CAUT Fair Employment Week: Celebrating and Supporting Our Contingent Faculty
Hello, I’m Milad Sabeti, a faculty member in Academic Services and SAFA’s representative for contingent faculty, including adjunct, casual, and temporary salaried faculty. Having taught at SAIT as an adjunct instructor since 2011, I understand the unique experiences that come with contract academic work. I’m committed to supporting the professional wellbeing of our contingent faculty and making sure your experiences, questions, and concerns have a voice within SAFA. Whether you would like to discuss a workplace concern, ask a question, or simply connect, please feel welcome to reach out to me anytime.
In recognition of CAUT’s Fair Employment Week, I would also like to invite our contingent faculty colleagues to an informal get-together at the SAFA boardroom. It will be a relaxed opportunity to meet colleagues, enjoy some refreshments, and connect with one another. I hope you can join us!
Contingent Faculty Get-Together
Date: Tuesday, October 27
Time: 12:00pm-12:50pm
Location: SAFA Boardroom (NN 201)
I look forward to seeing you there and continuing to support our contingent faculty community.
Milad Sabeti
SAFA Representative for Contingent Faculty
Your Annual CCH is a Maximum, Not a Minimum
Have you ever worried that you might “owe” Class Contact Hours (CCH) to your Academic Chair because your annual teaching assignment didn’t reach the number listed in the Collective Agreement? SAFA has heard this concern from several members, so let’s clear up a common misunderstanding: The annual CCH numbers in the SAFA Collective Agreement, Section 36.03 are not minimum teaching requirements. They establish the maximum regular CCH assignment for fulltime faculty in your school.Faculty do not need to reach that maximum every year to have fulfilled their workload responsibilities.
Your Workload Is More Than Teaching Hours
Under Section 36.02 of the Collective Agreement, faculty workload includes three components:
- Class Contact Hours (CCH): Time spent instructing or supervising students.
- Class Management Activities (CMA): Preparing lessons, marking assignments, supporting students, and other course-related work.
- Professional Duties (PD): Curriculum development, committees, special projects, scholarly activity, and other assigned responsibilities.
All three components matter! A faculty member with several new course preparations, large class sizes, or significant curriculum development responsibilities may need a lower CCH assignment to accommodate that additional work. A lower CCH assignment doesn’t mean you’re working less. It means your time is being allocated to other responsibilities that are just as important to your role.
What About Overload?
Section 36.13 establishes that faculty who exceed their applicable annual CCH limit are entitled to overload pay under Section 46. Assigning CCH beyond the program’s annual limit requires a mutual agreement form to be completed.
There is also an important distinction: Under Section 36.14, faculty who have been assigned fewer CCH than their instructional unit’s maximum can be assigned additional teaching hours in that academic year, up to that maximum, with reasonable notice and without additional pay. However, this does not mean unused CCH become a debt that faculty must repay in a future academic year.
You Don’t “Owe” Unused CCH
Your CCH maximum is not a target you must reach at all costs. It is one part of a workload system designed to account for all your assigned responsibilities. Academic Chairs must consider the full workload when making assignments. Reducing CCH to accommodate curriculum development, increased course preparation, or other professional duties is a legitimate way to balance that work.
Faculty should not have to squeeze a full teaching load around an already full workload. When additional responsibilities are assigned, something else may need to be reduced.
If you’re being told you “owe” teaching hours, or have concerns about how your CCH, CMA, and professional duties are being balanced, contact SAFA at [email protected]. We’re here to help you understand and protect your workload rights.
In solidarity,
Craig Coolahan
SAFA Labour Relations Officer