Introduction

In line with Jouf University’s commitment to supporting and improving the educational process, achieving quality and excellence in academic performance, and striving to provide an integrated learning environment that contributes to achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, this guide frames the academic workload of faculty members and their equivalents. It aims to establish clear principles and standards for organizing academic workloads to achieve a balance between teaching, research, and administrative tasks, enhancing academic performance efficiency. It also clarifies the mechanisms for workload distribution, ensures fairness in its allocation, and facilitates monitoring its implementation to serve the university’s strategic goals.

Through this policy, Jouf University seeks to enable faculty members to perform their pivotal role in the educational process, support innovation and creativity in scientific research, and enhance their contribution to community service and improve educational outcomes to meet labor market needs.

Key Definitions

Purpose of the Policy

Organizing the academic workloads of faculty members and their equivalents is an essential part of higher education systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Working hours and professional performance requirements are determined according to approved regulations. These regulations stipulate that academic workloads include teaching, scientific research, academic advising, and administrative tasks. Faculty members perform thirty-five working hours per week, which may be increased to forty hours by a university council decision. These hours are distributed between teaching and other academic activities to ensure balance and efficiency.

Policy

Jouf University is committed to providing an environment that supports faculty members and their equivalents and enables them to perform their academic work efficiently and effectively by applying principles of fairness, transparency, and flexibility in managing their workload. This reflects on their satisfaction and increases productivity. Jouf University periodically and continuously supports all necessary actions or immediate remedies that enable its colleges and scientific departments to improve a comfortable work environment and balance between academic and administrative workloads in accordance with applicable regulations, achieving this across all university branches for both male and female sections.

Faculty members and their equivalents are committed to working efficiently to achieve the mission and objectives of the university and their colleges by performing assigned tasks competently, developing themselves professionally, and reporting any issues they encounter to the responsible authorities.

Procedures

The academic workload of faculty members and their equivalents consists of two parts:

First: Teaching Load Hours

These are the number of units taught weekly by the faculty member or equivalent as specified in the university system. The teaching load includes all units delivered for academic degrees (Bachelor – Diploma – Postgraduate), whether in regular or paid programs, except for distance programs, as shown in the following table:

Mechanism for Calculating Teaching Load Hours for Bachelor Courses

Second: Non-Teaching Academic Task Hours

These are the hours allocated for scientific research, academic advising, office hours, work in units and committees, and any other tasks assigned by the university’s competent authorities.

Mechanism for Calculating Non-Teaching Academic Task Hours

Given the practical importance of adopting a unified mechanism to calculate hours for various academic tasks to activate university work regulations and define academic workloads for faculty members and their equivalents—and since the regulations of the Higher Education Council and Universities have not defined a unified mechanism for calculating such hours—this mechanism was prepared to ensure fair distribution of efforts, clear performance evaluation, and workload calculation as follows:

Third: Distribution and Monitoring of Academic Workload

The academic workload is distributed and monitored by the following academic authorities:

(A) Department Chair

• Determine the teaching load and non-teaching academic tasks.
• Ensure balance in workload distribution among faculty members.
• Prepare a workload report for all department faculty members with a list of those whose load is incomplete and the reasons.
• Approve the workload after preparing the report through the department council, then submit it to the college dean for approval.

(B) College Dean

• Approve the academic workloads for scientific departments.
• Prepare a workload report for all college faculty members with a list of those whose load is incomplete and the reasons, and submit it to the Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs.

Fourth: Policy Implementation Procedures at the Vice-Rectorate for Educational Affairs / Relevant Committees

• Adopt clear standards in light of applicable regulations when distributing workloads that consider academic ranks and specializations of faculty members as a guide for colleges and scientific departments.
• Review the balance between teaching and non-teaching academic workloads of faculty members at the main campus and its branches for both male and female sections.
• Develop and circulate a scale measuring faculty members’ satisfaction with their workload to be applied at least once a year in coordination with the Measurement and Evaluation Unit to prepare reports and take appropriate corrective actions.
• Follow up with concerned entities (colleges, their scientific departments, and committees) related to implementing the workload policy and its procedures and prepare the necessary reports as needed.
• Update the policy whenever necessary.

Metadata Template

Approved by the Competent Authority,

Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs

Dr. Alaa bin Saleh Al-Arjan