c. General Guidelines for Assigning Work Plan Credit
These guidelines provide a common framework for all programs where reasonable but may not be equivalent across programs because of different curriculum configurations and accreditation requirements. Each department or program will establish internally consistent guidelines.
Acknowledging Invisible Labor
In April 2021, MGH Institute of Health Professions approved guidelines for acknowledging the invisible labor faculty of color engage in. Invisible labor refers to the unaccounted-for responsibilities that disproportionately impact faculty of color and may include:
- Attending monthly faculty of color meetings and advising the JEDI office
- Informal mentorship
- Crisis management for students and colleagues
- Coaching students and colleagues addressing issues in other courses
- Getting tapped by department and colleagues for JEDI-related issues
- Providing emotional and personal support to students, staff and colleagues
- Supporting and mentoring other colleagues of color
- Serving as an advisor to a formal or informal student group
The faculty handbook defines a full-time teaching workplan as 18 to 21 credits per year. Under the guidelines, faculty of color should be given a maximum of an 18-credit workplan. Some faculty of color who engage in more invisible labor could potentially be assigned fewer than 18 credits during work planning.
Teaching
- Teaching work plan accounts for 50% of a 1.0 FTE work plan, which is equal to 18-21 credits. This percentage of teaching work plan may vary depending on a faculty member's other responsibilities. The expected work plan is prorated for faculty members who have less than 1.0 FTE or for those who have portions of their FTE allotted to research or administration.
- Work plan credit will generally equal course credit, with the assumption of one course credit = one work plan credit; credit for lab hours shall be determined by programs based on programmatic and accreditation requirements/guidelines.
- Work plan for a course will be increased by one credit to account for the first-time teaching a course and for classes with more than 50 students. The increased credit for a large class will account for increased time for student advising and adapting the course to meet students’ learning needs. If a co-instructor or teaching assistant is provided to help cover increased student responsibilities, the extra credit may not be assigned to the faculty member but may be assigned to the teaching assistant. For online courses, enrollment above 30 students shall warrant the assignment of a co-instructor or teaching assistant.
- Work plan credit may be increased by 0.5 credit for coordinating a course, with appropriate justification of that faculty member's increased responsibilities for a course.
- Contact hours may be factored into the teaching work plan when the credit assignment does not adequately reflect the number of hours spent in class.
- Thesis supervision will be given one credit for the primary reader per student for the entire thesis experience. Work plan credit for other committee members may be negotiated with the program director or department chair based on expected responsibilities on the project.
Service and scholarship
- Service and scholarship account for the remaining work plan with some faculty members also having administrative FTEs assigned. The work plan associated with scholarship should generally be 30% and service 20%, but these can be adapted to individual responsibilities.
- Faculty members are expected to participate in program, MGH Institute, and professional service activities. The extent of service responsibilities shall be negotiated with the academic unit leader each year.
- Many faculty members provide guest lectures in courses taught by other faculty members. These are not counted in the faculty work plan devoted to teaching and are instead considered part of their service to the MGH Institute. The work plan associated with guest lecturing should be considered in determining the faculty member’s scope of responsibilities.
- Faculty members who have administrative responsibilities, such as associate directors or clinical coordinators, shall be assigned a portion of their FTE toward their administrative role. The remaining FTE will be assigned to teaching and/or research. The faculty member’s expected teaching work plan shall be prorated to match their teaching FTE. The work plan associated with service and scholarship will also be developed proportionately.
Additional effort
- Extra service pay shall be provided when the assigned work plan exceeds FTE expectations. Extra service does not qualify as merit, and this is subject to approval by the Office of the Provost. In general, when faculty take on extra teaching assignments, it may be that their other responsibilities are reduced. This is the preferred practice as opposed to paying extra. Extra service pay should be viewed as an extraordinary, rather than routine, decision.
- Clinical practice or consulting positions outside the framework of a faculty work plan or scholarship are not counted towards the faculty FTE. Faculty members may engage in outside activities up to the equivalent of one day per week or 20% of appointment (applies only to full-time faculty members who submit a Conflict of Interest or Conflict of Commitment form and receive approval). However, they are still responsible for full teaching, scholarship, and service responsibilities relative to their faculty FTE.