Faculty Workload Models Are Failing — And They’re Breaking Academic Quality in the Process

CEO Strategic Leadership Series

Universities and Colleges

Faculty workload models in higher education were designed decades ago — before hybrid learning, digital course design, experiential education, research commercialization, and administrative proliferation.

The result is systemic misalignment:
• Teaching loads don’t reflect actual labour
• Research expectations are unrealistic in many disciplines
• Service requirements have ballooned
• Hybrid and online course development is massively undercounted
• Student mental-health support consumes more faculty time
• Assessment loads have increased
• Administrative committees drain research productivity

Workload models are collapsing under modern demands.

The future requires evidence-based workload redesign:
• Realistic teaching equivalencies
• Recognition of hybrid and digital course development
• Transparent workload formulas
• Redistribution of administrative service
• Use of instructional design teams
• Enhanced TA and RA support
• Activity-based analytics for teaching labour
• Research incentives aligned with institutional strategy

Institutions must redesign workload before burnout becomes irreversible.

How Arcus Can Help

Arcus conducts workload diagnostics, designs modern workload models, and builds implementation frameworks that support academic excellence and faculty well-being.

Next step: Request an Arcus Faculty Workload Redesign Assessment.

Project Discovery Session

In our brief Discovery Session, we will explore your definition of success for your project and map project milestones.

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Arcus offers clients a unique combination of fact-based industry knowledge and superior functional expertise. Our consultants have an average of over 22 years experience, twice the industry average. Find out more about our growth, change management and  operations services.

At Arcus we believe that a strategy is only as good as the results it delivers. Strategic outcomes are most predictable and effective when companies develop a portfolio of initiatives that are aligned with core competencies and aligned activities enable the company to offer a superior value proposition.

Please contact Arcus for case studies and to discuss how we can help you.

Service coverage

The variety, breadth, and depth of the projects where Arcus can be a resource are made unique by each client’s specific needs. By providing a very small sample of projects we’ve completed, we can help you understand how and when to use our services. Visit the links below to find out more about a specific problem or opportunity you would like to address.

Below is a sample of the range of services that Arcus has provided to clients.

  • A survey of 2,350 consumers and 1,320 business leaders for feedback on sustainability trends
  • Architecting a multi-year change strategy for a Fortune 500 company
  • Mentoring a CEO on organizational change
  • Excellence transformation of a leading B2B services company
  • Creating a new sales deployment model for a healthcare company
  • Developing a position evaluation and compensation model for a professional medical association   
  • Improving services to customer segments by deepening their understanding of customer attitudes

“Arcus manages to consistently deliver tangible results on market research and strategy projects. They combine deep business expertise, powerful research capabilities, and innovative thinking to deliver substantial value.”

– Vice President, Nikon

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  • Inform economic policy, investments, sales deployment and strategic plans by looking at trends across different industries and regions in Canada.
  • Influence your businesses’ future growth plans by understanding consumer behaviour

Learn more.

Media Coverage

Arcus has been quoted extensively in media on a range of topics and can offer research studies, insights and ideas. Here are some examples from the Globe and Mail, BNN, CTV, Global TV and others.

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