Frequently Asked Questions – April 2026
Process Questions
Why was this workload policy developed?
The College of Arts & Sciences Workload Policy was developed as part of WSU-wide effort to better articulate faculty effort expectations. For more information about the process and university expectations, please see Workload Policy Task Force.
What guiding principles did the college use to develop this policy?
- Recognize and reward college’s research, scholarship, and creative activities footprint
- Center equity
- Align with university workload policy & practices and follow appropriate appointing authority lines
- Maintain the college’s instructional capacity
What was the process for developing the policy and who was consulted during the process?
Across summer 2025, the college met regularly with Provost’s Office and leadership within other colleges to gain a better understanding of the university expectations and requirements of a college-wide workload policy.
We presented an early draft of a policy to CAS chairs and directors, campus academic directors, and applicable vice chancellors of academic affairs, in September 2025 to gather their initial input. During the fall semester of 2025, the college continued to revise the draft policy following feedback from chairs and directors and faculty data collected in collaboration with departments and schools. Near the end of the semester, the college submitted our draft workload policy for formal review for approval by the provost’s office. We continued to work with chairs and directors across the spring semester. It was last reviewed and approved by the Provost on March 30, 2026.
When will it be effective?
Any workload changes due to the CAS Workload Policy will be effective August 16, 2026.
What is the lookback period for the F&A-generating grants, undergraduate/graduate mentorship data, and annual review ratings?
For the initial review, the college used the following date range to collect the relevant data: January 1, 2023-December 31, 2025. Subsequent reviews will also follow a three-year range, so chairs and directors have sufficient time to make any changes to the upcoming semester’s course schedule.
How am I as a faculty member expected make changes in my efforts by the effective date to be eligible for a reduced teaching load?
To help with the transition to a standard workload policy, at the policy’s implementation, we will have for a grace period for eligible faculty from units who have historically had a 1/1 or 2/1 (or 1/2) teaching load but do not meet the threshold at implementation.
Eligibility for the grace period is determined as follows:
- Tenure track faculty from units who have historically had a 1/1 or 2/1 teaching load, have not had unsatisfactory reviews in the past three years, and who have an active external grant but whose grant(s) may not reach the Effort on F&A Generating Grants threshold (described below) will receive credit for meeting that threshold for the initial 3-year period.
- Tenure track faculty from units who have historically had a 1/1 or 2/1 teaching load, have not had unsatisfactory reviews in the past three years, and are within three points the Graduate and Undergraduate Mentoring threshold (described below) will receive credit for meeting that threshold for the initial 3-year period.
- Tenure track faculty from units who have historically had a 1/1 or 2/1 teaching load, have not had unsatisfactory reviews in the past three years, and recently received tenure (within 3 years from policy implementation) will be provided with a one-time, three-year grace period from changes in teaching load.
While a faculty member is in the grace period, they will not be eligible for any additional exceptions that enable shifts in workload. The exceptions described in the CAS Workload Policy are only available to faculty who are not benefiting from a grace period.
How do faculty engage in the broader workload policy development?
Faculty input is needed and required for the department and school process component. Departments and schools each set their own specific definitions of satisfactory (S) and especially meritorious performance (EMP), as well as the rest of the annual review ratings, for each category. Broadly speaking, CAS defines satisfactory as demonstrating progress towards the criteria of promotion. If a given faculty member is at the professor rank, then they must, at minimum, continue to meet the criteria of that rank. All definitions used at the college and unit level should embody the college’s principles of growth, coherence, and impact.
We caution departments/schools to not overly prescribe their definitions with numbers or other requirements that promote quantity over quality and potentially reduce flexibility for expectations that may change as disciplines evolve. In addition, please be mindful that community-engaged scholarship may have different indicators of productivity and merit beyond that has been traditionally recognized in disciplines.
Why a three-year baseline workload review? Why not every year?
An annual review for baseline workload could cause disruption in a faculty’s workload as well as in a chair/director’s ability to plan for course coverage each year.
What if I’m pre-tenure? Am I subject to baseline workload changes?
Per the WSU Faculty Manual, pre-tenure tenure track faculty are not subject to workload changes.
Research Questions
Other R1 universities in my specific discipline only teach one course per semester. Will the college workload policy put our R1 status at risk? And how will we be able to recruit top candidates if this workload policy is in place?
WSU and the college are committed to our status as an outstanding research-intensive land-grant university. The research, scholarship, and creative activities within the college driven by our outstanding faculty are a vital component to WSU’s success, which drove our guiding principle to recognize and reward the college’s research, scholarship, and creative activities footprint. As such, initial baseline workloads, including teaching load, for new tenure track faculty will be negotiated with the Dean at the time of approval of the search so that the initial workloads are in alignment with market expectations. This workload policy simply set the standards for a shift from baseline.
What happens if the federal grant landscape continues to shift and less funding is available?
The college recognizes that the recent and ongoing shifts to the federal grant landscape continue to create uncertainty. We do note, however, that the units within our college who receive highest amounts of federal funded have not been substantially impacted by the shifts. Nevertheless, this college’s workload policy was designed to recognize the distinct labor that goes into the managing of grants (regulations, contracts, reporting responsibilities, personnel management, trainings, approvals, collaborator coordination, subawards, budget monitoring, etc. – many of which increases with increasing sizes of grants) in addition to conducting research. The shift in percentage points allocated to research for eligible faculty who meet the F&A-generating grant threshold is to recognize that the additional and distinct labor required to manage these types of grants.
What if my F&A-generating grant is below the average $100,000 per year threshold?
You are not eligible for the 10% workload shift. However, faculty are always encouraged to budget in salary and benefits for a course load reduction. You would still be eligible to “buy out” of courses pending sufficient funding and chair/dean approval.
What if I receive a grant that is not F&A-generating? Can that grant count towards the cumulative funding threshold?
No, it would not count toward the cumulative funding threshold. However, if you receive a highly prestigious large grant from an organization that does not allow for indirect costs, please contact your chair for an exception review. Additionally, faculty are always encouraged to budget salary and benefits for a course load reduction. You would still be eligible to “buyout” of courses pending sufficient funding and chair/dean approval.
Are career track faculty eligible for the graduate/undergraduate mentoring credits and/or F&A grant generating effort workload shift?
Yes, presuming that their initial workload allocation includes some apportionment of research/scholarship/creative activities.
I received a $500K F&A generating grant on Dec 31, which year will it count toward?
Ask your chair to reach out to the dean’s office for a consultation for this scenario.
Teaching
What if I’m teaching a 4-credit course one semester? Does that still count as 20% FTE for that semester?
No, the FTE for a 4-credit course should be scaled using the 3-credit course/20%FTE per semester equivalency.
What if I’m teaching a one-credit seminar course? Does that still count as 20% FTE for that semester?
No, the FTE for a 1-credit course should be scaled using the 3-credit course/20%FTE per semester equivalency.
Can I roll teaching credit into the next year? For example, can I bank extra credits from a four-credit course and take a course release later?
No, total credit load/teaching FTE can only be averaged across the two semesters in an academic year. There may be occasions when chairs/directors need to assign teaching that puts a faculty member beyond their teaching workload percentage to maintain instructional capacity. In those cases, the chair/director should reduce that faculty member’s service expectations, if possible, to account for the additional teaching. For example, a faculty member teaches two four-credit courses in one semester, and two three-credit courses the next semester (and their teaching workload is 40%), then their service allocation should be reduced by the FTE equivalency of two credits (or down to 13.3% service for that year).
What if I’m the instructor of record for 10 labs but they are taught by ASEs?
You will be eligible to receive credit for supervision of the ASEs while they are teaching that class unless they are being supervised by another faculty member (e.g., the director of foundational courses).
What if I’m co-teaching a class?
Each participating faculty co-teaching a class will receive partial credit for that course as scaled to the total number of instructors (e.g., if two faculty are teaching, each receive half credit whereas if three faculty are instructors, then they will each receive one third credit).
Graduate/Undergraduate/Undergraduate Research Mentoring
What if a graduate student leaves mid year/mid semester?
You may receive credit for mentoring that graduate student if you were instructor of record for their research credit hours for those periods.
What about graduate/undergraduate research mentorship during the summer?
Metrics for undergraduate and graduate research mentoring during the summer will not be collected or used for the baseline workload review process. The baseline workload review process sets the workload for faculty for their academic year (nine-month) appointments.
Please ask your chair or director to consult with the dean’s office if you have a twelve-month appointment (note, twelve-month appointment does not mean academic year (nine-month) plus three months of summer funding).
What happens if my students do not sign up for research credit hours?
You will not receive mentoring credit that year towards teaching.
What if I come in just under the grad student mentorship threshold?
You are not eligible for the workload shift. You may ask that your chair and director request an exception review if there were extenuating circumstances.
Doesn’t this policy encourage poor graduate mentorship or other ways to game the system since more students equals more points?
As part of the department and school workload policy process, the college has requested that each unit defines “satisfactory” expectations for undergraduate and graduate research mentorship. If faculty do not meet those expectations, then they do not receive credit for that year’s mentoring effort calculations. In addition, the college also incentivizes graduate degree completion in the calculations as it is important that faculty support graduate students in their academic and career goals.
Miscellaneous
I’m undergoing promotion and/or tenure review this upcoming academic year, what workload will be used for my review?
You will be reviewed based on the workload that you had during spring 2026 as the CAS Workload Policy and any workload changes resulting from its implementation are not effective until August 16, 2026, so after you’ve submitted the promotion materials to your department/school. If for any reason, your workload changed during the period for which you’re being reviewed (due to other reasons than the college’s new policy), then we encourage you to discuss those changes in a context statement.
What if I have a spike in my graduate student/research productivity, but I don’t think it’ll be maintained? Do I have to accept the workload change?
No, faculty may opt out of workload changes that are due to meeting the threshold for F&A-generating grants and/or undergraduate and graduate research mentoring. If faculty do not think that they will sustain that level of effort during the next three years, then they should consider not accepting the workload change as their subsequent annual reviews will be based on the new workload allocations.
I’m on the Tri-Cities/Vancouver/Everett/Global Campus – does the workload policy still apply to me?
Yes, unless exceptions are made by your home campus or your home campus develops its own workload policy. As many aspects of workload have budgetary implications, campuses may have variations.
I’m going on professional leave the next academic year. Does that impact my baseline workload?
No, you’ll have a temporary shift in duties in alignment with the proposed professional leave duties. If you are continuing to be active on F&A-generating awards as well as mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, then you will still be receiving credit for that work during the professional leave. As a reminder, if external funding is an expectation within your unit, then you must continue to submit proposals for external funding even while on professional leave.
Professional leave during the three-year window does not extend the window meaning that the baseline workload review will occur regardless of leave status.
What if I’m on family or medical leave?
When on family or medical leave, the data used for F&A-generated grant and undergraduate & graduate research mentorship thresholds will be averaged across the review period minus the period of leave.