Costing supervision expenses

Supervisory costs are those associated with overseeing and monitoring program activities. Supervisors make regular visits to classes and handle much of the daily detail of program operation at the village level.

When a program is small, most of the supervision can be done on a part-time basis or by a single specialist such as the program organizer. As the program grows, however, this is no longer feasible. In a large program, supervisory activities are usually done by a group of full-time, trained staff.

Here are some cost factors for program supervision:

• Size of the program
• Number of sites in the program
• Salaries to be paid
• Transportation costs
• Costs for transportation of materials and supplies
• Per diem allowances for staff personnel
• Contingency costs

• Unless travel is extremely difficult, estimate that a supervisor should be able to handle 10-15 classes or learning centers.
• If teachers are not well-trained or experienced, plan for a supervisor to visit each class or learning center at least once a month.

• Plan on needing more supervisors if

  • the physical area covered by the program is large
  • each supervisor can handle only some program functions, or
  • the teachers are not highly trained
• Plan a week per month for each supervisor to travel to headquarters, rest, and attend to family matters.

• For each year of the program's operation, estimate the number of supervisors that will be needed based on the number of classes that will be operating.
• Adjust the number of supervisors needed based on how many program functions each supervisor will be responsible for (job description of a supervisor).
• If travel conditions in the program area are difficult, adjust the number of supervisors needed to compensate for extended travel times.

• Funding a literacy program
• Preparing a budget for a literacy program
• Costing a literacy program

• Task module: Costing supervision expenses
• In task module: Determining administrative costs
• In task module: Costing a literacy program
• In task module: Preparing a budget for a literacy program
• In task module: Funding a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter and Trudy K. Stewart (general editor)
• In task module: Identifying resources needed for a literacy progra..., by Stephen L. Walter
• In task module: Planning a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter
• In modular book: Plan a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter, Barbara K. Trudell (contributor), and Trudy K. Stewart (general editor)
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 May 1999

© 1999 SIL International