Management of Faculty Workload In Nursing

Faculty Workload In Nursing What Is Faculty Workload?

Faculty workload encompasses all the professional duties and responsibilities of faculty members related to teaching, research, scholarship, service to the institution and the community, and professional development. This workload includes not only classroom teaching but also tasks like research, administrative duties, participation in professional societies, student counseling, and self-development activities (Allen, 1998; Townsend & Rosser, 2007; Yuker, 1984). Faculty workload reflects the demands placed on educators to meet the needs of their students, the institution, and their personal and professional growth.

How to Assess Faculty Load in Nursing Education

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) provides guidelines for institutions to establish fair and equitable faculty workload policies. The AAUP’s Statement on Faculty Workload suggests three guiding principles for developing these policies:

  1. Define Maximum Teaching Loads: Institutions should define maximum teaching loads at both undergraduate and graduate levels to ensure teaching effectiveness. The AAUP recommends a preferred teaching load of 9 hours per week for undergraduate teaching and 6 hours per week for graduate teaching, with a maximum of 12 hours for undergraduate and 9 hours for graduate teaching.
  2. Describe Procedures for Establishing and Revising Policies: Institutions should clearly describe the procedures for establishing, administering, and revising workload policies.
  3. Identify Sources of Inequity: Institutions should identify both actual and potential sources of inequity in workload distribution and adjust policies accordingly.

The AAUP emphasizes flexibility in assigning workload and encourages consideration of various factors, such as course difficulty, content, class size, research and publication requirements, and other non-instructional responsibilities like student counseling, committee work, and participation in professional societies.

Faculty workload is closely linked to job satisfaction and attrition and is viewed as a contributing factor in the ongoing nursing faculty shortage (Kaufman, 2007). A study by the National League for Nursing and the Carnegie Foundation in 2006 surveyed 8,498 nursing faculty members nationwide. It found that nurse educators worked an average of 56 hours per week while school was in session and more than 24 hours per week during breaks. Faculty with administrative responsibilities worked an additional two hours per week. Moreover, one in four nurse educators reported that they were likely to leave their job unless the workload was reduced.

Online teaching further complicates the issue of faculty workload, as it requires more time than face-to-face teaching. Research by Anderson and Avery (2008) showed that online teaching demands up to 46 hours of instruction per credit, compared to approximately 39 hours for face-to-face instruction. The AAUP (2000) recommends considering factors such as online faculty involvement in course design, class preparation, increased student contacts, teaching formats (synchronous or asynchronous), and administrative duties when calculating faculty workload for distance education.

Issues of Faculty Workload in Nursing

Faculty workload is a significant issue in academia, particularly during times of economic stress (Dennison, 2012). The classic study on faculty workload by Koos in 1919 led to a monograph published by the Bureau of Education of the U.S. Department of Interior, which has been referenced in later studies (AAHE-ERIC/Higher Education Research Report, 1974; AAUP, 2000; Cohen, Hickey, & Upchurch, 2009; Durham, Merritt, & Sorrell, 2007). These studies proposed various methods to measure faculty workload, but the diversity of acceptable activities included in these calculations has resulted in a lack of standardized methods.

Consequently, faculty workload policies can vary widely from one institution to another. The issue of workload often creates conflict and dissatisfaction among faculty members, potentially affecting teaching effectiveness and performance. Enhancing collaboration between university leadership and faculty governance can help ensure that workload policies are clear, equitable, and fair. Faculty should also have mechanisms to discuss or challenge workload issues when necessary.

Conclusion

Faculty workload in nursing education is a complex and multifaceted issue that impacts teaching effectiveness, job satisfaction, and faculty retention. Developing fair and equitable workload policies is essential to address these challenges and promote a supportive work environment for nursing educators. Further research is needed to explore innovative approaches to workload allocation and to ensure that nursing faculty can maintain high standards of teaching and scholarship while achieving job satisfaction and professional growth.

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