Grievance Advisory – Instructor Work Overload

Grievance Advisory: Instructor Work Overload

August 23, 2018

In light of the newly ratified Collective Agreement, the Association is requesting that all instructors without individual job descriptions review their course credit assignment in relation to the full teaching load of faculty employees within their unit, from May 1, 2017 to present.

Per Article 13.4(b)(i) of the 2017-2021 Collective Agreement, instructors without individual job descriptions should have the following maximum course credit workloads per year:

a. 1.5 times the normal full teaching load of faculty employees in the same unit or sub-unit, OR
b. 3.5 credits, whichever is less

The maximum credits instructors without individual job descriptions should be teaching is 3.0, because the normal teaching load for a faculty employee should be less than 2.5, either 1.5 or 2.0.

For example, if a faculty member’s normal teaching load is 2.0, then multiplied by 1.5, an instructor in the same unit should be assigned a 3.0 teaching load, as that is the lesser value of the options above. The 3.5 credits is the number listed in the Collective Agreement, but the calculation should never result in the 3.5 being the lesser value.

For the purposes of this calculation, only the course credit values of 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 shall be used.

If 1.5 times to normal teaching load of faculty employees is less than 3.0 (i.e. 1.5 x 1.5 = 2.25*), then this amount would be the correct maximum workload for instructors in that unit.

It has come to the Association’s attention that some instructors have been forced to teach up to a 3.5 anyway. This contravenes the 2014-2017 and 2017-2021 Collective Agreements.

Any instructors without an individual job description who are assigned more than 3.0 course credits for the 2018-2019 Academic Year are in a work-overload situation. Any instructors without individual job descriptions who have already taught more than 3.0 course credits for the 2017-2018 Academic Year will need to discuss with their Chairs how to adjust their upcoming schedules to comply with the 24 month rolling average. Instructors can work a 0.5 course credit over the maximum limit in a 12-month period, provided their average over 24 consecutive months remains at the limit.

For example, when the faculty norm is 2.0, over 24 months an instructor can teach a 3.5 one year, then 2.5 the next (or 2.5/3.5, or 3.0/3.0). The average remains 3.0 over the 24 months.

As a second example, when the faculty norm is 1.5, over 24 months an instructor can teach a 2.5 one year, then 2.0 the next (or 2.0/2.5 or 2.25/2.25). The average remains 2.25 over the 24 months.

Based on this 24 month average, members should not be working more than 0.5 course credits over the maximum limit, over a 12 month period. Doing so will result in a work-overload situation.

Any suspected course credit overloads from May 1, 2017 onwards should be reported to [email protected].

*Some situations may warrant a 2.25 calculation. For further details, contact [email protected].