University of Idaho
Pre-Calculus—Course Planning Tool
The Course Planning Tool is a formatted spreadsheet that facilitates a three-step process for institutions to establish and compare the instructional costs before redesign (the traditional course) and the instructional costs after the redesign (the redesigned course).
Step #1 shows the calculation of all personnel costs associated with preparing and delivering the course expressed as an hourly rate. Annual salary for faculty listed is the average of all faculty teaching the course and includes a 28.5% benefits rate. Step #2 uses this initial calculation to determine the cost of preparing and delivering the traditional course. Step #3 calculates these costs for the redesigned course. More specific Course Planning Tool instructions are available.
Below are a summary of the cost savings anticipated at the University of Idaho and the completed course planning tool.
Cost Savings
The University of Idaho will redesign three pre-calculus courses enrolling a total of 2,428 students by moving them to a learning center modeled after the Virginia Tech Math Emporium. Idaho's course-planning tool depicts the cost of each of the three courses as well as the cost of serving students in the Mathematics Assistance Center for each of the courses based on the cost of staffing and the number of student visits per course. In the redesign, faculty preparation hours will be reduced significantly from 4,609 to 3,347, a decrease of 27%. Interaction time has more than doubled, increasing from 2,846 hours in the traditional format for all sections to 6,178 hours in the redesigned format. Training time for the redesigned course is higher since the course involves a greater diversity of personnel.
The new active-learning model reduces the total cost of offering all three courses from approximately $338,000 to $235,000, a reduction of 31%. The cost-per-student for the three separate courses ranges from $110 to $176 per student, whereas the cost-per-student served in Polya is projected to be about $97 for all three courses. The university also anticipates additional savings by reducing failure rates in the three courses. Savings generated from this redesign will remain with the department and be reinvested to redesign additional math courses to be taught in the Polya Center.
[For more detailed information regarding their initial academic redesign, consult the project plan description.]
Step #1: Determine Instructional Costs per Hour
Instructional Costs per Hour—Pre-Calculus
| Intermed. Algebra | Algebra | Pre-Calculus | |
| Faculty | Lecturer | GTA | GTA |
| Annual salary and benefits | $33,800 | ||
| % devoted to instruction | 100 | ||
| % devoted to this section | 12.5 | ||
| $ devoted to this section | $4,255 | ||
| Contact hours for section | 148 | ||
| Out of class hours | 27 | ||
| Total hours | 175 | ||
| Cost per hour | $24 | ||
| Graduate TAs/GAs | |||
| Salary | $11,917 | $11,917 | |
| % devoted to instruction | 100 | 100 | |
| % devoted to this course | 50 | 50 | |
| $ devoted to this course | $5,959 | $5,959 | |
| Contact hours for course | 202 | 202 | |
| Out of class hours | 128 | 128 | |
| Total hours | 330 | 330 | |
| Cost per hour | $18 | $18 | |
| Undergraduate TAs | |||
| Cost per hour | $7 | ||
| Professional/Staff | |||
| Positions | |||
| MSAC Support Staff | |||
| Cost/Student Visit | Cost/Student Visit | Cost/Student Visit | |
| Director | $7 | $10 | $8 |
| Manager | $5 | $7 | $5 |
| UG Assistants | $4 | $5 | $4 |
| Total | $15 | $22 | $17 |
| Math Center Manager | $13 |
Step #2: Determine Instructional Costs of Traditional Course
Instructional Costs of Traditional Course—Intermediate Algebra
| Faculty | MSAC Services | |||
| # of Hours | Total Cost | Cost for one section | $1,078 | |
| Hourly rate = | $24 | |||
| I. Course Preparation | |
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| A. Curriculum Development | 4 | $97 | |
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| B. Materials Acquisition | 3 | $73 | ||
| C. Materials Development | ||||
| 1. Lectures/presentations | 4 | $97 | ||
| 2. Learning materials/software | 3 | $73 | ||
| 3. Diagnostic assessments | 2 | $49 | ||
| 4. Assignments | 4 | $97 | ||
| 5. Tests/evaluations | 4 | $97 | ||
| Sub-Total | 24 | $584 | ||
| D. Faculty/TA Devmt/Training | ||||
| 1. Orientation | 1 | $24 | ||
| 2. Staff meetings | 2 | $49 | ||
| 3. Attend lectures | ||||
| Sub-Total | 3 | $73 | ||
| Total Preparation | 27 | $656 | ||
| II. Course Delivery | ||||
| A. Instruction | ||||
| 1. Diagnose skill/knowledge | ||||
| 2. Presentation | 42 | $1,021 | ||
| 3. Interaction | 42 | $1,021 | ||
| 4. Progress monitoring | 16 | $389 | ||
| Sub-Total | 100 | $2,431 | ||
| B. Evaluation | ||||
| 1. Test proctoring | 8 | $195 | ||
| 2. Tests/evaluation | 40 | $973 | ||
| Sub-Total | 48 | $1,167 | ||
| Total Delivery | 148 | $3,599 | ||
| TOTAL | 175 | $4,255 | $1,078 | |
| Total per section | $5,333 | |||
| GRAND TOTAL for 19 Sections | $101,335 | |||
| Total # of students | 920 | |||
| Cost per student | $110 | |||
Instructional Costs of Traditional Course—Algebra
| GTA | MSAC Services | |||
| # of Hours | Total Cost | Cost for one section = | $2,236 | |
| Hourly rate = | $18 | |||
| I. Course Preparation | |
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| A. Curriculum Development | 8 | $144 | |
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| B. Materials Acquisition | 5 | $90 | ||
| C. Materials Development | ||||
| 1. Lectures/presentations | 35 | $630 | ||
| 2. Learning materials/software | 9 | $162 | ||
| 3. Diagnostic assessments | 8 | $144 | ||
| 4. Assignments | 16 | $288 | ||
| 5. Tests/evaluations | 15 | $270 | ||
| Sub-Total | 96 | $1,728 | ||
| D. Faculty/TA Devmt/Training | ||||
| 1. Orientation | 8 | $144 | ||
| 2. Staff meetings | 8 | $144 | ||
| 3. Attend lectures | 16 | $288 | ||
| Sub-Total | 32 | $576 | ||
| Total Preparation | 128 | $2,304 | ||
| II. Course Delivery | ||||
| A. Instruction | ||||
| 1. Diagnose skill/knowledge | ||||
| 2. Presentation | 42 | $756 | ||
| 3. Interaction | 64 | $1,152 | ||
| 4. Progress monitoring | 30 | $540 | ||
| Sub-Total | 136 | $2,448 | ||
| B. Evaluation | ||||
| 1. Test proctoring | 12 | $216 | ||
| 2. Tests/evaluation | 54 | $972 | ||
| Sub-Total | 66 | $1,188 | ||
| Total Delivery | 202 | $3,636 | ||
| TOTAL | 330 | $5,940 | $2,236 | |
| Total Per Section | $8,176 | |||
| GRAND TOTAL for 5 sections | $40,880 | |||
| Total # of students | 233 | |||
| Cost per student | $175 | |||
Instructional Costs of Traditional Course—Pre-Calculus
| GTA | MSAC Services | |||
| # of Hours | Total Cost | Cost for one section = | $1,335 | |
| Hourly rate = | $18 | |||
| I. Course Preparation | ||||
| A. Curriculum Development | 8 | $144 | ||
| B. Materials Acquisition | 5 | $90 | ||
| C. Materials Development | ||||
| 1. Lectures/presentations | 35 | $630 | ||
| 2. Learning materials/software | 9 | $162 | ||
| 3. Diagnostic assessments | 8 | $144 | ||
| 4. Assignments | 16 | $288 | ||
| 5. Tests/evaluations | 15 | $270 | ||
| Sub-Total | 96 | $1,728 | ||
| D. Faculty/TA Devmt/Training | ||||
| 1. Orientation | 8 | $144 | ||
| 2. Staff meetings | 8 | $144 | ||
| 3. Attend lectures | 16 | $288 | ||
| Sub-Total | 32 | $576 | ||
| Total Preparation | 128 | $2,304 | ||
| II. Course Delivery | ||||
| A. Instruction | ||||
| 1. Diagnose skill/knowledge | ||||
| 2. Presentation | 42 | $756 | ||
| 3. Interaction | 64 | $1,152 | ||
| 4. Progress monitoring | 30 | $540 | ||
| Sub-Total | 136 | $2,448 | ||
| B. Evaluation | ||||
| 1. Test proctoring | 12 | $216 | ||
| 2. Tests/evaluation | 54 | $972 | ||
| Sub-Total | 66 | $1,188 | ||
| Total Delivery | 202 | $3,636 | ||
| TOTAL | 330 | $5,940 | $1,335 | |
| Total per section | $7,275 | |||
| GRAND TOTAL For 27 Sections | $196,423 | |||
| Total # of students | 1275 | |||
| Cost per student | $154 | |||
Step #3: Determine Instructional Costs of Redesigned Course
Instructional Costs of Redesigned Courses
| Senior Faculty | Instructor | GTAs | UGTAs | Center Manager | ||||||
| # of Hrs | Total Cost | # of Hrs | Total Cost | # of Hrs | Total Cost | # of Hrs | Total Cost | # of Hrs | Total Cost | |
| Hourly rate = | $24 | Hourly rate = | $24 | Hourly rate = | $18 | Hourly rate = | $7 | Hourly rate = | $13 | |
| I. Course Preparation | ||||||||||
| A. Curriculum Development | 14 | $330 | 28 | $681 | ||||||
| B. Materials Acquisition | 3 | $71 | 6 | $146 | ||||||
| C. Materials Development | ||||||||||
| 1.Lectures/presentations | 50 | $1,180 | 100 | $2,431 | ||||||
| 2. Learning materials/software | 150 | $3,541 | 352 | $8,559 | ||||||
| 3. Diagnostic assessments | 69 | $1,629 | 100 | $2,431 | ||||||
| 4. Assignments | 26 | $632 | ||||||||
| 5. Tests/evaluations | 25 | $590 | 42 | $1,021 | ||||||
| Sub-Total | 311 | $7,341 | 654 | $15,902 | ||||||
| D. Faculty/TA Devmt/Training | 2000 | $25,619 | ||||||||
| 1. Orientation | 40 | $944 | 80 | $1,945 | 40 | $720 | 90 | $636 | ||
| 2. Staff meetings | 20 | $472 | 40 | $973 | 40 | $720 | 32 | $226 | ||
| 3. Attend lectures | ||||||||||
| Sub-Total | 60 | $1,416 | 120 | $2,918 | 80 | $1,440 | 122 | $863 | ||
| Total Preparation | 371 | $8,757 | 774 | $18,819 | 80 | $1,440 | 122 | $863 | 2000 | $25,619 |
| II. Course Delivery | ||||||||||
| A. Instruction | ||||||||||
| 1. Diagnose skill/knowledge | 120 | $2,160 | ||||||||
| 2. Presentation | 69 | $1,629 | 138 | $3,355 | 160 | $2,880 | ||||
| 3. Interaction | 400 | $9,442 | 508 | $12,352 | 3220 | $57,960 | 2050 | $14,494 | ||
| 4. Progress monitoring | 420 | $9,914 | 1242 | $30,198 | 1500 | $27,000 | ||||
| Sub-Total | 889 | $20,984 | 1888 | $45,905 | 5000 | |||||