The Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA) has successfully challenged the neutrality of their pension plan’s actuary in a significant arbitration decision. The following is a message from WUFA President Jeff Noonan concerning this result: Colleagues, On August 24th Arbitrator Pamela Picher issued her ruling in our policy grievance against the administration in the matter of […]
The government-appointed Special Advisors of the Changing Workplaces Review released an Interim Report today . It details options for responding to the changing nature of work in the province, including the rise of precarious work. The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) hopes the report will serve as a starting point for a bold plan to address precarious work […]
CUPE 926, which represents all regular workers within Wilfrid Laurier University’s Department of Physical Resources, is currently in difficult negotiations with the university administration. The employer is seeking to outsource cleaning work on campus, replacing good full-time custodial positions with low-paying precarious jobs. The employer also set a deadline after which they would impose terms […]
The latest issue of Academic Matters – now available online – takes a critical look at university governance from the perspective of professors and academic librarians. Recent controversies at UBC, Carleton, Western, and others have shone a harsh public light on serious failings in how our universities are run. The issue features incisive examinations of these issues, including: […]
On May 7, 2016 in Toronto, OCUFA held its third and final Board meeting of the year. It was an opportunity to review progress made on the organization’s key priorities – faculty pensions, contract faculty and faculty complement, and university governance. It was also an opportunity to recognize those who have made important contributions to […]
On Monday, April 4, 2016, OCUFA submitted a series of recommendations to the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU) on a proposed international education strategy. The recommendations are a response to a discussion paper issued by MTCU. The impetus for a new international strategy for Ontario’s colleges and universities appears to be to increase recruitment of international students, and building the […]
Bill 132, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act, passed on March 8, 2016. It will require universities to have campus policies addressing sexual violence, consider student input on those policies, and share information regarding sexual harassment and violence on campus with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Bill 132 also expands employer […]
On March 8, 2016, over 20 representatives of Ontario’s faculty associations met with MPPs and Cabinet Ministers as part of OCUFA’s annual Advocacy Day at Queen’s Park. In all, 30 meetings were held, each a chance to discuss OCUFA’s priorities for 2016: faculty hiring and good academic jobs; better data on Ontario’s higher education sector; […]
From February 20-21, 2016, OCUFA held the 148th meeting of its Board of Directors in Toronto. While the meeting was an opportunity to review progress on OCUFA’s priority areas –university governance and funding; options for university pension plans; and contract faculty and faculty complement – the meeting provided an excellent opportunity to discuss growing concerns […]
Today in Toronto, students, faculty, journalists and policymakers will gather at the “Challenging precarious academic work” conference, organized by OCUFA. This two-day event features international speakers and provides a forum for sharing experiences and developing solutions to the alarming rise of part-time, insecure work at universities. Speakers include: Karen Foster, Canada Research Chair in Sustainable […]
The new issue of Academic Matters, Higher Education and Leviathan , is now live online and arriving in mailboxes across Canada. It examines the changing relationship between universities and the state, and features important commentary by an insightful group of writers. Starting here in Ontario, Sue Herbert writes about the rationale for the provincial government’s review of the university funding model , and provides some initial thoughts on what has been learned through […]
Today, the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU) released the final report of the Ontario University Funding Model Review. The full report and report summary can be downloaded here . Overall, the report is an interesting and comprehensive summary of the consultations. It includes some promising areas of policy development – such as better data […]
A series of recent scandals, like Western University President Amit Chakma’s double salary and administrator overpayment s at the University of Ottawa, have put university budgets into the headlines. Against this backdrop, OCUFA held its annual University Finance Workshop in Toronto on November 13, 2015. It is more important than ever for faculty associations to have the skills to […]
Full-time faculty at Nipissing are continuing their strike for fair pay, improved governance processes, and protections for faculty complement at the university. The Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) has received overwhelming support from their colleagues across Canada and from their local community. Representatives from many faculty associations and local unions have joined NUFA members on the pocket line. A […]
A new survey conducted by Abacus Data on behalf of Universities Canada found that a majority of Canadians – 77 per cent – have a positive view of the country’s universities . However, a majority of Canadians – 54 per cent – believe that our higher education institutions are underfunded. Encouragingly, 88 per cent of those polled believed that governments should invest in […]
