Daily Update – April 2
April 2, 2020
Daily Update – April 2
Updates from JCAA
This afternoon, CUASA met with Employer representatives at the Joint Committee for the Administration of the Agreement (JCAA).
Regarding members currently on sabbatical, we have been advised that the Employer has taken the position that those members will remain on sabbatical, despite any interruptions to travel or research capabilities. Sabbatical leaves will not be suspended, but the Employer has assured us that future sabbatical requests will not be affected in any way by the interruption in research activity that members may have experienced. We have been told there may be considerations for exceptional circumstances. Members with concerns should contact their Deans, with a CC to CUASA.
CUASA will be reaching out directly to the Joint Examinations Team to share continued concerns about winter term exams, including that members have been told their exams must be administered by the University and may be altered by someone other than themselves. We have been told that any members who no longer wish to offer an exam for their winter term courses should notify Scheduling and Examination Services as soon as possible.
The Employer told us they are drafting a Memorandum of Agreement on extending tenure/confirmation and promotion timelines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect to see a draft of this MOA shortly, and details will be made available to CUASA members once an agreement has been reached.
CUASA raised concerns about possible intellectual property violations stemming from members who may now have to share materials online. The MacOdrum Library has a website to assist members with copyright and intellectual property concerns, which you can find here. We wish to point out that the website also includes copyright infringement templates to give notice to websites hosting material that belongs to you.
We have heard from some members asking about the ongoing payments that faculty and staff are still making for parking spots on campus that are not able to be used at the moment. The Employer has informed us this is being looked into and information is forthcoming.
We asked again about the status of the fall term and have been told that no decisions have been made yet. The Employer is looking at striking a committee to look at possible scenarios, and we have been assured that the relevant stakeholders, including CUASA, will be consulted before any decisions are made.
Finally, we asked about student evaluations for the summer term. The Employer informed us that the decision has been made that evaluations will continue but will be treated as anomalous and will not be used against any faculty member for career decisions. Evaluations for the summer term will only be used at each individual’s choice. Normally, CUASA members have the option to elect for paper or electronic evaluations. We have requested that CUASA and the Employer sign a Letter of Understanding regarding student evaluations for the summer term since paper evaluations are not possible given the current situation.
Message from CUASA’s Director, Christal Côté
I wanted to reach out to you with a different kind of update and with an idea that, I think, will help all of us work through the home-work balancing act we are experiencing.
As you know, this year marks CUASA’s 45th anniversary and we were hoping to have events throughout the year to commemorate the history of CUASA. Given our current challenges, I felt it was very important to find a positive and creative way to celebrate this milestone. Even though our options are very limited right now, I’ve come to realize that we have some young ones in our lives who are always looking for something interesting to do while we work!
I have created a few colouring pages that I hope your home helpers will enjoy. I would really appreciate it if you could take pictures of just the coloured pages and use #CUASA on Twitter and Facebook to share with them with us (your child’s online privacy rights are also a high priority, so you decide what you’re comfortable posting). Not all of our members will have colouring helpers so by sharing the pictures within our community, we can help the CUASA Kids bring smiles to everyone. And you know me, I would never turn away something coloured by our own members. This project is as much for you as it is for our young ones.
My artistic skills are very limited so I welcome any contributions to the colouring page collection, including more challenging pieces that us adults would enjoy!
I look forward to filling CUASA’s digital scrapbook so in years to come, we can remember the little things that brightened our days during this academic year. I hope that you and yours find the activity fun!
Download the colouring pages here (zip file).
To download individual PDF files, click on the thumbnails below:
