Academic Coordinators

1. Introduction and Purpose 

Academic Coordinators are faculty members who, in addition to their teaching responsibilities, are required to provide academic leadership in the coordination of programs and/or clusters of courses such as general education electives.   

This policy outlines the roles and responsibilities of this important role at the College. 

2. Application 

This policy applies to academic coordinators in post-secondary and apprenticeship programs at the College. 

3. Duration 

It is recognized that it is beneficial for the incumbents and the program to have a rotation of coordinators if possible. The Academic Coordinator role, where feasible, should be rotated among full-time faculty once every three years. Should the Academic Coordinator role be filled by a contract faculty member, the term will be for one year. 

A faculty member who is fulfilling the role of an Academic Coordinator may step out of the role pending a discussion with their Dean. If necessary, a Dean may remove an Academic Coordinator from their role at their discretion.   

4. Scope of the Position 

The Academic Coordinator Role (Appendix A) outlines the full role of an Academic Coordinator that may be required however, the breadth of the role may vary depending on various factors, including, but not limited to the credential, the number of programs/courses in a cluster, the number of faculty, number of students, associated special projects, and external accreditation. Therefore, the exact nature of the assignment will be negotiated individually with the Dean.   

5. Compensation to Academic Coordinators 

Academic Coordinators will be compensated as follows: 

• Designated Coordinators will receive an allowance equal to one or two steps on the appropriate salary schedule. The allowance will be in addition to their annual base salary. 
• One-year certificate program – 1 step 
• Two-year, three-year, or cluster programs – 2 steps 

 6. Release Hours 

In addition to the steps, Academic Coordinators will be assigned complementary hours to carry out Coordinator functions using the following formula: 

*Discretionary hours may be assigned to support special projects and/or to address exceptional circumstances such as accreditation, number of programs with multiple intakes, number of contract faculty, number of semesters, new initiatives related to innovative practices in teaching and learning, etc. 

N.B. In the event that a contract faculty is required to take on this role, the incumbent shall be remunerated in accordance with the above step formula and the release hours.

7. Procedure for Appointment

• 7.1 Academic Coordinator positions will be posted after the current incumbent has been in the role for their full term (other than full-time – one year; full-time – three years). Where possible, appointments will be made in time to allow mentoring of the incoming faculty during the spring semester. 
• 7.2 Where a vacancy exists, the position will be posted by Human Resources and will follow the usual recruitment practices including the requirement of an interview. Consideration will be given first to full-time faculty. 
• 7.3 The hiring panel will recommend the appointment, and the Dean will forward all recommendations to the Sr. Vice-President Academic prior to Fall Standard Workload Formulas (SWFs) being issued. 

8. Related Documents and Links

• Appendix A: Academic Coordinator Role at Loyalist College

9. References 

• N/A