Posts from May 2012

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) would like to thank everyone who took the time to fill out our 2012 Faculty Survey. We received over 2,300 responses from across Ontario, from all disciplines.   The Faculty Survey helps OCUFA understand the opinions and concerns of our members, and allows us to be a […]

Professors and academic librarians are warning the Government of Ontario against putting limits on the educational options available to students, based on the results of a survey released today. In a leaked discussion paper and several speeches, the Government of Ontario has floated moving to a three-year degree structure, delivering 60 per cent of a […]

Who drives innovation in Canada and Ontario? When it comes to research and development, higher education – fuelled by public dollars – leads the way. According to Statistics Canada, the number of people engaged in research and development (R&D) in Canada rose by almost 67,000 between 2000 and 2009. Ontario accounted for 27,000 of those added positions. During the same period, the […]

On May 23, 2012, OCUFA held a member mobilization workshop at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto. Attended by over 60 faculty association representatives from across Ontario, the goal of the workshop was to develop the skills needed to effectively communicate with and engage faculty association members. The workshop was led by Rob Fairley and […]

One of the many casualties of the recent federal budget is the University and College Academic Staff System (UCASS) . This Statistics Canada survey was an annual census of full-time faculty in Canadian universities, and an invaluable source of information for the postsecondary sector. Due to cuts, the August 2011 data will be the final UCASS release.  Without detailed information on faculty […]

The University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) is heading to mediation with mediator-arbitrator William Kaplan.  Two days are scheduled, on June 2nd and 3rd.   Brescia reports that the parties continue to meet regularly and progress toward a first collective agreement. Their next bargaining session is June 14th.   At Nipissing, the parties have met […]

Professors and academic librarians are concerned about the quality of education at Ontario’s universities, according to a new survey released today. Of those surveyed, 42 per cent believed that quality had declined at their institution. “Ontario’s universities have welcomed thousands of new students over the past five years, but public funding has just not kept […]

The latest Education Indicators in Canada report from Statistics Canada shows that the national unemployment rate for those with university education continues to be lower than the remainder of the working population. Although unemployment caused by the Great Recession peaked in 2009 for most Canadians, the highest level of unemployment amongst the university-educated was in 2010.   Other wrinkles […]

Academic Matters – OCUFA’s flagship publication – has received a facelift with a brand new website. The new site improves functionality, puts more emphasis on our blogs, and integrates better with the magazine’s social media channels.   The official launch of the new website coincides with the publication of our May 2012 issue. Using the […]

On May 4, 2012, OCUFA’s Status of Women Committee hosted a workshop titled “Navigating the Academy: Lessons and Strategies for More Equitable Universities.” The workshop was attended by 40 participants from universities across Ontario. Presentations explored some of the challenges that women and members of other equity seeking groups face when building an academic career.  […]

As it goes with student-faculty ratios at Ontario universities, so it goes with class sizes.  As the number of students relative to the number of faculty increases, class sizes get bigger. This has serious implications for the quality of higher education in our province – larger classes mean less student interaction with faculty, a key […]

The nomination deadline for the 2012 OCUFA Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards is May 21, 2012. Since 1973, these awards have recognized individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the quality of university education in Ontario, either through exceptional teaching or dedicated library service.   Any member of an OCUFA-affiliated faculty association is eligible […]