Balancing student demand and delivery costs: Are larger tutor groups an answer?

Background

The Open University (OU) is an online HE provider which assigns each student to a tutor group, led by an Associate Lecturer (AL). The AL delivers tutorials, grades assessed work and is the student's primary point of contact for general academic questions and support.

The OU was fortunate to have a larger-than-expected cohort of first-year law students in October 2023, owing to a late peak in student enrolment. Given the financial constraints that higher education institutions face, this could be viewed as a welcome problem. However, as Student Experience Managers (SEMs) or Staff Tutors (STs) with a limited number of ALs, we needed to efficiently deploy our teaching resources to meet rising demand whilst also ensuring students had a high-quality learning experience.

Standard v larger groups

The standard tutor group size is 20-21 students per group for undergraduate law modules. To address the increased number of enrolments, the Law School piloted the use of "larger" tutor groups of 22 to 30 students per group. Adopting a larger tutor group format has demonstrable benefits in terms of more efficient use of AL time and cost savings for the OU.
As SEMs, we carried out a small-scale evaluation, that included quantitative and qualitative data analysis, to investigate the potential impact of larger tutor groups, particularly in relation to AL wellbeing.

As Bezuidenhout (2015) makes clear:

"In order to remain successful, universities, like any other business, need healthy, energetic, and creative human capital to maintain competitive advantage in the increasingly competitive global higher education sector."

Aim

The primary aim was to ascertain AL's initial and final thoughts and concerns on supporting larger groups, and whether they would like to do so in future.

Sample size...

25 ALs agreed to support larger tutor groups. Recognition for this additional work was provided by reducing unallocated workload capacity or increasing pay. These ALs were invited to complete an anonymous online questionnaire when the module began (Questionnaire A) and again at the end (Questionnaire B).
52% of the ALs completed questionnaire A, and 44% completed questionnaire B.

Findings: Mixed responses were reported

Responses in Questionnaire A indicated ALs felt "nervous" about managing the additional workload. Others were "happy" to take on larger tutor groups to help them make use of spare FTE. However, in Questionnaire B, the majority of ALs reported experiences of "increased levels of stress/anxiety" as the presentation progressed.
Over the course of the pilot, the majority of ALs reported on the additional workload involved in supporting larger groups.
Some ALs voiced concerns about the extent to which the extra FTE allocated to the work accurately reflected the increased workload associated with supporting larger groups.
ALs were mindful that the extra workload at the start of the module will be less than the mid or end point of the presentation. But it was not until Questionnaire B that the ALs were able to comment on the extra stress/pressure of meeting the ten-day marking turnaround marking during "pinch points" (February/March). In the Law School, ALs tutoring both J and B presentations must meet tight or overlapping marking windows, which can be stressful.
Exploring module data, use of larger tutor groups did not materially impact student engagement in TGFs. Further, that catering for larger groups made a negligible difference to overall student retention or success over the course of three presentations.

Key Take-aways for academic managers and tutors (SEMs, STs, and ALs)

Interestingly, the majority of ALs stated that they found catering for larger groups as a “useful” way of using spare FTE and welcomed this approach. However, many still stated a reluctance to support larger groups in future.
Where SEMs/STs are looking to use larger groups, it is important for them to speak to the AL’s line manager, prior to approaching the AL to explore the feasibility of offering this option. This is because the line manager is better placed to assess the AL’s total workload and will have knowledge of personal/medical factors that has a bearing on utilisation of FTE in this way.
Where large groups are adopted, it would be useful to consider the impact on AL welfare. Additionally, to also consider the impact AL sickness could have on the student experience in terms of arranging effective cover. There may be limited FTE cover to cater for the students’ needs thereby increasing the burden on cover tutors who will have to manage both types of groups.
When setting group sizes outside of “normal” student/tutor allocations, it is important to strike the right balance between saving cost, FTE utilisation and managing fluctuating student enrolments. It is important to recognise SEMs, STs and ALs have different roles and demands on their time. Nevertheless, academic managers should always consider the wellbeing of ALs prior to allocating larger groups to them.

If you would like to discuss the use of larger tutor groups or wish to have a copy of the evaluation report, please do contact ash.odedra@open.ac.uk or mel.holmes@open.ac.uk.

References

Bezuidenhout, A. (2015) ‘Implications for academic workload of the changing role of distance educators’, Distance Education, 36(2), pp. 246–262. DOI: 10.1080/01587919.2015.1055055.

Authors

Ash Odedra

Ash is an experienced academic leader with over two decades of expertise in teaching, learning, and assessment. Ash has spent the past 10 years as an Associate Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL), fostering innovative teaching methods. He is passionate about enhancing student engagement and promoting creative pedagogical approaches.

Mel Holmes

Mel Holmes, previously working as an inhouse solicitor, joined the Open University in 2000, as an Associate Lecturer on Access and Level 1 Law modules. She is currently a Lecturer and Student Experience Manager, roles which include bringing the student perspective to developing module/programme teaching and learning design. As the first person in her family to attend university, she is particularly interested in how universities can best support all students to achieve their study goals. Mel is working on projects focused on developing study skill resources and support.