Previously, there was no way in MaineStreet to calculate instructional effort. We did not track workload, indicate overload courses, or have the capability to split instructional effort for team-taught courses. With the appropriate information in MaineStreet, institutions would be better able to examine:
How instructional resources are being distributed
The number of course sections and credit hours taught per FTE faculty (by faculty type)
Variation in costs per credit hour across disciplines, course types, and class levels
Further, having the above information would improve the ease and accuracy of our reporting for the National Study of Instructional Costs and Productivity.
A phased approach to the solution was approved. The first phase–utilizing the load factor functionality in the PeopleSoft Workload feature–was piloted at UM starting in Fall 2019, with the solution implemented for all institutions starting in Fall 2021. This applies a percentage to each faculty member tied to a course section with multiple instructors, allowing the instructional load for team-taught courses to be divided appropriately across instructors. It also provides an opportunity to indicate which staff members are attached to courses for administrative reasons only, and to credit the full instructional effort of the course to the instructor actually teaching the section. For example, if a faculty member is coordinating a series of labs, but the graduate assistants are actually teaching the labs, values of 0% and 100% could be entered for the faculty member and graduate assistant, respectively.
Phase
Description
Preliminary Steps
Phase One
Implement the load factor functionality in the PeopleSoft Workload feature. This portion of the feature, which applies a percentage to each faculty member tied to a course section, allows the instructional load for team-taught courses to be divided appropriately across instructors. It also provides an opportunity to indicate which staff members are attached to courses for administrative reasons only, and to credit the full instructional effort of the course to the instructor actually teaching the section.
Identify data entry process
Develop and test data entry tool for academic units
Communicate data entry expectations to units
Time frame: Full implementation Fall 2021
Phase Two
Identify the data necessary to implement the workload feature for calculating FTE for temporary faculty. Human Resources is working on a new file format for receiving PATFA contracts, which will provide the information necessary for calculating PATFA workload, and attributing it to individual courses.
Identification of elements of new PATFA file format that can flow to the necessary tables
Develop formula for weighting specific course components and subject areas
Identify information necessary for applying workload formula to regular faculty
Phase Three
Enter instructional activity expectations for regular faculty into MaineStreet. This would require (a) weighting values for specific course components and subject areas, (b) identification of overload course sections, and (c) entry of the instructional load expectation for each faculty member by term.
Communicate to units expectation for load entry
Further develop and test data entry tool for additional load elements
This will provide more accurate information on faculty workload and where teaching resources are being allocated, allowing leaders to make more strategic data-informed decisions in educational programming.