1. The Management of Academic Workloads: the employers’ perspective Helen Fairfoul 17 September 2009

2. The drivers for employers’ interest Stakeholder interest Achieving HEIs’ strategic aims Accountability to Boards, etc Changes in delivery models, ways of working Responsibilities to students Responsibilities to staff –Help managers to do their jobs –Equity and fairness –Transparency –Health, safety and welfare –Career development

3. Stakeholder interest Government and funding council concerns to see return on investment of public funds Students – many as fee payers - concern to be assured of delivery of expectations Research funders’ standards and expectations and, of course, Staff and their representatives’ concern to see equity, fairness, opportunity and safe workloads

4. Achieving HEIs’ strategic aims Greater clarity in missions and strategic aims Greater competition Differentiated focus, within and between HEIs –Teaching quality –Student recruitment, access –Student support and retention –New modes of delivery –Research outputs –Applied research –Commercial engagement –Overseas delivery –Partnerships

5. Accountability to Boards, etc Governing boards expect to be assured on performance against targets Legal responsibilities for health & safety of staff Accountability expected throughout the HEI Managers need to know Wish to avoid: “bean-counting” in a creative enterprise time recording (inputs vs outputs)

6. Changes in delivery models, ways of working Course structures more diverse Assessment approaches changing On-line delivery / support Work-based learning Off campus / remote campus Rapid course development / review Not likely to be one-size-fits-all way of assessing input needed or output expected

7. Responsibilities to students Increasing pressure of students’ expectations Explicit commitments on “contact” time Assessment and feedback Support needs Increasing culture of complaint / litigation

8. Responsibilities to staff Help managers to do their jobs A framework for: –conversations about balance of role and HEI / department priorities –conversations in which concerns can be raised –challenging ineffective use of time –surfacing any issues about staff doing too much / too little –assurance that they are working in a consistent and fair manner –fit with accountability, TRAC requirements, etc.

9. Responsibilities to staff Equity and fairness –Enabling staff members to focus on the range of their priorities / objectives –Recognition that not all similar tasks are similarly onerous –Recognition that some tasks need explicit time allocations

10. Responsibilities to staff Transparency –Knowing a similarity of treatment is being applied –Enabling an understanding of how workload allocation / assessment has been arrived at –Removing perceptions (or reality) about those doing too much or too little Support from staff will be critical to success

11. Responsibilities to staff Health, safety and welfare –Concerns to provide for a good work:life balance –Nature of the academic role and self-management –Concerns over work as a contributor to stress –Indicator available for “excessive” workload (relative measure) –Framework in which staff member concerns can be raised –Can challenge ineffective use of time – switch focus from inputs to outputs

12. Responsibilities to staff Career development –Enabling staff members to focus on their strengths or develop in new areas –Can reflect quality or significance of outputs –Framework for conversation about balance of role and opportunities for development, within HEI / department priorities –A (rough) check to assess how tasks and roles are allocated across a team. Can look at, for example gender ethnicity disability part-time staff fixed term staff