Arts Funding Model

Resource Distribution Methodology

Resource Distribution Methodology - Diagram

Arts Economic Resource Allocation Model

Core Instruction

The distribution of core instruction funds revolves around three central concepts:

  1. Targeted average undergraduate class size
  2. Available teaching course capacity
  3. With modest measures of quality

The targeted average undergraduate class size is a reflection and consideration of several elements: including historical class sizes, examination of the extent of low enrolment sections, and increasing access to high demand disciplinary majors.  It provides a highly transparent, objective and measurable metric to the instructional funding process.  The computation is shown below.

A department’s available teaching capacity is calculated based on a notion of a standard competitive course teaching load for each faculty member within the disciplinary unit.  From this base, an allowance is factored in for the release of teaching responsibilities for faculty to serve key administrative roles (ie Headship, Associate Deans, Graduate and Undergraduate advisor,  Chairs of interdisciplinary programs and committees) and to facilitate opportunities for further concentration of research activities (ie CRC).  The metric of ‘available teaching capacity’ is also impacted by absences due to various types of leaves (ie sabbatical, administrative, maternity, paternity, medical, visiting scholar).  This absent instructional capacity is addressed financially through a separate compensation scheme whereby the Faculty provides the necessary capital (see Table A).  The reallocation of actual dollar savings from sabbatical leaves in individual units permits the Faculty to better deploy these resources to meet the core instructional needs across all units.

Funding is also available to units from faculty member secondments at both the inter and intra Faculty level for administrative or research purposes.  However, these opportunities are typically self-financed as units receive financial resources directly from the recipient organization in these situations to hire replacements to perform instructional and service responsibilities.

Classroom Instructional Support

This envelope pertains to the allocation of resources for teaching assistantships.  These resources are distributed on the basis of large class sizes (40 or more students) and budgetary constraints.   Units receive TA resources from the Dean’s Office and are responsible for the hiring and assignment of the TAs to individual course sections.

Infrastructure (S&E)

Funding are channeled to units to address consumables (supplies, travel etc) and equipment needs.   These expenditures are resourced through a recipe that incorporates ingredients such as: number of faculty, sessional, graduate and undergraduate student FTEs.  Support for capital projects are covered through a central Dean’s Office fund controlled by the Assistant Dean-Administration.

Staffing

Resources to support staffing infrastructure is determined primarily on evaluation of key metrics such as: faculty to staff and student to staff ratios, operational complexities and alignment with the vision of the Faculty’s strategic plans.