The Ryerson Faculty Association (RFA) has ratified their new agreement with a strong ratification vote. The four-year deal includes yearly ATB increases of 1.5 per cent in the first two years, followed by 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent. It also includes a 1.5 per cent increase in salary to offset an 1.5 per […]
In late December 2011, the Government of Ontario terminated Rounds Six and Seven of the Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence Program (ORF-RE), as well as the termination of the special round for the social sciences, arts, and humanities. OCUFA believes strongly that these cancellations will harm the quality and quantity of research and innovation produced […]
OCUFA’s Status of Women Committee is pleased to announce Navigating the Academy: Lessons and Strategies for More Equitable Universities, a practical all-day session, grounded in the real experiences of female academics. The workshop will be held on Friday, May 4, 2012 at the OBA Conference Centre, 20 Toronto Street, Toronto, from 8:45 a.m.to -4:00 p.m. […]
That Ontario universities hire 6,000 new professors to restore the student-faculty ratio to 2001 levels. That the Ontario government increase per-student funding to its universities, which is the lowest in Canada and 25 per cent lower than in 1990. Ontario needs to invest in quality, not just in new spaces! That Don Drummond, due to […]
According to Statistics Canada, there were more than 44,000 full-time faculty at Canadian degree-granting institutions in 2009-10 . The increase over the previous year is 5.9 per cent – but only if 1,800-plus faculty members who teach at the six Alberta and British Columbia institutions reporting for the first time are included. Among universities reporting in the previous year, faculty numbers grew by only 1.5 per cent. […]
Almost without exception, unemployment rates in countries across the OECD rose during the “Great Recession” , no matter the education level. But while still high, unemployment rates — and the amount they rose — were lower for those with college and university education. The percentage of people with higher education who are employed tends to be highest in the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, and Switzerland – around […]
Soaring enrolments mean that more teaching has to be done at Ontario’s universities, but it cannot be done on the cheap, OCUFA Vice-President Kate Lawson told a conference at McMaster University, December 8. Government underfunding has meant constrained finances for Ontario universities, she said, and that context makes a discussion around the expansion of […]
As more high school graduates opt for college or university education, Ontario’s attainment rate for higher education has risen from 44 per cent in 1999 to a 56 per cent in 2009, in the context of government forecasts that 70 per cent of jobs in the knowledge economy will require a postsecondary credential. In 2009, […]
In response to an inaccurate and inflammatory article published by Globe & Mail columnist Margaret Wente , OCUFA President wrote a letter to the editor. An extract was published on the Globe & Mail Website. The full text of the letter is reproduced below. Dear Editor; As usual, Margaret Wente seems more interested in her favorite talking points than in actually understanding the issue. Her column “Pension Ponzi a Raw […]
A tentative agreement was reached last Saturday morning at 1 am in the negotiations between the Ryerson Faculty Association and the university. A ratification meeting has been scheduled for December 15. Members of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine Faculty Association ratified their new agreement on November 28. The agreement contains scale increases of 1.5 per cent […]
The wage picture in this country is not a good one, especially in Ontario. Statistics Canada reports that average earnings of non-farm employees in Canada over the last year rose by a mere 1.0 per cent, below the rate of inflation. The situation is even worse in Ontario, where wages have lagged so badly they bring down the […]
We’re pleased to announce several exciting new names for the 2012 OCUFA Ensuring Student Success conference. These thinkers, leaders, and innovators will critically explore the idea of student success by unpacking the meaning of the term, examining the various ideas advanced to improve the student experience, and highlighting the structural realities that may help or […]
They say no news is good news. But where this week’s Throne Speech and Economic Update is concerned, no news is just no news. Tuesday’s Throne speech reiterated the Liberal Government’s higher education campaign pledges – 60,000 new student places at colleges and universities, three new ‘undergraduate campuses’ and a tuition rebate. We have some […]
Last month, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) released Public Education for the Public Good: A National Vision for Canada’s Post-Secondary Education System. Some of its finding: Since the late 1990s, full-time enrolment at colleges and universities has increased 25 per cent. Enrolment in graduate studies soared 42 per cent between 1998 and 2008. But federal funding for […]
The pace of bargaining appears to have slowed at Wilfrid Laurier University in the negotiations covering full-time professors and librarians. Faculty association negotiators have presented a full package of proposals, including monetary, to their administration counterparts but have not received responses to the monetary issues. Meantime, the pace of meetings has slowed. At the University […]