5. STEPS TOWARD IMPLEMENTATION

5.5. Professorial Workload and Time Allocation

• In recent years, the pressures on engineering professors have increased substantially. These pressures are partly the result of reduced education funding per undergraduate student necessitating greater teaching loads, and partly due to increased concern for research output and for the funding which accompanies research grants and contracts. These pressures have resulted in insufficient time for preparation of course material, larger undergraduate classes, less personal contact between each individual student and the professor. It is important that this trend be reversed so that an appropriate level of quality can be maintained in the education of engineering undergraduates.

• One aspect of time pressure on university professors is the need to prepare extensive documentation for competitions in the research funding agencies. For engineering faculties, some of this time can be more effectively used if a significant part of total engineering research and development funding is routed through the user community, mainly in industry. Under this approach, the incentive for the professor is to allocate time in establishing effective contacts with industry. Given the willingness of the industrial partner to provide some financial and time support for the proposed research, the review process can be simplified to an assurance from an external assessor that the proposal meets the program criteria of content and quality.

RECOMMENDATION 58: Universities should ensure that the staff-student ratio in engineering faculties is sufficiently large to provide the individual attention which is necessary for adequate professional education.