Kennesaw State University, the upper limits of a partially benefitted part-time faculty member is 24.75 standard work hours per week. Before a part-time faculty member can become partially benefits eligible, prior approval must be granted by the Office of Faculty Affairs.
KSU’s guidelines for defining the workload for teaching faculty appear in 2.2 - Workload Model for Teaching Faculty . This supplemental statement serves as the operational definition of what the upper limits of a less-than-half-time faculty load will be at KSU from the perspective of the Provost. It is important to note the distinction made in KSU’s workload guidelines between a “full faculty load” and a “full teaching load” and the reference to a “principally teaching model” for workload as described in the Faculty Handbook. The Provost’s interpretation of the upper limit of a less-than-half-time faculty workload is the teaching of no more than 19.25 standard work hours per week. (see BoR Human Resources Administrative Practices Manual).
Unlike the expectations for full-time faculty, there are no additional or minimal KSU expectations for the part-time colleague to be engaged in professional service, scholarship, academic achievement, or advisement responsibilities at KSU.
During the summer session, a part-time faculty member should be limited to teaching no more than two (2) three-credit hour courses in order to be employed less than half-time during that abbreviated term. The Provost’s interpretation of the upper limit of a less-than-half-time faculty workload during the summer session is the teaching of no more than 19.25 standard work hours per week. Part-time faculty employed by KSU are not allowed to become partially-benefits eligible for any reason over the summer.
Part-time Non-academic Course or Non-instructional Assignments
Part-time faculty members teaching non-academic courses (e.g., continuing education courses) or participating in non-instructional assignments (e.g., grant work or workshops) are paid per assignment based on actual hours worked rather than the standard instructional semester hour rate for academic course assignments. The non-instructional assignment standard hours worked counts toward the upper limit allowed for a less-than-half-time faculty.
Performance Review
The instructional effectiveness of part-time faculty will be evaluated by department chairs each semester and will be considered in decisions to employ part-time faculty in subsequent semesters. When reviewing the teaching effectiveness, the department chair should follow the general institutional policy on assessing teaching effectiveness outlined in Section 2.5 of the KSU Faculty Handbook .
|
Search
Menu
