I. Background
Why is CSIR Important?
The Class Schedule and Instructional Record (CSIR) is the system of record for all data concerning teaching activity, including student FTE, faculty teaching workload, average class size, course offerings, and space utilization. Such data influence resource allocation decisions at all levels beginning at the very top, in Sacramento . It contains information about each term's class offerings merged with payroll and facilities data. The class name, number, unit value, official fifth week enrollment by level of student, meeting place and times, and the instructor's name, title and payroll full-time-equivalent are included for each class.
This data is used for allocating teaching credit, and depends in large part on the completeness and accuracy of the information departments provide on instructors. Faculty workload and student SCH / FTE reports for deans, Budget Committee, other campus users and the Office of the President are generated from the data. In addition, facilities utilization reports for campus space planning and the Office of the President are also created from the CSIR file.
Specifically, CSIR affects the following reports:
- Individual faculty
CSIR data is used by the BUDGET Committee when it conducts merit reviews.
- Departments
CSIR data is used to determine whether a department is meeting its goals as outlined in individual departmental teaching policies (e.g., number of classes taught per ladder faculty) and for general education requirements (e.g., Reading and Composition courses, American Cultures courses, etc). The Office of Planning and Analysis maintains copies of all current departmental teaching workload policies. Separately, CSIR data is used to keep track of average class size and types of courses taught by individual faculty.
- UC Berkeley Campus Reporting
Central Campus administrators use CSIR data to assess campus-wide priorities when distributing resources for Temporary Academic Support, faculty authorizations, and in regard to issues related to space utilization.
- UC Berkeley System
All nine campuses are required to submit instructional activity data to the Office of the President on an annual basis. Particular attention is paid to primary classes conducted by regular ladder-rank faculty. These reports, in turn, are aggregated and sent on to the California State Legislature as part of an annual reporting process. The State monitors productivity and quality of teaching at UC. These reports influence the State of California’s Budget process and subsequent funding which flows to the nine campuses. Space Utilization data is also reported annually and affects funding for capital projects.
- External and Ad Hoc Reporting
Aggregated instructional workload data is used in external reporting to US News and World Report, college guide books, and numerous ad hoc reports (e.g, AAU Data Exchange).Data Streams which Feed CSIR
The CSIR system consists of an amalgam of data streams extracted from the COURSE, CLASS FACILITIES (FDX), ENROLLMENT, and PAYROLL systems. Further, semester-by-semester data entry on the part of DEPARTMENTS is critical to its creation. Policies which govern data entry emanate from the offices of the Academic Senate, Academic Personnel, Registrar, and the Office of the President. Responsibility for CSIR data quality and data reporting resides with the VC-BF Office of Planning & Analysis. The CSIR reporting system resides in the VC-BF BFIT reporting database, but is administered by the Office of Planning & Analysis.
Why is CSIR being Re-written?
In Fall, 2000, the re-writing of CSIR was undertaken as part of the Chancellor’s initiative on Data Integration. We began by examining data quality and computer and administrative systems which produced the data extracts used for faculty workload and space utilization reports. Since the days of mainframe data management, new technologies had emerged which promised greater flexibility and broader capability for both data collection and data dissemination. Further, as part of the process of assessing the old system and designing the new, the CSIR re-write became the occasion to revisit the policies and practices which underpinned CSIR. Over time we observed widening gaps between policy and practice, meriting a fresh look at administrative and systems breakdowns and new modes for creating a more robust quality control oversight.
In particular, analysts detected notable problems in following data collection areas:
1. Use of inappropriate job (title) codes in the payroll/personnel system;In partnership with the Academic Senate Office and in keeping with the recommendations of the Joint Administration /Academic Senate Working Group on Instructional Activity,
2. Use of inappropriate instructor function codes (i.e., who is teaching and/or in charge of a class);
3. Use of inappropriate instructional formats (e.g., lecture, independent study, etc.) and course numbering systems; and
4. Problematic reporting of cross-listed and team taught courses.
OPA was tasked with re-writing the CSIR system to achieve the following1. Have reporting practices mirror existing policy;
2. Optimize UC Berkeley’s teaching activity reporting;
3. Ensure internal consistency;
4. Create a transparent process;
5. Decrease workload on staff and faculty;
6. Protect pedagogical flexibility;
7. Reconstitute requisite administrative processes.Last, some of the new CSIR specifications are in response to the State of California’s 2001-2002 audit (California State Auditor/Bureau of State Audits Summary of Report Number 2001-130 - JULY 2002 http://www.senate.ucla.edu/SenateVoice/Issue3/audit.htm). In particular, this report notes the necessity for better quality control and oversight.
II. What is New
We have collected and reviewed all relevant policies which govern CSIR and brought participating central offices together, thus creating a hub of shared understanding on behalf of the campus as a whole – e.g. reconstituting requisite administrative processes.III. Errors and Omissions
We have made changes to some of the ways CSIR collects information, creating a more accurate reflection of instructional activity, thereby optimizing UC Berkeley’s teaching activity reporting [1] .
We have implemented systematic business rules to ensure internal consistency, including the pro-ration of cross-listed and team-taught courses, bringing UC Berkeley into compliance with OP reporting specifications.
We have examined and redesigned our errors and omissions process, creating a more robust set of quality control mechanisms. The majority of changes we hope to have implemented through a new data entry screen – one which rejects data which does not meet standard specifications. This will help guide CSIR data-enters on the spot and limit the number of emails and calls for clean-up after the initial data entry. In addition, we plan to design a number of mid-stream and post-term variance reports which allow us to determine how well the data clean-up is going and which departments may be having specific trouble areas. We also have convened a CSIR Quality Control Group comprised of all central campus offices involved with the ultimate creation of CSIR, where as data owners, policy-makers, systems maintainers, or those using the data for operational and/or reporting purposes.
Both activities – errors and omissions reporting and the CSIR Quality Control Group - enhance reporting practices, closing the gaps between policy and practice and optimizing of faculty workload reporting.
Through better documentation and the new CSIR web-site, we have furthered the goal of creating a more transparent process.
We have started publishing aggregated faculty workload data through Cal Profiles with views by Departments Offering the Course and by Pay Department of the Instructor. Examples of both old and new reports include:We have successfully moved CSIR from a legacy mainframe system to a relational database environment with the result of vastly increased flexibility, timeliness, and breadth of reporting capability.
- Number of Primary Classes Taught by Permanent Faculty;
- Actual (payroll) Permanent Faculty FTE;
- Ratio of Primary Classes Taught by Permanent Faculty per Actual Permanent Faculty FTE (similar to what is reported to OP);
- Ratio of Student FTE to Actual Permanent Faculty FTE.
Throughout, we have kept in mind the need for pedagogical flexibility and, through this document, hope to contribute to a more transparent process.
In the sixth week of the semester, an errors & omissions letter is issued to departments requesting them to address fatal errors appearing in their CSIR data entry screens. The most serious include the following fatal errors:
INSTRUCTORSAn instructor with a function code of 3 (in charge but not teaching) without indication of which additional instructor is either a 1 (in charge and teaching) or a 2 (teaching, but not in charge).
- Missing Employee Identification
- Missing Instructor
ROOMSBy the tenth week, all fatal errors should have been corrected by departments as the CSIR process proceeds to pull in information from payroll, the enrollment file, and the space tables to complete the amalgamation of information that goes into creating the CSIR source tables.
- Missing Building
- Missing Time
IV. How to Enter CSIR Data
The following information provides specific directions regarding CSIR data entry. Please contact Linda Wong, CSIR Coordinator if you have questions.
User’s Guide
Additional notes:CSIR Deadlines
- Teaching activity by rank reporting considers only instructors with functions 1 (teaching and in charge) or 2 (teaching but not in charge). If the only instructor(s) listed for a class have function 3 (not teaching but in charge), then they are converted to 1.
- Each set of room share classes is counted as 1 class. Room shares are those sections taught in the same room at exactly the same time on the same day, except for Clinics, Labs, and Studios. We do count as room shares, however, any Clinics/Labs/Studios that are also listed in the Academic Senate's cross-list dictionary.
- For team-taught, cross-listed classes, all instructors must be listed on each class involved for these processes to correctly allocate the teaching credit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Glossary (Selected terms, definitions, and concepts)
V: Participating Administrative Units and Relevant Policies and Reports Guiding Data Collection and Business Rules