POLICY OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Adopted: Tuesday, June 14, 1977
Revision Number: 9
Revision Date: Thursday, June 14, 2022
Reference: Instruction
Policy:
Pearl River Community College Faculty are expected to perform the duties enumerated in approved job descriptions, to fulfill responsibilities in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the PRCC Board of Trustees and outlined in the PRCC Policy and Procedure Manual, and to comply with both state and federal policies.
Procedure:
Pearl River Community College seeks faculty who strive for excellence and are committed to student learning. Faculty should demonstrate passion and skill in effective teaching and learning facilitation.
Such faculty are competent in their disciplines, are innovative in their approaches to teaching, and are committed to personal growth and ongoing assessment and evaluation of teaching. They demonstrate a commitment to upholding the PRCC Mission and working effectively with diverse populations. They are committed to effective communication with others and to fostering an atmosphere of collegiality. PRCC Faculty demonstrate and promote high ethical standards and academic honesty.
Full-time Instructors
A full-time instructor is required to work a 30 hour work week during Fall and Spring semesters. A fulltime instructor will meet assigned classes and a minimum of five office hours per week for student appointments. Summer loads vary depending upon need and contracts.
Employment shall be defined by acceptance of an annual employment letter.
Part-time Instructors
A part-time instructor is required to work a specified contracted percent of the 30 hour work week during Fall and Spring semesters. A part-time instructor will meet assigned class(es) and the required percent of contract, based on a 30 hour work week.
Each instructor, whether full-time or part-time, will post a schedule of classes and office hours near the door of his or her office at the beginning of each semester. This schedule must be approved by the instructor’s immediate supervisor and by the appropriate college administrator(s). A copy of the schedule will be filed with the instructor’s immediate supervisor.
Employment shall be defined by acceptance of an annual employment letter.
Adjunct Instructors
An adjunct instructor is required to accomplish the purposes, functions, and tasks of the established descriptions for the position. Adjunct instructors are limited to two courses. Additional adjunct faculty loads are approved by the appropriate college administrator(s) and the Senior Vice President for Instruction/Provost.
STANDARD TEACHING LOADS:
The standard teaching load for an instructor during Fall and Spring semesters shall be as follows:
| SUBJECTS or AREAS | MAXIMUM COURSE PREPARATIONS | CONTACT HOURS | CREDIT HOURS |
| Science | 4 | 17 | 13* |
| Other Academic | 3 | 15 | |
| Full-Time Online | 3 | 18 | |
| Full-Time Online Science | 4 | 20 | |
| Technical and Associate Degree Nursing | 20 | ||
| Career | 30 | ||
| Professional Staff/Non-Instructional | 2 |
*For on-campus science instructors, a regular load that is comprised of both lectures and labs should total 13 credit hours. This total is fewer than the 15 credit hours taught by other academic instructors because of the lab contact hour requirement. These instructors may teach a maximum of 21 credit hours each fall semester and each spring semester with the additional credit hours being compensated through overload. This is equivalent to two lectures and two labs and could be online or on-campus.
On-campus science instructors who teach only lectures would be required to teach 15 credit hours for a full-time load.
Summer classes are offered on an as-needed basis.
The maximum of non-science academic overload classes shall be two. CTE overload classes shall be approved by the appropriate college administrator(s) and approved by the Senior Vice President for Instruction/Provost. CTE overload compensation will be related to the number of students enrolled within the instructor’s program. For full-time online instructors, the maximum overload class limit is one.
Any increase in the required full-time faculty load and/or preparations as defined in the chart above must be agreed upon, in writing, by the instructor and approved by the appropriate Dean, Vice President, and Senior Vice President for Instruction/Provost.
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
Full-Time Faculty:
An instructor or other member of the professional staff who has been hired by action of the Board of Trustees of Pearl River Community College. Note that temporary faculty, whether part-time or full-time, have not been hired by action of the Board of Trustees.
Adjunct Instructor:
Any instructor who is neither a full-time nor part-time faculty member.
Contact Hours:
For a lecture, a contact hour is identical to the credit hour; for a lab, contact hours are twice the credit hours; for a clinical, contact hours are thrice the credit hours.
Credit Hours:
A credit hour is the amount of credit awarded to a student for satisfactorily completing the specified contact hours required by the course. One semester hour of credit for 750 minutes of lecture and one semester hour of credit for 1500 minutes of laboratory.
Number of Course Preparations:
The number of different courses taught by an instructor. (On-campus science lecture and labs are considered separate preparations.) Number of Online Course Preparations:
Class preparation in an online class consists of building a new online course (in its entirety) prior to the start date for class. The preparation includes an overview, learning materials, assignments, assessments, and summaries for each module. Previously built courses utilized for additional sections or semesters are not considered additional course preparations. Online class management is considered class facilitation and not class preparation.
Office Hours:
The hours that have been specified when a faculty member is available for student consultation.
Extra-Curricular Assignments:
Activities outside of teaching assignments that are in support of college functions.
Standard Teaching Load:
The total number of hours an instructor is assigned each academic term.
