Introduction

According to the Coastal Carolina University Faculty Manual, provisions are to be made for activities that support students outside of traditional classroom instruction:

In addition to the regular meeting of classes, the University expects faculty to use time afforded them during normal business hours to engage in University- related activities including committee assignments, meetings, and scholarly pursuits. To permit these activities to be undertaken in a reasonable manner, the Department Chair/Supervisor with the approval of the Dean, will assign a teaching schedule that allows for student access to faculty, permits adequate time for preparation and travel to/from off-campus assignments, and takes into account other special circumstances unique to the courses taught.

Adjustments of teaching loads may be made by the Dean of the College in consultation with the Chair/Supervisor of the Department.

In order to facilitate the efficient delivery of instruction and the effective use of university resources, Faculty (tenure-track and lecturers) are required to teach a certain number of credit hours over an academic year as specified by their college.

This process is designed to accommodate some of the “special circumstances” mentioned in the Faculty Manual, in particular the unique circumstances created by individualized and small- group instruction.

“Credit banking” is designed to acknowledge and compensate faculty for effort put forth for supervising a credit-generating activity that appears on a student schedule but is not taught “in load.” When a faculty member generates credit by supervising an individual or group activity beyond the faculty’s expected load, that additional credit may be tracked and the faculty member may be compensated by means of payment. These new revisions are in effect beginning Fall 2018.

Process Outline

Faculty may earn credit banking points through engaging in any of the activities listed below and at the conclusion of the major semester may redeem those points for payment relative to the number of points earned.

Activities eligible for credit banking must be:

• credit-generating
• supervised
• assessed
• integrated into the major, minor, or core curriculum

Activities, under normal circumstances, eligible for banked credit include:

• Directing theses
• Directing independent studies
• Supervising internships
• Directing research
• Teaching low-enrolled sections otherwise subject to cancellation
• Supervising cross-listed honors sections

Specific details as related to this process include:

Eligible Activity

1. Courses taught as part of a customary load do not apply to the credit banking process. “Customary load” is defined by the Dean and will depend on the nature of the position, regularly assigned job duties, performance and disciplinary factors. The Dean will determine when a course is “in load” by the first business day following the end of the drop-add period. Final determination of which courses are “in load” and which courses are banked rests with the Dean.
2. This process does not conflict with the Dean’s prerogative, per the Faculty Manual, to set loads at the college level. Deans have the discretion to suspend or modify this process in consultation with the Provost.
3. Banked credits must appear on a student’s transcript as credit, and must have generated tuition revenue. In addition, no course can earn in excess of 360 points $3,600. This is the maximum number of points any one course can generate and is commensurate with full overload pay.
4. Faculty participation in activities eligible for banked credit is subject to the needs of the department and college under the direction of the Chair and Dean.

Payment Details

1. All payment for course activities will occur through one of the following: customary load, overload, or credit banking.   The method of payment will depend on the nature of the activity, the faculty member’s regularly assigned duties, when the work is performed, and the ability to be compensated in a specific manner based on state regulation and University policy.  In addition, in the event that a course qualifies under more than one credit banking area, points do not sum.  For faculty electing credit banking, in the event that the course qualifies under more than one covered area, compensation is based on the highest point value among the areas.  All activities are eligible for compensation through one, and only one, mechanism.  Payment mechanism must be selected no later than the first business day following the end of the drop-add period.  HREO will review actions to ensure compliance with prevailing policies and regulations.
2. By selecting credit banking as the method of payment the faculty member agrees to delay compensation until the conclusion of the semester in which the course is offered.  At the conclusion of the semester all banked credit will be processed and the faculty member will be paid at that time.  Once the paperwork is received in HREO, payment will be made in accordance with customary payroll schedule on a pay lag.
3. Chairs should submit for payment any credit banking points accumulated during the semester.  This submission should occur as soon as is feasible following the formal assignement of duties, and after the beginning of the W period for the term in question. All credit banking points should be submitted by the conclusion of the semester in which they were earned.  Any activities not submitted for payment by the first day of the next major semester may not be eligible for compensation.
4. Credit banking compensation will be paid through dual employment.  CCU dual employment earning limits apply. Faculty should note that credit banking earnings contribute to the 30% maximum additional earnings during the period and may affect the ability to collect subsequent earnings during the same period.
5. In order to be eligible for Credit Banking payouts in a given major semester, faculty must have a minimum of 60 students enrolled in courses for which they are the instructor of record.  This enrollment floor includes all students enrolled all courses taught by the faculty during the semester for which Credit Banking is being requested. Enrollment minimums are not in effect for Summer terms.

Process Mechanics

Faculty members may earn credit banking points through qualifying courses taught.  In order to earn credit banking points the faculty member must be the instructor of record. In the cases of multiple instructors of record, any credit banking points earned for the course are distributed evenly among all instructors of record.

Determination of bank point values are based on the course taught and the credit banking-eligible activity, and are established by the College in consultation with the Provost. Bank point values and student enrollment for each course are available through WebAdvisor’s Credit Banking search function accessible through the Faculty menu. Student enrollment, for the purpose of this process, is determined to be the total number of students earning a grade of any type (including withdrawal). This is equivalent to the enrollment at the census date plus any subsequent enrollments. Final enrollment will be determined at the conclusion of the semester. Total point value earned for a course will be as such:

• Courses not typically counted “in load” including theses, independent studies, directed research, and internships are calculated as student enrollment, or student credit hours, times bank credit value. Determination of enrollment or credit hour payouts is made on a course by course basis, based on the nature of the course in question.  These determinations were made by the discipline in conjunction with the Dean of the College and the University Provost.

Bank value and student enrollment are available through WebAdvisor’s Credit Banking search function on the Faculty menu.

• Under-enrolled courses are calculated as twenty (20) points per student.

Courses are considered under-enrolled when there are less than twelve (12) students during a major term (Fall or Spring) and five (5) students in the summer (May – August).

• Augmented courses, such as cross-listed Honors courses, are calculated as ten (10) points per enrolled student.

Qualifying course activity includes:

• Teaching an individual student in an individual credit-bearing experience (typically an independent study, internship, research or thesis).
• Teaching an under-enrolled class that normally would be subject to cancellation.
• Teaching a course with augmented material (typically Honors).

Compensation Process

At the conclusion of the semester in which the course was offered the department will submit to the Dean and Provost offices an accounting of all credit banking eligible work.

All credit banking points accumulated during the term will be paid out at a rate of $10/point.

For faculty electing credit banking, compensation will be paid out following the submission of payment request for the semester in which the activity occurred. The request for compensation for credit banking activities occurring during a major term (Fall or Spring) should come in the form of a Dual Employment Request Form available under the Human Resources section of the CCU Forms page.  Any credit banking activities occurring during the summer (May – August) should come in the form of a Slotted Faculty Summer Employment Form.

All compensation requests should include an accounting of the activities for which compensation is requested, and should include the section name, enrollment, course bank value, and total credit banking points earned for the section. This documentation may be acquired by printing the credit banking screen within the faculty menu. When accessing the Credit Banking screen, select the courses for which the form will request payment and click “Submit.” The resulting screen will display only those courses for which you are requesting compensation, this screen cam be printed and turned in as your documentation of activities.

By submitting a request for compensation, the faculty member is attesting to the fact that they have not been otherwise compensated for these activities, either through load credit, course release, overload, or any other compensatory mechanism.

Other Considerations

For the purposes of this process, classes with less than twelve students enrolled are considered “low enrolled,” except in disciplines where such enrollment is customary.

In cases where there is a difference of opinion regarding the state of an individual’s banked credit status, records contained via Webadvisor are considered the definitive record on matters of credits banked, enrollment, and instructor of record. Enrollment is calculated at the end of the term upon the submission of grades. Authority to adjudicate such differences rests with the dean of the college.

Continuation and/or modification of the credit banking process will be at the sole discretion of the University.