Effective Date

7/1/2026

Key Contacts

If you have questions, please contact your area Associate Dean or the CLAS Budget Officer.

Applicability

To any DEO that needs to release faculty to meet critical needs in a flexible and equitable manner.

Policy Purpose and Description

Course release is to help departments meet critical service needs at levels above the service portfolio level of 20% (8 hours per week). The DEO is responsible for ensuring that teaching and service loads are distributed across faculty in a fair and equitable manner. Course releases should be used to address critical service responsibilities, such as:

• Associate DEO
• Director of Graduate Studies
• Director of Undergraduate Studies
• Director of Research Operations

They should not be used to reward research activity nor be given to tenure-track faculty who are research-inactive. 

In rare circumstances, there may be some service needs where a salary supplement may be more appropriate than a course release. The decision as to when to use a course release or a salary supplement will depend on several factors and requires approval from the area associate dean. All requests for compensation instead of a course release must be requested by the department through the CLAS MAX system in the preceding academic year. If approved, the amount of compensation will be based on the department’s adjunct/visitor salary chart rate.

Course releases should be granted on an annual basis (i.e., the promise of a course release should not extend over more than one academic year).

Definitions

N/A

Procedure

Course Release Budgets

Units will be provided with an annual course release budget that the DEO can spend to meet critical needs in a flexible and equitable manner. A unit is defined as a department or a school. Units are assigned a number of course releases each academic year based on the following criteria:

• If an individual major in a unit has at least 250 students (prior year fall census), the unit receives one course release from the college. Units with multiple individual majors of at least 250 students each may receive multiple course releases for such situations.
  • If an individual major in a unit has at least 1,000 students (prior year fall census), they will receive one additional course release.
• If no individual major exceeds 250 students (prior year fall census) in a unit but the total for all majors in the unit is at least 100, the unit receives a single course release from the college.
• If the graduate degree or collection of graduate degrees in a unit is at least 20 students (prior year fall census), the unit receives one course release. Units with multiple graduate programs of at least 20 students each may receive multiple course releases for such situations.
• If an individual certificate has at least 100 students (prior year fall census), the unit receives one course release from the college, depending on the role of the coordinator.

Additional Considerations:

• The DEO will be allotted the total number of course releases for the department and can allocate them as needed.
• If accreditation requirements dictate a different configuration of required course releases, the college will adhere to those requirements.
• Units may define area heads within the unit that do not receive a course release or compensation.
• Units may have multiple DUSs for multiple majors and must determine how to distribute the course releases provided by the college.
• Units may not split a single course release between multiple individuals.
• When units are on the cusp of meeting the minimum number of students to receive a course release, or if enrollment fluctuates year-to-year, the college will use discretion in providing course releases to the department.
• With the approval of the dean, discretionary course releases may be made in addition to this policy. 

Responsibility of the Dean

In addition to the course release budget described above, the dean has two additional course release budgets. The first budget is used to compensate and incentivize DEOs. The second budget provides the dean with the flexibility to use course release to meet special needs, such as those associated with achieving CLAS strategic initiatives.

Releases may also be necessary to incentivize or reward interdisciplinary service, such as directing centers that are affiliated with, and contribute to, more than one department. The dean may also opt not to use this budget on course releases in one or more years to save money or address other priorities. They may also choose to use course releases to help with faculty retention and recruitment efforts, for example.

Responsibility of the DEO

DEOs should not be given the authority to grant themselves course release as it is a conflict of interest. DEOs receive separate course release(s) as part of their DEO appointment. Therefore, the course release budget for units does not include course release for individual DEOs.

DEOs cannot provide more than one course release to any individual faculty member in any given academic year. 

• The college must approve Visitor and Adjunct appointments.
• The college is not obligated to meet the teaching needs of departments that are created through the use of course releases. 

Forms

N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of a course release?
Course releases should be used to help departments meet critical service needs at levels above standard service portfolio levels of 20%, which is equivalent to 8 hours per week. Course releases should not be used to reward research activity. It is the DEO’s responsibility to assign an equitable service level to all faculty members in the department.

Does this number include course releases offered to new faculty or in retention offers?
No, these course releases will come from the Dean’s allocation. In these cases, the DEO should request a course release from the CLAS dean.

Does this number include course buyouts?
No, the purpose of course buyouts is to enable faculty with appropriate funding to reduce their teaching load at a cost scaled to salary. Departments should not use course releases to compensate faculty for high research activity.

Our department does not have any course releases, but a faculty member was just offered to be the chief editor of the best journal in the field. What can we do?
Course releases are intended to be used to help departments meet critical service needs at levels above the service portfolio requirements of 20%. They should not be used to reward research activity. 

Can a faculty member receive multiple course releases if they do a lot of service?
Faculty members who exceed 20% of service may receive one course release per academic year as approved by their DEO. Course releases will be granted on an annual basis.

Can instructional-track faculty members receive course releases?
Yes. This is typically seen if an instructional-track faculty member is performing a critical service responsibility such as serving as DUS.

May I change a faculty member’s PTEAP rather than give them a course release?
No, this is not considered an appropriate solution. Research-inactive tenure-track faculty should not be given course releases for service. Course releases are intended to compensate faculty who are doing more service than the standard 20% (8 hours per week).

If a certain task could be performed by a staff member, may the DEO assign the task to a P&S employee rather than assigning it to a faculty member and giving them a course release?
Yes, DEOs should allocate service tasks to staff when appropriate.

Related Information

N/A

Revision History

01/2022, 10/2025