News Archive
Workload: What questions should we be asking ourselves?
February 23, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
We are hearing from some members that the volume of their work is too great, that the pandemic is making a challenging workload overwhelming and that it all feels out of their control. Keeping up with the demands of increased and new ways of teaching, fulfilling faculty administrative responsibilities along with completing more and more …
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Reminder: Meetings with Indigenous USFA Members
February 22, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
USFA Chair Allison Muri and Vice-Chair Doug Chivers, are meeting with Indigenous USFA members monthly for open discussions on topics of members’ choosing. To allow members to participate when then can, these meetings take place at 10:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the month via Zoom. The next one is March 3, 2021. To …
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Question the narrative
February 11, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
While the operating grant from the Provincial Government is less than what it has been and the costs associated with being a medical-doctoral university are not decreasing, the University of Saskatchewan is not in financial jeopardy. The university’s financial statements in the most recent Annual Financial Report shows a positive balance in the General Fund at April …
It is Still About Choice
February 10, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
You may have heard that Laurentian University recently filed for creditor protection. This news, coupled with some Senior Administrators discussing deficits in terms of “number of faculty positions they no longer have funding for,” has many faculty worried about job security at the University of Saskatchewan. Let us assure you that faculty jobs are largely …
CAUT Forum on French-speaking universities in pandemic times
February 8, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
From apprehended crisis to critical emergency Friday, February 26, 2021 at 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) Canada’s French-speaking universities were already on an alarming trajectory before COVID-19 hit. The pandemic has exacerbated the pressures on Francophone university education in a minority context and things have now gone from urgent to critical. The Forum will …
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Have you taken vacation this year?
February 4, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
According to the Collective Agreement (Article 19), you are entitled to six weeks of annual paid vacation, unless your appointment is less than full time in which case your vacation entitlement is pro-rated. Unlike most workers, you do not earn your vacation. It is available to you on the effective date of your appointment. Your …
Collectively Speaking – January 2021
January 28, 2021 | Collectively Speaking
Our issue of Collectively Speaking for January 2021 contains a summary of collective bargaining from universities across Canada as reported at the CAUT Council meeting in November. With less than 18 months left in the term of our Collective Agreement, this will provide you with a sense of the current national bargaining landscape. This issue …
Balancing your assignment of duties
January 27, 2021 | Assignment of Duties
Some faculty members have already begun collegial discussions about assignment of duties in their units for the 2021-2022 academic year. Many members have contacted the Association about unfairness and inequitability in the workload assignment in recent years, and particularly during the lockdown. The major changes in teaching culture might be a good time to revisit …
University Council motion in support of rejecting the active/inactive researcher designation
January 26, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
Members of the Research, Scholarly and Artistic Work Committee of University Council have voted to put forward the following motion to University Council. There is a notice of the motion in this month’s council meeting agenda: “It is recommended that University Council support in principle a) the rejection of the use of “active/inactive” designations for researchers …
Invitation to Indigenous USFA members
January 25, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
USFA Chair Allison Muri and Vice-Chair Doug Chivers, invite Indigenous USFA members to join them for open discussions on topics of members’ choosing. To allow members to participate when then can, these meetings will take place monthly at 10:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the month via Zoom, beginning with February 3, 2021. To …
The Work of Faculty: Part 2
January 18, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
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 …
Seeking Information: Have your expense reimbursements been denied?
January 13, 2021 | USFA e-Letter
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 …
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2020 Summary Report of the University Administrative Practices Survey
December 14, 2020 | All News
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 …
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Important Advice: Keep an eye on your paycheque
December 10, 2020 | USFA e-Letter
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 …
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Feedback needed – purchasing technology
November 30, 2020 | USFA e-Letter
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 …
The Work of Faculty Continued
November 25, 2020 | COVID-19
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 …
Academic Freedom and Systemic Racism
November 24, 2020 | USFA e-Letter
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 …
Important: Consultation underway for web and video conferencing platform
November 20, 2020 | USFA e-Letter
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 …
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Important: Professional Expense Allowance
November 17, 2020 | COVID-19
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 …
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Important information: Conflict of Interest
November 16, 2020 | USFA e-Letter
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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