PROCEDURES FOR POLICY: 3-02
REVISED DATE: 07/15/2025

  1. Purpose:

    To set forth procedures for faculty overload during the contract year for administrative faculty, exempt classified staff, professional faculty, and teaching faculty, to establish uniform standards for normal workload calculations, student engagement hours, and additional activities, to increase college-wide effectiveness of workload management practices, and to ensure compliance with all applicable Virginia Community College System (VCCS) regulations regarding faculty workload and hour assignments. The procedures for implementation of this policy are provided below.

  2. Procedure and/or Process Definitions:

    Administrative faculty: Individuals employed by the college to perform work related to the management of the education and general activities of the college, school/division, or department, who are normally employed on a 12-month basis beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, and who are assigned a faculty rank for which they qualify.

    Classified employees: Employees who occupy positions that are listed in the Commonwealth’s Compensation Plan, and who are covered by the Virginia Personnel Act as found in Chapter 10, Title 2.1 of the Code of Virginia, once they have completed the probationary period.

    Clinical hours: Equates to 1/2 credit hour and 1 contact hour.

    Course contact hours: The number of lecture hours in class each week (including lecture, seminar, discussion, and other similar activities) and/or the number of laboratory, supervised study, coordinated internship, and other similar activities are indicated for each course in the course description. The numbers of lecture and laboratory hours required each week are called "contact" hours. Online courses must include the same content and deliver the same student outcomes as courses taught in the classroom. Although contact hours for online courses may not refer to seat time, they do still indicate the amount of course time devoted to lecture and laboratory instruction.

    Continuing Education Units (CEUs): Ten contact hours in an organized continuing education (adult or extension) experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction. (A decimal fraction of a unit may be awarded for an offering of shorter duration.)

    Credit hours: Fifty minutes of faculty instruction for a 15-week semester or 750 minutes of instruction (Source: VCCS Policy 3.5.7.1.2).

    Equivalent teaching load: Teaching load adjustments translated into teaching credits and considered as part of the faculty member’s full semester teaching load.

    Exempt classified staff: Classified staff that are exempt from overtime compensation.

    Laboratory hours: Equates to 1/2 credit hour and 1 contact hour.

    Lecture hours: Equates to 1 credit hour and 1 contact hour.

    Overload: A faculty member's workload that, for an academic year (fall and spring), is: a) greater than 30 course credit hours, b) greater than 40 contact hours, or c) greater than 30 workload credits – whichever figure results in the greatest amount of overload credit hours. (See VCCS Policy 3.8.4). A faculty member's workload that, for a summer term, is a) greater than 10 course credit hours, or b) greater than 10 workload credits – whichever figure results in the greatest amount of overload credit hours. Faculty may have an overload of up to 13 credit hours for the contract year (fall, spring, and summer).

    Professional faculty: Individuals holding non-teaching positions with continuing responsibilities who are employed on a 12-month basis beginning July 1 and ending June 30, such as librarians, counselors, coordinators, and assistant coordinators, and who are assigned a faculty rank for which they qualify.

    Reassigned time: A portion of a faculty member's total workload expressed in workload credits and measured in clock hours that represents a temporary assignment of non-teaching administrative, professional, or other special duties, calculated into the workload as 1 credit hour of reassigned time equals 1 workload credit and a total of 40 clock hours devoted to the assigned duties.

    Regular academic session: Consists of the fall and spring semesters and excludes summer session.

    Substantial additional assignment: Substantial, additional non-teaching assignment/project outside of routine duties or alternative work schedule assigned to a faculty member when under full-time contract. The additional duties assignment must be of a temporary nature with a specific beginning and ending date and does not require a vacant position. Supporting documentation for this pay action must include a description of the additional duties assignment, the amount of the supplement, the duration of the additional duties assignment, interim goals, and the expected outcomes. An individual may be given a supplement of 0–10% or a flat rate not to exceed 0–10%. It may not be used to compensate faculty when they are not under their full-time faculty employment contract.

    Teaching faculty: Full-time teaching faculty hired on 9-month, 10-month, or 12-month appointment.

    Workload: The sum of all workload credits associated with a faculty member's assigned responsibilities during a semester or academic term, an academic year, or a contractual period, including teaching load and released time for temporary administrative, professional, or other special assignment duties.

  3. Procedures:

    1. Guidance for school deans

      1. In making the overload assignment, school deans must be assured and confident that the faculty member can indeed handle the additional teaching load responsibilities given and without effect upon other teaching commitments and college obligations; such as advising, office hours, professional development and renewal, and college and community-service activities and contributions, etc.

      2. Overload calculation instructions – full academic session

        1. The number of equivalent overload credits will be determined by first calculating the faculty member’s total equivalent workload credits for the academic year. For the purpose of calculating total equivalent workload credits, every lecture hour will equate to 1 credit hour and 1 contact hour, and every laboratory/clinical hour will equate to 1/2 credit hour and 1 contact hour.

        2. Then, the number of equivalent overload credits is determined by calculating (Scenario A) equivalent overload credits based upon total contact hours and (Scenario B) equivalent overload credits based upon total equivalent workload credits, as indicated below, and selecting the larger of the two.

          Overload calculation instructions – full academic session, Scenario A
          If total annual credit hours are greater than or equal to 24 then:
          (Actual total contact hours – 40) multiplied by 30 / 40          		 = Equivalent Overload Credits
          If total annual credit hours are less than 24 then:
          (Actual total contact hours – 48) multiplied by 30 / 48          		 = Equivalent Overload Credits
          Overload calculation instructions – full academic session, Scenario B
          Annual equivalent workload credits – 30 = Equivalent Overload Credits

        3. A faculty member may not be assigned a workload in excess of 40 annual equivalent workload credits based upon lecture and lab hours as described in 2.a above. If a faculty member’s equivalent overload credits based upon total contact hours (as calculated by Scenario A) exceeds 10, the faculty member will not be compensated for any equivalent overload credits in excess of 10. Exceptions to this provision must be approved in writing, in advance, by the college president.

      3. Overload calculation instructions – fall semester only

        1. The number of equivalent overload credits will be determined by first calculating the faculty member’s total equivalent workload credits for the fall semester. For the purpose of calculating total equivalent workload credits, every lecture hour will equate to 1 credit hour and 1 contact hour, and every laboratory/clinical hour will equate to 1/2 credit hour and 1 contact hour.

        2. Then, the number of equivalent overload credits is determined by calculating (Scenario A) equivalent overload credits based upon total contact hours and (Scenario B) equivalent overload credits based upon total equivalent workload credits, as indicated below, and selecting the larger of the two.

          Overload calculation instructions – fall semester only, Scenario A
          If total semester credit hours are greater than or equal to 12 then:
          (Actual total contact hours – 20) multiplied by 15 / 20          		 = Equivalent Overload Credits
          If total semester credit hours are less than 12 then:
          (Actual total contact hours – 24) multiplied by 15 / 24          		 = Equivalent Overload Credits
          Overload calculation instructions – fall semester only, Scenario B
          Semester equivalent workload credits – 15 = Equivalent Overload Credits

      4. In the event that any portion of a faculty member’s workload has been prorated based upon enrollment, as prescribed in college Reynolds Policy No. 3-02, Faculty Teaching Load and Responsibilities, then the credit hours, contact hours, and equivalent workload credits associated with the pro-rated course(s) are all pro-rated commensurately for the purpose of all of the above calculations.

    2. Processing activities

      The college will review workload and overload data a minimum of 2 times during the academic year. The review and reconciliation of the data will involve the coordination of several organizational units within the college to include:

      • Budget Office
      • Office of Human Resources (OHR)
      • Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) and school deans

      1. Fall semester review

        1. Initial reports

          1. The OAA will provide a working copy of the faculty workload and overload reports to the school deans by the 2nd Friday of November, with a notification to the OHR and the Budget Office.

        2. Initial review

          School deans or associate deans are required to verify the total credits and contact hours for each of their respective faculty. This verification must also include adjustments for extended faculty work absences or separations from the college.

          By the 4th Friday in November, the school deans are required to:

          1. complete their review and report adjustments to the OAA,

          2. submit reported adjustments to faculty workload to Office of the Registrar and the OAA,

          3. review workload credits for the spring semester to ensure a full workload (15 credit hours) is planned for faculty who may be in receipt of fall overload compensation.

        3. Final review and approval

          1. By the 1st Friday in December, the OAA will prepare and submit a final draft of the faculty workload and overload reports, incorporating reported adjustments to the academic schools.

          2. School deans will review their respective reports for accuracy and, upon approval, acquire the faculty member’s signature, and sign and submit their reports, including justification(s) for exceeding college and/or VCCS overload policies (see section d. below), to the OAA by the 2nd Friday in December. School deans will also review their respective reports to adjust fall semester overload credits for faculty who will not be assigned a full teaching load for the spring semester.

          3. The OAA will review and finalize the reports and accompanying justifications to submit to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for final approval.

          4. By the 1st week in January, the OAA will provide a final copy of the approved, signed overload reports and justifications to the following units:

            • Budget Office
            • OHR
            • School Deans

        4. Justifications for exceptions to college policy or VCCS policy

          Justification to pay overload credits in excess of the college maximum and/or VCCS maximum must be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for approval. The justification to pay overload credits must be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Justification to pay overload credits in excess of the VCCS maximum is delegated to the college president. The OHR will be provided with a copy of the approved justification.

        5. Human Resources review and first overload payment

          The OHR will review the reports for appropriate application of VCCS policy and college policy regarding overload limits. The OHR will also review the approved justification to ensure compliance with federal and state equal employment guidelines. Additionally, if payment for fall overloads during the spring semester has been authorized by the college president, the OHR will use the final copy of the approved, signed overload report from the fall semester review to submit to the college’s Payroll office in order to generate fall overload paychecks for the February 16 pay date.

      2. Spring semester review

        1. Initial reports

          The OAA will provide a working copy of the faculty workload and overload reports to the school deans by the 1st week of April, with a notification to the OHR and the Budget Office.

        2. Initial review

          1. School deans or associate deans are required to verify the total credits and contacts for each of their respective faculty. This verification must also include adjustments for extended faculty work absences or separations from the college.

          2. By the start of the 3rd week in April, the school deans are required to: complete their review and report adjustments to the OAA, submit reported adjustments to faculty workload to Office of the Registrar and the OAA.

        3. Final review and approval

          1. By the end of the 3rd week in April, the OAA will prepare and submit a final draft of the faculty workload and overload reports, incorporating reported adjustments to the academic schools.

          2. School deans will review their respective reports for accuracy and, upon approval, acquire the faculty member’s signature, and sign and submit their reports, including justification(s) for exceeding college and/or VCCS overload policies (see section d. below), to the OAA by the 4th week in April.

          3. The OAA will review and finalize the reports and accompanying justifications to submit to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for final approval.

          4. By the 1st week in May, the OAA will provide a final copy of the approved signed overload reports and justifications to the following units:

            • Budget Office
            • OHR
            • School Deans

        4. Justifications for exceptions to college policy or VCCS policy

          Justification to pay overload credits in excess of the college maximum and/or VCCS maximum must be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for approval. The justification to pay overload credits must be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Justification to pay overload credits in excess of the VCCS maximum is delegated to the college president. The OHR will be provided with a copy of the approved justification.

        5. The OHR review and second overload payment

          The OHR will review the reports for appropriate application of VCCS policy and college policy regarding overload limits. The OHR will also review the approved justification to ensure compliance with federal and state equal employment guidelines. Additionally, if payment for fall overloads during the spring semester has been authorized by the college president, the OHR will use the final copy of the approved, signed overload report from the fall semester review to submit to the college’s Payroll office in order to generate fall overload paychecks for the May 16 pay date.

      3. The OHR review and second/final overload payment for academic year

        1. Based on the spring semester review process, the OHR will use the approved, signed overload report for the academic year to submit to the Payroll office in order to generate faculty paychecks for the May 16 pay date, adjusting for any overload payment that may have been issued for fall semester.

        2. In the event that a faculty member's total overload for the academic session is less than the fall overload for which they were paid during the spring, the faculty member will be notified by the OHR of the overpayment by May 1. The faculty member must make restitution of this overpayment by May 16.

  4. Other Information:

    VCCS Policy Manual, Section 3.8.4, Teaching Overloads

    Reynolds Policy No. 3-02, Faculty Teaching Load