Adjunct Faculty Appointments & Performance Evaluation
Related Policy: Adjunct Faculty Evaluation Policy
Prepared by: Office of the Provost
Original Date: November 9, 2021
Update Date: October 29, 2025
Applicable to: All Florida Tech Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct Faculty Hiring & Recruitment Process
To ensure compliance and consistency in the hiring of adjunct faculty, job requisitions must be created and posted in Workday when recruiting for new or replacement adjunct positions.
- A search committee interview or selection process is not required for adjunct faculty hiring.
- If a candidate has already been identified for a vacancy, the candidate must apply to the open requisition through Workday.
- Once the final candidate has been selected, the hiring department may initiate the offer in Workday.
- After the candidate acknowledges the position placeholder, they are required to complete a criminal and education background check.
- Adjunct faculty members are required to complete compliance training assigned in Workday Learning.
- Following clearance, the hire will be finalized in Workday, and Period Activity Pay (PAP) will be initiated to outline the terms of the assignment.
- Course details for all adjunct contracts are documented within the Period Activity Pay (PAP) and can be accessed in the employee’s Workday profile under Job → Worker History → Period Activity Pay.
- Adjunct faculty members are required to provide an updated CV (reflecting their new adjunct position at Florida Tech and send all graduate transcripts directly to accreditation@fit.edu prior to teaching.
- Approved Adjunct Contracts are in the employee’s profile in Workday under Personal/Documents/Generated Documents.
Restrictions on Adjunct Faculty Teaching Load
Face-to-Face or Hybrid Courses
Adjunct faculty members assigned to face-to-face (in person) or hybrid courses will have full instructor responsibilities such as ensuring course quality, developing course syllabus, content, and materials, facilitating in class discussions and participation, assessing learning objectives, grading, holding office hours, providing student support, and handling accommodations in conjunction with the Office of Accessibility Resources, as appropriate.
The duties of an adjunct faculty teaching a face-to-face or hybrid course are calculated at 2.25 workload hours per credit hour per week.
Academic units are not allowed to assign adjunct faculty members more than six (6) credits in any 8-week term or more than 9 credits of face-to-face or hybrid courses in a 16-week term. In all cases, the total workload of an adjunct faculty must not exceed 27 hours per week.
Full-time faculty members are not eligible to hold adjunct faculty appointments for face-to-face or hybrid courses during Fall and Spring, as these courses fall within their standard teaching responsibilities.
Full-time, 9-month faculty who agree to teach a course as an overload during the Fall or Spring semester will receive supplemental compensation. For details regarding faculty workload and overload pay, full-time faculty members are referred to the Faculty Load and Faculty Overload and Compensation policies.
Full-time faculty with 9-month appointment who agree to teach during the Summer will receive a summer contract. The total compensation for all summer activities, including teaching, research or other duties, may not exceed the equivalent of 12-weeks of the faculty member’s base salary.
Qualified full-time staff members may be appointed as adjunct faculty to teach at most three (3) credits of face-to-face or hybrid courses in any given term. The total workload of a full-time staff member must not exceed 8 hours per week.
Asynchronous Pre-built Online Courses
8-week online classes are asynchronous, and instructors do not prepare their own lecture materials or the course syllabus. These tasks are completed by course developers, and course materials are pre-loaded into the course shell using the university’s learning management system (LMS).
An adjunct faculty assigned to pre-built asynchronous online courses during an 8-week term will serve as the full instructor of record (high touch) with the responsibilities of active engagement with students, moderating asynchronous discussions, providing individualized feedback, grading, student support and outreach, and handling academic accommodations in conjunction with the Office of Accessibility Resources, as appropriate.
The duties of an adjunct faculty teaching an asynchronous pre-built online course are calculated at 2.25 workload hours per credit hour per week.
Academic units are not allowed to assign adjunct faculty members more than six (6) credits of asynchronous pre-built online courses in any 8-week term or more than twelve (12) credits of asynchronous pre-built online courses in a 16-week term. In all cases, the total workload of an adjunct faculty must not exceed 27 hours per week.
Full-time faculty members and qualified full-time staff members may be appointed as adjunct faculty to teach at most three (3) credits of asynchronous pre-built online courses in any given term. The total workload of a full-time faculty or full-time staff member must not exceed 8 hours per week.
Pre-Designed ABA Online Courses with Limited Instructional Duties
ABA Online Program conducts three 15-week semesters. ABA online courses include pre-recorded asynchronous lectures, prepared syllabi, and assignments/quizzes/exams that are automatically graded in the university’s learning management system. The main duties of adjunct faculty (trained course facilitators) assigned to ABA online courses are to support translational activities. Live online meetings are held by trained course facilitators on alternating weeks to discuss materials, clarify complex concepts, and relate the science of behavior to clinical practice. ABA online course facilitators are expected to provide student support and handle academic accommodations in conjunction with the Office of Accessibility Resources, as appropriate.
The duties of an adjunct faculty assigned as a course facilitator for an ABA online course are calculated at 0.5 workload hours per credit hour per week.
Academic units are not allowed to assign adjunct faculty members more than fifty-four (54) credits of ABA online courses in any 15-week term. The total workload of an ABA online adjunct faculty (course facilitator) must not exceed 27 hours per week.
Full-time faculty members and qualified full-time staff members may be appointed as a course facilitator to at most fifteen (15) credits of ABA online courses in any 15-week term. The total workload of a full-time faculty or full-time staff member teaching an ABA online course as the course facilitator must not exceed 8 hours per week.
Minimum Enrollment Requirements for Florida Tech Courses
Minimum enrollment requirements for face-to-face or hybrid courses are eight (8) for graduate level courses and twelve (12) for undergraduate courses.
Minimum enrollment requirement for asynchronous pre-built online courses is seven (7) for both undergraduate and graduate level online courses.
Minimum enrollment requirement for ABA online program is twelve (12) for live online sections led by the ABA online course facilitators.
Review and Approval Process for Low Enrollment Courses
Academic units are required to submit a list of low-enrollment courses to the Provost’s Office through the designated college shared drives no later than two (2) weeks prior to the first day of classes. The submission must include course details, current enrollment, instructor information, including their current teaching load, and a justification for any request not to cancel the course. The Provost’s Office will review the submissions in collaboration with academic unit heads and the Office of Advising and notify both the academic units and the Office of the Registrar of course cancellation decisions at least one (1) week prior to the first day of classes.
Adjunct Faculty Performance Evaluations
Florida Tech is dedicated to maintaining excellence in teaching and enhancing student learning outcomes and overall educational experience. Performance of all adjunct faculty must be evaluated as described in the Adjunct Faculty Evaluation Policy that policy applies to all Florida Tech adjunct faculty, regardless of course level, modality, academic program, or location. The policy provides guidelines for adjunct faculty evaluation and promotes continuous improvement of instructional quality and professional development.
To ensure a comprehensive and consistent review of adjunct faculty performance, an annual evaluation process is conducted in Workday. The respective supervisor assesses adjunct faculty’s teaching effectiveness using multiple measures, including but not limited to end-of-term student surveys, peer evaluations, course preparation and management, availability and responsiveness to students, collaboration with supervisors, faculty, and staff, and contributions to academic program assessment, as appropriate.