Approved by Library Collection Development Committee and Faculty Library Committee
Implemented 1992; Last revised March, 1999

Variables

Six variables are used to determine the amount of library materials budget allocated to each academic department. Those variables are:

1. Degree programs and specializations for each department: Each bachelor's degree is weighted as 1; each master's degree is weighted as 2; each specialization is weighted as 1/4 of its corresponding degree. Ed.D and Ed.S. degrees are weighted as 2.5. (Data provided by the Office of Institutional Research per BOR-approved degree inventory.)

2. Number of faculty in the department: Full-time equivalents of faculty in each department, including vacant positions, are used. (Data from Institutional Research.)

3. Credit hours taught by the department: The total count of credit hours taught by each department during the current summer, fall, and spring semesters, both on and off campus, are used. Lower Division hours are weighted as 0.5; Upper Division as 1; Graduate as 2; Ed.S and Ed.D. as 2.5. (Data from Institutional Research.)

4. Number of majors in the department: The total number of student majors in each department are used. Undergraduate majors are weighted as 1; graduate as 2; Ed.S and Ed.D. as 2.5. (Data from Institutional Research.)

5. Cost of books: The total cost of scholarly books published for each department's discipline(s) is used. (Data provided by a major national library book vendor.)

6. Cost of serials: The total cost of serials published for each department's discipline(s) is used. (Data provided by a major national library serials vendor.)

Beginning with the 1998/99 budget year, the formula will be used to calculate distributions on an annual basis. Funds are allocated through a two-stage process that first determines the total funds to be allocated to each college, and second, determines the books and serials allocations to each department within each college.

In stage one, the total amount of available funds is divided into two equal parts, and a separate allocation is determined for each part: (a) from internal UWF academic department criteria (50% of funds), and (b) from external criteria of cost of books and serials in the various disciplines (50% of funds).

For each 50% share, line distributions for each college and department are separately calculated. The separate line amounts from the two 50% distributions are then combined to determine the final allocation for each college.

College allocations are calculated as follows:

1. Determine the internal UWF suballocation to each college (50% of funds) based on the 4 UWF variables, each weighted at 25%:
   • degree and specialization counts,
   • number of faculty,
   • credit hours taught, and
   • number of student majors
   
   

   For each 25% portion of funds, calculate the individual percent share for each college by first calculating the individual shares for each department within the college, then determine the combined total weight factor for each college across all four variables (the college weight percent factor), for use in step 3.

2. Determine the initial external suballocation to each college (50% of funds), again by first calculating individual department percent shares, using the national data for total costs of books and serials, and calculate initial books and serials portions of the total for each college.

3. Relate the initial external suballocations to UWF academic criteria by applying each college's weight percent factor from step 1 to its books and serials suballocations, to calculate weighted books and serials suballocations (i.e., to weight each college's share of this 50% of total funds according to the strength of its college weight factor as determined in Step 1) .

4. Factor each weighted suballocation against the total of all the weighted suballocations, to calculate the final external books and serials suballocations to each college.

5. Determine the total allocation to each college by adding each college's internal suballocation from step 1 to the sum of its external books and serials suballocations from Step 4.

Department Allocations

Department allocations are determined as follows:

1. After the college budget shares have been calculated, the total departmental allocations within each college will then become the actual library materials budget distributions unless a dean elects to modify the distributions within his/her particular college.

2. If the default departmental allocations are approved, the projected cost of each department's existing serial subscriptions is subtracted from that department's total amount, and the balance becomes the department's books allocation.

3. However, a dean may also choose to modify the departmental distributions within his/her college--for example, to support particular program strengths or other special needs, to support the cost of a department's subscriptions beyond the level that the formula has suggested, or to reapportion the money for book purchases among his/her departments as deemed necessary.

Dan North, Acquisitions Librarian
University of West Florida Library