Dear members,
If it has not yet arrived, you should soon be receiving your 2022-2023 workload letter. This is in accord with Article 22.1.2.1 of our Collective Agreement which sets out that, “The workload is communicated to the Member by the Dean in writing before May 1, subject to the provisions in 22.2.4.3.” And Article 22.2.4.3 specifies that “Where a Member’s workload includes scheduled teaching duties for the spring/summer term, these shall be communicated to her by the Dean no later than April 1.”
With this in mind, we wish to remind members of your rights as per Article 22 of our Collective Agreement, particularly as it relates to non-conventional modes of teaching.
Article 22.2.3.1 specifies:
“courses which:
(a) are taught by correspondence or at off-campus locations, or
(b) are videotaped, recorded, broadcast or televised, or
(c) call for unconventional methods such as teleconference teaching,
(d) delivered entirely or partially via the Internet,
may be included in a member’s teaching load only with the prior consent of the member and, if applicable, once any special arrangements that may be required have been agreed upon.
Please be advised that the APUO has not given its blanket consent allowing members to be assigned any course taught using a non-conventional teaching format without their prior individual consent. Put simply, all members must give their individual consent for each course that the Employer wishes them to teach in a non-conventional format. Without proof of this consent, the Employer cannot require members to teach a course using a non-conventional format. This includes distance, bimodal and hybrid formats.
It is important that you be equally aware of the other rights you are afforded by Article 22:
Distribution of teaching duties
Article 22.2.2.1 states: “A Faculty Member’s scheduled teaching duties shall be distributed over two (2) of the three (3) terms of an academic year, it being understood that:
a) the above provisions may be set aside with the prior consent of the Member concerned;
…
d) where a Member’s Dean requests that the Member accept the spring/summer term as one of the two (2) terms comprising scheduled teaching duties, the Member shall not unreasonably refuse.”
Furthermore, as per Article 22.2.2.2: “As far as possible, the Employer shall not — unless the Member agrees otherwise — include in the Member’s workload more than one (1) course per term finishing after 7 p.m., it being understood that more than one (1) course will not be included without prior consultation with the Member, and unless justified by reasons related to the nature of the student clientele.”
Modifications to your workload assignment
As per Article 22.2.4.4:
“A Member’s workload shall not be changed after May 1, unless the change is made clearly necessary by the circumstances. Such change is to be made as far in advance as possible and shall always be preceded by consultation with the Member concerned.”
Workload disputes and changes
If you wish to dispute your workload, you may activate the FWRC process detailed in Article 22.2.6.1. This article specifies that:
“When a disagreement exists concerning a Member’s workload assignment, the Member shall inform the Dean, within ten (10) working days of receipt of the assignment…, by sending a letter of disagreement.”
If you have any questions or are considering disputing your workload assignment, do not hesitate to communicate with the APUO.