Analyzing Faculty Workload: New Directions for Institutional Research, Number 83

The question being asked with increasing regularity is, "Just what do faculty members do?" Studies of faculty workload have been commisioned in state after state. Taken together, the studies indicate that college faculty members are working harder than ever but are probably teaching less and are almost certainly having less contact with students, particularly undergraduates. This issue explores how the public discourse about faculty work might be improved and suggests how colleges and universities might document that work in a fashion that not only more faithfully describes what faculty do but also allows for reports that are more comprehensive and useful. This is the 83rd issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Institutional Research