Welfare Note #13
Another offering in a series of "Welfare Notes" that has been created by the Welfare Committee which are intended to ensure that all members of the Faculty Association are educated, informed, or updated in terms of welfare-related concerns and their rights contained within the Contractual Agreement.
Recently questions have been presented to the Welfare Committee regarding how the initiation of an assignment affects payment of hours beyond 100 % of load. Based upon the nature of the assignment (less than, equal to, or greater than a full load) and on the person who initiates the assignment, our Contractual Agreement with the Board provides for overload pay or banked hours.
In the following text, the Welfare Committee has made references to relevant sections in our Contractual Agreement with the Board and offered clarification as to the nature of the transaction, along with recommendations to all Faculty Members. Please review the information provided. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact any member of your Welfare Committee.
Assignment Initiation
Faculty Member-initiated Assignment
When the Faculty Member first submits a desired assignment1 for the upcoming term, the Faculty Member is considered to have initiated the assignment1.
When the Faculty Member initiates a request for an assignment1 that is greater than 100% of load, Section F 7, Overload Assignment, states that "Faculty Members voluntarily taking an overload will receive the same rate of pay as authorized for part-time Faculty."
If the Faculty Member wishes to request redistribution of their load instead of overload pay as described in Section, F 7, Overload Assignment, Section D 2.5, Flexible Schedule Assignments, provides that "up to 1/3 of the normal load may be redistributed upon the mutual consent of the Faculty Member and the Faculty Member’s dean." If mutual consent is not reached, the Faculty Member is expected to meet the requirements of his or her load. The Administrator is responsible for developing an assignment1 that equals the Faculty Member’s base load for the term. Faculty Members will be paid their full salary even if the Administrator is unable to develop an assignment1 that equals their load for the term.
The CODFA Welfare Committee strongly recommends to any Faculty Member initiating a desired assignment1 request that he or she make clear, in that written request, whether he or she is asking for:
- an assignment1 equal to 100 % of load or
- an assignment1 greater than 100 % of load or
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an assignment1 less than 100 % of load (where this is the result of a banking hours arrangement made in a previous term of the current academic year or the result of an academic year load planning agreement).
The CODFA Welfare Committee encourages Faculty to request, from their Administrator, a written response to the Faculty Member’s assignment1 request in the event that the request is denied or modified.
Administrator-initiated Assignment
When the Administrator first develops the assignment1 discussed or presented to the Faculty Member for the upcoming term, the Administrator is considered to have initiated the assignment1.
When the Administrator initiates an assignment1 to be presented to the Faculty Member that is greater than 100 % of load, Section D 2.2, Reallocation of Assignment, and Section D 2.3, Modification of Assignment Practices, articulates parameters for these assignments. In addition, Section D 2.2, Reallocation of Assignment, make clear that, in this scenario, "the additional assignment may be banked as a reallocated credit for use in an alternative quarter/semester within the current academic year or taken as an overload at the discretion of the Faculty Member."
Finally, the CODFA Welfare Committee encourages the Administrator to provide a written copy of the assignment1 presented and Welfare also encourages Faculty to request a written copy of the assignment1 presented.
If you encounter policies, procedures, or practices that are different from those described above, please contact any member of the your CODFA Welfare Committee immediately!
1 "Assignment", "desired assignment", or "developed assignment" and other references assignments in the various stages of development include either courses or specific sections of courses to be taught.
John Kovach
Welfare Committee Chair
