On Tuesday, December 9, 2014 the unionized faculty and librarians of the University of St. Michael’s College (represented by the University of Toronto Faculty Association) voted 100% in favour of authorizing a strike, if necessary. Representatives of UTFA and USMC have been in bargaining since June 2014 and entered provincial conciliation in October. The outstanding […]
Posts from December 2014
OCUFA is pleased to announce an upcoming workshop designed to help faculty members develop high-quality online courses while protecting academic freedom and intellectual property. The Faculty Leadership in E-Learning Workshop will be held on March 20, 2015 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. Join us for a day of discussion, skill-building, and action for […]
On December 8, 2014, Nipissing University completed “Phase 1” of its planned layoffs. Local media reported that 16 positions were lost, including 14 in senior management. The university administration is indicating that two more rounds of layoffs are imminent: one affecting unionized support staff, and a final one affecting faculty on teaching contracts. Layoffs of support […]
On December 8, 2014, the Government of Ontario announced that it would index maximum student levels to inflation . The government also announced a new program – the Ontario Student Loan Rehabilitation Program – that will allow borrowers in default to bring their loans back into good standing. Under the student aid changes, the maximum loan package available to students will […]
Program prioritization reports have now been released at York University (Nov. 13) and Wilfrid Laurier University (Nov. 28). Faculty at both institutions are preparing to push back against recommendations that violate the principles of good academic governance and the quality of education. At York, faculty in the the Faculty of Environmental Studies and the Faculty […]
On November 27th, students at the University of Guelph held a mock funeral to protest program cuts resulting from the university’s program prioritization process. Programs affected include women’s studies, environmental studies, Italian, and math. According to Sonali Menenzes, external affairs commission at Guelph’s Central Student Association, quoted in the Guelph Mercury : “The program prioritization process is […]
For several months, OCUFA has been working to protect faculty rights in regards to two new pieces of legislation – Bill 8, The Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 and Bill 10, Amendments to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act. Bill 8 extends grants the Ontario Ombudsman authority to examine […]
Faculty at Western University have ratified their new contract with the administration, with 93 per cent voting in favour of the deal. The four year deal will run into 2018. A top priority this bargaining round for the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) was contract faculty job security. The new deal includes many […]