Until the past decade or two, educational administration has been notably laggard in attacking its problems by methods approximating the scientific. Tradition, sentiment, rule of thumb, temporizing compromise--these have been, and unfortunately still are, the dominant methods in this important field of human enterprise. One of the largest problems in the administration of educational institutions is that of the proper method of determination of the working load of the members of the instructional staff. This is true even in the higher institutions, to which, because they have been the protagonists of scientific method, one should first turn for the light of example on such a significant problem. The investigation reported here is a pioneering attack on this problem as it concerns colleges and universities. Contents include: (1) The purpose and method of the study; (2) The working load of members of the faculty of a university; (3) The factors determining the teaching load in a university; (4) A method of adjusting the teaching load in a university. The questionnaire used in the investigation is appended. (Contains 20 footnotes and 22 tables.) [Best copy available has been provided.]