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Ohlone Data Source - Institutional Research Office

Courses, Sections, Departments

WSCH, FTEF, and Load Efficiency

WSCH is the abbreviation for Weekly Student Contact Hours. This is a measure of the total number of hours students spent in all sections of a specific department. For instance, one student in one 3-unit lecture section produces 54 WSCH; the aggregate number of all students in all sections in a department is presented in the data.

FTEF is the abbreviation for Full Time Faculty Equivalent. This number is derived by adding the load for all full time, adjunct, and overload assignments and computing the  equivalent number of full time faculty this aggregate load represents.

Load is a measure of efficiency, and it is derived by dividing the WSCH by FTEF. The resulting number is the average number of weekly student contact hours taught by each full time faculty equivalent. Two things are worth noting: 1) Some programs require a small student to faculty ratio and could not be effectively taught if classes were too large; 2) FTEF is calculated using faculty load, so sections taught by faculty who have no load--such as most high school and consortium sections--will add to WSCH but not to FTEF, and the resulting efficiency measures may be skewed. 

  • 2006-2007 WSCH increased by 28.0% over previous five year average.
  • 2006-2007 FTEF increased by 11.7% over previous five year average.
  • 2006-2007 load efficiency increased by 14.8% over previous five year average.
  • 15 departments had an increase of greater than 50% for 2006-2007 WSCH over the previous five year average; five departments saw a decline of 20% or more.
  • Computer Studies has the appearance of a significant decline, but that is primarily the result of separating off the new CNET department; comparing the 2006-2007 combined totals for CS and CNET to the previous five year average, there is a decline of 13.9%, but a decrease of ten FTEF between the two departments has produced a 33.6% increase in load efficiency over the CS five year average.
  • 50% of the total WSCH is produced by the top eight departments.
  • In 2006-2007, History and Chemistry joined the Top 10 producers of WSCH, while Computer Studies and American Sign Language fell out. Had CS and CNET not separated, CS would still be fourth in the Top 10.
  • Speech joined the Top 10 FTEF, but if CS and CNET were still one department, they would be ranked sixth in FTEF.
  • Japanese, Personal Development, Political Science, and Biotechnology have joined the Top 10 as most efficient, while Sociology, Geography, Philosophy, and Real Estate have fallen off the Top 10 list.
  • The Top 10 producers of WSCH account for 57.1% of the total WSCH.
  • Similarly, the Top 10 FTEF departments account for 57.9% of the total FTEF.
  • With an average load efficiency of 574, 27 departments are above the average. 24 departments have a load efficiency below 525.

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