The extent of a faculty member’s teaching responsibilities is called his or her regular teaching hours. Regular teaching hours are measured in semester hours and describe faculty members’ presence in lectures and seminars without preparatory and follow-up activities. The actual extent of regular teaching hours depends on faculty members’ employment status at the University of St.Gallen. Basically, the number of hours is identical for all faculty members with the same status and extent of employment:
- full professors: 8 hours per week per semester (known as "semester hours");
- assistant professors at the habilitation stage: 6 semester hours;
- assistant professors after the habilitation stage: 8 semester hours;
- permanent lecturers with the main focus on teaching: 12 semester hours;
- other permanent lecturers: 8 semester hours.
Basically, courses given at all levels are fully credited to regular teaching hours. At the Doctoral Level, however, faculty members may only teach a maximum of 3 semester hours per year. If faculty members give a course jointly at the Bachelor’s or Master’s Level, this course will be credited to them pro rata. The exception to this is constituted by courses of an interdisciplinary nature. A course is deemed interdisciplinary if it is given by faculty members from at least two Schools.
Faculty members are themselves responsible for adhering to their regular teaching hours. They are free to teach more semester hours, which counts as overtime. Faculty members are obliged to reduce any accrued overtime since they are not entitled to any remuneration for overtime. Faculty members are allowed to cut their regular teaching hours by no more than 50 per cent to reduce any accrued overtime. Faculty members who fail to teach the requisite number of semester hours accumulate a teaching hour deficit.
If a faculty member carries out a function in self-administration such as a vice-presidency, the deanship of a School or the management of a programme, this can be credited to regular teaching hours.