A new report indicates faculty at Iowa’s three public universities work, on average, about 55 hours per week.
Officials from the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa presented the results of a “faculty activities” survey to the board that governs the universities. Rachel Boon, the chief academic officer for the Board of Regents, said this is the third time in six years the survey has been conducted.
“Faculty are randomly selected on which week they get it and they’re reporting on their activities throughout that week, so that we can get a sample across the entire sort of ebb and flow of a semester,” Boon said, “so it doesn’t bias towards being in midterms or being around finals week or the start of a term when things are different.”
Iowa State University provost Jonathan Wickert said the survey shows ISU faculty are teaching more “credit hours” and bringing in far more research dollars than they did a decade ago.
“Our faculty are arguably more productive in research and education than before,” Wickert said.
University of Iowa associate provost Kevin Kregel said the survey shows how much the faculty in Iowa City work with students in research labs and at the university’s hospital.
“There’s experiential learning in many different avenues,” Kregel said, “…hands-on, collaborative kinds of work.”
John Valentine, UNI’s associate provost for faculty, said the survey shows faculty on the Cedar Falls campus are focused on preparing students for life beyond college.
“Our professors spend more than 30 hours per week on student instruction,” Valentine said. “They are in the classroom teaching.”
The rest of their time is mostly spent grading students’ work, overseeing research and mentoring students outside the classroom.
The three state universities employ about 4500 full-time faculty.