A message from James W. E. Rush, Vice-President, Academic & Provost and Lori Curtis, President, Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo. This was also sent to all employees by the University, and published on the Employee Communication website.
In our last update on November 15, we shared some high-level agreements reached at FRC that will shape policies 76 and 77, and promised a further update by the end of the year. We would like to take the opportunity now to share some of the items we’ve reached agreement on so far.
Professorial teaching stream ranks
There is agreement that the following ranks will be created: Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream; Associate Professor, Teaching Stream; Professor, Teaching Stream. After the new policies take effect, no new appointments will be made to the Lecturer rank.
Permanence and progression through the Professorial Teaching Stream ranks will run in parallel with current processes in Policy 77. Permanence will afford faculty the protections of academic freedom.
Assistant Professors in the Teaching Stream will be hired on either probationary appointments (on a path to permanence) or definite-term appointments. For those on definite-term (DT) appointments, renewals after a cumulative total of five years in DT appointments must be in probationary-term appointments. This is to provide a clear path to permanence for teaching-stream faculty.
The new Teaching Stream ranks will be distinct from the current professorial ranks, with no pathway for switching between streams. Teaching-stream faculty will normally have workload in teaching and service. For Lecturers who currently have a scholarship component, this will continue, unless there is mutual agreement with their chair and dean to change this arrangement, as specified in the Memorandum of Agreement 13.5.5.b.
Transition for current lecturers
When the new policy is enacted, current Lecturers may elect to transition as follows:
|
Current appointment |
New rank |
New appointment type |
|
Continuing Lecturer |
Associate Professor, Teaching Stream |
Permanent |
|
Definite-term Lecturer with a UARC appointment and five years or more of consecutive appointments |
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream |
Probationary |
|
Definite-Term Lecturers with a UARC appointment and fewer than five years of consecutive appointments |
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream |
Definite term, renewable at the new rank for a total of five years. |
As in current policy, early progression of probationary appointments to permanent ones is possible.
Current Lecturers who do not elect to transition to the new ranks will maintain the same terms and conditions of employment that currently apply to their rank. They will not have new assigned pedagogical and professional development duties.
Participation in collegial governance
Teaching-stream faculty, with some limited exceptions, will participate in/be eligible for collegial governance on campus including (but not limited to) Department/School Tenure & Promotion Committees, Faculty Tenure & Promotion Committees, and Department/School Advisory Committees on Appointments.
Appointment of teaching-stream faculty to administrative service roles, such as Associate Chair or Associate Dean, will normally only occur after permanence.
Pedagogical and professional development terms
For all teaching-stream faculty, one term in six shall be a pedagogical and professional development (PPD) term, during which teaching-stream professors will engage in self-directed activities intended to facilitate their progression through the ranks and contribute to the academic mission of UW. During the PPD term, there will be no assigned teaching or time-intensive service duties. Teaching-stream faculty with administrative service roles, such as Associate Chair or Associate Dean, will negotiate a PPD term equivalent with their dean or chair.
What this means for teaching load:
- No one will have their assigned teaching load increase as a result of this agreement.
- Teaching-stream faculty who currently have assigned teaching in six out of six terms, or who currently exercise the option of a one-in-six non-teaching term only through a redistribution of their assigned teaching load into five terms, will have a load reduction of two courses (or their equivalent in service load) for the PPD.
- Teaching-stream faculty who currently have assigned teaching in five or fewer terms out of six terms (i.e., who already get a term with no assigned duties) will not have a load reduction for the PPD.
- Assignment of teaching load for current and future teaching-stream faculty will follow the norms established in their home unit, while also being consistent with a commitment that teaching-stream professors shall have one term in six for PPD without the need to redistribute load.
- Under no circumstances will more than 12 courses be assigned over a two-year period.
These agreements will ensure more consistent access to the “one-in-six” term for all teaching faculty. While teaching-stream faculty will not have sabbatical leave, the PPD term provides a similar essential break from teaching and an opportunity to focus on other work required to progress though the professional ranks.
Next steps
After a couple more meetings in the new year to work out a few more items, the agreements made at FRC will be sent to the Policy Drafting Committee, who will write policy language in accordance with the agreements.