As the Assignment of Duties process comes toward a conclusion, we send this reminder that Department Heads must complete assignments by March 31 and Deans must approve them by April 30 for the 2026–7 Academic year). In departmentalized colleges, final authority to assign duties does not rest with the dean/executive directors. The University of Saskatchewan Act stipulates that the Head of each department of a college “shall [i.e., must] assign teaching duties to the members of the department.” Our Collective Agreement follows the Act by stipulating that in departmentalized colleges, “duties shall be assigned by the Department Head.” The assignment of duties is subject to approval by the Dean or Executive Director. The Association holds that the Dean should not attempt to assign duties through the approval process.
If you as a Department Head are instructed that your role is not to assign duties or that the Dean’s role is anything other than to approve assigned duties, please contact the USFA.
We also remind faculty that the Collective Agreement stipulates that teaching assignments for Instructors and Lecturers shall not exceed the equivalent of 30 credit units per academic year (Article 11.2.2). It is not acceptable to assign 30 credit units of teaching without considering all the employee’s teaching responsibilities.
The 2023–7 Collective Agreement has added to the list of the full range of demands associated with teaching in Article 11.5.2, including such considerations as:
- the nature of the course
- course level and its enrolment
- class size
- the methods of instruction, including multi-access (in-person, online, or remote) delivery
- community-engaged teaching
- cross-listed courses
- the availability of technical support
- course administration
- grading
- evaluation
- supervisory work that is part of graduate and undergraduate teaching, including clinical supervision
- supervision of graduate and undergraduate research theses or projects
- participation in thesis advisory committees
- supervision of creation and performance of students’ artistic works
- activities such as documented academic coaching
- counseling, and mentoring of students, instructors, and faculty members
- consultation with students
- curriculum and course design and preparation
- course development
- course coordination
- supervising academic, teaching, and laboratory assistants
- supervision of internships and practicums
- where part of an employee’s assigned duties, laboratory demonstration or supervision and tutorials