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Advancing Equity in Faculty Workloads & Rewards

Advancing Equity graphic with interlocking gears that work together to advancing teaching and learning.

Our next steps in “Advancing Equity in Faculty Workload and Rewards” acknowledges both the long existing challenges with recognizing all the work that faculty do that is essential to our public good mission and the specific workload equity challenges around service and teaching across rank and series. Equity in faculty evaluation and career advancement is an area that requires greater institutional attention. Additionally, as we work to recruit, retain, and ensure the success of a diverse faculty, our ability to count what matters–not simply what is easier to count–is essential to advancing equity in faculty workload and rewards.

The pandemic highlighted inequities present in academia and beyond, illuminating how our systems can perpetuate inequity. We must address the structures that underlie inequity in evaluation and career advancement.  In that spirit, we are undertaking the important task of building capacity across DU to reward  important work that is often not as rigorously and robustly valued as scholarship and grant activity. We now have an opportunity to reexamine how faculty work is recognized and rewarded in, tenure, promotion and reappointment decisions, annual reviews, merit, and the distribution of day-to-day workloads in departments and programs. 

This initiative originates in the spirit of shared governance. The Senate has been a vital thought leader, creating important committees & task forces to address these issues from an institutional perspective. As these committees do the important and slow moving thoughtwork, informed by research and national best practices, the Provost’s Office through the VPFA has partnered both on the committee work and programming. This embodies an ecosystem approach to institutional change–we need to interrogate everyday practices such as “hallway asks’ ‘ for service work that can disproportionately burden certain faculty, and exclude others. We continue to offer training for chairs and directors, associate deans, deans, academic units, and departments to ensure we are moving forward in practice and piloting work to continue to move the dial on equity in faculty workloads and rewards. 

This website further articulates the values, processes, and work of these “next steps” and offers ways for faculty to get involved in related initiatives. 

teaching excellence gear

Teaching Excellence

The Senate, in partnership with the Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs, seeks to improve DU’s methods of course evaluation and teaching review for the purpose of annual reviews, promotion, and reappointment.

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workload equity gear

Workload Equity

The Office of the Provost, the Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs, and Faculty Senate are partnering to strengthen equity outcomes within and across departments and units.

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covid-19 support gear

Covid-19 Support

The COVID Accommodations Senate Task Force (also referred to as the Committee on Changes to the APT for the Effects of COVID-19) is working on policy changes changes related to the pandemic.

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*Policies, Procedures and Practices (Annual Review, Tenure, Promotion and Reappointment)

† Impacts of Research, Scholarship and Creative Works; Teaching; and Service

Fall 2020
Teaching Excellence
Fall 2020
Workload Equity
November 2020
Teaching Excellence
November 2020
Covid-19 Support
November 2020
Workload Equity
December 2020
Covid-19 Support
January 2021
Covid-19 Support
January 2020
Workload Equity
Winter 2021
Covid-19 Support
March 2021
Workload Equity

Community Conversations: Think & Drinks on Workload Equity

Faculty Affairs Associate Deans (FAADJ huddle on Workload Equity

April 2021
April 2021
Teaching Excellence

Community Conversations: Think & Drinks on Teaching Evaluation Practices

Faculty Affairs Associate Deans (FAAD) huddle on Teaching

May 2021
Workload Equity

Spring Provost Conference: “Equity-Minded Faculty Workloads by Design”

Deans’ Council workshop

WEC meeting with Kerry Ann O’Meara

April 2021
Covid-19 Support
Community Conversations:

Think & Drinks on COVID Accommodations Senate motions pass on COVID Impact Statements, external review, and Student Evaluations of Teaching

May 2021
Teaching Excellence

Spring Provost Conference: Advancing Excellence: A Conversation about Recognizing, Evaluating and Rewarding Teaching across Rank and Series”

Deans’ Council meeting

TETF working meeting with speakers from TEval

May 2021
Covid-19 Support

Spring Provost Conference: “Evaluating the Impacts of COVID-19 on Faculty Careers”

Deans’ Council training COVID

Aecom modations Committee working meeting with guests from UMass

May 2021
Covid-19 Support

May 2021 Provost announces COVID Senate motions implementation plans

Faculty Affairs Associate Deans (FAAD) huddle on COVID motions

July 2021
Teaching Excellence
July 2021
Covid-19 Support
July 2021
Workload Equity
August 2021
Teaching Excellence

Reflections on Teaching Statement Guidance developed

Chairs and Directors huddle on preparing for annual reviews in light of Reflections on Teaching and COVID Impact Statements

August 2021
Workload Equity
August 2021
August 2021
Covid-19 Support

COVID Impact Statement support document published

Faculty COVID Impact Statement facilitators hired

Chairs and Directors huddle on preparing for annual reviews in light of COVID Impact Statements and Reflections

Oct 2021
Teaching Excellence

Faculty Fellows of Teaching and Learning announced

Teaching Excellence Task Force Chairs present to Deans’ Council

Teaching Excellence Task Force host roundtables during Provost’s Reception: Advancing Equity in Faculty Workload and Rewards

October 2021
Workload Equity

Workload Equity Committee Meeting

Provost Reception: Advancing Equity in Faculty Workloads and Rewards

November 2021
Teaching Excellence
Sept 2021
Teaching Excellence
November 2021
Workload Equity

Workload Equity Committee Meetings

December 2021
Workload Equity

Workload Equity Committee Meeting

FAAD Faculty Charge to Support Workload Equity

December 2021
Teaching Excellence
January 2022
Workload Equity

Workload Equity Committee Meetings

Workload Equity Committee Co-Chairs Presentation at Faculty Senate

January 2022
Teaching Excellence
February 2022
Workload Equity

Faculty Senate Survey Shared with Senators

Workload Equity Committee Meetings

Faculty Senate Survey on Workload Equity Closed

 

February 2022
Teaching Excellence
March 2022
Workload Equity

Faculty Solution Seeking Clinic

Workload Equity Committee Meeting

Workload Equity Committee Deans Council Visit

March 2022
Teaching Excellence
April 2022
Workload Equity
May 2022
Workload Equity
August 2022
Workload Equity

Provost Conference Series: “Tools for Advancing Workload Equity: Creating Faculty Work Activity Dashboards” by Joya Misra,

Workload Equity Committee (2021-2022) report published,

Deans Engagement on Workload Equity

October 2022
Workload Equity
Jan 12, 2023

Email from Provost Mary Clark

DEAP cohort 2 selected and launches

April 2022
Teaching Excellence

Provost’s Spring Conference Events

Teaching Excellence Task Force meets

DATs kick-off

May 2022
Teaching Excellence

Provost’s Spring Conference Events

Teaching Excellence Task Force meets

DAT session

March 2023
Workload Equity
June 2022
Teaching Excellence
June 2023
Workload Equity
September 2022
Teaching Excellence
October 2022
Teaching Excellence
AY 2023-24'
Workload Equity
November 2022
Teaching Excellence
December 2022
Teaching Excellence
AY 2023-25'
Workload Equity
January 2023
Teaching Excellence
February 2023
Teaching Excellence
March 2023
Teaching Excellence
June 2023
Teaching Excellence
October 2023
Teaching Excellence
January 2024
Teaching Excellence