Policy 05:08:00

Faculty: Individuals meeting the requirements of the Colorado Board of Nursing, ACCSC and ACEN criteria designated by the governing body of Platt College as having ongoing responsibility for curriculum development and planning, teaching, guiding, monitoring, and evaluating student learning.

Full-time faculty members teach an average of 24-28 workload units (WU) per quarter in classes, laboratories, or clinical experiences.  Full-time clinical faculty members teach an average of 36 hours per week in the clinical setting per quarter. The requirement for workload units for full-time faculty members is the same for both traditional (face-to-face) and on-line (e-courses) learning environment. The student to faculty ratio in nursing laboratory and clinical courses is determined by Colorado Board of Nursing.

Full-time Faculty exceeding 28 workload units in a quarter may be eligible for the Full-time Faculty Additional Workload Incentive, Policy 05:18:00.

Part-time faculty members teach 23 or less workload units (WU) per quarter in classes or laboratories.  Part-time faculty positions are scheduled on a course-by-course and quarter-by-quarter basis as required to meet the mission of the college.  An affiliation agreement is completed each quarter and specifies the terms of employment.

Clinical faculty members are paid hourly and complete monthly timesheets. For clinical faculty, an average of less than 36 hours per week per quarter is considered part-time employment.  Clinical Faculty must meet the requirements of the Board’s Rules and Regulations and have ongoing responsibility for evaluating student learning in the practice setting. The Clinical Faculty assumes joint responsibility with the teaching Faculty in guiding student learning. Clinical Faculty in a professional nursing education program must have a minimum of a graduate degree in nursing. Clinical Faculty must also possess the following qualifications:

• An active license in good standing to practice as a registered nurse in Colorado.
• Four (4) years of full-time, or equivalent, professional nursing clinical experience.
• Documented experience in the area of instruction.

A faculty member responsible for the evaluating student achievement of student learning outcomes for students engaged in a preceptor-supervised clinical learning experience generally at the end of the nursing education program. This individual is responsible for planning, monitoring and evaluating the instruction provided by preceptors, the performance of students, and acting as a liaison between the clinical agency, the student, the preceptor, and the college.

A preceptor is a professional nurse who holds a degree at or above the degree level of the nursing education program who assumes joint teaching responsibility with a faculty member and should have a minimum of one (1) year of clinical experience relevant to the area(s) of responsibility.

Teaching loads for faculty members are determined on a quarter by quarter basis.

Work Unit (WU):                               

Institutionally agreed upon measurement that quantifies faculty effort in meeting the College mission.

New Course:                                      

The first time a course is taught by an individual faculty member.

New Lab Course:

The first time a laboratory course is taught by an individual faculty member.

Previously Taught Courses:

Second or subsequent course taught by an individual faculty member.

Previously Taught Lab Courses:      

Second or subsequent laboratory course taught by an individual faculty member.

Simulated Clinical Experience:

A portion of a practicum course taught by an individual faculty member using high fidelity simulation and the Simulated Learning System (SLS). 

The following chart is an example to illustrate workload unit calculation for full-time faculty.

Workload Unit Calculation Sample