Full Economic Costing Process

Bursar's Office, North Wing, University College Cork

 

Contact	Clare Lehane
Email	clare.lehane@ucc.ie

 Full Economic Costing Oversight Board

• Professor Anita Maguire (Chair, Director A.B.C.R.F, Pharmaceutical Chemistry)
• Mr Diarmuid Collins  (Chief Financial Officer/Bursar, Finance Office)
• Professor Kevin Cashman (School of Food and Nutritional Sciences)
• Professor Kathy Hall (School of Education)
• Professor John O'Halloran (President)
• Professor Eileen Savage (School of Nursing)
• Professor Frederic Adam (Business Information Systems)
• Mr Cormac McSweeney (Acting Finance Officer)
• Ms Clare Lehane (Full Economic Costing Manager)

 

Welcome to the Full Economic Costing Process webpage.

Update June 2022

On the 12 March 2020, the Irish Government announced all schools and higher education institutions should close. UCC closed its campus, provided online teaching and learning, maintained critical research activity and its staff worked remotely.

The Academic Advisory Group being cognizant of the significant challenges facing Academic Staff, Departments, Schools and Colleges in light of the closure deferred the launch of the next Academic Work Distribution Model (AWDM) data collection process until 2023.

In light of the data collection deferral and essential software upgrades now required there will be no access to the software platform during this renovation phase. Further updates will be published on this website in the new academic year.

History of FECP and AWDM

Since 2008 UCC has been involved in a sectoral Strategic Innovation Fund initiative project via a senior Steering Group and Working Group (led by an academic champion) to implement a Full Economic Costing system (FECP) to highlight perceived deficiencies in the funding of research overheads and support funding requests. UCC, in conjunction with DCU, implemented Sub-Project 1 developed a comprehensive academic activities form.

Seperately University College Cork’s Academic Workload Model (AWDM) was designed over a period of years via a senior Steering Group and a Project Team (led by the Registrar and Senior Vice President Academic). An AWDM Framework was formally approved by Academic Council on the 26 November 2010 and Governing Body in 2010. Informed by an international benchmarking exercise the then standalone AWDM model was designed to respond to internal demands for greater equity and transparency in the distribution of tasks and resources and enabling appropriate reporting on academic activities and overall workload of academic staff.

The AWDM and FECP projects are in keeping with the requirements of the University's Strategic Plan and objectives, The Croke Park Agreement, and the National Strategy for Higher Education. Between 2009 and 2013 FECP was collecting information from academic staff on their academic activities as a key element in its costing process. Following agreement at Academic Council (24 June 2011) an institutional wide pilot of the university’s Academic Workload Distribution Model was completed.

UCC is the first of the Irish universities to align Academic Work Distribution and Full Economic Costing academic activity data sets into a single collection source. The Model has importance in relation to the national HE reporting agenda as the AWDM-FECP Model is a key tool used to report on academic activity, research overhead and support funding requests for both internal and external stakeholders.

AWDM-FECP Academic Advisory Group (AAG)

In September 2017 UMTO provided for the establishment of a Senior Academic Advisory Group to act as an academic community support in relation to the operation of the AWDM-FECP model. The AAG has been formed as a collegial group to work with Heads of Academic Unit and academic staff in using the AWDM-FECP Framework; whilst ensuring the implementation and operation of the framework is compatible with the needs of the academic community.

AAG Membership

The membership of the AWDM-FECP Academic Advisory Group comprises of representatives from each College, FECP and HR:

Chair: Prof. John McCarthy

Vice Chair: Prof. Anita Maguire (Chair of FECP Steering Committee)

Members:

1. Prof. Sarah Culloty (SEFS)

2. Prof. Thia Hennessey (B&L)

3. Prof. Eileen Savage (M&H)

4. Dr. Stiofan O Cadhla (CACSS)

 

FECP Rep: Ms. Clare Lehane

HR Rep: Ms. Angela O’Donovan

 

Terms of Reference:

1. Supporting Heads of Academic Unit and the academic community in the implementation and on-going operation of the AWDM-FECP framework in line with stakeholder needs;

2. Communicating via an annual report to Academic Council relating to the relevant collection period each year and assisting Heads in the dissemination and optimal use of AWDM-FECP data for local work activity planning;

3. Collaborating with key stakeholders in addressing AWDM-FECP matters as they arise;

4. Developing the AWDM-FECP framework and related software platform in line with University needs.

Staff Briefings

To facilitate the next collection process a number of briefings will be made available for heads and academic staff on AWDM later in the year. These briefings may be of particular benefit to new heads and academic staff. Briefing dates will be announced in the new academic year. Your College representative, listed above, will act as your point of contact with the Academic Advisory Group on AWDM matters. The group look forward to supporting you and your College in the AWDM process.

Collection Exemptions

The following academic staff are considered exempt from completion of the AWDM:

· Academic staff who work less than 0.2 FTE (less than 20% of a full time equivalent) & part time occasional staff.

· Academic staff on maternity leave, long-term sick leave and approved special leave for the timeframe being recorded.

· Academic staff on sabbatical leave of six months or greater during the reporting period.

· Recently appointed academic staff who have worked less than 6 months.

· Academic staff within six months of retirement.

 

Unit of Currency used in the Model - Lecture Unit Equivalent (LUE)

The AWDM unit of currency is the Lecture Unit based on the delivery of a 5-credit lecture module (i.e., 24 lectures including all aspects of time for preparation and interaction with students).

The form includes the following categories of activity:

I. Teaching & Examining

II. Research

III. Professional Academic Service

IV. General Academic Administration

It is acknowledged that differing levels and profiles of work may occur due to such circumstances as level of appointment e.g. Headship, academic staff member’s career stage or local exigencies.

Summary Steps in the AWDM Collection Process:

1. Completion of the AWDM form is done via an electronic platform. You will be able to use your UCC log in details (SSO: single sign on) when the collection process launches.

2. The AWDM collection period will remain open for four to six weeks to allow academic staff included in the collection period to complete the form.

3. The completion of the form will have a retrospective focus i.e. looking back at the past academic year. Under Research, publications are based on a rolling four year average, looking back over the past four years.

4. The individual staff member submits their form to their Head of Academic Unit/ School

5. The Head of Academic Unit/ School will verify the information or liaise with the individual staff member where clarification is needed.

6. Once signed off electronically by the Head of Academic Unit/ School, a non-personalised Unit Summary is generated, disseminated locally within the academic unit and submitted to the relevant Head of College.

7. The AWDM data may be used to assist the Head of Academic Unit in ensuring that the necessary work of an academic unit is carried out effectively, while taking account of career development goals of individual staff members.

8. A University level summative non-personalised report is submitted, following the collection period, to Academic Council.

 

Records Management

AWDM forms and Unit Summary Sheets shall be bound by the University Record Management Policy in compliance with Data Protection Laws.

 

Data Protection Disclaimer

The information you supply in relation to your Academic Work will be used to:

· facilitate your unit in using their resources to optimise the quality and quantity of outputs having regard to staff development goals;

· quantify scholarly activities to balance load against capacity and to aid comparability of workload distribution at Academic Unit, College and University levels;

· provide information to facilitate decisions on resource allocation and;

· create a framework to encapsulate information on academic activities to allow the University to report with greater precision.

 The information you supplied in relation to Full Economic Costing will be:

· averaged within one of the six nationally agreed Full Economic Costing academic grades. Only academic unit grade averages are used within the costing system.

The information will not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any third party. If you wish to correct/amend your personal details, please contact academicworkload@ucc.ie in the first instance. If you wish to access your personal data or have any further queries in relation to Data Protection, please contact the University’s Information Compliance Officer (email: foi@ucc.ie; telephone: 021 4903949).