The Instructor Time Audit: Where 14 Hours a Week Actually Go
We surveyed over 200 instructors across online and hybrid programs at 15 institutions. The goal: understand where their non-teaching time actually goes.
The results confirmed what most instructors already feel — the administrative burden of running a course is substantial, repetitive, and largely invisible to institutional leaders.
Key Findings
Average weekly time on operational tasks: 11.2 hours
The breakdown:
| Task | Average Hours/Week |
|---|---|
| Discussion board review & compliance | 3.8 |
| Student message responses | 2.9 |
| Participation tracking | 1.8 |
| Deadline monitoring & reminders | 1.4 |
| Policy enforcement & documentation | 1.3 |
The Compounding Problem
These numbers represent a single course section. Instructors teaching multiple sections reported spending up to 14 hours per week on operational tasks — often more during midterms and finals.
The most striking finding: 87% of instructors said this work could be partially or fully automated if the right tools existed.
What Instructors Want
When asked what would make the biggest difference:
- Automated discussion compliance scanning (78%)
- AI-drafted message responses in their teaching voice (72%)
- Automatic participation tracking against course policies (68%)
- Scheduled reminders and announcements (65%)
These are exactly the capabilities that CourseOps and myTA are built to deliver. Not to replace the instructor's judgment, but to automate the repetitive execution that consumes their time.