Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR)

New Features

• My Actions Notifications

  Users will now receive My Actions notifications one week after the system opens for any unapproved Faculty Activity Reports that require approval. The goal of the My Actions notification is to allow users to easily access and approve all assigned faculty activity reports.

  A My Actions notification will populate for all unapproved FARs assigned to the user. Each notification will contain a link that will take the user directly to the unapproved FAR. Once the FAR is approved the notification will clear from the user’s My Actions queue. Please note, the My Actions notification may take up to 5 minutes to clear once the FAR has been approved.  

  Certain faculty activity reports require department chair approval. Once a user approves a FAR that requires chair approval, a My Actions notification will appear for the department chair that contains a direct link to the report. Once the department chair approves the FAR the notification will clear from the chair’s My Actions queue. Again, the My Actions notification may take up to 5 minutes to clear once the FAR has been approved.

  Please review the "FAR myWings My Actions Guide" under the Resources tab for additional information.

Workshops

• Workshops

  Institutional Research will be offering workshops through Zoom for anyone who would like an opportunity to learn more about the FAR methodology. These sessions will be offered at the following dates and times:

  • Thursday, June 23^rd 10:00am – 11:00am
  • Monday, June 27^th 2:00pm – 3:00pm

  To attend one of the sessions, please complete the Qualtrics survey: https://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dnjUi9A8Ybwaafc

  Individual meetings can also be scheduled for anyone who needs assistance completing FARs . Please email oir@unf.edu to schedule. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Who needs to complete FARs?
  All tenured and tenure-track faculty must complete FARs. In addition, anyone with externally sponsored activity handled through the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) must complete a FAR. 
• Why are FARs required for faculty?

  All universities within the State University System (SUS) in Florida are required to participate in Faculty Activity Reporting. This reporting is required to the following Florida Statute: 

  Florida Statute 1012.945

• What is Percent of Effort?

  Percent of effort is the unit of effort used in Faculty Activity Reports. Percent of effort should sum to 100% regardless of the position FTE. 1% of effort should represent 1% of an individual’s work effort for that position.

  For instance, if a faculty member/administrator works 40 hours per week in a given term, 20% of effort would represent 8 hours worked per week. If a faculty member/administrator works more than 40 hours per week in a given term, 20% of effort may very well represent more than 8 hours worked per week.

• How is the information on my Faculty Activity Report populated?
  To the greatest extent possible, Institutional Research (IR) will preload the Faculty Activity Reports for each faculty member / administrator based on the typical allocations applicable to the majority of faculty. However, the faculty member, in working with his/her chair or director, can adjust the effort percentages to reflect appropriate activities performed.
• What are the typical activity allocations for faculty at UNF?

  EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL EFFORT ALLOCATIONS

  • Tenured or tenure-track faculty member teaching three large 3-credit-hour undergraduate course sections: 75% classroom instruction (25% per course), 20% departmental research, 3% university governance, 2% public service (Most Common)
  • Tenured or tenure-track faculty member teaching two large 3-credit-hour course sections with an accompanying course release: 50% classroom instruction (25% per course), 25% other instructional effort, 20% departmental research, 3% university governance, 2% public service 
  • Non-tenure-track faculty member teaching four new 3-credit hour undergraduate course sections: 96.2% classroom instruction, 3.8% university governance
  • Senior-level administrator holding faculty rank—e.g., Provost, Associate Provost, Associate Vice-President, or Dean—with no teaching assignment: 100% academic administration 
  • Associate Dean or Department Chair teaching two Gordon Rule 3-credit hour course sections: 50% classroom instruction (25% per course), 25% academic administration, 20% departmental research, 3% university governance, 2% public service

  Summary of Guidelines by Category:

  Activity Category	Typical Range (%)	Typical Assignment (%)	Note
  Instruction	0-100 95-100	50-75 96	Tenured/Tenure-Track Non-Tenure-Track
  Other Instructional Activities (non-credit generating)	0-30	0	Varies, but often zero
  Academic Advisement	0-50	0-10	Often zero
  Departmental (or Organized) Research	5-25 0	20 0	Tenured/Tenure-Track Non-Tenure-Track
  Externally Funded/Sponsored Research	0-100	0	Varies, reflecting extent of externally funded research and contractual requirements, but often zero
  Public Service	0-8	2 0	Tenured/Tenure-Track Non-Tenure-Track
  University Governance	0-5	3 4	Tenured/Tenure-Track Non-Tenure-Track
  Academic Administration	0-100	0	Varies by unit size and complexity, as reflected in course releases granted
  Clinical Public Service	0-100	0	Varies, but often zero
  K-12 Public Service	0-100	0	Varies, but often zero
  Auxiliary Effort	0-100	0	Varies, but often zero
  Release Time	0-100	0	Varies, but often zero
  Leave of Absence With/Without Pay	0-100	0	Varies, but often zero
  Total Percent Employed	100	100	Should always equal 100 percent

   

• How do I know which activity category I should choose for my activity?

  ACTIVITY CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS 

  Instruction

  These activities should be preloaded into the FARs by the Institutional Research. Instruction activities include: 

  • A. Classroom Instruction 
  • B. Thesis / Dissertation Supervision (section types T and G, respectively) 
  • C. Directed Independent Studies and Honors Theses (section types Z) 
  • D. Supervision of Student Internships and Supervised Cooperative Education (section type I) 
  • E. Supervised Teaching / Research (section type S and R, respectively)

  If you have any questions regarding the percent of effort that was assigned for a given instructional activity, see FAQ: What are the typical percent of effort allocations for instructional activities?

  Other Instructional Activities (non-credit-generating)

  Appropriate activities to place in this category include but are not necessarily limited to: course releases, area curriculum revision, and development of new programs or courses. 

  These activities are reported by the Department Chair, prior to the release of FARs, in one of the following categories:

  • D3 – Academic Administration – College/Department Service, E&G Funded, Assessment
  • R3 – Release Time – Course Banking 
  • R6 – Curriculum Development, E&G Funded
  • S1 – Student Academic Success Services, E&G Funded

  Pre-populated data should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  Academic Advisement

  Undergraduate and graduate coordinator assignments should be listed under this heading if/when the chief task is formal academic advising. The percentage assigned for being the graduate or undergraduate coordinator should vary by size of the department and program. As general guidelines, the effort percentage should be 25-30% for a large program, 15-25% for a midsize program, and 5-15% for a small program. 

  These activities are reported by the Department Chair as “A1- Academic Advising” prior to the release of FARs but should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  Departmental (or Organized) Research

  This category is for research activities that are not externally funded and not handled through the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs. Typically, over the course of an academic year tenure-track faculty members should have some research assignment (minimum of 5%) under this category, sponsored research, or both. 

  A percentage above 25% is appropriate if the faculty member has been given an additional course release to support development of their research program (e.g., for tenure-track faculty in their first and fourth year). These activities are reported by the Department Chair, prior to the release of FARs, in one of the following categories:

  • R2 – Course Release – New Faculty 
  • R8 - Course Release – 4th Year Faculty

  Additional release time for research-related activities are reported by the Department Chair as “R4 – Release Time – Departmental Research, Internally Funded” prior to the release of FARs but should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  Sponsored Research

  This category is for externally funded activities that are handled through the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects. The terms of effort are determined by the stipulations set forth in the contract. Sponsored Research should reflect the payment of funds from the external source, not necessarily the time of the activity’s completion. For example, if a faculty member works on a project funded by a grant in summer and fall, but grant funds were only dispersed to the faculty in the summer, the effort percentage should be determined by the dispersal of funds in relation to the faculty salary on the Summer FAR, and should not appear on the Fall FAR. 

  Pre-populated Sponsored Research activities have been reviewed by the Office of Research and Sponsored programs. Changes to pre-populated Sponsored Research activities should not be made before consulting Institutional Research.

  Public Service

  This service includes service to students unrelated to credit instruction such as writing letters of reference; service to the profession such as being a journal editor, reviewer, conference organizer, conference session chair, or conference discussant; service to the community, state, or nation such as work with public schools, technical assistance to government agencies, or serving on national public advisory boards, etc. Work that involves any remuneration from third parties is not considered public service. Moreover, the service must be professional and/or discipline-related, and must benefit groups, organizations, or individuals. The upper limit of this range may be exceeded in circumstances such as when a faculty member is president of a national professional association, is editor of a leading journal in his/her discipline, is a member of a Presidential Commission, or otherwise has an especially heavy commitment in public service.

  University Governance

  Committees requiring low investments of time should not be considered as university governance. Major short-term committee assignments such as heading up a department self-study, chairing a major committee, or serving on a search committee or a college or university task force may justify exceeding the upper limit.

  Additional release time for specific university governance-related activities, limited to Faculty Association President, President of the IRB, Faculty Athletics Representative, and Academic Programs Committee Chair, are reported by the Department Chair as “U1 – Select Faculty Service Leadership Roles” prior to the release of FARs but should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  Academic Administration

  For department chairs, associate deans, and higher-level administrators, typically this assignment will reflect the number of course releases granted in order to do the administrative work, at 25% per release given. However, the percentage may be adjusted to reflect the number of hours worked per week and/or non-teaching activities such as research and public service. As examples:

  • A department chair with no teaching assignment in a given term would claim 75% for academic administration, if s/he has 25% combined effort in categories not involving instruction (i.e., in research, public service, etc.); 
  • A dean working 40 hours per week on academic administration and 10 hours per week on public service would claim 80% for academic administration and 20% for public service

  For academic administration that doesn’t necessarily involve course release(s), such as for some program or center directors, the usual percentage of effort should be 5-10 percent.

  Faculty administrators engaging in curriculum planning should have that portion of their work reflected in other instructional activities, as opposed to having such efforts included in academic administration.

  These activities are reported by the Department Chair, prior to the release of FARs, in one of the following categories:

  • D1 – Academic Administration – Dean, Chair, Program Director, or other Upper Level Administrator 
  • D2 – Center Director, E&G Funded

  Academic Administration can also include activities conducted by University Librarians and Library Faculty to further the mission of the university. 

  Pre-populated data should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  Clinical Public Service 

  This category includes non-reimbursable activities in a clinical environment in medicine, nursing, speech / language / hearing clinics, psychological and university counseling centers, and student health care. 

  These activities are reported by the Department Chair as “C1- Clinical Public Service, E&G Funded” prior to the release of FARs but should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  K-12 Public Service

  Includes public service activities required by rule or statute performed in the K-12 system.

  Auxiliary Effort

  These are activities paid for in the auxiliary budget that are not specifically assigned to other categories. The effort percentage should be determined by the dispersal of funds in relation to the total salary paid for that term. 

  These activities are reported by the Department Chair, prior to the release of FARs, in one of the following categories:

  • C2 – Clinical Public Service, Auxiliary Funded 
  • D4 – Academic Administration, Auxiliary Funded 
  • R5 – Departmental Research, Internally Funded, Auxiliary 
  • R7 – Release Time, Curriculum Development, Auxiliary 
  • S2 – Student Academic Success Services, Auxiliary

  Pre-populated data should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  Release Time

  Activities in this category would normally include reductions in course load (for instruction) or hours of work (for non-instruction) for the purpose of carrying out union activities in employee representation and contract administration. 

  These activities are reported by the Department Chair as “R1- Release Time – Union Activities” prior to the release of FARs but should be verified and adjusted by faculty if needed.

  Leave of Absence With / Without Pay

  Leave of absence with pay would normally include professional development leave, sabbaticals, disability leave, and annual/sick leave when the leave exceeds 20 work days. 

  These activities are reported by the Department Chair, prior to the release of FARs, in one of the following categories:

  • L1 - Sabbatical 
  • L2 – Leave with Pay 
  • L3 – Leave without Pay 
  • L4 – Administrative Leave 
  • L5 – Medical Leave
  • L6 – Professional Development
• How is Sponsored Research populated in my FARs and should I adjust it?

  Any faculty or administrator paid from Sponsored Research Funds will have those activities pre-populated under ‘Sponsored Research’. Please note that this information is pre-populated based on payroll information and should be reported as such. For example, if you worked on a grant during the summer and fall, but were only paid out of the grant in the summer, no grant information will appear, or should be reported, for fall under Sponsored Research.

  The Standard Allocation of Sponsored Research percent of effort is calculated as follows: 

  (Sum of the Grant Payments) 
  (Regular Salary for the Term) 

• I had a course release or activity that was not pre-loaded into FARs, what activity category should I choose?

  Department Chair Classification Code	FAR Classification	Activity Description
  A1	Academic Advising	Academic Advising
  C1	Clinical Public Service	Clinical Public Service, E&G Funded
  C2	Clinical Public Service	Clinical Public Service, Auxiliary Funded
  D1	Academic Administration	Activity related to assigned duties of Dean, Chair, Program Director, or other Upper Level Administrator
  D2	Academic Administration	Activity related to assigned duties of Center Directors, E&G funded
  D3	Academic Administration	Activity related to administrative services to the department or college, such as assessment, E&G funded
  D4	Auxiliary Effort	Administrative activities funded by auxiliaries
  L1	Leave of Absence	Release time for Sabbatical
  L2	Leave of Absence	Release time for Leave With Pay
  L3	Leave of Absence	Release time for Leave Without Pay
  L4	Leave of Absence	Release time for Administrative Leave
  L5	Leave of Absence	Release time for Medical Leave
  L6	Leave of Absence	Release time for Professional Development
  P1	Public Service	Release time for Public Service
  R1	Release Time	Release time for Union-Specific Activity
  R2	Departmental Research	Release time for New Faculty, granted in first year of employment
  R3	Other Instructional Effort	Release time for Course Banking
  R4	Departmental Research	Release time for additional, internally funded, departmental research that falls outside the standard allocations
  R5	Auxiliary Effort	Release time for additional, auxiliary funded, departmental research that falls outside the standard allocations
  R6	Other Instructional Effort	Release time for curriculum development, E&G funded
  R7	Auxiliary Effort	Release Time for curriculum development, Auxiliary funded
  R8	Departmental Research	Release time for faculty in the fourth year of employment
  S1	Other Instructional Effort	Release time for activity related to Student Academic Success initiatives, E&G funded
  S2	Auxiliary Effort	Release time for activity related to Student Academic Success initiatives, Auxiliary funded
  U1	University Governance	Activity related to select faculty service leadership roles: Faculty Athletics Representative, President of IRB, President of Faculty Association, and APC Chair

• What are the typical percent of effort allocations for instructional activities?

  Instruction  

  A. Classroom Instruction

  This represents teaching of regular types of organized courses and labs at any level (lower, upper, graduate I, or graduate II). 

  The typical effort allocation per three-credit course is 25%. Moreover, the effort allocated to a course should not be a function of whether it is taught by regular faculty, adjunct faculty, or graduate teaching assistant (GTA). For regular course sections that are something other than three credit hours, a proportionate percentage of effort will be the typical allocation; e.g., 8.33% per 1-hour class, 16.67% per 2-hour class, 33.33% per 4-hour class, 41.67% per 5-hour class, etc. An exception is made for one-credit-hour lab sections taught by non-GTA faculty, which are assumed to represent 20% of effort. (GTA’s teaching lab sections and getting waivers may be assigned more than 20%.)

  Cross-listed sections representing a single course (where the sections share an instructor and/or space) should be assigned a collective percentage that represents the same effort as a comparable non-cross-listed course (e.g., 25% for a 3-credit-hour course).

  If a faculty member is a lab coordinator for multiple sections, a portion of that faculty member’s effort should be reported for each of sections s/he helps to deliver; i.e., such lab coordination should not be reported under Other Instructional Activities because it is indeed for credit.

  B. Thesis / Dissertation Supervision (section types T and G, respectively) 

  Institutional Research pre-loads thesis/dissertation with a standard allocation of 4% effort multiplied by the instructor percent responsibility per student. If chairing a dissertation committee the effort percentage may be adjusted up to 6%.

  C. Directed Independent Studies and Honors Theses (section types Z)

  Institutional Research pre-loads directed independent studies/honors theses with a standard allocation of 2% effort multiplied by the instructor percent responsibility per student. Faculty are encouraged to adjust the effort to better reflect their role in the thesis or dissertation.

  D. Supervision of Student Internships and Supervised Cooperative Education (section type I)

  Supervision of student interns receives a standard effort percentage of 4% per student intern supervised for credit.

  Supervision of cooperative education—the placement of cooperative education students into supervised work experiences, evaluating student progress, and counseling and conducting seminars for cooperative education students—receives a standard effort percentage of 2% per student supervised.

  E. Supervised Teaching / Research (section type S and R, respectively)

  Supervision of teaching and/or research of graduate students (other than for thesis/dissertation or DIS) receives a standard effort percentage of 4% per graduate student (the student must be enrolled for credit for the particular teaching or research activity being supervised).

• Why do I have multiple positions listed in the position drop-down for a given term?
  Please keep in mind that FAR reports are currently populated based upon position. This means you may have more than one FAR report to complete for a given semester.
• Are library faculty required to complete FARs?

  Library faculty are encouraged to complete their FARs but are not required to do so unless the faculty is tenured/on tenure-track or has sponsored research. Otherwise, IR will report their activity based on the following pre-population for a fall or spring term:

  • 72% Academic Administration
  • 19% Departmental Research
  • 7% University Governance
  • 2% Public Service

  If the library faculty is teaching as part of their regular faculty load, that will also be pre-populated in the system.

FAR Administration Timeline

• April – Gathering Data
  • External grant data populated and verified by ORSP staff
  • Faculty "Other Activities" data populated and verified by Department Chairs
• May – FAR System and Resources Review
  • All faculty communications and user guides are reviewed for accuracy 

  • FAR system is checked for accuracy by Institutional Research staff and corrections are made as needed

• June – System Opening, Data Collection, and Workshops
  • Data collection issues are raised and addressed

  • Department chairs are informed that the FAR collection is about to be opened

  • FAR system is opened for faculty collection
  • Institutional Research staff will schedule individual and group trainings to provide further support to faculty needing assistance. Trainings will be offered through Zoom.
  • myWings My Actions notifications are populated for users who have not yet completed required FARs for one or more semesters.
• July – End of Data Collection
  • Reminders are sent to faculty who have not yet completed their FAR for one or more semesters
  • Department chairs receive lists of those faculty who still need to complete their FARs  

  • FARs collection closes.

• August – Data Review
  • Institutional Research staff analyzes collected data and attempts to resolve any discrepancies
  • Faculty and or chairs may be contacted during this period to provide follow up information or help resolve possible collection errors.