TORONTO – Professors and academic librarians from across the province will be at Queen’s Park today, talking with MPPs about important issues facing Ontario’s universities. The meetings are part of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Association’s annual Advocacy Day. “The work of professors and academic librarians is at the heart of higher education in […]
OCUFA is pleased to announce a workshop on the ongoing implementation of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act on Ontario campuses. The workshop is intended to initiate broader dialogue between all association representatives charged with protecting members’ rights to a healthy and safe workplace. Nearly five years have elapsed since the provisions for workplace […]
On March 6, 2015, representatives of OCUFA were pleased to attend the launch of the Government of Ontario’s It’s Never OK: An Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment . The plan is a wide-ranging and comprehensive document, and demonstrates Premier Kathleen Wynne’s commitment to fighting sexual violence and harassment in Ontario. The plan makes the reduction of sexual violence on university and college campuses a […]
As part of ongoing layoffs, the administration of Nipissing University recently announced that 22 limited-term appointments would not be renewed. This means the loss of 22 faculty members and many more courses, and does significant damage to many academic programs. On March 3, 2015, the Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) and Nipissing University Students Union […]
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), on behalf of its 17,000 members at 28 faculty associations across Ontario, supports the members of CUPE 3902 and 3903 currently on strike at the University of Toronto and York University. We join them in their call for better pay and improved working conditions. We also urge […]
Full-time faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo have reached agreements with their employers. The new agreement at Waterloo runs for a three year term, and includes yearly increases of 1.95, 1.95, and 1.5 per cent. The agreement also contains provisions for a joint employer/employee committee to investigate possible salary inequities within […]
A new report by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) finds that Ontario’s higher education institutions make a huge contribution to communities across the province. In particular, the report finds that, “an average Ontario faculty member devotes about 20 per cent of their work hours to services, such as informing policy and using their skills and knowledge to […]
Today, OCUFA launched the “ We Teach Ontario ” to highlight the outstanding work of contract faculty, and the challenges created by their precarious working conditions. Using contract faculty profiles and shareable graphics, the campaign aims to raise public awareness of this critical issue facing higher education in Ontario and around the world. Despite teaching more than half […]
Time is running out to register for the first annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education. The lecture, a spinoff of the popular Worldviews conference, will feature Simon Marginson, Professor of International Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. Prof. Marginson will deliver a lecture titled, “Universities, the plutocracy and the 99%: Is […]
For the first time ever, tuition fee revenue has exceeded public operating funding for Ontario’s universities. Tuition fees now account for almost 51 per cent of the university operating budgets across the province. “Our universities are meant to be public – that is, supported by public dollars,” said Kate Lawson, President of OCUFA. “The fact […]
Faculty at the University of St. Michael’s college reached a tentative agreement with the employer on Feb. 6, 2015. Ratification by faculty and the Collegium (akin to a Board of Governors) are expected in the next few weeks. The faculty at St. Michael’s – represented by the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) – was […]
When a policy is proposed, the burden of proof lies with the people making the proposal. They need to explain why the new policy is better, and they need to provide evidence to support their claim. This is how sensible policy gets made. The Government of Ontario is interested in performance funding for universities. That […]
The following is a message from the Nipissing University Faculty Association, regarding the cuts to faculty appointments announced this week On Wednesday, February 4, the Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) learned that the Employer, Nipissing University, will not be renewing 22 faculty appointments for the 2015-2016 academic year. We are profoundly saddened and dismayed by […]
The provincial government has signaled that it intends to review the formula according to which funding is allocated to universities. Over the coming weeks, OCUFA report will run a series of think pieces related to the funding formula – what it looks like currently and what it might look like in the future. First in […]
Today, OCUFA announced the winners of the 2014 Status of Women Award of Distinction and the Lorimer Award. The awards will be handed out in a special ceremony in Toronto on February 7, 2015. The Status of Women Award of Distinction recognizes women who have improved the lives and working conditions of academic women and, […]
