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30/11/2011

Greetings,

As promised at CAUT Council, I am sending the first of several PowerPoint presentations that we hope will be helpful in discussions with your members.

The attached presentation presents key concerns with Google contracts to take over the university or college’s email service. The essential elements of all Google contracts are the same, regardless of university or college. This presentation highlights our concerns and why we encourage all associations to do everything in their power to stop academic staff email from being contract to Google or Microsoft. Steps include (1) determining if your administration is considering contracting out email services to Google, Microsoft or another cloud provider; (2) if so, insisting that there be a broad consultation with academic staff arranged jointly between the administration and your association, (3) bringing the concerns we discussed at Council to the attention of your membership. We hope the attached PowerPoint will be useful in #3 and would be pleased to provide more extensive assistance to your association.

2011.11 Google Apps for CAUT Council

Please let me know if you have any questions or if CAUT can help in any way on this matter.

Sincerely,

Jim

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Canadian Association of University Teachers / Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université / 2705 promenade Queensview Drive, Ottawa, (Ontario) K2B 8K2

James L. Turk, Executive Director / Directeur Général

tel: (613) 726-5176

fax/téléc: (613) 820-7244

mobile (613) 277-0488

turk@caut.ca

http://twitter.com/jameslturk

25/11/2011

Dear OCUFA Board members, Faculty Association Presidents and Executive Assistants,

As you are aware, yesterday Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan delivered his Fall 2011 ON Economic Statement – summary Please find attached a summary of what he said which may bear on financing for post-secondary education in Ontario.

Regards,
Russell

Russell Janzen, Senior Research Analyst
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
83 Yonge St., Suite 300
Toronto, ON M5C 1S8

23/11/2011
Dear colleagues:

A number of faculty associations are hearing from university administrators that the Ontario government is set to embark on a significant “reform” of the higher education sector – therefore institutions need to be pro-active and position themselves to take advantage of anticipated government directions. And it would appear that some administrations are using these assumptions to re-orient their institutions into directions they would like to pursue. While it is assumed that the Ontario government has a fully-developed plan for a “more cost-effective model for delivering university education” ready to be implemented, this is simply not the case.

We do know, from the government’s past initiatives, the Liberal Party election platform, and the November 22, 2011 Throne Speech, that it would like to pursue certain initiatives — greater credit transfer between colleges and universities, more joint programming between colleges and universities, enhancements to online programs, more “accountability”. It has also committed to establishing three new satellite campuses in the Greater Toronto Area, which it would like to see as undergraduate institutions with a focus on teaching (as opposed to research). What this means in practice is still unknown.

The government will also be implementing an annual tuition grant of $1600 for up to 4 years of full-time undergraduate study for students from households earning $160,000 or less. The grant for colleges students will be $730. The cost of this program is estimated at $423 million starting in 2012-13, and rising to $486 million in four years.

In addition, the government has committed funding for 60,000 new spaces at Ontario’s universities and colleges by 2015-16, with $309 million in additional funding committed by 2013-14.
As well, the government states it is committed to following through on the Drummond Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Service, led by former TD Bank economist Don Drummond. The Commission is expected to report in January 2012, and its recommendations incorporated into the 2012 Ontario Budget. The recommendations will have implications for the broader public sector, including universities. To date, the government has stated that ” it will protect health care and education as the most important public services. Reforms will not compromise quality”. Of course what this means in practice is yet to be seen. It has been reported that in light of the government goal of balancing the budget by 2017-18, education funding will only be allowed to increase by 1% a year. Again, the devil will be in the details. What is clear is that funding for the higher education sector will focus on “affordabiliity” (i.e. the tuition grant) and accessibility (i.e. the 60,000 new spaces). There will be little funding available for needed quality improvements.

What is also clear is that various constituencies — for example, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO), Ian Clark, David Trick and Richard Van Loon in their new book Academic Reform, Colleges Ontario — are lobbying the government to accept and implement their policy prescriptions for the “reform” of the higher education system. Those policy prescriptions are not the same, nor necessarily consistent with one another.

One policy prescription advocated particularly by HEQCO and in Academic Reform is the need for more “differentiated” universities — to which some university administrations are also responding. “Differentiation” is an abstract term meaning different things to different people.

There is currently no government policy on “differentiation”, and university administrators, although sometimes jumping on the bandwagon, have different ideas of what this ill-defined term means and how “differentiation” would be implemented. To date, no policy work has been done on encouraging “areas of strength” for universities on a system-wide basis, nor detailing what new accountability agreements will look like. In fact, when we speak to policy staff in the Ministry (i.e. not in the Minister’s office, where staff have just been hired) they have no clear idea where the government will be going in these areas, especially regarding the issue of university missions and “areas of strength”. Furthermore, there has been no policy work done on changing the funding formula to encourage “differentiation”.

Will the government undertake a fully-fledged restructuring of the higher education system? It is hard to crystal-ball gaze but it should be remembered that we are currently in a minority government, and it is more likely the attention of the government will be focussed on the health-care system. System-wide “reforms” can be hugely disruptive and politically perilous, especially in a minority-government situation. Where change does occur, it is safer for a government to do it incrementally.

Faculty associations will no doubt hear more about the need for greater “differentiation”, for faculty to do more teaching and for teaching-focussed institutions. OCUFA has responded, and will continue to respond, to those proposed policy “solutions” and will be running a campaign in the winter/spring on faculty concerns — which was noted at the October Board meeting, and will be discussed again at the February 2012 Board meeting. We are (and also will be) meeting regularly with government and the opposition parties to highlight our concerns, and will keep you informed about those discussions.

As well, at the December 2, 2011 OCUFA Collective Bargaining Committee meeting, David Trick will be making a presentation based on the book, Academic Reform which argues for more “teaching-focussed” undergraduate institutions, and for faculty to do more teaching. We will be providing a critique of that argument for those at the meeting. Their previous book, Academic Transformations by Ian Clark, Greg Moran, Michael Skolnik and David Trick, (2009) also argued for the creation of “teaching-only” universities in Ontario and “more learning per dollar”, as a form of differentiation, and the resulting cost savings, which we have also critiqued.

And as you may be aware, HEQCO put out a report on differentiation which OCUFA vigorously critiqued.

For the HEQCO paper:

http://www.heqco.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/DifferentiationENG.pdf

For OCUFA’s response (and other critiques of relevance):

http://realacademicplanning.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/ocufa-response-to-the-heqco-differentiation-report-26-october-2010/

For a critique of Academic Transformations, please see the article by Ken Snowdon in Academic Matters:

http://www.academicmatters.ca/2010/10/is-the-teacher-researcher-faculty-model-just-too-expensive/

OCUFA will continue to update you about Ontario government directions for higher education.

Best regards,

Mark

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Mark Rosenfeld, Ph.D
Executive Director
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
83 Yonge Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1S8
Tel: 416-979-2117 x229
Fax: 416-593-5607
E-mail: mrosenfeld@ocufa.on.ca
Web: www.ocufa.on.ca
www.academicmatters.ca

18/11/2011

Greetings All:

Our campaign to stop Bill 18 has received tremendous support over the last two days. By 10:00 am today our Facebook campaign has sent over 1,000 letters to Minister Yamamoto urging her not to pass the offensive legislation that her government has tabled. Bill 18 will restrict the rights of local faculty association reps to stand for elected faculty positions on university and college Boards. This is an impressive level of support and one that FPSE is extremely grateful to all CAUT affiliates for showing their support. I have been contacted by many faculty association representatives from across Canada expressing their solidarity for our campaign, a message that I find extremely heartening to hear from so many of you. We know that despite plans to have the Bill go forward to 2^nd reading yesterday, that never happened. As well, we know plans to have it discussed today have also been shelved. Those delays no doubt reflect the level of support generated by this campaign and I’m appealing to all CAUT affiliates to continue their individual efforts to spread the word about our campaign to their members. I have included the link to the Facebook campaign in this alert and urge you to once again rally your members to send a message to Minister Yamamoto.

Cindy

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Stop-Bill-18/187806901302857

Cindy Oliver, President

Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC

400- 550 West 6th Avenue

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1A1

604-873-8988

15/11/2011

Dear Colleagues;

Constance Adamson, OCUFA President, has an Op-Ed in today’s Toronto Star, both print and online. The article takes issue with recent comments that the decline in teaching quality is the fault of professors. The full text is attached below, and the original can be viewed at: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1086896–no-quick-fix-for-universities

Please distribute to anyone who may be interested.

Best Regards,
Graeme

Graeme Stewart
Communication and Government Relations Manager
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
300-83 Yonge St. ~ Toronto, ON ~ M5C 1S8
416 979 2117 x232 (Office) | 647 280 3175 (Mobile)
gstewart@ocufa.on.ca | www.ocufa.on.ca | www.twitter.com/ocufa

Back to No quick fix for universities
No quick fix for universities

November 14, 2011

Constance Adamson

Among Ontario’s thousands of professors and academic librarians, there are scholars who specialize in irony.

We are grateful for their expertise; at times like these, their guidance is sorely needed. For it is certainly a sublime irony that, after decades of sounding the alarm bell over declining quality at our universities, university faculty are now being singled out as the cause of this decline.

A small coterie of columnists and pundits are convinced that professors are to blame for a disappointing undergraduate experience. They claim we spend too little time teaching. We focus too much on research, they say. As a result, class sizes are getting bigger, universities are turning to part-time faculty to teach, and students can’t engage with their instructors.

The critics are right about the consequences, but wrong about the cause. We need to get serious about the reasons why quality is threatened at our universities. Like most things, it comes down to money. The amount of per-student funding provided to universities by the government of Ontario has declined by 25 per cent since 1990, adjusted for inflation. Since 2001, enrolment has increased by 60 per cent. Think about what that means: universities are trying to accommodate significantly more students while receiving significantly less funding for each of those students. It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize this is a bad equation for the quality of higher education in Ontario.

The decline in per-student funding has had a variety of negative effects. Universities have simply been unable to hire enough full-time professors to meet the rise in student demand. Our student-to-faculty ratio is now 27-to-1, the worst in Canada. In 1990, it was 18-to-1. So let’s be clear: the problem is not that faculty are not teaching enough. It’s that they cannot possibly teach enough to compensate for the acute shortage of faculty in the university system. We simply need more professors.

True, research does take up a lot of time for most full-time faculty in the university system. But this is a matter of survival. Ontario’s underfunded universities have become exceptionally good at chasing dollars. It just so happens that a lot of new dollars – particularly those from the federal government – are for research. The government of Ontario has also emphasized research and commercialization through their funding policies. No surprise then that the entire reward and career advancement structure at our universities has become research focused. Many professors would like to spend more time teaching, but find the current system filled with too many disincentives.

To address this problem, critics offer the bromide of “teaching-only” professors or “teaching only” institutions. This, they claim, will allow us to teach more students without making additional public investments. Giving faculty the option to focus on teaching is not necessarily a bad idea. But let’s be clear: teaching-focused professors should not be seen as a way to deliver university education on the cheap. To be successful, our universities must always be adequately funded. And we have to recognize that scholarship is an important part of being a professor, and an important part of a university education.

Scholarship – which I define as the creation of new knowledge, the critical analysis of existing knowledge, and the communication of these insights – is central to the university. The teaching and scholarship equation is not zero-sum. Teaching is scholarship, and the two are inextricably linked. The critics will point to research that says being a good researcher does not make you a good teacher. This misses the point. You simply cannot have university-level teaching without the kind of intellectual inquiry that scholars are trained to do. If you remove scholarship from the professoriate or from our universities, you are no longer giving students the education they expect.

The critics of Ontario’s professors and academic librarians need to get real about what ails our university system. Right now, they’re only advocating for a system that offers more teaching. Meanwhile, faculty are talking about what they have always been talking about: a system that does more and better teaching. Surely our students deserve nothing less.

Constance Adamson is president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.

10/11/2011

La version française suit

Please forward widely!

Friends and Colleagues,

Library and Archives Canada (LAC), the federal institution responsible for preserving Canada’s history and cultural heritage, is under threat. Badly conceived restructuring, a redefinition of its mandate, and financial cutbacks are undermining LAC’s ability to acquire, preserve and make publicly available Canada’s full documentary heritage.

Click here to send a letter to the Federal government to Save Library and Archives Canada.

Circulate this email to your networks to help take action to save this vital national institution.

Join our facebook event for updates on the campaign.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Réexpédier ce message au plus grand nombre de personnes possible!

Chers amis et collègues,

Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (BAC), l’institution fédérale responsable de la conservation du patrimoine historique et culturel du Canada, est menacé. Une restructuration mal conçue, la refonte de son mandat et des restrictions budgétaires affaiblissent la possibilité donnée à BAC d’acquérir, de préserver et de mettre à la disposition du public le patrimoine documentaire intégral du Canada.

Cliquez ici pour faire parvenir au gouvernement fédéral une lettre l’incitant à sauver Bibliothèque et Archives Canada.

Faites circuler ce courriel dans vos réseaux : ainsi d’autres personnes agiront sauver cette institution nationale indispensable.

Pour prendre connaissance des dernières nouvelles sur la campagne, consultez la section Événements publics de notre page Facebook.

James L. Turk

Executive Director/Directeur général

Canadian Association of University Teachers/

Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université

2705, promenade Queensview Drive

Ottawa (Ontario) K2B 8K2

Tel/Tél: 613-726-5176

Mobile: 613-277-0488

Fax/Téléc: 613-820-7244

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jameslturk

10/11/2011

The Government of British Columbia has introduced legislation that would prohibit any faculty association executive member from being the elected faculty representative on the board of a university, college or institute. Attached is CAUT to Yamamoto re Bill 18 (2011-11-08) protesting this proposed legislation.

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Le gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique a déposé un projet de loi qui interdirait à tous les membres de la direction des associations de personnel académique de siéger à titre de représentant élu du personnel au conseil d’administration d’une université, d’un collège ou d’un institut. Vous trouverez ci-jointe la lettre que l’ACPPU a adressée à la ministre pour protester contre ce projet de loi.

James L. Turk

Executive Director/Directeur général

Canadian Association of University Teachers/

Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université

2705, promenade Queensview Drive

Ottawa (Ontario) K2B 8K2

Tel/Tél: 613-726-5176

Mobile: 613-277-0488

Fax/Téléc: 613-820-7244

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jameslturk

09/11/2011

CAUT responds to AUCC’s new academic freedom statement

In an open letter) to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, CAUT raises serious concerns about the organization’s revised statement on academic freedom issued in October 2011 on the of AUCC’s 100th Anniversary.

The 2011 AUCC Statement on Academic Freedom is the first change to its position on academic freedom since 1988. CAUT’s open letter is highly critical noting “There is a certain perverse irony that AUCC chose its 100th Anniversary to attempt to undo many of the advances that have been achieved in the understanding of academic freedom over the past 100 years.”

CAUT to AUCC re Academic Freedom (2011-11-04)

Réponse de l’ACPPU à la nouvelle Déclaration de l’AUCC sur la liberté universitaire

Dans une lettre ouverte destinée à l’Association des universités et collèges du Canada (AUCC), l’Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université (ACPPU) se dit fortement préoccupée par la nouvelle version de la Déclaration sur la liberté universitaire que l’AUCC a rendue publique en octobre 2011 à l’occasion de la commémoration de son centenaire.

Dans ce texte, l’AUCC modifie, pour la première fois depuis 1988, sa position sur cette question. L’ACPPU, quant à elle, se montre très critique dans sa lettre ouverte et y mentionne ce qui suit : « En effet, nous voyons une ironie malsaine dans le fait que votre Association choisisse précisément la commémoration de son centenaire pour aller à l’encontre de nombreux progrès qui ont été réalisés dans l’interprétation de la liberté universitaire au cours des 100 dernières années. »

CAUT to AUCC re Academic Freedom (2011-11-04)- fr

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Canadian Association of University Teachers / Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université / 2705 promenade Queensview Drive, Ottawa, (Ontario) K2B 8K2

James L. Turk, Executive Director / Directeur Général

tel: (613) 726-5176

fax/téléc: (613) 820-7244

mobile (613) 277-0488

turk@caut.ca

http://twitter.com/jameslturk

03/11/2011

For immediate release

Canadian Association of University Teachers launches campaign to

Save Library and Archives Canada

(OTTAWA: November 2, 2011) – The Canadian Association of University Teachers today unveiled a national campaign to protect Library and Archives Canada (LAC).

The “Save Library and Archives Canada” is being launched by CAUT in response to funding cuts and internal managerial decisions that are threatening the quality and integrity of Canada’s only national public library and archives.

“Badly conceived restructuring, a narrowing of its mandate, and financial cutbacks are undermining LAC’s ability to acquire, preserve and make publicly available Canada’s full documentary heritage,” James L. Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers said at a news conference in Ottawa today.

These changes, Turk added, have already led to a reduction in the number of specialist archivists and librarians, reduced public access and services, and the loss of rare and important materials.

Liam McGahern, president of the Antiquarian Booksellers of Canada, said a growing number of Canadian materials are not being collected by LAC because of reduced funding and a change in its acquisitions policy.

“Canadians recently lost a unique and irreplaceable set of journals chronicling late 19th Century stories of settlers and First Nations people of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Labrador Coast. This is just one of many examples,” McGahern explained. “Rare military documents, sheet music, and literature that would otherwise have gone to Library and Archives Canada are quietly all slipping away.”

CAUT is calling on the federal government to amend the LAC Act to ensure its mandate includes developing a comprehensive, not selective, collection of Canadian material.

“Our nation’s artistic, historical, and cultural heritage is at stake,” said Turk. “Genealogists, historians, researchers, graduate students, Aboriginal communities, and the general public are all affected by what is happening at LAC.”

The Canadian Association of University Teachers is the national voice of 66,000 academic and general staff at 120 universities and colleges across the country.

More information on the campaign can be found at www.savelibraryarchivescanada.ca.

Contact:

Angela Regnier, Communications Officer, 613-726-5186 (O); 613-601-6304 (cell);

regnier@caut.ca (email)

Diffusion immédiate

L’Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université lance une campagne en vue de sauver Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

(OTTAWA, le 2 novembre 2011) – L’Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université a dévoilé aujourd’hui une campagne nationale en vue de protéger Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (BAC).

L’ACPPU lance la campagne « Sauvons Bibliothèque et Archives Canada » en raison des réductions apportées au financement de BAC et des décisions administratives internes prises, qui menacent la qualité et l’intégrité de l’unique bibliothèque et des seules archives publiques du pays.

« Une restructuration mal conçue, le rétrécissement de son mandat et des restrictions budgétaires affaiblissent la possibilité donnée à BAC d’acquérir, de préserver et de mettre à la disposition du public le patrimoine documentaire intégral du Canada », a déclaré James L. Turk, directeur général de l’Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université lors d’une conférence de presse à Ottawa aujourd’hui.

M. Turk a ajouté que ces changements avaient déjà entraîné une réduction du nombre d’archivistes spécialistes et de bibliothécaires, une diminution de l’accès et des services assurés au public et la perte de documents rares et importants.

Liam McGahern, président de l’Association de la librairie ancienne du Canada, a fait valoir qu’un nombre croissant de documents canadiens n’étaient plus collectionnés par BAC en raison des compressions budgétaires et d’un changement apporté à sa politique d’acquisitions.

« Les Canadiennes et Canadiens ont récemment perdu une série unique et irremplaçable de journaux retraçant l’histoire des pionniers et des peuples des Premières nations du golfe du Saint-Laurent et de la côte du Labrador de la fin du XIXe siècle. Ce n’est qu’un exemple parmi de nombreux autres », a expliqué M. McGahern. « Des documents militaires rares, des partitions et des œuvres qui, en d’autres circonstances, auraient été acquis par Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, disparaissent subrepticement ».

L’ACPPU exhorte le gouvernement fédéral à modifier la LBAC pour faire en sorte que BAC ait pour mandat de monter une collection complète et non sélective de documents canadiens.

« C’est le patrimoine artistique, historique et culturel de notre pays qui est en jeu », a repris M. Turk. « Les généalogistes, les historiens, les chercheurs, les étudiants de troisième cycle, les collectivités autochtones et le grand public sont tous touchés par ce qui se produit à BAC ».

L’Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université est le porte-parole national de 66 000 membres du corps professoral et autres répartis dans 120 universités et collèges du Canada.

Pour obtenir de plus amples détails sur cette campagne, veuillez consulter www.sauvonsbibliothèqueetarchivescanada.ca.

Personne-ressource :

Angela Regnier, agente des communications, 613-726-5186 (bureau); 613-601-6304 (tél. cellulaire); regnier@caut.ca (courriel)

03/11/2011

Emergency! We need to Save NSCAD!

Howard Windsor, a former Policy Analyst with Labour and Advanced Education for the province of Nova Scotia, has been appointed by the Minister of Advanced Education to examine the future of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (NSCAD). He has carte blanche to consider any reorganization imaginable, including eliminating programs, the forced merger of programs with other institutions and/or the complete disappearance of NSCAD as an independent university.

NSCAD Faculty and Staff Unions are in the middle of negotiations which have stalled and are fast approaching strike deadlines. Negotiations have been complicated by the instability introduced by the provincial review. Our colleagues in Nova Scotia need us and all of us need an independent NSCAD, the only full-service art and design university east of Ontario.

Please take a moment to sign the petition found here: http://www.change.org/petitions/keep-nscad-university-intact-and-independent

In sol,
Leslie Jermyn, CUPE 3902
University of Toronto

25/10/2011

Good Afternoon,

OCUFA has forwarded the Status of Women Committee Award of Distinction details as attached. The deadline for nominations is May 25, 2012. Nominators must be members of an OCUFA-affiliated faculty association. For nomination information, please see www.ocufa.on.ca, “Awards” section.

Send nominations to the Chair,
OCUFA Status of Women Committee,
c/o OCUFA, 83 Yonge Street, Suite 300,
Toronto, ON M5C 1S8.

WomenDistinctionAdFINAL

WomenOfDistinctionAd_French

12/10/2011

Good Afternoon;

Please find attached (below) a letter to the editor from OCUFA President Constance Adamson regarding an editorial published in today’s Globe & Mail, “Canadian Universities Must Reform or Perish”. The editorial can be found at:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/canadian-universities-must-reform-or-perish/article2195025/

This letter has been submitted to the Editors of the Globe as of this afternoon. If you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best Regards,
Graeme

Constance Adamson
President
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
300-83 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON M5C 1S8

Dear Editor;

Your editorial “Canadian Universities Must Reform or Perish” (October 11, 2011) is correct about one thing: there are serious challenges facing undergraduate education in Ontario and Canada, and these challenges need to be addressed in order to preserve the quality of education at our universities. Huge classes and high student-to-faculty ratios do not make for an excellent student experience.

No question, reform is needed. But we must be very careful about which vision of reform we embrace.

Your editorial suggests that the primary purpose of a university education is job training. This is not a view embraced by Ontario’s professors and academic librarians. Education is, as it has always been, about human development. Universities provide an education; people get jobs. Transposing this relationship distorts the purpose of our institutions, and leads to a variety of incorrect conclusions.

While I do not have the space to enumerate all of the errors and misconceptions in your editorial, I do wish to take issue with one particularly harmful one: the idea that the lack of teaching or over-emphasis on research is somehow the fault of faculty themselves, or odder still, the salary they receive. Ontario’s professors and academic librarians are passionate defenders of the quality of higher education in our province. The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario – an organization you are fond of quoting – noted in a 2010 report that 96 per cent of Ontario’s faculty view teaching as “important or very important to their professional practice.” The same report found that over three quarters of faculty surveyed were active users of their campus teaching development centre. However, only 46 per cent of faculty felt their university supported their development as teachers. If there is a problem with undergraduate teaching in Ontario, the fault does not lie with the professors themselves.

The simple fact is that, in an under-funded university system faced with perpetual enrolment growth, Ontario’s professors face serious barriers to providing a quality student experience. No matter the technology used or the strategies employed, a student in a 500 person class will not receive the same experience as a student in a class of 30. Until we get serious about hiring more full-time faculty, we won’t be able to improve the student experience.

Finally, I would caution those who are quick to blame faculty but last to ask for their input. Professors and academic librarians make their careers on being thoughtful and well-informed. Strange, then, that the mandarins who rush to press with prescriptions for the university system are so loathe to consult with faculty in the first place. If university administrators and government are serious about reform, then they must make a concerted attempt to engage faculty in the process. They may end up being surprised with the kind of meaningful reform that results.

Yours sincerely,

Constance Adamson
President, OCUFA

06/10/2011

Hello,

Here is a short video CAUT has made on Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act.

Paul Jones
CAUT

23/09/2011

University of Windsor professor honoured for outstanding work on behalf of Ontario’s faculty

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2011 /CNW/ – Professor Brian E. Brown, president of the Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA) has been awarded the prestigious Lorimer Award by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). This honour recognizes individuals who have worked to protect and promote the interests of Ontario’s academic staff through collective bargaining. Prof. Brown will receive his award at an October 21, 2011 ceremony at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

“As President of WUFA, Prof. Brown has been a tireless champion for the rights of academic staff at Windsor,” said Constance Adamson, President of OCUFA. “This, coupled with his many leadership roles within OCUFA has made him an invaluable asset not only to his home institution, but to professors and academic librarians across Ontario.”

The Lorimer Award was established in honour of Doug and Joyce Lorimer, who were instrumental in advancing faculty association collective bargaining in Ontario. Winners of the award all share the Lorimers’ commitment to advancing Ontario’s university system through strong faculty associations.

“OCUFA is extremely proud to recognize the exceptional individuals who safeguard the aspirations of Ontario’s academic staff,” said Adamson. “High-quality education needs high-quality faculty. Through the Lorimer award, we recognize the outstanding work that ensures every faculty member has the rights and resources to be great.”

Founded in 1964, OCUFA represents 17,000 faculty and academic librarians in 27 faculty associations across Ontario. For more information, please visit the OCUFA website at http://www.ocufa.on.ca.

For further information:
Contact: Graeme Stewart, Communications Manager - 416 979 2117 x232 (office) or 647 280 3175 gstewart@ocufa.on.ca or Mark Rosenfeld, Executive Director – 416-979-2117 x229 (office) or 416 270-6859 mrosenfeld@ocufa.on.ca

21/09/2011

Dear Colleagues;

Attached, please find OCUFA Analysis of Party Platforms – 2011 Ontario Election – FINAL. Please feel free to share this widely through your association. The analysis will also be available online Monday, as part of the re-launch of OCUFA’s website.

We are still waiting for several responses on our political party platform questionnaire. Once we have compiled this data, we will make it available alongside our analysis.

I would also like to remind you to share OCUFA’s election public awareness campaign, Quality Matters, with your members (http://www.quality-matters.ca). This website allows participants to quickly send a letter to their local candidates outlining their support for higher education. If you have not done so already, please take a moment to send an email of your own. Every message helps!

If you have any questions about our platform analysis, or anything else election related, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Best Regards,
Graeme

13/09/2011

The following is a media release from the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association regarding the strike of librarians and archivists at Western which began at today. There will be a rally at Western tomorrow – September 9, 2011 – at 12:15 p.m. at the main gates of Richmond Rd.

http://www.uwofa.ca/newsevents/id:213

UWO Librarians & Archivists on Legal Strike
September 7th, 2011

Librarians and Archivists at the University of Western Ontario will be on a legal strike as of 12:01 a.m. September 8.

“It is with great regret that we make this decision,” said Bryce Traister, UWOFA President. “We simply haven’t seen enough movement on the key issues important to our members. We find it disrespectful and I am personally disappointed that administration didn’t see fit to address longstanding challenges.”

Mediated talks between the UWO Faculty Association, which represents the bargaining unit, and the university administration broke off today after extended negotiating sessions with the employer came to a deadlock at 11:00 a.m.

Outstanding issues at the table include: a long-standing pay gap of 20 per cent between Western Librarians and Archivists – most of whom are women – and colleagues at comparative universities in Ontario. Other issues include staff complement and workload.

The 50 unionized librarians and archivists have been without a contract since June 30, 2011.

Pickets will be placed at two locations: the main gates at Richmond Rd and the Alumni Hall entrance off Western Rd. starting at 7:30 a.m.

01/09/2011

Please find below and attached the OCUFA media release regarding the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report on the impact of higher education funding on Ontario families. The report was commissioned by the Ontario University Coalition, consisting of organizations representing students, faculty, academic librarians and staff in the province.

Please also note that OCUFA’s provincial election campaign website — Quality Matters — is now up and running. The website allows you to send a letter to the candidates in your riding about the need to invest in the quality, accessibility and affordability of our university system. The Quality Matters website can be accessed here.

Best regards,

Mark

—————————————-
Ontario professors and academic librarians concerned about the affordability of higher education in Ontario

TORONTO – The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is
concerned about the findings of a new study released today about the cost of university
education in Ontario. The report, published by the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives (CCPA), indicates that rising tuition fees are putting pressure on families
across Ontario.

“The report shows that Ontario’s high tuition fees are disproportionately affecting lowand
middle-income families,” said Constance Adamson, President of OCUFA. “This
regressive policy is making it harder for young Ontarians to afford a university education
and access the many benefits that higher learning provides.”

The report examines the number of days a family would have to work to pay for a fouryear
university degree, if they were to put all of their after-tax income towards this
purpose. While higher-income families can cover this cost quickly, it takes middle and
lower-income Ontarians many more months – and sometimes years -to pay for their
child’s education. This is up dramatically from the early 1990s, and reflects the huge
increase in tuition fees over the last two decades. Ontario now has the highest tuition
fees in Canada.

The report also demonstrates that, contrary to the opinion of many policymakers, a high
quality and affordable university system can be sustained by public funding. A few
simple policy changes could help freeze or even reduce tuition fees while ensuring
universities have the financial resources they need to provide a world-class learning
experience.

“Ontario’s professors and academic librarians want an equitable, accessible and
excellent university system,” said Adamson. “If you want the same thing, then I
encourage you to visit Quality-Matters.ca and send a message to Ontario’s politicians.
Together, we can make the university system we all deserve.”

Founded in 1964, OCUFA represents 17,000 faculty and academic librarians in 27 faculty
associations across Ontario. The CCPA report can be accessed at
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/under-pressure.

More information on the Quality Matters campaign can be found at http://www.quality-matters.ca

12/07/2011

Greetings,

CAUT is a member of the Voices-Voix Coalition [http://voices-voix.ca/] which is a is a non-partisan coalition of Canadian organizations and individuals defending democratic rights to free speech, transparency and equality. There are over 200 member organizations.

One of the Voices-Voix projects is gathering information about organizations, individuals and institutions involved in education and research that have lost funding or other government support after publicly disagreeing with government policies and decisions. The Coalition has assembled this information in the facts section of their web site [http://voices-voix.ca/en/facts]. The examples they have so far are an incomplete list .

They would like to make the list as comprehensive as possible. If you know of examples, please complete the attached form and email it to them at voices.voix@gmail.com Please cc a copy to rumleski@caut.caut.ca You help would be gratefully appreciated.

Regards,

James L. Turk James L. Turk // Executive Director / Directeur général // Canadian Association of University Teachers / Association canadienne des professeures et professeurs d’université // 2705 promenade Queensview Drive / Ottawa, (Ontario) / K2B 8K2 // tél 613.726-5176 / téléc 613.820-7244 / mobile 613.277-0488 / turk@caut.ca / http://twitter.com/jameslturk

10/05/2011

There has been a good deal of controversy and conflicting advice
regarding when copyrighted material may be copied without permission
or payment to the copyright owner.

CAUT is concerned that both users and owners of copyrighted material
are treated fairly. To that end, CAUT has prepared the attached
document: Guidelines for the Use of Copyrighted Material.

The document explains the legal foundation of copying rights and
provides direction on its lawful exercise.

Copies of the Guidelines are available online at:

http://www.caut.ca/uploads/Copyright_guidelines.pdf

http://www.caut.ca/uploads/Copyright_guidelines_fr.pdf

If you have any questions about the Guidelines, please feel free to
contact Paul Jones at (613) 820-2270 ext.181 or by email: jones@caut.ca.

16/03/2011

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

37th Annual

OCUFA Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards

OCUFA is proud to celebrate outstanding achievement in teaching and academic librarianship at Ontario universities. Anyone within the university community can nominate a faculty member or librarian.

Award recipients are selected by an independent OCUFA committee made up of faculty, librarians,

and student representatives.

Deadline for nominations for 2010-2011 awards:

May 20, 2011.

The original and five copies of the

submission should be sent to:

OCUFA Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards Committee

83 Yonge Street, Suite 300

Toronto, Ontario M5C 1S8

Inquiries to: 416-979-2117

www.ocufa.on.ca

This information can also be found now at http://ocufa.on.ca/Awards.tala.gk