Full-Time Faculty Effort establishes a definition of full-time work (effort) for traditional faculty members at all campuses of West Virginia University. It recognizes the unique nature of full-time faculty appointments, which are multi-faceted due to expectations in the realization of the institution’s tripartite mission of teaching, research (including scholarship and creative activity), and service, as defined by the various colleges, schools, and regional campuses.
Traditional Full-Time
Faculty Appointments
Full-time faculty appointments are those appointments identified as 1.00 FTE (full-time equivalent). They normally include teaching and/or research, scholarship or creative activity, or (in the clinical track at the Health Sciences Center), clinical service, as a significant proportion of the assignment which, when combined with other assigned service such as outreach, comprises an assignment of 1.00 FTE. Such appointments may be held by faculty members who are tenured, in the tenure-track, in the clinical-track (at the Health Sciences Center), in the teaching-track, in the librarian-track, or who hold non-tenurable appointments with the prefix of research, service, or visiting.
Full-Time Effort
Each full-time faculty member will be assigned teaching, research/scholarly or creative activities, clinical service responsibilities (if appropriate), and other forms of service, in an amount that can be equated with a 1.00 FTE assignment.
A full-time faculty member who fulfills their assignment during the contract period will be judged to have worked full-time for the contract period. These assignments are documented in annual work plans developed by the supervisor (usually the department chairperson) in consultation with the faculty member, after which the details of the assignments are to be determined by the appropriate administrator.
The extent to which a faculty assignment has been fulfilled will be verified by the department chairperson or other appropriate supervisor during the annual review period via a simple annual reporting form ("productivity report") appropriate to the work assignments in that unit for use by all members of the unit, and the evidence in the faculty member’s evaluation file. The annual evaluation provides measures of progress toward the fulfillment of faculty assignments. Certain faculty members may also be required by law or contract to comply with additional effort-reporting.
The Nature of Faculty Work
Faculty work is professional and complex; it is rarely confined to the traditional university business day (M-F, 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.). For many faculty members, particularly those at the Health Sciences Center, faculty work extends beyond this time frame on a regular basis. Faculty appointments carry an institutional expectation of quality performance. The intellectual products of faculty effort may vary widely between and within disciplines. The quality and quantity of these products in teaching, research and service are the ultimate measure of faculty effort.
Faculty members at West Virginia University who are assigned to teach must be able to communicate effectively with students; provide timely feedback to students, including but not limited to the timely return of assignments, papers, and examinations; maintain an instructional environment that is conducive to student learning, based upon open communication and mutual respect; disseminate knowledge and information at a level appropriate to the level at which the subject is taught; stimulate critical thinking; and demonstrate intellectual competence, integrity, independence, a spirit of scholarly inquiry, a dedication to improving methods of presenting material, respect for differences and diversity, and the ability to stimulate and cultivate the intellectual interest and enthusiasm of students.
In addition to classes taught during the traditional university business day, faculty may be assigned to teach evenings and/or during weekends. Preparation for traditional and non-traditional teaching, including but not limited to clinical, laboratory and practicum instruction, research, thesis and dissertation guidance, evaluation and critique of student performance, various forms of continuing education and non-traditional instruction, and advising, may occur at a variety of times. Faculty should be reasonably available to students outside the instructional setting. Student-faculty contact regarding all forms of instruction, including on-line instruction, with the possibility of instant electronic communication between student and faculty member, may occur at almost any time.
Faculty members at West Virginia University who are assigned to conduct research, or to otherwise engage in scholarly or creative activity, must be able to prepare grant proposals (if appropriate) that can be understood by the potential reader; engage in research, scholarly or creative activity that will inform their teaching if assigned; provide opportunities for students to collaborate in these activities; disseminate the results of these activities in appropriate national and/or international venues; encourage interdisciplinary and collaborative activity when possible; and undertake a continuing program of activity, studies or investigations, to be validated with publications in refereed journals or the equivalent. These activities or their preparation may occur intensively during sabbatical leaves.
Faculty research activity often extends outside the traditional university business day. This is particularly true of experiments that require frequent observation, or activity that must occur when needed. The submission of grant proposals and publication of scholarly research are subject to deadlines that may require activity within and beyond the contract period.
Faculty members at West Virginia University who are assigned to engage in service to the institution must be able to contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the faculty member's department and college; take part in the shared governance process; assume an obligation to the unit’s future; and accept the expectation to help solve problems and respond to special needs in order to contribute to the future of the degree granting program.
Clinical faculty members at the Health Sciences Center have on-call responsibilities for nights and weekends that are in the service of direct patient care and educational supervision.
When assigned to engage in service to the profession, faculty members must be able to serve appropriate professional organizations at a variety of levels, including but not limited to state, regional, and national organizations; and must represent the interests of West Virginia University in ways that reflect positively upon the institution.
When assigned to engage in service to the external community faculty members must make contributions which are within their professional expertise, and performed with one's university affiliation identified; they should seek opportunities that apply the benefits and products of teaching and research to address the needs of society.
Although service to the institution may be more easily relegated to the traditional university business day, service to the profession may often occur at professional meetings that occur over weekend periods, and service to the external community may depend upon when those served, including clients or patients, are available.