Workload models for lecturers

[Mumteedum]

I'm being nosey but also wondering if the grass is greener as I'm fed up.

If you are on a teaching only contract with no research, how many modules or hours do you teach? How are other duties like curriculum design, admissions or programme leadership calculated?

Mine just gets worse every year and I am laughably not even full time.

I know my teaching-only colleagues teach about double the modules I do, but they have a lot of free time outside the teaching terms, because they don't do research, or PhD supervisions.

So they have very busy term time schedules, but not much in the summer or over Easter. So it averages out to a full workload - a full-time teaching only at my place is calculated on 1600 hours per annum - teaching, admin roles, faculty "citizenship", and personal tutoring. Teaching & research contracts are set at 1650 hours per annum.

In my School, we have a guideline about the maximum number of hours that should be assigned to teaching and learning activities, and this covers face to face contact, supervision, prep and marking combined.

So, it shouldn’t be more than 18 hours a week f2f and as a proportion of the overall annual workload hours, all of the combined activities (above) shouldn’t be more than around 35%.

But mine seems to consistently be more like 45% 🙄
The amount of time we spend on workloads is almost laughable

Thanks both. I think 35% sounds like a standard contract with research. The issue with ours is that they work out responsibility based on module remission so programme leadership equates to one module. Its by no means enough when they expect us to do significant pastoral care, rewrite curriculum, market the course because the in house marketing is woeful etc etc. I suspect the grass isn't greener but I'm pissed off all the same.

Feels very unfair when many colleagues on research contracts do nothing towards the ref and operate just as TO contracts anyway.

So, it shouldn’t be more than 18 hours a week f2f and as a proportion of the overall annual workload hours, all of the combined activities (above) shouldn’t be more than around 35%.

I should think that's a "three-legged contract" - teaching and research and administration.

Teaching-only colleagues don't have the research part, so their workload for teaching hours (contact hours plus all the rest) would be much a higher percentage of their total workload. And might be many more hours during teaching terms, because there's proportionately less to do over university vacation periods: that is non-teaching periods which are not the 4 weeks of annual leave.

Feels very unfair when many colleagues on research contracts do nothing towards the ref and operate just as TO contracts anyway.

That's the wrong comparison - if colleagues on teaching and research contracts are not contributing that is a performance management matter, and not a comparison to a teaching-only role.

And I've see precisely the other way around - where workloads are allocated to teaching mostly, and anyone doing research is expected to do it as extra - in "their own time" - even if they've received external funding for it, they've been given no remission of teaching load.

Both are examples of unsatisfactory management/leadership, but neither is a reason to alter the basic principle of different workload allocation according to contract responsibilities.

The thing you might ask your line manager/HoD/mentor about is a promotional pathway on a teaching-only contract. This is often much harder than it should be, and there should be a decent way of recognising the responsibilities you're taking on.

We are having a new workload model imposed. I need to ask if it is based on pre or post covid assumptions.

Feels very unfair when many colleagues on research contracts do nothing towards the ref and operate just as TO contracts anyway.

Agree that this is the wrong comparison. Those who are not research active will be moved to teaching contracts. And research is much more than the REF.

Also agree with PP that the time allocated for research is nothing compared to the work actually required to produce high quality papers at the required pace, obtain research funding etc.

Yes, you're probably right that it isn't a fair comparison however, I suppose what I'm trying to recognise is that colleagues who are in research contracts that are not in fact research active are usually not because the admin is way too high if you have programme leadership as well. And I have PL as well as a so called fractional post and more teaching.

I was on a research contract and was moved when I switched roles some time ago however many colleagues are still on research contracts without duties for PL and are not research active.

But you're right...in essence it shouldn't matter what their situation is. Mine is not changeable with my line manager as his Head is not budging. It's all money basically.

Thanks for perspectives though. It is useful.

Realistically, workload models are never going to be able to account for the different amounts of effort, and consequently time, people put in to their roles over and above what is necessary to do the role to a satisfactory standard.

We would not see frequently rewriting the curriculum or engaging in extensive marketing of the course beyond the usual open days, etc., as things that are necessary to do the role of PL to a satisfactory standard.

I'm on a 0.5 contract and over a year I teach X2 40 hr modules, X3 16 hour modules and x1 60 hr module. I designed these and also do all the marking, moderation meetings, some of the admin and occasionally also supervise 'extended essays' which are kind of like a dissertation lite that year abroad students do. I tracked my hours in the first two years of the job and it worked out at an average of 27hrs a week. Probably less now as I'm not doing stuff for the first time.

That's as a teaching fellow btw

How are duties calculated? Well ime it’s a joke……tick box exercise to ensure you’re between 95-100%. Not allowed over 100% even if that’s the reality.

So I tell my boss my hours of lectures, so that’s set in stone. I then get 1.5x prep time. I get so much per module lead, so much for being programme lead, something like 200 hours of scholarly activity, 30 mins per personal student for support (no way near enough) and then x amount of admin time and marking time.

I teach on 16 modules, I’m module lead for 4, I’m programme lead, I’m link lecturer for a couple of hospitals and have to go do placement visits, my students only get 7 weeks of holiday a year and this year there’s loads catching up over summer so it feels like they never go away.

I work at least 10 hours a day non stop, struggle to fit in any annual leave, never get to do any scholarly activity. I do every open day (very small team), last year I looked at and scored over 400 applications. Then interviews. Teaching only contract.

@CovidCorvid I feel your pain - I'm guessing nursing? We have lost tens of staff to early retirement or resignations because of the pressures you describe and can't easily recruit to replace and the long term sickness due to stress keeps increasing and the student numbers just keep on rising despite the fact there's not enough clinical placements or sufficient academic staff to support them. It's all a bit of a shit show

@damekindness yes. And omg don’t get me started on the placement capacity pressure. And of course the students blame the lecturers and it’s us that get it in the neck.

@CovidCorvid @damekindness I didn't realise anyone had posted recently on this. That sounds really tough and unsustainable.

It's interesting what the principles applied to workload elsewhere though. You say it's meant to be 1.5x prep for each class? So where my classes are mostly 3 hours, in principle that would be 4.5 hours prep? Not even close to that. I've got new timetable. I have one day per week when I'm not teaching at all so I'll be cramming prep for 4 modules and meetings into that. In theory I shouldn't even have to work that day at all as I'm on fractional post.

Our Model isn't that granular - hours are allocated to domains of work and notional hours put down for 'teaching' 'marking' 'supervision' 'research'

It's a pointless activity for a number of reasons:

1. No objective verification method and it's easy to game

1. If the workload is huge (and of course everyone's is at the moment) nothing is done with that unless you count the odd sympathetic look

1. It can only be retrospective because as people retire/resign/go off sick or we accidentally over recruit students. Again. But it's supposed to be prospective