The standard teaching load at Old Dominion University is 24 load hours for the academic year. Each chair will, in consultation with the faculty member, determine how the equivalent of that load is comprised for that faculty member in the department/school, after considering the goals and objectives developed by the faculty member and agreed to by the chair as a part of the annual evaluation process. Such load should be apportioned among teaching, research, administration, and other significant responsibilities approved by the chair. Responsibilities which the chair should take into account include curriculum development, academic advising, supervision of theses and dissertations, supervision of student internships, service in professional organizations, and special community or university services. Copies of the workload apportionment will be provided to each faculty member and forwarded to the dean for approval each semester and to the provost and vice president for academic affairs for information.

In courses where the credit hours equal the contact hours, one credit hour will be the equivalent of one load hour. Other factors that need to be taken into account in assigning class loads are: class enrollment, number of preparations, preparations for new courses, team teaching, number of honors, tutorial, independent study, or thesis courses, hours of graduate-level courses taught, and the number of registered thesis and dissertation students supervised.

In courses that have more contact hours than credit hours (for example, laboratories in some sciences and studio art) faculty compensation shall not exceed .75 load hours for each contact hour, assuming that no more than two contact hours per credit hour is in any case required. In courses consisting of both lecture and laboratory, only the laboratory will be calculated at .75 load hours for each contact hour, and the lecture at one load hour for each credit hour.

In the case of nontraditional or unusual teaching experiences such as student teaching, applied music, clinical experiences in an allied health program, or internships, the relationship between teaching time and load hours will be determined on a course-by-course basis by the faculty of the department with the approval of the dean and the provost and vice president for academic affairs.

The university, whenever appropriate, supports and encourages team teaching. Since team teaching allows for collaboration among peers and often results in an enhanced classroom environment or novel course content, there is potential for personal and professional growth for instructors and for broader and more stimulating experiences for students. Professors involved in team teaching will determine their individual contributions to the course and, in consultation with the chair(s) of their department(s), calculate their load hours for the course. The total load hours for the team should equal at least the total teaching load hours for the course. However, since team teaching and the administration of assignments and grading may be significantly more time consuming than for a course taught by one faculty member, the chair(s) may award additional load hours to team members. It is typically necessary for one member of the faculty team to be designated as course director for the semester to coordinate such course administrative activities as recording, completing, and submitting grades.

A faculty member's responsibility toward the university includes research and service in addition to teaching. Faculty members who do not participate in professional out-of-classroom university-related activities may request to carry a teaching load beyond the 24 load hours per academic year described above. They should be aware of the fact that such a choice in all probability will preclude the award of tenure for nontenured faculty or the promotion to the rank of full professor for tenured faculty, since the Board of Visitors policies concerning faculty prescribe research and service as criteria for such awards. However, faculty members who choose to be evaluated on teaching only and perform satisfactorily in carrying a teaching load larger than the standard load can be expected to be given the same consideration for salary increases as their colleagues.