TORONTO, Feb 23, 2021 — As part of a week of advocacy, faculty and students from across Ontario have been meeting with dozens of MPPs to demand the provincial government take responsibility for the underfunding of Laurentian University and provide the institution with the necessary resources to secure its future. Despite the damage that would […]
Members of the Ontario Universities and Colleges Coalition (OUCC), of which OCUFA is a member, have put out a statement supporting the Decent Work and Health Network’s call for seven permanent, paid sick days for all workers and an additional fourteen paid sick days during public health outbreaks. The postsecondary education sector, like other parts […]
In a surprising move, Laurentian University has filed for court protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) due to financial challenges it is facing as a result of reckless administrative decisions and the erosion of public university funding. Laurentian University is a public institution, not a private sector corporation. As such, it is the […]
TORONTO, Feb 2, 2021 — The Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) and Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) are concerned to hear that Laurentian University is filing for court protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement due to financial challenges it is facing as a result of poorly considered and reckless administrative decisions and the […]
Each year, OCUFA is proud to celebrate outstanding achievement in teaching and academic librarianship at Ontario universities. Through the Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards, we recognize those individuals whose pedagogical leadership and support have made a positive and enduring difference to their students and colleagues. Anyone within the university community can nominate a faculty member […]
Next week, on February 2 at 7pm, OCUFA will be co-hosting a special webinar on building campuses that are safe for working, learning, and living. The webinar is also being hosted by the OFL, Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, and CUPE Ontario’s University Workers Coordinating Committee. Panelists will offer different perspectives and renew the call for […]
TORONTO, Nov 24, 2020 — University students, faculty, and academic librarians are struggling with social isolation, stress, and a lack of institutional support according to the results of a new poll which finds that those working and studying at Ontario’s universities believe the shift to online education has negatively impacted quality. Without immediate action from universities and the Ontario government to […]
Toronto, October 28, 2020—The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is shocked that the Ford government has abused its power and circumvented democracy and public debate to ram through provisions of Bill 168, the Combating Antisemitism Act, through an Order-In-Council , which enshrines into law the flawed International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. This law will further […]
In recent years there has been mounting evidence of the dubious validity and inherent bias in student questionnaires on courses and teaching (SQCTs), sometimes also known as student evaluations of teaching (SETs). In 2018, OCUFA supported a study of the implications of open-ended student comments in these questionnaires and how they might affect faculty mental […]
In mid-May, OCUFA and financial consulting firm Eckler Ltd. organized a webinar on financial wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The seminar offered guidance, tips, and help for navigating financial challenges during the pandemic, including an overview of existing financial relief programs and other options Ontarians might consider in these uncertain times. The half-hour seminar can now be […]
TORONTO – Today, Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano announced a new program that provides a framework for Ontario’s postsecondary institutions to allow some students to return to campus on July 2. University faculty are committed to doing everything they can to maintain educational quality and continuity in these challenging times, but health and […]
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations stands in solidarity with the families, friends, communities, and activists in Canada and the United States who are demonstrating against the deaths of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and all the other Black lives that have been lost because of anti-Black racism and […]
On Friday, May 8, OCUFA held its final Board of Directors meeting of the 2019-20 academic year, and the organization’s first ever virtual Board Meeting. The meeting took place in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended every aspect of academic life, including the learning and teaching process . Throughout the day, board members discussed the pandemic’s impact on […]
Today, OCUFA, along with other members of the Ontario Universities and Colleges Coalition, sent the following letter to Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano and Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton. Dear Ministers Romano and McNaughton, First and foremost, we hope that you and your families are doing well during these […]
