Rick Tarara wrote:
"... We have a new dean from a school that did not count labs full. We are currently on a 4/3 load (12/9 contact hours) but the College wants to reduce to 3/3 (9/9). The dean is making noises like the science departments are already at such loads (counting labs the way she wants)... "
I've always thought that Deans should be advocates for the faculty, not shills for the administration. Obviously, your dean hasn't taught anything in a long time based on this single measurement (which would hold great weight in the Psychology lab :)...jk...)
Have your Dean come in an work the lab for you one afternoon. Labs take MUCH more energy and expertise than the classroom due to students not knowing how to read technical documents.
I was at a school that credited lab at 2/3. Here at Union we get 1:1. We still have overloads, but we get paid for them.
Bill Nettles
Chair, Physics
Union University
Jackson, TN