Probably the most striking conclusion of the workload comments faculty have shared with the WMU-AAUP this semester is that, when it comes to research, teaching, and service, we professors are in the best position to tell our own stories. In fact, in sharing the interesting, sometimes idiosyncratic, details of their work responsibilities, faculty have described feeling isolated and misunderstood, not just by administrators, but sometimes even by faculty colleagues.
For example, one faculty member observed that “there seems to be an assumption that because I have a heavy teaching load that I must not care about scholarship, but I never stopped writing and publishing articles even though I’m given almost no time to do it.” Conversely, another professor shared that he is almost afraid to talk about how low his official teaching load is with colleagues outside his department because “it gives people the wrong idea. The fact that my official teaching credits are low doesn’t do justice to how much time I’m actually required to spend working with individual graduate students.”
Other faculty described frustrations about how research, scholarship and creative activity are recognized and valued. As one professor explained, “Scholarship in my field takes time and my department understands this. But for people in departments that emphasize lots of co-authored articles rather than books, it must look like I’m just sitting on my ass.” Another faculty member emphasized the painstaking process of securing and managing external grants, and of how this “basically becomes an entire job unto itself, in addition to the actual research the grant is supposed to fund.”
Not surprisingly, service was another area about which faculty expressed frustration, suggesting that too much of this work was rendered invisible by “bean counting administrators.” One professor described the increased pressure he’s felt over the years as his department’s faculty numbers have dwindled. “At the same time, the service demands have gone up,” he said. “There seems to be no recognition that fewer faculty members are being asked to do more and more.” Another faculty member explained that much of what claims her time seems to fall outside the recognized workload parameters, for example, “Every single week a handful of students stop in for informal advising discussions. I want to help them, but they aren’t even ‘my’ students. Am I supposed to turn them away?”
Though no single, overarching theme emerged from the workload stories shared with the WMU-AAUP, three were repeated enough to serve as cautionary lessons.
- First, there is the recognition that the work faculty do across colleges varies, sometimes dramatically, and that no numerical system can fully do justice to this diversity.
- Second, the best experts for determining what counts as meaningful research, teaching and service work in a given field are to be found in that field; WMU faculty are the best experts with respect to workload evaluations.
- Third, more discussion is needed among faculty across departments and colleges to better understand and appreciate the diverse value we bring to WMU. Now, if only we could find the time!
Below are additional examples of labor that faculty feel may be misunderstood or rendered invisible. What did we miss?
– writing, customizing, and uploading student reference letters for graduate schools, professional programs, and academic employment
– engaging in industry consulting work that may be both expected and appropriate to one’s academic role
– informal academic and personal advising of undergraduate students, especially those who arrive underprepared
– driving time to teach courses at WMU distance learning sites, especially in the winter
– serving on diversity and inclusion initiatives, especially for faculty of color
– remaining current in one’s academic discipline, especially when one’s field is international in scope
– dealing with the ongoing demands of accreditation reports and other documentation
– completing a myriad of WMU online trainings, for example, cyber security and bullying
– direct individual supervision of students, especially graduate students, in required internship or performance activities
– completing time-consuming academic program review documentation as periodically required by administration, especially when this work has no apparent consequences
– piecing together small funding opportunities for routine academic work in the absence of sufficient support for conference and research travel (especially when international)
– completing professional activity reports, especially when one’s accomplishments do not fit neatly into its categories
– work done for the Lee Honors College, for example, scholarships, thesis committees, and serving as speakers
– participating in curricular overhauls, for example, essential studies
– facilitating the needs of increasing numbers of students who require special accommodations, for example, extra exam time
– assisting with departmental, college, and university recruitment efforts, e.g., spending time with prospective students and their families
– multiple (rather than streamlined) progress (and midterm grade) reporting for undergraduate students, for example, those on probation
If you haven’t yet had a chance to share your workload story with us, please send it!
Note: Faculty find much of this work to be both important and satisfying, but wish that it were better factored in during formal and informal assessments of their overall contributions. Also, some details have been altered to preserve anonymity.
Strength in solidarity 