OCUFA congratulates Professor Robyn Gorham, Vice President of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFAPUL) on receiving the Laurentian University Faculty of Health Governance Award for 2017. OCUFA Research Director Donna Gray, was pleased to contribute a letter of support, highlighting the many contributions Robyn had made to the university through her service during the Fall […]
The Council of Universities (COU) recently released the latest report from its Faculty at Work project. The Composition and Activities of Ontario Universities’ Academic Workforce updates and extends the Preliminary Report released in 2014 to include a focus on the composition of the academic workforce. It constitutes the first serious effort to use administrative data to produce a picture of the numbers of contract faculty employed […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Canadian Association of University Teachers hosted a conference on achieving fairness for contract academic staff to kickoff Fair Employment Week on October 20 and 21. Participants developed a wide range of strategies and tactics to organize fellow faculty members and confront their administrations about the growing use of contract faculty at Canadian universities and colleges. Faculty associations discussed key ways of addressing […]
Toronto – Across Ontario, university professors are taking action to educate campus community members about the growing numbers of contract faculty at Ontario universities. A national campaign organized by the Canadian Association of University Teachers, Fair Employment Week builds awareness and promotes fairness for contract faculty. “Most students are unaware if their professor is on […]
On September 15 and 16, the first ever Fight for $15 & Fairness Provincial Campus Assembly took place at the University of Toronto. Faculty from universities across Ontario attended and took part in discussions and workshops about how to win stronger labour legislation, as well as how to advance the $15 and Fairness agenda on […]
Members of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) in Sudbury have been working hard to negotiate a fair collective agreement with the university administration. Despite several days in mediation, the parties are approaching an impasse and a strike may be imminent. LUFA is asking the administration to come to the table and agree to a […]
The Government of Ontario recently announced that in the coming months it will put forward legislation to create a new French-language university, by and for Francophones. The announcement follows the August 28, 2017 release of the French-Language University Planning Board’s report on the feasibility of establishing a new French-language university in Central-Southwestern Ontario. Struck last fall and chaired by Dr. Dyane Adam, a former official languages […]
Last month we asked OCUFA Report readers to tell us what they thought about eCampus Ontario’s new Open Textbook Library , which establishes a provincial repository of Open Educational Resources (OERs) from a range of disciplines, which faculty can freely use and adapt for the classes they teach. Thank you to everyone who participated! The results from the […]
In May, OCUFA brought together representatives of its membership to identify the policy issues affecting Ontario’s universities that they view as most critical, and to draft recommendations for addressing them. The final report summarizing these consultations is now available online. OCUFA regularly conducts research, produces papers and briefs, and hosts conversations on targeted policy issues affecting higher education in Ontario. However, the 2017 Policy Exchange […]
