I. Origins and Objective
Origins
This policy draws on the development of a WSU university-wide workload policy developed in fall 2025. The College of Arts & Sciences workload policy was developed in the same timeframe, and leadership recognized that there are discrepancies in workloads between the School of Music (NASM-defined expectations) and other units in the college. The below policy is a collaboration between the college and the school that honors the disciplinary teaching expectations as well as the excellence in faculty’s research, scholarship, and creative activities. In all cases, but those outlined below, the College of Arts & Science workload policy should be used to set the workload for School of Music faculty.
Objective
This document outlines workload for School of Music faculty whose teaching responsibilities includes classroom instruction, ensembles, and/or applied lessons. For all, an average teaching load should be configured over two (2) semesters.
II. Ensemble and Applied Lesson FTE Conversion
- For ensembles or applied lesson instruction, the following FTE% to teaching load hour conversion should be used: two (2) teaching load hours equals 10% FTE in teaching. For guidance, below are some example workloads for different positions with ensemble and applied lesson instruction.
- A Lecturer position with 100% teaching equates to 20 teaching load hours semesterly.
- A Career-Track, in the Scholarly Subtrack, position with a 60% teaching, 20% research/scholarship/creative activity, and 20% service equates to 12 teaching hours semesterly.
- A Career-Track, in the Teaching Subtrack, position with an 80% teaching, 10% research/scholarship/creative activity, and 10% service equates to 16 teaching hours semesterly.
- A Tenure-track position with 50% teaching, 40% research/scholarship/creative activity, and 10% service, which equates to10 teaching hours semesterly. This workload will be considered the standard baseline for School of Music tenure-track faculty.
III. Teaching Load Hour Determination for Classroom Instruction, Recruiting and Ensemble & Applied Lessons
- Group instruction is the standard class format across campus, and in the School of Music this includes various sizes of classroom instruction and musical ensembles (small and large groups) that rehearse and perform.
- Teaching load for classroom instruction is determined by the number of contact hours for a given course. Courses are equivalent regardless of the mode of delivery.
- Typical rehearsal schedules for a director-led ensemble range from 3-4 hours/week in preparation for 1-3 performances each semester. The teaching load for ensemble conducting/leadership is generally equivalent to the number of hours of rehearsal. Cougar Marching Band is an outlier.
- Individual instruction is most often offered through applied lessons. For music majors, these are typically 25 (2 credit) or 50 (4-credit) minute individual meetings weekly.
- Per NASM Handbook policy: Teaching 4.5 hours of applied lessons is the equivalent of 3 hours of teaching load. (See NASM Handbook statements in Section II.E.4.b.3)
- On occasion a smaller teaching load may be assigned toward recruiting students needed in specific applied studios.
- Recruiting is occasionally assigned as teaching load, for 1-2 hours/semester. This assignment assumes 1.5 weekly contact hours/1 hour teaching load, similar to lessons.
- Faculty should seek guidance from the School Director to determine whether their instruction falls under group vs individual instruction. The Director may then consult with the Dean, as appropriate.