Compensation for Substantial Additional Assignments (CSAA) for Teaching Faculty

February 28, 2024 / Faculty/Staff Highlights

Procedures recommended by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Reassigned Time are being implemented this spring. Please review this article carefully as requests for compensation for substantial additional assignments for AY 2024–2025 are due by April 1.  

As background, in Fall 2022 Dr. Kress charged VPAA/CAO Chang and Provost Lynch to “convene an ad hoc working group on reassigned time with the goal of recommending a policy and procedure for NOVA that can be in place for AY 2023–2024.” In Spring 2023, a call went out to teaching faculty at the College who were interested in being part of this ad hoc working group. A committee was convened with representation from each campus and a set of recommendations was submitted. The ad hoc committee’s membership and minutes are available on NOVAnet at Reassigned Time Committee. This recommendation was also shared with the College Senate (in August 2023 and October 2023) and with the Personnel Services Committee. Administrative Council approved these procedures at its February 13 meeting.  

The full set of procedures can be found on NOVAnet at CSAA-procedure-2-25-24.docx. Here are a few highlights: 

  • This committee’s scope was broadened from just looking at reassigned time (RAT) for teaching faculty to reviewing compensation for substantial additional assignments (CSAA) for teaching faculty, which included supplemental work assignments (SWA).
  • The VCCS already has a policy on reassigned time (3.5.7.1) as well as guidelines about supplemental work assignments. NOVA needed a process/procedure for how to implement compensation for substantial additional assignments (CSAA).
  • This procedure document does not specify the exact tasks or activities that would receive CSAA. It does state that compensation should be for substantive additional assignments that are outside the scope of the normal responsibilities of teaching faculty.
  • The procedures add transparency to the CSAA process as a clear description of the substantive additional assignment for which compensation is requested. This includes specific duties and responsibilities, performance expectations, any deliverables, the start and end dates of the assignment and a clear explanation of how the compensation amount was computed based on the number of hours per week to perform the assignment. These opportunities are required to be published so that qualified faculty can express interest in performing these duties. 
  • The procedures establish a timeline and process for requests for CSAA to be submitted, reviewed and approved in advance of the next fiscal year, which allows for alignment with the development of the budget and allows faculty time to plan.

For this year only, the deadline to request CSAA through an Administrative Council member is extended by one month. Requests for compensation for additional support for this year must be submitted by April 1, 2024. This is a one-time extension to account for the policy being newly implemented this year. 

Submitted by:
Dr. Molly Lynch, MA-Provost, MLynch@nvcc.edu