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Workload estimation for academic staff of the School of Biological Sciences
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Objective: The proposed estimation will provide data on which to base a discussion between the supervisor and the staff member to arrive at a workload that meets the needs of both the individual staff member and that of the School.
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Background
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The estimator forms one of several sets of indicators used for discussing workload and performance. Others include teaching scores, service to the School and University, and impact more generally in the field. The actual values at the end of the sheet do not serve as a comparison among academics - it is not possible to capture all activities in a in a spreasheet such as this, and comparisons are therefore impossible to make based on indicated hours. Aspects such as Level, experience, opportunity, current constraints, current roles, and the environment within which everyone is working all play a role. 100 points is an indicator, not a goal to be reached by Procrustean means.
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Proposals and principles:
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1)     The Performance Development (PD) meetings that occur annually will be the primary vehicle and time for discussion of workloads.
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2)     T&R academics will start with a typical academic profile of 40% Teaching: 40% Research: 20% Service, and matters will be discussed from there. All sorts of reasons may occur for differences from this time allocation, such as high service load in one year, a large research grant success, or a new course being implemented or teaching demands increasing in a given year. The timer allocation can be modified accordingly in discussion with the staff member's supervisor.
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3)     Research-intensive academics are expected to carry out some teaching and/or service for the School, but within the constraints defined by their Fellowships. A ballpark figure of 20% is often used for maximum service/teaching, but that's negotiable.
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4)     Education-focused academics are expected to show teaching leadership in keeping with the focus for these positions. The leadership includes research and weightings will be negotiated accordingly. These are not teaching only positions.
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5)     In general, Service will reflect Internal and External Service components. Such service will be open to negotiation at the time of the PD meeting. High level external service with clear strategic benefits to the staff member and the University are highly valued and strongly taken into account. “Normal” external service will generally be considered to be the choice of the staff member involved and will take place outside the scope of these negotiations.
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6) Research only academics are encouraged to complete the Workload Document to inform their time utilization. The PD online forms have to be completed for anyone seeking promotion, so the full process is one that will serve all academic staff well.
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