OCUFA is pleased to announce our 2014 Conference, “Future U: Creating the Universities We Want”. The event will be held from February 27-28, 2014 in Toronto. The Future U conference will look at current trends and the possibility of alternatives for the future of higher education. Our goal is to allow professors, librarians, administrators, students and […]
Contract faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University are holding a strike vote this week. The Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA), who represent part-time faculty, filed for a no-board last Thursday after two unsuccessful days of conciliation. The contract faculty unit continues to push for job security and benefits, in an attempt to improve their precarious […]
It might be overstating the case for the Globe and Mail’s Konrad Yakabuski to “ blame business ” for Canada’s poor showing in research and development (R&D). But it is also becoming increasingly clear it makes little sense to demand universities and university researchers to become more business-like and pick up the entrepreneurial slack. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, the […]
On October 23rd, the Government of Ontario announced that it was giving universities and other broader public sector pensions plans an additional three years of help to put their pension plans on a sustainable track. Without this regulatory measure, a number of universities would have been required to put large amounts of additional money into their […]
Much has been made about the supposed Canadian “skills gap”, or the mismatch between the skills needed to fill vacant jobs and the skills actually possessed by workers. But new research by TD Economics suggests that the “gap” is largely a myth. The study, Jobs in Canada , finds that concerns about the skills gap are unsupported by […]
OCUFA hosted its annual Queen’s Park lobby day and reception on Wednesday, October 23. Faculty representatives from across the province were in Toronto for the day to meet with their local MPPs at the provincial legislature. Over the course of a busy day, representatives met with 27 MPPs who have a university in or near […]
The St. Jerome’s University Academic Staff Association (SJUASA) reached a tentative settlement on October 21st. The agreement was ratified by the Association, with 96 per cent voting in favour, on October 24, 2013. The five-year deal includes annual ATB increases of 3% in the first two years, and for the following years, the higher of: University […]
The Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) has launched a new campaign protesting recent university funding cuts in their province. The “ Alberta’s Universities Support Everything ” initiative argues that Alberta’s universities are the foundation of economic and social life, and that cuts put the province’s future in danger. The Government of Alberta recent cut university funding by seven per cent, which has resulted […]
For a long time, OCUFA has been critical of Canadian business’ sluggish performance in R&D funding. New data reveals that their poor performance is only getting worse. Business expenditures on research and development (R&D) in Canada have been decreasing for a few years, but the decline appears to be picking up steam. Statistics Canada estimates for 2013 show a […]
You may have seen some commentary recently suggesting that Canadian professors make more than their American counterparts. But according to new data, American faculty members make considerably more than their colleagues north of the border. International comparisons always face the problem ensuring apples-to-apples comparisons. Without taking account of differences in the way in which the […]
From the Conference Board of Canada: “The Conference Board of Canada would like to invite you to attend their upcoming Skills and Post-Secondary Education Summit 2013: Developing the Talent We Need for a Competitive Nation, being held on November 6 and 7 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. We are happy to extend an Exclusive Reduced […]
Like many Ontario pension plans, some Ontario university pension plans currently have a funding shortfall, brought on in part by the financial crisis and almost 5 years of historically low interest rates. Problems with faculty pension plans existed before the financial crisis, but the fallout has worsened the situation. Unions and employers in the Ontario university […]
Faculty unionization has a positive impact on students and universities, according to a new American study . The Impact of Unionization on University Performance: A Cross-Sectional Time Series Analysis, written by Mark Cassell, shows that unionization leads to a more efficient and effective institution, while promoting student success. The paper’s primary findings include: Unionized institutions show lower costs and […]
Ontario’s professors and academic librarians are happy and relieved to learn that John Greyson and Tarek Loubani have been released from an Egpytian prison. The two faculty members had been held –without charge or justification – for 50 days. On September 28, 2013, OCUFA’s Board of Directors passed a unanimous motion calling for “immediate, strong, […]
Ontario’s professors and academic librarians are calling for “immediate, strong, and decisive action” to free John Greyson and Tarek Loubani from arbitrary detention in Egpyt. Faculty association leaders made their call in a unanimous motion passed at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). “John and […]
