Lecturer's Notional Hour Measurement in Improving Research University Academics Performance

This paper presents the actual notional load of different levels of lecturers from the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, National University of Malaysia after five years awarded with Research University status. The five departments involved in this study were Mechanical and Material Engineering, Electrical, Electronic and System Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering, Chemical and Process Engineering and Architecture as well as one unit, an Engineering Foundation Study. An online survey was developed and and distributed to all lecturers to get feedback on the number of hours allocated per year in 2010 for education, research, community service and administration tasks. A notional hour measurement method has been developed to determine the average distribution and percentage for each task. Results from this study can be used to identify percent distribution of tasks and to set a more accurate weight in improving academic performance in line with the needs of a research university.