The Communiqué: Volume 47, No. 1 September 23, 2024
In This Issue:
- CUASA Bargaining News
- Student Experience Questionnaires (SEQs) AdminDeadline – Sept. 30
- Sabbatical Funding – Important Travel and Accommodation Information
- Call for Nominations: Chair, Nominations and Elections
- CUASA in Montreal to Support Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL)
- Get involved! 2SLBGTQIA+ Pride Caucus and Disability Caucus
- Updates from OCUFA and CAUT
Bargaining News
Negotiation meetings are being scheduled with Carleton with the first two taking place October 3rd and October 8th. Watch your email and the CUASA website for bargaining updates going forward!
The 2021-24 Collective Agreement remains in force until a new agreement is concluded by both parties, or until a strike or lockout. CUASA will continue to regularly inform its members on collective bargaining.
Student Experience Questionnaires (SEQs) Administration Deadline – Sept. 30
We want to remind members that you have until September 30 to make or update your selection for administering your Student Experience Questionnaires (SEQs) for the Fall term. Members can choose to administer their SEQs on paper or electronically. (Note: Courses determined to be “fully online” have to be administered using electronic questionnaires. The administration of all other courses will be at the discretion of the instructor.)
Members can make their selections through Carleton Central under “Faculty Services” by accessing “Student Experience Questionnaire Method Preference”.
Once members make a selection, the choice is saved for every subsequent term unless it is changed by the member. Members who wish to make specific changes for a fall or winter term must meet the end of the month deadline for the change to apply for that term (i.e. September for the fall term; January for the winter term). If a change is made after the deadline, that preference will apply for the next term
Sabbatical Funding – Travel and Accommodation Information
Funds granted on Sabbatical cannot be carried forward so be sure to use and properly document use of your funds during your Sabbatical time.
Article 20.4(h) For second and subsequent sabbaticals, each employee shall receive a grant of $1200 for twelve (12) month sabbaticals or $600 for six (6) month sabbaticals for the reimbursement of expenses (with appropriate receipts or records of purchase)
for travel (transportation and accommodation) and conference fees related to their planned research during the sabbatical leave. The grant shall be made available following the approval by the Provost of the written sabbatical plan. This grant is non-transferable and any unused funds may not be carried forward for future use.
*The grant is automatically deposited into the member’s PER fund upon approval of the leave. Members are required to use an activity code, “TRAVEL”, to access these funds and reimbursements for the Sabbatical Travel Grant must be processed no later than 3 months after the end of their sabbatical. It is important to note that unused funds are recouped by Carleton.
AND
Sabbatical Plans – Due October 31st
Members submitting Sabbatical Plans should consult the updated Travel and Related Expenses Policy paying particular attention to Section 4.1. Budgeting for Sabbatical travel is crucially affected.
4.1 Living Expenses
No living or personal expenses, such as meals and accommodation, can be reimbursed while on sabbatical or research leave. Personal or living expenses are not reimbursable under BPSAA.
Expenditures incurred during a sabbatical or research leave are subject to additional restrictions by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and applicable law. While travelling expenses are allowable, if a temporary base is established in a location other than the traveler’s home during a sabbatical or research leave, CRA deems this to be temporarily residing in that location, and meals and accommodation would be considered personal and living expenses and are not eligible research expenses.
Travelers should consult with Research Post-Award or Research Financial Services prior to making research-related travel plans during leave.
Carleton has confirmed that they have sought and received the legal opinion that according to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Guidelines stays of 30 days or longer are considered sojourning and thus accommodation and meals are considered personal living expenses and ineligible as research expenses.
CUASA has requested a legal opinion on this matter from Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and will update members accordingly. I you have any questions please reach out to CUASA’s Member Services and Communication Officer, Brittainy Bonnis.
Carleton further directs faculty to their Sabbatical Research Grant (SRG) page to determine the eligibility of research expenses.
Call for Nominations on CUASA’s Steering Committee: Chair, Nominations and Elections
We are currently accepting nominations for the position of Chair, Nominations and Elections.
The Nominations and Elections Committee duties include managing the process of elections for vacant positions on CUASA bodies and notifying CUASA members of elections in which they are elegible to vote. The Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee is a voting member of the CUASA Steering Committee and an Ex officio voting member of CUASA Council. The term is of two years. They receive the equivalent of 0.5 course release in compensation annually.
Nominations must be made using the form found here. All nomination forms must include the signatures of the nominee and two Association members as nominators. Please send completed forms to [email protected].
CUASA Members Travel to Montreal in Support of the Strike of AMPL
CUASA members joined unions from across the country in support of members of the Association of McGill Professors of Law in Montreal on Friday September 20th. This was part made possible by the CAUT Defense Fund, of which CUASA is a member, together with 65 other Faculty unions.
Show your support on their X page @AMPL/AMPD
Get involved!
CUASA’s 2SLBGTQIA+ Pride Caucus and Disability Caucus are now meeting regularly, and are happy to welcome new members. These caucus groups are intended to be an informal way for people from equity-seeking groups to find community connections, socialize, organize, support one another, and share ideas with each other and with CUASA. Groups usually meet once a month.
If you are interested in participating in these caucus groups, please contact our Equity and Member Services Officer, Max López, at [email protected] for more details.
Updates from OCUFA and CAUT
September Advocate – CAUT newsletter
“Western backtracks on new campus protest policy.” “CAUT is expanding its social media.” “CAUT calls on the federal government to make post-secondary education affordable.” And more. Read the full newsletter
University underfunding crisis exacerbated by further international student caps.
“The cap will certainly negatively impact universities, but the question we need to ask is, why are universities so reliant on international students in the first place?” says Jenny Ahn, OCUFA Executive Director. “We find ourselves in this desperate situation because over the last two decades, governments of all stripes chronically underfunded universities. […] Read the full update from OCUFA
CBC asks: Is university still worth it? We answered
“As the voice of more than 18,000 faculty, academic librarians and academic professionals, we at OCUFA are the first to agree that yes, university has become very expensive due to the chronic underfunding from the provincial government.
But, while very expensive, university education is still very much worth it.” […] Read the full update from OCUFA
The Communiqué is published by the Carleton University Academic Staff Association. Past issues are archived on our website at CUASA.ca. The Communiqué publishes CUASA-related news and information for our members.
We want to hear from you! Get in touch, by email, social media, phone, or by scheduling a meeting. We read everything you send, and thank all of those who have contributed suggestions.
