Last month we asked OCUFA Report readers to tell us what they thought about eCampus Ontario’s new Open Textbook Library , which establishes a provincial repository of Open Educational Resources (OERs) from a range of disciplines, which faculty can freely use and adapt for the classes they teach. Thank you to everyone who participated! The results from the […]
In May, OCUFA brought together representatives of its membership to identify the policy issues affecting Ontario’s universities that they view as most critical, and to draft recommendations for addressing them. The final report summarizing these consultations is now available online. OCUFA regularly conducts research, produces papers and briefs, and hosts conversations on targeted policy issues affecting higher education in Ontario. However, the 2017 Policy Exchange […]
Wilfrid Laurier’s full-time faculty and professional librarians have reached a collective agreement with the University that will help protect faculty complement, improve contract faculty representation in governance, and lead to competitive salary increases. The collective agreement ratified by the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) will create a new committee tasked with examining the possibility […]
The government is currently considering changes to employment and labour law that could bring more fairness to workplaces across the province. More than ten faculty associations presented at the recent hearings on Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act about how the bill can deliver fairness for contract faculty, including equal pay for equal work, fair scheduling, and more secure and stable jobs. Faculty also […]
Members of the Brock University Faculty Association (BUFA) have ratified a new collective agreement that makes historic gains for LGBTQ members. Early adopters of OCUFA’s Countdown to Strong organizing framework, BUFA’s enthusiastic organizing work has paid off in their newly ratified collective agreement. By mobilizing a substantial portion of their membership, BUFA was able to […]
On July 20, OCUFA submitted formal recommendations on how Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act can be improved. The recommendations focus on delivering fairness for contract faculty who teach a growing number of courses at Ontario universities, but lack job security, receive low pay, and often do not have access to benefits. This follows […]
On June 6, eCampus Ontario and the provincial government announced the launch of the Open Textbook Library. Adapted from the BCcampus model used in British Columbia, the Ontario Open Textbook Library will act as a repository of Open Educational Resources (OERs) from a range of disciplines that faculty can adopt as course materials for the classes they teach. Open Textbooks are […]
In May, faculty members from across Ontario gathered at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse in Toronto over two days to lay the groundwork for OCUFA’s policy positions and advocacy efforts in the lead-up to the 2018 Ontario provincial election. The OCUFA Policy Exchange was an interactive conference during which participants identified the most important policy issues and priorities for […]
The Ontario Government has been working with the province’s universities to develop Strategic Mandate Agreements (SMAs) that identify each institution’s strengths and set out how the government can work to best support the strategic priorities of each institution and the system as a whole. However, the process by which these agreements have been developed has […]
The government’s announcement of its intention to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2019 is a victory for workers across Ontario and for faculty who have been active members of the Fight for $15 & Fairness , a provincial campaign calling on the provincial government to take decisive action to address precarious work. Faculty still have a role to […]
Following the introduction of government legislation to implement select recommendations from the Changing Workplaces Review, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development Deb Matthews distributed a letter to stakeholders in Ontario’s postsecondary education sector reaffirming the government’s commitment to fair employment and supporting universities and colleges during the transition to new labour and employment laws. This letter to […]
While planning for the 2017-18 academic year, the Contract Faculty and Faculty Complement Committee spent some time looking back on its creative, eventful, and effective first three years. Since its creation, the committee has worked hard on education and solidarity-building strategies to address the issues facing both contract and tenured faculty. Over the past 15 […]
University professors and academic librarians are pleased that the government is taking steps to bring more fairness to workplaces across Ontario. Today’s announcement by the Ontario Government includes positive measures to ensure equal pay for part-time and casual workers, more reasonable scheduling, and better rules for joining unions in some sectors. It also includes a welcome plan […]
On Tuesday, May 23, the Ontario Government released the final report of the Changing Workplaces Review. The review was initiated in 2015 to consider the province’s existing employment and labour law and how it might be improved to address the growth of precarious work and create better conditions for workers. The rise of precarious work […]
On Saturday, May 13, OCUFA held its final Board of Directors meeting for the 2016-17 academic year. The day was an opportunity to discuss recent developments in higher education and review the organization’s current priorities: university funding, contract faculty and faculty complement, university governance, and faculty pensions. During a special lunchtime reception, board members celebrated […]
