Brigham Young University

English Composition—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 25% 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 Brigham Young University and the completed course planning tool.

Cost Savings

College writing courses are perceived by many as highly time intensive for faculty. In its redesign, Brigham Young has taken a number of steps to reduce the labor intensity of its first-year writing course. Time spent in class has decreased from three sessions per week to one; time spent in individual conferences and peer tutoring sessions has increased. Faculty no longer prepare and present lectures, reducing this time from 42 hours per term to 10. Total faculty time is reduced from 226 hours in the traditional course to 127 in the redesign, thus freeing them to teach one additional advanced composition course per year.

Graduate teaching assistants spend less time in the redesigned course preparing for class (from 152 hours to 40) and more time interacting with students and responding to student work. Undergraduate peer tutoring time is increased for each student from 1.5 hours per term to 4 hours. Class sizes increase from 18 to 25, reducing the total number of sections offered annually from 166 each year to 136. The number of graduate assistants is reduced from 150 to 120 each year. Thus, BYU can teach the same number of students with fewer instructors, allowing them to be more selective in hiring new instructors.

The redesign will reduce the cost-per-student from $205 to $122, an estimated cost savings of approximately 40%. Savings will be used to offer enough additional sections to meet student demand, to provide a steady source of funding for advanced writing sections and to improve training of part-time faculty.

[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—English Composition

Step #2: Determine Instructional Costs of Traditional Course

Instructional Costs of Traditional Course—English Composition

Step 3: Determine Instructional Costs of the Redesigned Course

Instructional Costs of Redesigned Course—English Composition