Approved Winter 1998; Updated Winter 2016 for consistency with university policies and language

In these guidelines, "new faculty" are defined to be faculty hired in tenure-track positions at the level of Assistant Professor who are no more than one academic year past the granting of their terminal degrees. For such faculty members, the standard assignment for the first academic year will consist of:

1. 18 credit hours of teaching;
2. 6 credit hours of significant focus for scholarly / creative activity;
3. No formal advising duties; and
4. No formal committee work.

The purpose of the one-year reduction in advising and committee work is to give new faculty time to:

• Organize and develop thesis work for potential publication;
• Pursue interests in areas other than the dissertation field for future professional work (e.g., research with undergraduates, collaboration with colleagues at GVSU or elsewhere);
• Experiment with new teaching techniques;
• Adjust to their new environment; and/or
• Participate in other worthwhile activities not listed above.