The Workload Balancing Model: Feedback and Review

1. Background to the Model The Workload Balancing Model: Feedback and Review

2. Aims of the Approach (May 1999) • Equity in workloads • Not absolute workload • Provide data for TRAC • Important, but not the core purpose • Acceptable spread of workloads amongst academic staff • initially within each school • ultimately across the whole University • Targets of acceptable variation: • School: 10% variation  5% variation • Faculty: 15% variation  10% variation

3. Issues Addressed • Purpose, Policy, Model (tool), Norms, Process • Units of workload • Not directly time (though there is a relationship) • Research • Pounds (projects), Papers, Postgrads and Presence • Teaching • Many models were looked at. • “Normal Workload” • determined by reference to the mean workload across the faculty • Commercial & other work (AE) • Handled as individual activities outside normal workload

4. Staff George Nichola Edgar Mary Alice Fred 18 Activities “Effort” . . . . . . 13 13 Course tutor . . . . . . Module 1.2 - Knitting 14 9 5 . . . . . . Basic Structure of the Model (nicknamed: “Wammie”) Single “currency” for all activities

5. Research Allocation Appraisal Research Plans Research Targets Workload Allocation Research Outputs Year N-1 Appraisal Research Plans Research Targets Workload Allocation Research Outputs Year N All defined in terms of 4Ps: Projects, Papers, PhDs, Presence Allocations assessed by Research Institutes Expressed as % of workload. 50% Maximum

6. ... Discussions, Focus on Teaching • Contact hours V credits & student numbers • Traditions (Religion?) • Encourage efficiency and effectiveness • Teaching weighted by level? • “Final year should be worth more!” • “First year should be worth more!” • Formulaic approaches • Balance (Modules, Credits & Student Numbers) • Linear or non-linear variation • Variability: Some topics more intense than others

7. Credits & Student Numbers • First approximation to module workloads. • Quantifiable variables identified: • Credits (C), Student Numbers (N) • Workload = W0 + WC*C + WN*N + WCN*C*N • To first order. (Linear variation assumed) • Assumption (reasonable approximation): • double Credits  double Workload • Implies: W0 = WN = 0 • Formula adopted: (Initial) Workload = WC*C + WCN*C*N

8. 40 Credits 0 20 Credits 20 40 60 80 100 10 Credits 120 140 160 180 Student Numbers Credit & Student Based Calculation

9. Student Number Initial Figure Adjustment Actual Figure Credits Explicitly stated academic grounds. … but leave room for common sense • Calculation gives initial estimate only • Some factors not easily quantifiable

10. Estimating Actual Numbers • Many trial calculations done. • 1700 hour year assumed. • Various teaching styles looked at. • Estimates from all schools (est. hours worked):

11. Example Calculations

12. Teaching “Norms” Calculated • “Standard Lecture Course” • Credits factor ~ 0.4 to 0.7 (mean: 0.6) • Students factor ~ 0.002 to 0.008 (mean: 0.006) • “Intensive Lecture Course” • Credits factor ~ 0.2 to 0.65 (mean: 0.5) • Students factor ~ 0.005 to 0.017 (mean: 0.013) • Other areas looked at: • Dissertations • Labs and team projects • Some management roles

13. How Prescriptive? • Even roles with the same name are different in different Schools. • Different demands of subject areas • Between Schools; Within Schools • Different development priorities • Research-active / less research active, etc • Schools have a high degree of freedom within the common model • (Everything in spreadsheet configurable.) • Other forces may bring balance in Faculty/University. (See next slide).

14. ActivityCosts Quality Procedures Tendency to drive down(or activity is not viable). Quality of provision matters WorkloadPressures Tendency to inflate Forces affecting workload units Workload Units Activity Quality

15. Staff George Nichola Edgar Mary Alice Fred 18 Activities “Effort” . . . . . . 13 13 Course tutor . . . . . . Module 1.2 - Knitting 14 9 5 . . . . . . Background - Summary • Distribute and sumapproach • Teaching: Standard forfirst approximations • Discretion by Head of School over all parameters (subject to financial viability) • Interim approaches for research (i.e. research ratings) and commercial activities. • Replaced by four Ps • Mechanisms in place for activity costing& TR • But main emphasis on workload balancing

16. The IT System The Workload Balancing Model: Feedback and Review

17. IT System Design Principles • Based on model presented earlier • (and informed the development of that model) • Structured primarily to support School operations • Additional structure to support summary/review • Support local variations within model • Support University-wide analysis & coordination • Including inter-school activities • Support for mapping data into TRAC • Central database subordinate to School spreadsheets • The School spreadsheet is the master document. • Central database provides linking, reports & backup

18. The Spreadsheet The Workload Balancing Model: Feedback and Review

19. Basic Structure of the Spreadsheet

20. Activity Summary Table Mapped into TRAC return headings

21. Module Workload Coefficients • Define up to 3 sets of coefficients to approximate different learning/teaching methods • Coefficients set by the School • Flexibility (subject to viability) (Initial) Workload = WC*C + WCN*C*N

22. Add a newheading Add activities with calculated initial workload (3 coeff sets) Change method of a teaching activity Activity with a fixed workload Activity with a % workload Activity provided to another school Add a new column Delete a row Delete a column Tools: Building a Spreadsheet

23. Calculate new standard workload Set or clear the activity leader Show or hide columns Allocate all or part of the current activity (inserts a formula) Tools: Using a Spreadsheet

24. Integration – The Central Database The Workload Balancing Model: Feedback and Review

25. Database Faculty1 School1 School2 School4 Faculty2 School3 Integration Inter-School Information Workload Information

26. Rebuild spreadsheet from the data in the database. Exchange data with the central database Link (unlink) an external activity in this spreadsheet to (from) an activity in another school/unit. Tools: Database Operations Specify the school/unit and year to which this spreadsheet relates. (New sheet.) Must be on the University network to do these.

27. Database Reports • Individual staff workload profiles • Inter-school activities • Status report • Staff workloads summary • Workload allocations by activity • List of activities • More can be added later

28. Workloads Chart ±5% about standard workload

30. Process Monitoring

31. Inter-School Provision Report