Faculty Expectations.
Clear communication about faculty expectations is essential to faculty development and to advancing our shared mission to improve the health of populations through excellence and innovation in research, education, and service. The purpose of establishing faculty expectations around each part of our mission is to provide guidance both on expectations of faculty and on the responsibilities of faculty to the institution. In turn, faculty can rightly expect that a well-run school presents us all with an opportunity to engage in work that is satisfying and generative, and that we all have the best possible environment through which to carry out this work. The School’s diverse group of faculty have roles and levels of engagement with SPH that vary considerably, requiring a process to ensure that we are thoughtful, consistent, and clear in our articulation of faculty expectations.
The following sections describe the process for different groups of SPH faculty:
A. Faculty with Primary Appointments at SPH.
Primary faculty who are within the term of their initial appointment period are expected to engage in the activities described in the offer letter. The duration of the initial appointment period and the specific expectations vary depending on the needs of the department and school and the basis for the faculty hire. Unless specified otherwise in the offer letter, faculty within the term of their initial appointment period are typically not expected to follow the standard salary coverage rubric described below.
Primary faculty who are beyond the term of their initial appointment period are expected to cover their salary through a mix of teaching, research/scholarship, administration, service and citizenship, and other activities at Boston University. The approach is intended to provide flexibility, unconstrained by rank or track, allowing each faculty member to engage in a mix of activities that best matches their interests and strengths. Accordingly, excellence in each of these core areas can reasonably be expected to vary commensurate with the amount of time dedicated to each. Overall performance is evaluated annually based on excellence in the relevant core areas (based on mix of activities) and meeting salary coverage expectations.
Total Level of Engagement:
Faculty have considerable flexibility to determine the appropriate level of effort to support their professional goals. To foster an engaged, collaborative environment within our community, faculty with primary faculty appointments are expected to maintain a level of effort in the range of 50% to 100% (i.e., half-time to full-time). Faculty who wish to drop below 50% FTE may speak with their Chair about submitting a phased retirement plan or transitioning to either an adjunct or secondary appointment, as appropriate.
Faculty who wish to remain engaged as a primary faculty member at a level of at least 50%, but drop below this level due to a temporary shortfall of salary coverage, are permitted to continue below 50% for up to 12 months as they pursue additional coverage. During this period, the faculty member should discuss both internal (e.g., teaching, administrative roles) and external coverage options (e.g., grants, contracts) with their department chair.
In situations where the faculty member feels that continuing as a primary faculty member will position them to better meet the needs of the School, the faculty member may submit a letter to their department chair to make the case for an exception. If the department chair is supportive, then the department chair will submit the exception request to the Dean for consideration. Exceptions may only be approved by the Dean.
Teaching:
Excellence in the area of teaching can be demonstrated while serving as primary instructor or co-instructor in courses, advising and mentoring students, and developing or redesigning courses. Examples of ways to demonstrate excellence include (but are not limited to) positive student evaluations, awards for teaching or mentoring, and professional success of trainees.
Salary coverage for teaching is based on 15% for a four-credit course and is prorated based on the number of instructors (i.e., 7.5% per instructor for co-teaching) or credits (i.e., 7.5% for teaching a two-credit course). Importantly, teaching coverage is applied to a 12-month salary and not limited to the month(s) when the course is taught. The same rubric applies to coverage for teaching in the Online MPH program (i.e., 30% coverage for each 8 credit module, prorated based on the number of instructors).
There are exceptions to this approach for teaching the MPH integrated core courses (PH717, PH718, PH719, PH720) in fall and spring semesters. Teaching these courses in the fall and spring is set at 20% and prorated based on the number of instructors. This additional coverage recognizes that teaching a common curriculum across multiple concurrent sections, whether taught in-person or online, requires additional coordination. The single offerings of each core course in summer and in the Executive MPH do not require additional coordination and are therefore set at 15% per course.
Course cancellations are unexpected but sometimes necessary. If a course is offered for registration but then cancelled due to low enrollment, the associated shortfall in salary coverage will not be considered a performance issue at the time of the Annual Faculty Review on the first occurrence. However, the faculty member must submit a Managing Low Enrolled Courses Form to document (a) how they plan to spend that time productively (e.g., teaching, research, and/or citizenship activities) and (b) the plan to reduce the risk of low enrollment for the course moving forward (e.g., secure approval to modify prerequisites, adjust the frequency that the course is offered, adjust format and/or timeslot, improve course description and advertising). Given these expectations, a shortfall resulting from such situations is not warranted more than once for the same faculty member for the same course.
Research/Scholarship:
Excellence in the area of research/scholarship can be demonstrated while generating new knowledge or applying existing knowledge in new ways to increase understanding of a problem and/or recommend insightful responses to a problem, documenting the new knowledge or new ideas, and sharing the documentation so that it is accessible to others for review and critique. Examples of ways to demonstrate excellence include (but are not limited to) publications, grant applications, grant awards, invited talks, presentations at professional meetings, research advising and mentoring, and internal or external awards. It is recognized that publication expectations will vary by academic discipline and by the amount of time dedicated to research/scholarship.
Salary coverage for research/scholarship is expected to be via external funding sources. Faculty with low extramural salary coverage are expected to take on more teaching or other administrative roles (e.g., leadership of educational programs) that fall outside the remit of service and citizenship activities. Faculty with higher than expected extramural salary coverage may consider decreasing these other activities, recognizing that such changes require time to make alternative arrangements. The effort committed to externally funded projects should generally not exceed 90%; however, for faculty focused entirely on externally funded activities (i.e., no teaching or administrative responsibilities), the effort committed to externally funded projects may be as high as 95%. Faculty with primary appointments at SPH are expected to submit grants through SPH unless an exception is approved by the Dean.
Service and Citizenship:
In line with the terminology used by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), service refers to activities conducted outside of Boston University for the benefit of the profession and/or society, whereas citizenship refers to activities conducted within Boston University for the benefit of the department, school, or university. Examples of ways to demonstrate excellence in service include (but are not limited to) active involvement in local, national, and global public health organizations; serving as an external reviewer for grant funding agencies or journals; and public health service awards or recognition. Examples of ways to demonstrate excellence in citizenship include (but are not limited to) serving on committees at the department, school, campus, or university levels; advising and mentoring; participation in student recruitment activities; and participation in special events (e.g., signature programs, alumni events, etc.).
Salary coverage for service and citizenship is set at a maximum of 10% for full-time faculty, reflecting our collective and fundamental responsibility for engaging in such activities. This represents a half-day a week every week of the year (i.e., a total of 26 full days throughout the year), which should be sufficient for a reasonable level of citizenship (i.e., internal activities such as committee participation, mentoring, recruitment of students) and service (i.e., external activities such as reviewing grants/papers or public health practice). Part-time faculty who are at or above 25% effort may receive up to 10% of their total effort as coverage for service/citizenship (e.g., 5% for half-time faculty). Part-time faculty engaged at less than 25% are not expected to carry substantial service and citizenship expectations and as a result do not receive salary coverage for such activities. It is the responsibility of the department chair to ensure that citizenship activities are equitably distributed among faculty within the department, balanced with service contributions, and commensurate with the coverage provided.
Administration (if applicable):
Some faculty serve in administrative roles, including but not limited to deans, chairs, center directors, academic program directors, and certificate directors (See Section VI.1, Process for Assigning Teaching). These roles are assigned by the Dean or department chair with specific expectations and salary coverage that varies by position (but consistent among all faculty who serve in the same position). For faculty serving in such roles, excellence is evaluated based on the role-specific expectations.
Additional Notes about Salary Coverage:
The salary coverage guidelines described above apply to faculty in all faculty tracks. For example, at the extremes, coverage on the clinical track could be 90% teaching (i.e., six courses at 15% per course) and 10% for service/citizenship, while coverage on the research track could be 90% extramurally funded research and 10% for service/citizenship. However, faculty in these tracks are not constrained to these mixes of activities, which could potentially be modified to reflect changing needs/interests or to capitalize on new opportunities.
Salary coverage for activities conducted elsewhere within Boston University but outside of SPH will be administered consistent with the approach for administering all other salary coverage at SPH. The coverage will be applied toward the overall salary distribution and will not be paid directly as overbase. Faculty who exceed salary coverage expectations for the year may receive a reward payment via the Faculty Incentive Program described in Section VII.3.
As per state and federal (IRS) taxation laws, faculty are not allowed to be engaged as consultants to Boston University while appointed at Boston University or if they are within 18 months of their departure from Boston University (i.e., the official date of termination in SAP).
B. Faculty with Secondary Appointments at SPH.
Faculty who hold primary appointments at another Boston University school or college (e.g., BUSM) may also hold a secondary faculty appointment at SPH.
All faculty with secondary appointments at SPH are encouraged to participate in department and school events, including departmental faculty meetings, School Assembly, and student informational and recruiting events. For this group, faculty expectations are established with the department chair during the annual meeting and includes meaningful contributions to teaching, scholarship, and/or citizenship.
Faculty in this group do not receive salary coverage for service and citizenship and teaching is compensated on a per credit basis, as described in Section VI.4 Engagement of External Teaching Professionals. When receiving salary coverage for externally funded activities at SPH, the salary cost distributions are managed by their home department.
As per state and federal (IRS) taxation laws, faculty are not allowed to be engaged as consultants to Boston University while appointed at Boston University or if they are within 18 months of their departure from Boston University (i.e. the official date of termination in SAP).
C. Faculty with Adjunct Appointments at SPH.
Professionals or scholars whose primary place of employment is not Boston University, or whose primary employment within the University is not in a faculty role, may hold an adjunct faculty appointment SPH.
All faculty with adjunct appointments are encouraged to participate in department and school events, including departmental faculty meetings, School Assembly, and student informational and recruiting events. For this group, faculty expectations are established with the department chair during the annual meeting and includes meaningful contributions to teaching, scholarship, and/or citizenship.
Faculty in this group do not receive salary coverage for service and citizenship, and teaching is compensated on a per credit basis, as described in Section VI.4 Engagement of External Teaching Professionals. Adjunct faculty may receive salary coverage from SPH for engaging in externally funded activities.
As per state and federal (IRS) taxation laws, faculty are not allowed to be engaged as consultants to Boston University while appointed at Boston University, or if they are within 18 months of their departure from Boston University (i.e., the official date of termination in SAP).