A perspective on university academic workload measurement

Abstract

Internationally, universities are increasingly seen as being part of the wider community, which has an impact on academic workload. This paper explains the importance of a model for investigating such academic workloads. Quantifying and reporting workloads are complex tasks. Despite this complexity, the model developed at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Mining  Engineering gives some insight into the three main components of academic workload, namely lecturing, research and administrative services. Today there is a better understanding of the meaning of workload, the problems to consider when quantifying workloads, the relationship between workload and performance and the issues to consider for staff development. This perspective concludes with lessons learnt over a five-year period.