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Rising precarious employment threatens quality of university education, say Ontario professors

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New research demonstrates that precarious employment has a major impact on individuals and their families. As many contract professors are trapped in precarious positions, these findings are a major concern for professors and academic librarians in Ontario. Beyond the personal harm, precarious employment also puts the quality of the province’s universities at risk.

The findings were released on Thursday, May 21, 2015 as part of the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) report, The Precarity Penalty.

According to the report, middle income earners who lack job security experience higher levels of stress and poorer mental health than lower income workers who have stable employment. Precarious employment also means limited access to health benefits, limited pensions, and a significant amount of unpaid work. Many precarious employees must also pay for their own job training.

This is the reality of an increasing number of workers, including contract faculty who are employed in larger and larger numbers at Ontario universities.

“While the skills and academic achievement of contract faculty members are excellent, being paid by the course means that the research and student mentoring performed by contract faculty often goes unpaid.” said Kate Lawson, President of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). “Universities don’t even pay contract faculty to attend departmental meetings or to update and revise course materials. The rise of precarious academic employment exploits young academics and is changing the culture of Ontario’s university system, putting its long record of student success at risk.”

Ontario already has the lowest level of per-student public funding in Canada alongside the highest tuition fees. As per-student funding declines, the hiring of full-time professors has not kept pace with increases in enrolment. Instead, universities have turned to large numbers of contract faculty with no job security and low pay to do a growing proportion of teaching. The working conditions of faculty are the learning conditions experienced by students, so this shift has serious implications for the quality of university education in Ontario.

“We are very concerned about the ability of our students to thrive as precarious academic employment rises,” added Lawson.

Government of Ontario announces new York/Seneca campus in Markham

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On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU) announced that a new campus, jointly run by York University and Seneca College, would be built in Markham, a northeastern suburb of Toronto. The announcement is the result of a call for capital expansion proposals put forward by MTCU in early 2014.

According to the MTCU press release, the new campus will serve 4,000 students, with the potential for future expansion. The new facility will focus on experiential learning and offer courses in business, arts, and social science.

MTCU had indicated that up to three new campuses could be approved, but in the end only one proposal was selected. Milton and Barrie had been widely touted as other potential locations for a new satellite campus, so their exclusion came as some surprise.

OCUFA is pleased that the government is abiding by its own criteria in selecting expansion projects. We welcomed the announcement of the Major Capacity Expansion Policy Framework in 2013, as it promised to provide some clear structure and guidelines to the development of satellite campuses. Previously, these campuses been developed haphazardly with some negative short-term consequences for students and faculty. At first, satellite campuses often have inadequate teaching and learning resources, such as libraries and common spaces. Faculty at these campuses are often excluded from the university’s collective agreement, or attempts are made to flout the provisions of the existing agreement at the new facility.

OCUFA will be working closely with the York University Faculty Association (YUFA) to ensure that the new campus is properly resourced, and that the rights of faculty teaching and conducting research at the Markham facility are protected.

Data check: Business investment in R&D continues to fall

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For those who track research funding in Canada, the news from a recent Statistics Canada release about business enterprise research and development (BERD) is depressingly familiar. Canadian businesses are expected to spend two and a half per cent less on research and development this year than they did last year. Because the 2015 inflation rate for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is forecast to be negative, the “real” decline will be “only” two per cent.

With one exception, the real level of BERD in Canada has been in declining every year since 2006. If spending intentions and economic forecasts are borne out, it will have fallen 19 per cent over the course of the past decade. As a percentage of GDP, the downward trend in BERD expenditures has been steeper – dropping 30 per cent over the same period.

The latter trend left Canada fourth from the bottom in R&D expenditure among advanced economies in 2013. On its own, Ontario would fare better in the ranking, but would still do no better than fifth from the bottom. In Canada, only Quebec businesses spend more as a percentage of GDP, even after the province’s relatively more generous provincial tax expenditures for scientific research and experimental development are taken into account.

Sources:
Canada, Department of Finance, Department of Finance Survey of Private Sector Economic Forecasters
Ontario, Ministry of Finance, Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review –  Transparency in Taxation
Québec, Ministère des Finances du Québec, Publications – Dépenses fiscales
Statistics Canada, Industrial Research and Development: Intentions; Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2013

OCUFA releases handbook on the Ontario university funding formula review

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OCUFA has released its Funding Formula Review Handbook, designed to help faculty members, students, and other interested individuals make sense of the government’s consultations around funding formula reform.

The handbook collects the many articles and analysis pieces on the funding released throughout March and April in OCUFA Report. The handbook contains OCUFA’s principles for the funding formula; a critical analysis of performance- or outcomes-based funding; an overview of the structure of the funding formula, as well as its strengths and weaknesses; and a look at some of the myths around the current method of allocating funding to Ontario’s universities.

The information contained in the handbook will inform OCUFA’s ongoing engagement with the funding formula consultations. We will also be writing a more comprehensive response to the government’s discussion paper, which will release publicly in September. In the meantime, we hope the handbook will also help individuals across Ontario better understand the issues around the current formula, and participate in discussions around its reform.

The complete handbook can be downloaded here.

OCUFA participates in university funding formula review symposium

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On Wednesday, May 6, 2015, OCUFA representatives participated in an all-day symposium on the university funding formula review. The purpose of the symposium was to kick off the government’s consultations around potential changes to Ontario’s university funding formula. OCUFA representatives included President Kate Lawson, five faculty association representatives (from Brock, Laurier, Ryerson, Trent, and York), and OCUFA staff.

Throughout the day, the government heard the perspectives of faculty, students, administrators, and community groups on the funding formula. While stakeholders are engaged with the process, it is clear that the government needs to provide some greater clarity on what it hopes to achieve by changing the funding formula.

Over the summer, the consultations will include open briefings, one-on-one meetings with OCUFA, and a call for written submissions. It is not yet clear in another symposium will be held. If further events are scheduled, there has been some suggestion that they will be regionally focused.

OCUFA is fully engaged with the review process, and is committed to making sure the faculty perspective is understood. We plan to take advantage of every opportunity to provide feedback, meet with project leaders, and articulate our own ideas. This past weekend, Sue Herbert, Executive Lead for the funding formula review, met with faculty representatives at OCUFA’s Board of Directors meeting.

To aid our members in their engagement with the review, OCUFA has prepared a funding formula review handbook. We will be providing further information and resources over the summer and into the fall. You can also visit the government’s funding formula review website.

OCUFA announces winners of the 2015 Service Award

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The Ontario Confederation is pleased to announce this year’s recipients OCUFA Service Award: Micheline Lessard from the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO), and Bill Salatka from the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association.

“The OCUFA Service Award was established to honour individuals who have done, or continue to do, exceptional work on behalf of OCUFA and its member faculty associations,” said Kate Lawson, President of OCUFA.

Micheline Lessard has made an outstanding contribution to the APUO as a grievance officer, as Vice President, and as President. In addition, she has served with distinction on OCUFA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

As well as serving as Chief Negotiator and President of WLUFA, Bill Salatka is renowned for his ability to see through complex university financial statements and deliver incisive, easy-to-understand analysis. It is an ability he shares with his colleagues as a founding member of OCUFA’s University Finance Committee

“The recipients of this award have time and time again gone above the call of duty and provided tireless service to their colleagues at home and across the province,” said Lawson. “Without their work, OCUFA could simply not achieve its dual goal of protecting the rights and interests of faculty while promoting a high-quality, accessible university system.”

 

Outstanding graduate students recognized with 2015 Henry Mandelbaum Fellowship

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The Ontario Confederation is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the Henry Mandelbaum Fellowship: Angela Underhill, from the University of Guelph, and Abena Kwatemaa Offeh-Gyimah from McMaster University.

“The Mandelbaum Fellowship recognizes graduate students who combine exceptional scholarship with deep engagement in their communities,” said Constance Adamson, Chair of the selection committee. “Despite receiving many excellent applications, the committee was unanimous in selecting Abena and Angela as the recipients of the 2015 Fellowship.”

At the Master’s level, Angela Underhill was recognized for her innovative work on the impact of sexually transmitted infections on intimate relationships. Angela, a student in Guelph’s Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, brings sensitivity and a strong commitment to social justice to her work.

At the Doctoral level, Abena Kwatemaa Offeh-Gyimah’s work looks at how the provision of social services in Toronto perpetuates systemic racism. A PhD candidate in McMaster’s Department of Social Science, she is being honoured not only for he excellent research, but her remarkable record of volunteer work and community activism.

The Mandelbaum Fellowship was establish to honor Henry Mandelbaum, Executive Director of OCUFA from 1996-2011. The Fellowship is awarded to a graduate student “who has demonstrated academic excellence, shows exceptional academic promise, and has provided significant community service in his or her university career.” For more information, please visit https://ocufa.on.ca/ocufa-awards/

“Henry’s commitment to building up individuals and communities through higher education was remarkable,” said Kate Lawson, President of OCUFA. “Henry sadly passed away in 2012, but we are honoured to continue his work through the Mandelbaum Fellowship.”

Review of Ontario’s university funding formula gets underway

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Over the past few months, OCUFA has been reporting on the upcoming review of the university funding formula in Ontario. Last week, the process began in earnest and OCUFA plans to be engaged at every step.

OCUFA has already had several conversations with Sue Hebert, who is leading the review on behalf of the government. On Monday, April 27th, OCUFA staff attended an open briefing on the existing formula, where details of the review were revealed. Based on this early information, it appears there will be numerous opportunities for OCUFA to provide the perspective of professors and academic librarians.

On Wednesday, April 29th, the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU) released a discussion paper outlining the government’s framework for the review. MTCU also announced a one-day symposium on the funding formula, which is being held on May 6, 2015. OCUFA President Kate Lawson has been asked to present OCUFA’s perspective as part of a stakeholder panel at the symposium.

OCUFA will be providing continuous updates on the progress of the funding formula review. More information is also available on the funding formula review website.

OCUFA releases detailed analysis of the 2015 Ontario Budget

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The 2015 Ontario Budget was released last week. Although its provisions for higher education amount to thin gruel, OCUFA has completed a full analysis which is now available for download.

In terms of public funding, austerity remains the reality for Ontario’s universities. Yearly increases in operating funding will be in the range of one per cent. Taking inflation into account, this amounts to an effective cut. Moreover, if the government’s own enrolment targets are met, the situation becomes even worse as per-student funding will continue its precipitous decline. OCUFA is also concerned with the quiet privatization of Ontario’s universities, as more and more costs are shifted onto students and their families. This year, for the first time ever, tuition fees account for a greater proportion of university operating budgets than public funding.

The Budget reiterated the government’s commitment to undertaking a review of employment and labour law in the context of a changing labour market. The government recognizes an increase in non-standard employment, including temporary work, part-time work, and holding multiple jobs. OCUFA will participate in the government’s review at every opportunity in order to make recommendations that could improve working conditions for a growing number of contract faculty at Ontario universities who are subject to precarious terms of employment.

The Budget also reiterated the government’s commitment to working with stakeholders to developing new regulations to facilitate the possible conversion of public sector single-employer pension plans (SEPPs) to jointly sponsored pension plans (JSPPs). The Budget also commits to working with stakeholders on solvency exemption provisions for those considering a move to JSPPs. OCUFA has been highly engaged with this process, and will continue to communicate with the government to ensure that the regulations and criteria reflect our members’ interests.

 

The full analysis can be downloaded here.

OCUFA writes open letter protesting Nova Scotia’s Bill 100

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On April 29, 2015, OCUFA President Kate Lawson sent a letter to the Premier of Nova Scotia and the Minister of Labour and Advanced Education Kelly Regan to protest the proposed Bill 100. The Bill would allow universities in financial difficult to suspend collective agreements and ban strikes for up to 18 months. Bill 100 is a direct assault on academic freedom, collegial governance, and institutional autonomy, as well as potentially unconstitutional. The text of the letter follows:

Dear Premier McNeil and Minister Regan,

On behalf of the 17,000 professors and academic librarians the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) represents at universities across Ontario, I am writing to condemn in the strongest possible terms your government’s Universities Accountability and Sustainability Act.

If passed, this legislation would seriously undermine postsecondary education throughout Nova Scotia. The provisions that would allow universities to undertake government directed “revitalization” processes seriously undermine the fundamental principles of collegial governance, institutional
autonomy and academic freedom, which are central to the core educational mission of the university.

Moreover, the legislation includes provisions that attack Charter-protected rights to collective bargaining, the right to strike and the right to grieve.
This proposed legislation represents the worst kind of political interference in our institutions of higher learning and must not stand. I urge you to withdraw Bill 100 immediately.

Sincerely,
Kate Lawson
President, OCUFA

OCUFA co-hosts first annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education

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On April 21, 2015, OCUFA co-hosted the first annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. The lecture was present by Simon Marginson, Professor of International Higher Education at the Institute of Education at University College London.

Titled “Universities, the plutocracy, and the 1 per cent,” the lecture examined how higher education may be contributing to growing inequality in the West, and what can be done to regain higher education’s important role as a promoter of social mobility. The lecture was attended by scholars, students, and policymakers from Ontario, across Canada, and around the world.

The lecture was also webcast, and an archive of the presentation can be found on the OISE website.

The Worldviews Lecture is a spinoff of the popular Worldviews Conference on Media and Higher Education. It is sponsored by OCUFA, OISE/University of Toronto, the Washington-based Inside Higher Ed, and the London-based University World News. Stay tuned for announcements about next year’s lecture.

Budget 2015 continues erosion of public funding for Ontario universities

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TORONTO – The 2015 Ontario Budget repeatedly acknowledges that universities are vital to economic prosperity, yet does not make any new investments in public funding for higher education institutions. In fact, under the current plan, per-student university funding will reach its lowest level since the 1960s. This has professors and academic librarians questioning the government’s commitment to a high quality higher education system that is truly public, high quality, and accessible to every student.

“People are rightly concerned about the government’s plan to privatize Hydro One,” said Kate Lawson, President of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). “At the same time, we need to recognize the quiet shift of higher education costs away from the public realm and onto students and their families. For the first time ever, tuition fees now account for more than half of university budgets – this is another form of privatization.”

Ontario already has the lowest level of per-student public funding in Canada alongside the highest tuition fees. As per-student funding declines, the hiring of full-time professors has not kept pace with increases in enrolment. Instead, universities have turned to huge numbers of contract faculty with no job security and low pay. The working conditions of faculty are the learning conditions of students, so this shift has serious implications for the quality of university education in Ontario.

“Students, contract faculty members, and their families are now paying for the government’s unwillingness to invest in universities. In the longer term, every Ontarian will feel the effects of the erosion of public university funding,” said Lawson.

“Public funding for universities is critical for ensuring a high quality learning experience that is accessible to every student, regardless of their financial background. In turn, well-funded, public universities are absolutely vital to a strong economy and a fair society. We need to invest in our universities to maintain excellence and to make sure they remain public. When we do that, we’re actually investing in students, in communities, and in the future of our province.”

Writing Compelling Commentary – A Media Engagement Workshop for Academic Women

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Led by Shari Graydon, founder and catalyst of Informed Opinions, this highly interactive workshop builds women’s leadership capacity and enhances their credibility and influence by providing participants with the confidence and tools to contribute their expertise to the public discourse through compelling, short-form written commentary for newspaper op-ed pages and online sites.Of interest to academic women in a range of fields, this workshop will equip you to own and articulate your authority as an expert, build a concise, persuasive and accessible argument, and increase your media publication prospects.

The cost is $75 for tenured/tenure-stream faculty association members; $25 for contract faculty association members. The event will be held on Friday, May 15, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 20 Toronto Street, Toronto

Spaces are limited. Register online at www.ocufa.on.ca/events

This workshop is presented by the OCUFA Status of Women Committee

What to expect in this week’s Ontario budget

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Finance Minister Charles Sousa will deliver the 2015 Ontario Budget on Thursday, April 23, 2015. What can professors and academic librarians expect to see in Ontario’s financial plan?

A good first question is to ask what should be in the budget. As OCUFA pointed out in its pre-budget submission to government, public investment in our universities is lagging behind most peer jurisdictions. Ontario has the lowest level of per-student public funding for universities in Canada, shifting costs onto students and their families. As a result, Ontario also has the highest tuition fees in Canada. This year, tuition fees surpassed public funding as the primary source of university revenue for the first time. Our universities are being quietly privatized.

So, the budget should begin the process of renewing public investment in higher education. The Government of Ontario continues to face serious financial challenges, so it is unreasonable to affect huge new funding injections. However, any movement towards increased per student funding would help take the financial pressure off students while preserving quality at our institutions.

Despite sustained calls for increased investment from faculty, students, and administrators, we are not hopeful that new investments will be forthcoming in the budget. Instead, per-student funding will likely continue to decline. Last year’s budget indicated that operating funding was scheduled to increase by almost three per cent. However, taking account of inflation and enrolment growth, operating funding actually declined last year.  For universities, there was a real drop in total funding – something like 2.5 per cent. Funding per “eligible” student – those for whom universities receive provincial operating support – will fall by 7.5 per cent by 2017.  As OCUFA noted in its analysis of the 2014 Budget, real per student provincial funding has been falling since 2008-09, but in 2014-15 it will be its lowest since the Liberals came to power in 2003. By the end of the current planning horizon, per-student funding will be at its lowest since the higher education system began its expansion in the 1960s. We expect these trends will continue in the 2015 budget.

We can also expect the government to outline its plans to review the university funding formula in the budget paper. While this is important the university sector, formulas are only mechanisms for distributing funding. Without new investment, a new funding formula will only spread around a diminishing pool of public funds. Nevertheless, it is important that the formula be transparent and responsive to the needs of the system. OCUFA has released a series of principles for the funding formula, aimed at guiding the review process.

The 2015 Budget will also emphasize the government’s differentiation agenda, as well as its changes and small investments in student financial aid. These will be re-announcements of activities already underway.

Of course, budgets can contain surprises. OCUFA will be at the Budget announcement, and will be providing analysis and context for our members. Watch this space for the latest news and commentary.

UWOFA pushes for governance reform in wake of presidential pay scandal

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The University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) is fighting for changes to university governance processes, after it was revealed that President Amit Chakma received $967,000 in pay in 2013-14- twice his contractual pay. The double payment – disbursed when Chakma declined to take a year of paid leave – was revealed in the 2015 Ontario Sunshine List.

Following the disclosure, 94 per cent of Western faculty who voted approved a motion of non-confidence in president Chakma and Chair of Western University’s Board of Governors, Chirag Shah. The motion was accompanied by an anonymous online petition of non-confidence, which has attracted over 5,700 signatures.

“Faculty have clearly lost confidence in Dr. Chakma’s and Mr. Shah’s ability to lead our university,” said UWOFA president Alison Hearn. “There’s something deeply wrong when a university president earns close to $1 million while student debt is rising, class sizes are increasing, and staff are facing cuts.”

President Chakma has since returned the double payment, and has apologized. However, UWOFA believes the apology does not address the underlying governance problems at Western.

“The Board’s initial response was that nothing wrong had occurred. We’ve said all along that this is not about the money. It’s about poor judgement and skewed priorities, and the deep disconnect between the senior leadership and the realities on the ground,” said Hearn.

On Friday, April 10, in a special meeting of Western’s Senate, Chakma again apologized, and acknowledged that there are serious problems with the university’s collegial governance model. He also outlined a process for regaining the trust of the campus community, and improving the relationship between the Senate and the Board of Governors. Students, faculty, and staff protested outside the meeting, while many senators stood and turned their backs while President Chakma spoke.

Governance is a serious concern at campuses across Ontario. The controversy at Western shows that university Boards of Governors, isolated from the broader campus community and beholden to a particular corporate view of the university, can frequently make poor and harmful decisions. The challenge before faculty, staff, and students is to ensure that university governance and decision making reflects the needs and priorities of all stakeholders on campus.