Salary, Tenure & Promotion (STP) Workshops

Nov 10, 2017 | News

NOTE: If you would like copies of the materials used during the presentations or have questions, please contact the ULFA office.

Are you up for salary, tenure or promotion this year? Are you unsure what information is relevant or how much is too much? Are you serving on a STP committee and unsure what your role is? ULFA cordially invites you to our STP Workshops where you will be provided with a variety of tips and information on the STP process.

ULFA is changing the way we offer our STP Workshops so that the STP Workshop for Chairs/Committee members will be offered in the fall and the STP Workshop for applicants will be offered in the spring. This year, though, we will offer both workshops in the beginning of September so we don’t miss anyone who will be applying this fall. Please mark your calendars, ULFA’s two STP Workshops will be held between September 3rd & 4th.

Two workshops will be offered, each covering a different topic. The first workshop is designed to assist applicants who are applying for extension of probation, tenure and/or promotion. The second workshop is designed to assist STP Committee Chairs and members in their roles.

STP Workshop for Applicants

September 3, 2015 – 9:00-11:00am
Room: TH241

The presentation will cover the STP process as well as provide advise on putting together a teaching dossier, research materials, and the service component of assigned duties. As well, there will be information on how to engage the appeal process in the event of an unfavourable decision, along with a question and answer period.

STP Workshop for Committee Chairs and members

September 4, 2015 – 9:00-11:00am
Room: TH241

The presentation will cover the STP process as well as provide advise on chairing a STP Committee under our Handbook and how the STP Procedures relate to the Handbook. There will also be time for a questions and answer period.

Videoconferencing is available, please contact the ULFA office prior to August 27, 2015 to make arrangements.

New ULFA Retirement Print

Nov 10, 2017 | News

ULFA is pleased to announce tha tit has aquired a new series of Retirement Prints. Local artist aand UofL alumni Delia Cross Child’s print, As It Happened, will be given out to ULFA Members who retire from service or who leave the university after 25 years of serivce.

Please drop by the office to see the print in person.

Update from President David Kaminski

Nov 10, 2017 | News

Dear Colleagues,

I thought I would bring you up to date with some budget related developments instead of waiting until the Annual General Meeting on April 20, especially now that the writ has dropped and we’re off to the polls on May 5.

ULFA has arranged informal meetings with representatives from the AUPE local on campus, ULSU and representatives from the APOs. We’ve used these opportunities to exchange information and discuss ways we might bring our concerns to a wider public. With the election call, the most promising avenue open to us seems to be that of using public candidate forums to raise the issue of the budget’s underfunding of PSE, and we expect to make common cause with a campaign initiative of the Students’ Union.

To date, letters we’ve sent to our MLAs and cc’d to various government ministers have received only one formal acknowledgement of receipt, that coming from Bridget Pastoor’s office. From the rest we’ve only had silence.

A noteworthy item relevant to the government’s plans for PSE is found in the actions of a working group spearheaded by Tim Grant, Deputy Minister of Justice and Solicitor General. This working group is examining the way in which public sector salaries are determined in other provinces, including the BC model known as PSEC (Public Sector Employers’ Council). PSEC is a creature of the BC government that negotiates with various public sector groups (nurses, universities and colleges, firefighters, etc.), bypassing intermediaries like Boards of Governors, and implements government salary expectations in contract talks.

Grant’s working group is expected to complete its work in mid-May. We will keep you apprised of any developments coming from this working group.

Sincerely,
David

Process for STP Appeals

Nov 10, 2017 | News

It is that time of year when the STP hearings are wrapping up and the Faculty Association would like to highlight key rights available to you should you have any questions or need any assistance. If you have been successful in your application for continuation, extension, or tenure, we would like to congratulate you on your award. The information provided by clicking on the “continue reading”, though useful, will likely not be relevant to you at this time.

If you have had a negative decision from your STP hearing, you have the right to appeal the decision whether you’re a Faculty Member, Professional Librarian, Instructor, or Academic Assistant. Here is a summary of the appeal process and timelines from relevant articles in the Faculty Handbook (Article 24 Appeals; Article 17.04.3 Appeal Committee):

Receipt of the official Board decision triggers important deadlines: 10 working days to lodge notice of appeal and 15 days to provide particulars of the appeal. Grounds for appeal could be the improper procedure and/or improper application of the criteria in Article 12 (Professors) or Article 14 (Professional Librarians) or Article 15 (Instructors and Academic Assistants).

•    If you are denied promotion, the appeal is handled internally by the Faculty Handbook Appeal Committee. This Committee has the authority to overrule the decision of the STP Committee. If you are denied by this committee, there is no further appeal option. Thankfully, there is no consequence on your salary and you may reapply for promotion in two years.
•    If you are denied extension of probation or tenure as a Faculty Member or Librarian, or if you are denied a continuing appointment as an Instructor or Academic Assistant, you have two appeal mechanisms at your disposal:
(a) First, the STP Appeal Committee. This Committee has the authority to overrule the decision of the STP Committee.
(b) If the STP Appeal Committee upholds the negative decision, you have a right to appeal to a 3-person Hearing Committee.

A denial of promotion has no consequence on your salary and you can reapply in two years; however, a decision to deny continuation, extension, or tenure brings with it a terminal one-year contract. In any case, you have the right to appeal. For a lost appeal, it could be the end of your academic career. We strongly advise that you seek the guidance of ULFA immediately upon notice of a negative STP decision. We can help navigate the complicated network of appeals and, most importantly, we have experience in this process.