Teaching Loads

ECE Load Balance Policy

The ECE Faculty Load Balancing Policy has a base-line of 4 courses per year (UNC-GA normal load) unless offset by research activity or unusual departmental administrative or service responsibility. The rationale for the policy is to ensure an equitable distribution of the department’s responsibilities. The key elements of the policy are given below. 

  • The minimum enrollment to count toward the teaching load is 5 for 700-level courses, and 10 for all other courses 
  • Teaching load for faculty who do not have academic administrative appointments can be reduced by one course for each occurrence of the following circumstances: 
    • Research expenditures in excess of $100k in either of the previous two years 
    • Fully supporting two half-time RAs or equivalent (i.e., 1 FTE) in the present fiscal year 
    • Supervising two students with “full-ride” Fellowships from external sources 
    • Charging 10% of 9 month salary in the present fiscal year to an external funding source 
    • Teaching a single class with an enrollment in excess of 100 
    • Unusual service or research obligation, negotiated on a case-by-case basis 
  • Policy of providing flexible funds in the amount of 25% of release time will remain in effect 
  • Once teaching assignments are submitted to the university, no load adjustments can be made for that semester 
  • The normal teaching loads for all untenured, tenure-track faculty will be 2 courses/year. 

Except for cases of administrative appointments and unusual service or research obligations negotiated on a case-by-case basis, the minimum teaching load for regular faculty is two courses per year. 

By way of illustration, here are example ways to reduce one’s teaching load to 2 courses/year: 

  • Research expenditures >$100k, and 10% release time 
  • Research expenditures >$200k 
  • Research expenditures <$100k, and 20% release time 
  • Research expenditures <$100k, and teaching 2 courses with more than 100 students in each 
  • Research expenditures >$100k and teaching one course with more than 100 students in it 
  • Providing full support for 4 half-time RAs 
  • Providing full support for 2 half-time RAs and supervising 2 students with “full-ride” external fellowships 

Note that >$100k of expenditures that includes full support for two RAs reduces the load by only 1 course; in effect you can count it either as >$100k or support for 1 FTE RA, but you can’t double count.