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Approved: Dec. 14, 2020

The purpose of offering a differentiated workload (teaching release) semester to instructional faculty is multifaceted, including:

1. To recognize the significant contribution instructional faculty make to the education of students in CEAS — in their units and their discipline — through teaching practice and curriculum innovation.
2. To enhance the professional development of instructional faculty as they advance in their career at CU Boulder.
3. To contribute to national efforts to improve engineering education theory and practice.
4. To provide opportunities for instructional faculty to incorporate innovative teaching methods and techniques that increase the participation of students from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented communities in engineering education.

Eligibility

Instructional faculty with the titles of Instructor (Teaching Assistant Professor), Senior Instructor (Teaching Associate Professor), Principal Instructor (Teaching Professor), or Scholar in Residence appointed in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, who have completed six continuous years (12 semesters) in one of the eligible titles above, at 50% time appointment or greater, will be eligible to apply for a differentiated workload that provides teaching release for one semester.

Calculating Years of Service. An instructional-track faculty member shall become eligible after six years (12 semesters) of service to the University (i.e., in the seventh year). In order to be eligible for a subsequent differentiated workload (teaching release) semester, a faculty member must serve for six more years (12 semesters) including time spent during the previous differentiated workload (teaching release) semester.

Benefit

The differentiated workload will reduce the formal (course) teaching responsibilities of the instructional faculty to zero for that semester. The is to be completed by the instructional faculty and their unit’s chair/director and sent to the Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement for the dean’s approval and signature. The faculty will receive full-time pay for that semester if on a 100% appointment, or proportional pay based on the percent FTE of their appointment at the time of application. In the case of an appointment split between two units, both chairs/directors must approve the application. Should more than one faculty member submit a request for teaching release during the same semester, the department chair/program director will work with the faculty members and the Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement, if necessary, to negotiate the teaching release while maintaining the department or program's capacity to meet its teaching obligations.

Requirements

By accepting a differentiated workload involving a teaching release semester, the faculty member shall agree to return to the university for at least one year thereafter. In case the faculty member is responsible for terminating their connection with the university within one year after the expiration of the differentiated workload, the individual shall refund the remuneration paid to them during that semester to the university on a prorated basis, except in exceptional circumstances, including permanent disability or death, wherein neither the individual nor the individual’s heirs shall be obligated to refund any part of the amount paid while on differentiated workload.

In addition to approval of the CEAS faculty’s Differentiated Workload Application, during the first semester of returning to a normal workload, the faculty will submit a final report of activities and outcomes from the differentiated workload semester for approval by the department chair or program director and the dean using the CEAS Differentiated Workload Report form.

Effective AY 2024-2025, applications will be due to the CEAS HR team on the preceding December 15 for the fall semester and the preceding April 15 for the spring semester.

Funding

The financial impacts of the differentiated workload semester are the responsibility of the faculty’s primary unit. Contingent on available funds and approval of the dean, the college will contribute funds equivalent to the current Faculty Fellowship offered to tenured/tenure track faculty ($10,000) to the department/program to cover a portion of the teaching replacement costs during the differentiated workload semester.

Modification of Annual Merit Evaluation Formula

For purposes of annual merit evaluation, the efforts and accomplishments of a teaching faculty member on differentiated workload should be adjusted depending on the faculty member's appointment. For teaching faculty with no research in their appointment, the weightings should be adjusted to 50% Teaching and 50% Leadership and Service for the differentiated workload semester and then averaged with their previously approved weightings to get the calendar year weightings. For teaching faculty that have a research component, the weightings should be adjusted to 50% Teaching, 40% Creative and Scholarly Work and 10% Leadership and Service for the semester and then averaged with their previously approved weightings to get the calendar year weightings. If you have any questions on how to calculate faculty weightings to include a differentiated workload semester, please reach out to CEASHR@colorado.edu.

Approval

Approval of this policy is made by a vote of the department chairs and program directors rostering eligible instructional faculty, with the guidance of their executive committee or other governance structure in their unit, and by the dean of the college.

Policy History

Aug. 28, 2023: Clarification of the timeline for subsequent teaching release semesters and updated the amount contributed by the Dean's Office, pending available funds.
Jan. 2, 2024: Clarification of how to calculate annual performance evaluation weightings for faculty who have taken differentiated workloads during a calendar year.