The Executive Committee of the Brandon University Faculty Association (BUFA) announced last week that, following a 45 day strike, the BUFA Membership ratified a new collective agreement. The margin of acceptance was 93 percent. The issues under dispute by Brandon faculty are important and relevant to Universities across Canada. University administrations are moving to weaken […]
Read More »If you have ever wondered why faculty might choose to unionize, read the University of Saskatchewan Act and the University of Regina Act. Neither piece of legislation contains the word “tenure”. It does appear in the Collective Agreement, where it is defined as “the appointment of an employee to a permanent position on the academic […]
Read More »The Faculty Association has been in a three year battle, investing considerable time and expense fighting an attack on the integrity of the collegial process at our University. A few years ago, the tenure case of a faculty member received mixed reviews as it went through the collegial process at the departmental, college, and university […]
Read More »Is a faculty member who publishes six peer-reviewed articles more or less meritorious than a faculty member who publishes one peer-reviewed article, but also has large teaching and administrative responsibilities? It depends. Six top quality publications in outstanding venues could represent a career achievement, even given teaching and administrative offloads. However, six papers published in […]
Read More »Brandon University Faculty Association (BUFA) has been on strike since October 12th, 2011. BUFA represents both tenured faculty and non-tenured sessional instructors and is dealing with four main issues. Quality of learning – BUFA’s position is that there should be guaranteed replacements when members go on sabbatical to ensure continuity of program delivery. They are […]
Read More »The merit pool for this and next year is quite large – 785 CDIs for each year. After that, it will likely go back to 600 CDIs per annum, subject to the outcome of collective bargaining. At the last round of bargaining, the parties agreed that the merit system at the U of S was […]
Read More »The total merit pool for 2011-2012 is 785 CDIs. The current agreement states that at least two-thirds of these must be full merits, making it possible to award a maximum of about 1050 awards (525 full and 525 halves). The new merit system is intended to be transparent. Decisions must be made by a committee […]
Read More »The Saskatchewan provincial election is an opportunity for you to support and elect candidates who you believe will best represent you. Here’s what you can do: Talk to family, friends and co-workers. Urge them to get out and vote. Go to candidate forums and ask questions. Where do candidates stand on issues that are important […]
Read More »For close to a decade now the USFA has hosted events for faculty in the first few years of their appointment at the U of S. Getting to meet new members and hear from them about their views on our workplace is an enriching experience. Each year, while the information we provide can seem quite […]
Read More »So you’re all set to teach your courses… course syllabus complete, lecture notes in place and posted on PAWS/Blackboard, reading lists done, and assignments prepared. But have you thought about copyright? Much information has been circulated recently about changes to copyright policy on campus. Out of concern for implications for our members, USFA is alerting […]
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