Instructional Information

INSTRUCTIONAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO ALL FACULTY

Academic Freedom and Responsibility

Defining Academic Freedom. TSC recognizes its responsibility under Texas Education Code 51.354 to "protect intellectual exploration and academic freedom." Accordingly, except as expressly prohibited by law, a TSC employee has the full rights of freedom of association and political participation guaranteed by the state and federal constitutions.

Academic freedom means that faculty have the right to remain true to his or her teaching philosophy and are provided freedom to instruct his or her classroom as he or she sees appropriate as stated in TSC Board Policy DGC (LOCAL). TSC endorses the academic freedom principles set forth in the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the American Association of University Professors. Academic freedom means that both faculty and students can engage in intellectual discussions and debates without the fear of censorship or retaliation. Academic freedom gives faculty the right to express their views without fear of sanction, unless the views and manner of expression impair the rights of others. Under academic freedom, faculty have the right to disagree with administrative policies and procedures; they have the right to assign grades that they feel are appropriate, so long as grades are not unjustly punitive; they have the right to maintain academic standards; and they have the right to due process.

Safeguarding and Protecting Academic Freedom. At the divisional level, faculty members exercise academic freedom in the development of curriculum by participating in the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) Committee, which is responsible for reviewing curricular actions and making recommendations for changes to the curriculum. At the department level, faculty collaborate on the selection of prescribed texts and the development of assignments and assessments for each course. In addition, before curriculum items are taken to the C&I Committee, program faculty discuss among themselves at program/department meetings.

Definition of Full-time and Part-time Faculty

Full-time Faculty. Full-time faculty are professional educators who have the primary responsibility of fulfilling the TSC mission, vision, values, and goals of providing a quality education. The relationship of the faculty member to the student is one of leader, teacher, assessor, advisor/mentor, and facilitator of learning. Faculty are accountable to the College President through a chain of command and must abide by the College’s policies and procedures.

Nine-month and twelve-month full-time faculty shall allocate a minimum of 40 hours per week as stated in policy TSC Board Policy DJ (LOCAL). This policy allows for a mix of responsibilities in a full-time faculty workload plan. The workload includes instruction (i.e., teaching and assessing), office hours, course preparations, advising and mentoring, committee work, curriculum development, professional development, recruiting, College events, and various other College service activities as assigned. Hours spent teaching overload classes shall not be included in the 40-hours minimum.

Nine-month full-time faculty responsibilities include teaching, with a normal teaching load of fifteen (15) work units for each fall and spring semester. Twelve-month full-time faculty teach an additional three (3) work units in fall and spring semesters and twelve (12) work units over the summer sessions. Teaching assignments are made based on each semester’s schedule; may include courses offered during days, evenings, and/or weekends; and may include on-campus, off-campus, and/or online classes.

For each faculty member, the mix of workload responsibilities outside of teaching responsibilities is determined in an annual conference between the faculty member, the Department Chair/Program Director, if applicable, and the Divisional Dean.

Part-time Faculty. All part-time faculty are considered adjunct faculty members. An adjunct faculty member is employed to teach and hold office hours and are not required to perform the additional duties of a full-time faculty member. For example, the adjunct faculty member is not required to report to campus during registration periods, participate in the same amount of in-service training as the full-time faculty member, or participate in committee assignments and other duties assigned by the Vice President of Instruction.