Welcome back and Happy New Year! The overwhelming response to our first e-Letter on this topic and the strong participation in the University’s administrative practices survey have highlighted an appetite among USFA members to discuss the nature of and impediments to our work. We know in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, workloads have been difficult to manage for many […]
Read More »Since the spring, the USFA has been seeking answers from the employer about its sudden move to deny APEF purchases of and reimbursements for items that were previously eligible. Faculty members seek to be reimbursed for the purchase of a printer for use while working remotely. Faculty seek to be reimbursed for purchases of commonly […]
Read More »The USFA Executive reconstituted the USFA Committee on University Administrative Practices during the 2019-2020 academic year, but the pandemic struck just as the Committee was about to begin its process. Unable to have discussions as hoped with faculty in small groups about the ways administrative practices at the U of S help and hinder faculty […]
Read More »It has been a number of years since U of S employees received a hard copy of details concerning their pay on every payday. At one time U of S employees received a cheque along with a write up of those details, including information about any salary changes and deductions from gross pay. With direct […]
Read More »The following invitation from Gary Brunet, Director, IT Support Services, is an opportunity for faculty to provide information and comments on improving the experience of purchasing computers and/or computer accessories through IT Acquisitions, including what services and/or products you would like to have offered. Dear USask Faculty, IT Acquisitions provides faculty, staff, and researchers with […]
Read More »We received a number of emails in response to our recent e-Letter: The Work of Faculty. Members told us it resonated with them powerfully. Faculty expressed that they continue to be frustrated with the Employer’s top-down, opaque process for responding to the pandemic that excludes them from decision making when it directly affects their work. Members are […]
Read More »You may have read about the faculty member at the University of Ottawa who was recently suspended after students complained that the Professor had used an anti-black, racial slur during a lecture. Her union, and echoed by many academics, immediately criticized the University’s “zero-tolerance” position citing academic freedom requires that the assessment of the appropriate […]
Read More »Through the Association’s ongoing meetings with members of the University’s Pandemic Response Team, we have been raising issues facing USFA members including professional expense reimbursement and the use of Zoom. The Employer has told us current licensing will soon be up for renewal and they are consulting with faculty and staff about web conferencing platforms […]
Read More »Coming out of our discussions with members of the Pandemic Response Team, the Employer has proposed allowing faculty the option to request a one-time taxable payment from their APEF of up to one year’s allocation to support making their remote work environment more suitable for an extended period. There would be no restrictions or accountability […]
Read More »With processes for renewal of probation, tenure and promotion underway, we want to draw your attention to new language in the Collective Agreement regarding conflict of interest (Article 10.9), which may have an impact on those eligible to participate in these collegial decisions. It is not possible to enumerate all of the situations which could […]
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