Key considerations for developing an equitable faculty teaching workload

Abstract

PurposeFaculty teaching workload has become a focus for many academic institutions given the increasing amount of faculty burnout and need for equitable distribution of effort. Many gaps exist in faculty workload guidance which contribute to decreased faculty productivity, lack of appropriate recognition, faculty burnout, and subsequently, retention of faculty. A task force was created to develop teaching workload guidance and to outline minimum teaching expectations at our school of pharmacy. DescriptionThis manuscript highlights the need for clarity around the definition of roles of the contemporary educator and considerations when developing guidance around teaching workload expectations using the “What? So What? Now What?” reflection framework. Analysis/interpretationTeaching workload guidance first starts with establishing a definition of the contemporary roles of the educator. Challenges, considerations, and eight next steps are outlined that are critical to address before equitable teaching workload guidance is established. ConclusionsTeaching workload guidance should include transparency, clarity, credit, norms, context, and accountability. Additionally, solutions created to address the gaps in workload policies should be data driven. ImplicationsThe current traditional system of evaluating faculty workload has many gaps due to forces driving change in pharmacy education. Roles of the pharmacy educator should be valued and recognized across all mission centric learning programs.