Evaluación de la carga académica docente: génesis y evolución

Abstract

The efficient administration of public resources and teaching human capital have been topics of permanent interest at the Universidad de Costa Rica; however, in a convoluted and uncertain budgetary situation such as the one currently facing the Institution and, in general, the country, this theme acquires greater relevance and the evaluation of academic loads of the teaching staff becomes a vital instrument for decision-making by part of the higher authorities.

In the late 1970s, the university administration implemented a permanent evaluation system of the activities assigned to the teaching staff, through which it was intended, in addition to systematizing objective and precise information regarding the work of the academic units, the institutional dynamics and the service provided by the University; determine the financial needs related to the hiring of academic staff and, within the framework of the social contract that the University maintains with Costa Rican society, make university management transparent, assist in the accountability process and strengthen the institutional internal control system.

Despite the fact that the main objective of the evaluation of academic teaching loads has not experienced significant variations over time, in the course of its existence, it has registered important operational changes, mainly due to three elements: the diversification of the activities carried out by academic staff; the gradual incorporation of technology in the evaluation process; and the modification of the institutional normative framework that regulates the assignment and administration of the academic teaching load of the teaching staff, an aspect that, given its relevance, is reviewed in this article, which, concomitantly, attempts to elucidate some fundamental conceptual elements to understand this evaluation and point out the existing link between this evaluative exercise and the construct of educational quality.