Service Expectations (Full-Time Lecturers Only)

In 2018, the Program participated in the Faculty Workload and Rewards Project. The FIC worked with FWRP to devise a system for collecting data on how much time full-time WP faculty (who are expected to do service as part of their job) spent on service across gender and rank. Women and nonbinary people in the Writing Program historically have performed more service than men in the Writing Program, and our data analysis reflected that inequitable pattern.

The FIC made recommendations, informed by FWRP research, about how to distribute service more equitably–including keeping committees small, assigning committee membership on a rotating basis, and being more explicit about how much service is expected at each rank. We share information about service time intensity in order to help faculty understand their contributions in comparison with other faculty of similar rank in the Program. 

The following service time intensity averages for 2022 are based on self-reports (not counting those with course releases for service or those who didn’t teach for the full calendar year).

  • In 2022, FT lecturers in the WP averaged 54 hours/year in BU service (approximately 6 hours/month for the nine months of our contract)
  • Senior lecturers in 2022 averaged 71 hours/year in BU service (approximately 8  hours/month for the nine months of our  contract)
  • Master lecturers in 2022 averaged 76 hours/year in BU service (approximately 8½  hours/month for the nine months of our contract)

Hours of service to BU by gender in 2022; woman/nonbinary people performed more service, both overall and even more when uncompensated by course releases, than men

Please note that service expectations rise with promotion ranks: CAS considers the “potential for enhanced leadership” part of the criteria for promotion. Read more about that process here.

Each senior and master lecturer will be assigned one substantive responsibility within the Writing Program (e.g., serving on a committee) and may opt in to other service, such as mentoring, DEI work, curricular projects, or facilitating faculty seminars. Senior and master lecturers should be genuinely and actively engaged with the curricular, administrative, and/or intellectual life of the program beyond their own classrooms.

 

Historical Service Distribution Data

(note that prior to 2022, we used a different measure of time intensity; in 2022 we have switched to using self-reported hours)

Average time intensity points by gender 2021Median TIPs by gender 2021

Committee Assignments

Archived Service-Related Documents