Calculation of Hours Worked for Adjunct Faculty

Procedure

Calculation of Hours Worked for Adjunct (Part-Time) Faculty 

Typical teaching loads vary for full-time faculty at Durham Tech based upon academic discipline. To determine a reasonable method of calculation, we consider a part-time teaching load at 75% of what a typical full-time teaching load is in each instructional unit (outside additional duties such as student advising, curriculum development, and committee assignments). The teaching load per semester for an adjunct faculty member will be limited as outlined below.

Mathematics, Foreign Language, Health and Wellness (Lecture-Based), Translation/Interpretation programs, English for Academic Purposes, and Career Technical Education

FT = 16 credits, 20 contact hours (typical load)

PT = 12 credits, 15 contact hours (limit) 

Developmental Education, Humanities, Fine Arts, Social Sciences, and Career Technical Education (Business/Paralegal)

FT = 15 credits, 15 contact hours (typical load)

PT = 12 credits, 12 contact hours (limit) 

Building, Engineering, and Skilled Trades, Health and Wellness (Clinical/Preceptor)

FT = 16 credits, 23 contact hours (typical load)

PT = 12 credits, 17 contact hours (limit)

Sciences (Lab-Based)

FT = 10 credits, 18 contact hours (typical load)

PT = 8 credits, 13 contact hours (limit) 

Continuing Education (Business and Entrepreneurship, IT, and Human Services and Public Safety)

FT = 28 contact hours (typical load)

PT = 21 contact hours (limit)

Adult, Basic Skills, Corporate, and Continuing Education (excluding areas listed above)

FT = 21 contact hours (typical load)

PT = 16 contact hours (limit)

For non-curriculum instruction, each contact hour of instruction will equal 1.5 hours of work. For example, the College will calculate the work hours for a non-curriculum instructor teaching a 12-contact hour class as 18 work hours. If (s)he taught the class over two weeks, the work hours will be calculated as 9 work hours each week.

The college’s existing “Contract Limitations for Hourly Part-Time Employees” policy in the Employee Handbook states that adjunct faculty members may work “a maximum of 25 hours per week and a total of no more than 1200 hours worked in any given 12-month period.” As such, an adjunct faculty member may not teach above the credit-hour nor contact-hour limit and need not be offered health coverage

Hours Worked for Adjunct Faculty on Additional Hourly Contracts

It is a common occurrence that adjunct faculty teaching below these limits will be contracted to work additional hours in another area of the college (e.g., as tutors, advisors, or lab monitors). In these instances, the following calculation is used in determining the combined work hours. Any additional non-instructional hours will be calculated on a 1:1 basis: 

• 1 curriculum credit = 2 work hours (3 work hours for science faculty)
• 1 continuing education (non-curriculum) contact hour = 1.5 work hours
• Additional clock hour = 1 work hour 
   

Examples:

If an adjunct curriculum math faculty member is teaching 7 credit hours, the College would calculate the assignment as 14 hours worked per week. As such, (s)he may be hired on an additional part-time contract for 11 work hours per week (for a total of 25 work hours per week), without benefits.

If an adjunct math faculty member is teaching a 4 credit-hour curriculum course and is asked to teach a 10 contact hour adult education or basic skills math course, the College would calculate the assignments as 23 work hours per week (4 credit hours x 2 + 10 contact hours x 1.5 = 23). As such, (s)he may be hired on an additional part-time contract for 2 work hours per week (for a total of 25 work hours) without benefits.

Measurement Periods

New Employees: The Initial Measurement is for 12 months, the Administrative Period is for 2 months after the Initial Measurement Period, and the Stability Period is for 12 months.

Ongoing Employees: The Standard Measurement Period is for 12 months, using the calendar year (January – December). 

Purpose 

As a result of the Affordable Care Act, beginning in 2015, colleges must offer health coverage to “at least 95 percent” of all full-time employees. Colleges may develop “reasonable methods” to calculate the hours of service for different categories of employees. In an effort to clearly define full-time and adjunct faculty hours for the purpose of determining employment status and eligibility for health benefit coverage, we offer the following recommendations regarding part-time faculty working on instructional contracts. These recommendations were designed by a committee of the college’s instructional managers, then reviewed and endorsed with minor changes by Executive Council.