Faculty Service on CT State Shared Governance Bodies and the Role of AR

February 10, 2023

Many of you have joined newly formed shared governance bodies this Spring 2023 semester, such as College Senate, Curriculum Congress, Statewide Discipline Councils, and Subject Area Curriculum Committees. Serving on shared governance bodies is an extremely important and vital part of our work. Thank you for serving.

CT State distributed the attached Recommended Release Time/Additional Responsibility guideline which may have informed your decision to serve. Since these guidelines were shared, it has been brought to our attention that management on same campuses is advising, “If those who are serving have AR, they are to put the governance into their AR and adjust it for the Spring semester. If they don't have AR then we can grant release time.”

Our response:

Any FT faculty member who does not have AR must be provided a course release and/or equivalent compensation to perform these duties for the Spring semester.

A faculty member with AR may elect to modify your AR in consultation with your Academic Dean. However, if your AR is full and your commitments prevent modification, you need to be awarded compensation for Spring semester.

Additional Important Information for Post-2017 Faculty Hires

While Post-2017 Faculty are not eligible for AR, our contract is clear, “Faculty hired on or after July 1, 2017 shall be released as appropriate with approval from the college so that they may work on professional obligations toward the goals of attaining tenure and/or promotion.” Generally, the activities listed under Additional Responsibilities section of Article X fit this category of “professional obligations toward the goal of attaining tenure and/or promotion.”

This means college management is required to provide course releases as appropriate to perform the activities listed under Additional Responsibilities section of Article X. You may receive a release of 1, 2, 3 credits or more. The number of credits of release is commensurate with the time spent on those activities.

Because college managers must provide course release as appropriate, it is imperative you are proactive and request course releases to perform these activities. If you have never received a course release, the earlier you request a course release the more likely you will find mutual agreement. If you are denied your first request, continue to make requests each semester, as college managers must provide sufficient release for you to meet these obligations.