Initiatives Aimed at Increasing Faculty Productivity

Abstract

Institutions increasingly are needing to do more with less. No issue has been more in the forefront of accountability than that of faculty productivity. Legislators and boards are demanding that institutions account not only for the kind of work that faculty do but also that universities demonstrate increases in faculty teaching loads. Therefore, faculty workload has become the most "strategic " among a host of productivity indicators. This article describes various approaches states have used to increase faculty teaching productivity. The State of Maryland may be singular in demonstrating effoctive use of coupling a faculty workload policy with a report not only to provide clear evidence of faculty productivity but also to demonstrate increases in teaching productivity following implementation of the workload policy. As a case study, the article discusses the process used to develop a workload policy at the I 3 constituent institutions within the University of Maryland System (UMS). The findings indicate that both the policy and the method of reporting of workload affected faculty productivity and improved relationships with state legislators.