Faculty Workload, Teaching Load, and Office Hours
Blinn College Administrative Regulations Manual
Effective Date: January 10, 2024; amended June 20, 2024; and April 7, 2026
Board Policy Reference: DJ(LOCAL)
Purpose
In compliance with Blinn College District’s (the College) Board Policy DJ(LOCAL), this regulation outlines faculty duty hours, faculty teaching workload, faculty teaching overloads, leadership load and overloads, and faculty office hours.
Full-Time Faculty Duty Hours
In accordance with Texas Senate Bill 2615 (SB 2615), which is codified in Section 51.992 of the Texas Education Code, the College requires all full-time faculty members to work 40 hours per workweek on campus.
The 40-hour, on-campus workweek entails:
- Class preparation and instruction
- Office hours
- Availability for meetings with deans, assistant deans, department heads, administration, committees, faculty, and students
- Any other additionally assigned official duties
Faculty members are expected to work a traditional workweek, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Based on College needs, the traditional workweek may be amended to include early morning, evening, and weekend teaching assignments and duty hours. Duty hours outside the traditional workweek must be approved by the appropriate instructional dean or designee and the Office of Human Resources.
Sufficiency of Full-Time Faculty
In support of the College’s mission, all instructional programs shall maintain a sufficient number of full-time faculty to ensure program quality, integrity, and review regardless of modality or location, including off-campus instructional sites.
Each of the College’s instructional deans shall review their programs’ full-time faculty adequacy each academic year during the budget cycle.
For academic transfer programs, if the percentage of semester credit hours delivered by full-time faculty falls below 55%, division deans shall initiate discussions with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs to determine strategies to address potential need for additional full-time faculty.
For technical and workforce programs, the College defines 40% semester credit hours delivered by full-time faculty as sufficient to ensure program quality, integrity, and review. Programs designed to lead directly into the workforce benefit from utilizing practicing professionals, often part-time faculty. If the percentage of semester credit hours delivered by full-time faculty falls below 40%, instructional deans shall initiate discussions with the Vice Chancellor for Applied Sciences, Workforce, and Economic Development to determine strategies to address potential need for additional full-time faculty.
Faculty Teaching Load and Overloads
Instructional Load Unit (ILU) is a metric that quantifies the expected time and effort associated with different course offerings.
The required teaching load for a full-time faculty member per regular long semester (fall and spring) is 15 ILUs. A full-time faculty member may teach a maximum of 21 ILUs during a regular semester. More than 15 ILUs constitutes an overload.
Certain circumstances require assigning 1 to 5 ILUs as an overload, which requires appropriate dean approval. Under extenuating circumstances, assigning an overload greater than 5 ILUs requires appropriate vice chancellor approval.
A faculty member may teach:
- A maximum of 6 to 10 ILUs per summer session, Sessions I and II
- Up to 10 ILUs during the extended ten-week summer term
- Up to 25 ILUs total across the summer terms
The appropriate vice chancellor must approve loads exceeding 25 ILUs across the summer terms.
Faculty members who teach a course with a minimum enrollment of 65 students and a maximum enrollment of 80 students will have their semester teaching load reflect two courses.
During the fall and spring terms, full-time faculty will teach no more than three Flex Online sections as part of their course load. Faculty teaching four-hour courses will teach no more than two Flex Online sections each semester. If specific needs arise, the appropriate vice chancellor or designee may approve temporary exceptions.
Teaching Load for Part-Time Faculty
To meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, part-time faculty cannot work more than 29 hours per week, including their teaching load and any additional required assignments. Due to ACA definitions for full- and part-time employment, part-time faculty are not eligible to teach during any minimester.
Instructional Leadership Contracts
Department Heads and Coordinators (other than Health Science Program Directors and Coordinators)
Department heads have 10-month contracts. The department head teaching load is 144 contact hours per long semester, fall and spring.
Instructional deans may approve an overload for department heads under extenuating circumstances. Overload assignments shall not exceed 48 contact hours per semester. If a course overload is assigned, all teaching responsibilities associated with that overload shall be performed outside of the traditional 40-hour workweek. Department heads may teach minimester and summer classes while not under contract.
Coordinators have 9-, 10-, or 12-month contracts. The teaching load for coordinators is 192 contact hours per long semester.
Instructional deans may approve an overload for coordinators under extenuating circumstances. Overload assignments shall not exceed 48 contact hours per semester. Coordinators may teach minimester and summer classes while not under contract. If a course overload is assigned, all teaching responsibilities associated with that overload shall be performed outside of the traditional 40-hour workweek.
Health Science Program Directors and Coordinators
Health Science Program Directors will be placed on the appropriate contract length with salary adjustments based on accreditation recommendations and program needs.
Program directors, other than the Directors of Dental Hygiene and Fire Science, together with the Assistant Nursing Director, receive a release of 48 contact hours per long semester, fall and spring. The Directors of Dental Hygiene and Fire Science receive a release of 96 contact hours per long semester. The Directors of Nursing and Vocational Nursing shall not exceed teaching the number of contact hours permitted by their respective accrediting bodies.
Assistant Deans
The teaching load for assistant deans is 96 contact hours per long semester, fall and spring.
Instructional deans may approve an overload for assistant deans under extenuating circumstances. Overload assignments shall not exceed 48 contact hours per semester in the fall, spring, and either May minimester or one of the summer terms. Overloads shall not be assigned to assistant deans in the Winter minimester without appropriate vice chancellor approval. If a course overload is assigned, all teaching responsibilities associated with that overload shall be performed outside of the traditional 40-hour workweek.
Conversion Semester Credit Hour to Instructional Load Unit (ILU)
See Teaching Load and Overload for Full-time Faculty in the Faculty Handbook for semester credit hour conversion to Instructional Load Unit.
Faculty Office Hours
Full-Time Faculty
Full-time faculty members are required to maintain office hours as part of their traditional 40-hour on-campus workweek. The teaching load or number of courses determines office hour requirements: one-half hour per week per section taught.
In each case, office hour information must be included in the syllabus. Full-time faculty members shall post their office hours prior to the first day of classes each semester and send a copy to the appropriate instructional dean or designee.
Summer office hours must be sufficient to allow ample time before and/or after classes to permit students to visit faculty members in their offices.
Part-Time Faculty
Part-time faculty are to schedule office hours and be available to students for one-half hour per week per section taught. Part-time faculty members shall post their office hours prior to the first day of classes each semester and send a copy to the appropriate instructional dean or designee.
Office Hours during Finals Week
All faculty shall be available for student consultation during finals week. Due to scheduling changes, faculty shall post revised office hours online and outside their physical office during final exam week.
For additional information, see Board Policy DJ(LOCAL).