On Thursday, April 5, 2018, 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 will be hosting the fourth annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education. Free speech on campus: Challenges for minority […]
On January 29, the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo concluded its salary negotiations with the university administration. The negotiating teams signed a three-year agreement that includes competitive salary increases through 2020 and an across-the-board salary adjustment of $850 per member. Both parties have also agreed to establish a working group tasked with improving […]
On February 8, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report about precarious work in Ontario’s postsecondary education sector . The main finding is that more than half of workers in the sector show signs of job precarity. The report draws on Labour Force Survey data, and supplements it with qualitative data about the impacts of precarious work. The scope is broad, including […]
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 […]
TORONTO – The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is pleased to announce that Linda St. Pierre is the recipient of the 2017 Lorimer Award. This honour recognizes individuals who have worked to protect and promote the interests of Ontario’s academic staff through collective bargaining. “Linda has played a pivotal role in advancing faculty […]
Government commitment to robust public funding for postsecondary education is essential to support high-quality accessible education for Ontario students, continued strength in research, and fairness for contract faculty. With this in mind, OCUFA’s recommendations for the 2018 Ontario Budget seek to preserve the quality of university education in Ontario through increased public investment and government leadership on key issues impacting faculty working […]
Performance data and metrics are increasingly being used to make decisions in postsecondary education. The new issue of Academic Matters – now available online – examines the significance of these developments and how they impact universities, faculty, research, and students. Does a focus on metrics in higher education serve to optimize postsecondary education systems and make them more […]
The Henry Mandelbaum Graduate Fellowship for Excellence in Social Sciences, Humanities, or Arts was established by OCUFA to honour the organization’s former Executive Director. The fellowship is awarded to two full-time graduate students (one master’s, one doctoral) at publicly funded Ontario universities who have demonstrated academic excellence, provided significant community service, and who show exceptional […]
It came down to the wire, but after months of bargaining and organizing, the teaching faculty members of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Faculty Association (UOITFA) have reached a new (and only their second) three year collective agreement with their employer. The settlement will mean gains across the board. Previously, UOIT’s teaching stream […]
On November 17, faculty association staff from across Ontario gathered in Toronto for a day of networking and skills sharing at the bi-annual OCUFA Faculty Association Staff Workshop. The morning featured panels on membership engagement as well as the challenges and opportunities of working for a member-driven organization. Discussion covered many facets of the day-to-day […]
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 […]
Faculty across Ontario are pleased that legislation was passed today that will bring more fairness to workplaces. Ontario’s university faculty have long been advocating for improvements to provincial labour laws that would deliver fairness for contract faculty who face job insecurity, low pay, and lack access to benefits. New rules in Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, […]
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 […]
