LETTER OF AGREEMENT #8:  WORKLOAD

Class size maxima

Class size maxima for the years 2001/2002 shall be the same as they were in 1997/1998 except where specified below or where changed according to the provisions below.

The 1998/1999 letter of agreement limiting the number of contact hours in biology shall be renewed for 2001/2002.

Where a department offers multiple sections of a course and where the workload in that department is capped by the number of contact hours, the department may choose to reconfigure the delivery of its courses by increasing the class size maxima and decreasing the number of sections offered providing that:

  • the number of student spaces available for each course is the same as the number of student spaces that would be delivered had the department not decided to reconfigure its course delivery,
  • the reconfiguration of any course ensures that students in the course each have at least one scheduled lab, lecture or seminar hour per week where the student instructor ratio is at most the 1997/1998 class size.
  • the workload can be assigned so that no instructor is assigned a workload that results in more than a 10 percent increase in the total number of students they would have had under the 1997/1998 class size limits.
  • the number of contact hours for instructors teaching an upper division course is at least 21 hours per year and the number of contact hours for other instructors is at least 24 hours per year (exclusive of release time for other activities)
  • the reconfigured workload results in a new maximum number of contact hours for the members of the department. The new maximum number of contact hours shall form part of the reconfiguration plan.

Where a department chooses to reconfigure its classes, it shall file the reconfiguration plan with the Dean and the Dean shall approve the plan and forward a copy of the plan to the VIUFA within 2 weeks of receiving the plan.  The reconfiguration plan shall include the maximum class sizes for each section and the teaching assignments for each instructor in the department.

Where a department’s reconfiguration results in an increase in student numbers, seventy three (73) percent of the money generated by the increased tuition shall be used exclusively for funding teaching release or research activity as jointly determined by the Dean and the department. The money generated in a year may be carried over for use in a subsequent year.

Where the money is to be used for teaching release, the provisions of subsection (d) above shall apply.

This clause shall be effective from August 1, 2001 to July 31, 2002.