Faculty Workload

AFT seeks ongoing feedback about the workload point system to help improve it

As full-time faculty in our district gain some experience working with the pilot workload point system this semester, AFT 1493 wants to continue to hear about those experiences so we can ultimately work to renegotiate an improved system. We want to remind faculty that point totals should be equal to, and not exceed, the required point total for their faculty role. Faculty can only receive additional compensation when their dean asks them to go beyond their required point total, and they agree. The ultimate purpose of the point system is to try to prevent faculty from being overworked by taking on more than the required workload.

Professional Responsibilities Plans: Copies to be sent back to faculty; data to be analyzed by AFT

AFT has received data from the administration from most Professional Responsibilities Plans that faculty submitted last May and we are working to see if copies of those plans can be sent to the faculty who submitted them to help ensure that faculty and deans have the same information to work from. The union is planning to analyze the initial data and to reach out to those faculty who put down point totals on their plans that significantly exceeded their required point total to try to clarify the point system process and check to see if the system is working satisfactorily so far for those faculty members.

Many ways to provide feedback

AFT Chapter Chairs also want to get as much faculty feedback as possible about faculty’s experiences with the point system. Come to AFT Office Hours held at your college or reach out to your Campus Chair and let them know how the system has been working for you. We also encourage faculty to communicate to us about the point system through our new Discord platform. (See the announcement of what our Discord server is and how it works.) Members of AFT’s negotiating team have already met with a group of librarians because librarians have communicated that they face some unique issues with the point system due to the fact that they have certain committee work already included as part of their regularly work duties.

Feedback will help AFT renegotiate an improved system

For years, full-time faculty workload–beyond teaching or other regular work assignments–grew exponentially in our district until it became unsustainable.  We saw many examples of severe burnout, health issues & faculty who abandoned tenure track positions.  The purpose of the point system is to ensure that faculty do not continue to face unreasonable workloads.  In the Spring 2023 semester, AFT will conduct a follow-up survey to get further information on how the point system has been working for faculty. Based on all the data and feedback the union receives, AFT’s negotiators plan to renegotiate the details of the system with the District before the two-year pilot period ends to address the various problems that have arisen and to revise the system to make it work effectively to limit excessive workload for all full-time faculty.