On Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21, OCUFA held its first Board of Directors Meeting of the 2018-19 academic year. The weekend oriented new board members to OCUFA and allowed members to discuss the results of the 2018 provincial election and what it could mean for Ontario’s universities. With that context, members reviewed OCUFA’s […]
This year’s Educated Solutions, the annual magazine published by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, features a thought-provoking article by OCUFA President Gyllian Phillips on the need to invest in faculty renewal at Ontario’s universities. The article explains how Ontario’s universities are underfunded, and the dangers associated with increasing student tuition fees, even when they are […]
Carleton University Academic Staff Association The Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) has reached a four-year agreement with their university administration. CUASA achieved across-the-board salary and career development increases competitive with other faculty associations, along with a lump sum payment upon ratifying the agreement. A territorial acknowledgment will also be placed at the front of […]
A recent arbitration award between the Ryerson Faculty Association and Ryerson University has established an important precedent for faculty associations, and lends support to others who have been arguing that student questionnaires are deeply problematic instruments for the purpose of evaluating faculty members’ teaching effectiveness. It is telling that “student evaluations of teaching” or SETs, as the arbitrator […]
Ontario’s public postsecondary education system has been evolving for over a century. Core to its development has been a foundation of robust public funding delivered primarily through the provincial government. The government’s approach to university funding has profound implications for the student experience and research contributions. A government that makes university funding a priority and […]
On June 7, the Ontario voters elected a Progressive Conservative majority government led by Doug Ford. This election outcome has a number of important implications for professors and academic librarians in the province and will pose several challenges and opportunities for the university sector over the next four years. During the election, OCUFA analyzed the […]
A lot is at stake for postsecondary education in this election. There are some important differences in how the major parties plan to address issues that matter for Ontario university faculty. Evaluating statements made in party platforms and OCUFA’s questionnaire on postsecondary issues, we have produced a report card that grades each parties commitments to […]
In late March, the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) released a discussion paper on SMA3 and performance metrics. While OCUFA appreciates the publication of the SMA3 discussion paper and the effort to solicit consultation from the community, the timeline and discussion questions proposed by the Ministry are not conducive to a meaningful […]
At this year’s Worldviews Lecture, Professor Sigal Ben-Porath addressed the increasingly heightened debate around free speech on campus. Her lecture was followed by a panel discussion that explored challenges for democratic values and minority rights in academia and beyond. Video of the entire lecture, including the panel discussion, can be viewed online here. In her lecture, Professor Ben-Porath reflected on campus free speech controversies of recent years – from […]
Today, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations and the Centre for the Study of Canadian and International Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto are hosting the fourth annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education. Professor Sigal Ben-Porath will deliver a lecture title “Free speech on campus: […]
On Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4, OCUFA held its second Board of Directors meeting of the 2017-18 academic year. Over the weekend, board members discussed the organization’s current priorities – good jobs and vibrant universities, university funding, and capacity building – with a focus on the postsecondary issues that will be receiving the […]
On February 28, faculty, staff, and students from across Ontario will participate in OCUFA’s annual social media day of action in support of fairness for contract faculty and other precariously employed campus workers. In the lead-up to the provincial election in June, it will be an exciting opportunity to build upon the momentum generated by […]
On Friday, November 3rd, the annual OCUFA University Finance Workshop brought together faculty association members and staff from across Ontario who regularly review university financial statements. The day’s focus was on understanding and communicating the details of pension and retirement benefits, areas of financial complexity that many faculty members stretch to comprehend. The morning featured […]
On Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22, OCUFA held its first Board of Directors meeting of the 2017-18 academic year, and the first with Gyllian Phillips as OCUFA President . The weekend oriented new board members to OCUFA and allowed members to discuss developments in Ontario postsecondary education system and the organization’s revised priorities for the academic year: Good jobs/vibrant universities, university […]
Members of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) faced huge challenges in this round of bargaining. The university administration was demanding serious concessions on many issues, including pensions, workload, and core faculty rights. The administration’s inability to provide essential data, delays in bargaining, and the employer’s initial refusal to agree to mediation dates layered procedural […]
