Such an assignment could be deadly to a faculty member's career unless there is a clear definition of how success in such an endeavor will be measured and rewarded for the purposes of promotion and tenure decisions. Short of such specific assignments, all faculty members need to be assigned time to develop their course objectives, instructional outlines, and teaching materials. The time required to develop such materials is particularly important in the first few years of employment of new faculty as courses are taught and lectures are given for the first time. The need for such time should not be overlooked for all faculty members because of the need to update and modify both their teaching material and methods. A third method of providing administrative support is to relieve faculty of menial teaching tasks by providing or making obtainable methods for production of audiovisual materials to enhance teaching and learning.
Computer programs are available that allow rapid generation of remarkably good text slides.
Some schools have audiovisual production areas which assist faculty members in the production of a wide variety of materials including slides, videotapes, and computer programs. The development of such in-house units is expensive but they are valuable. At a minimum, methods of slide production, film development, and a network of locally available artists should be provided to faculty. Other means of reducing drudgery include production and copying of class notes and tests, and development of evaluation instruments. Scoring of exams and the paperwork associated with grading is another burden easily relieved.