Factors in teacher assignments: Measuring workload by effort

Based on a national survey of 491 department heads in 25 major universities in the United States, this study examines what department heads perceive to be the component parts in making assignments to faculty members. The importance of evaluating faculty resources based on effort required rather than on time devoted to given tasks is stressed. Regression analysis is used to investigate how department heads interpret effort required to teach classes and how this effort varies by discipline (Biglan taxonomy), by class level, by number of students, and by type of instructional technique. The results are validated against reported time expenditures from a faculty activity analysis.Presented at the Twentieth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Atlanta, April 1980.