Back-to-School, but not Business as Usual

Dear Members,

Welcome back to a new term at Camosun! Whether you are a continuing faculty member or joining us on a term contract, the Camosun College Faculty Association (CCFA) extends a warm welcome and solidarity as we begin another academic year together.

You hardly have to look around to notice the absence of so many of our usual term faculty colleagues to realize it is anything but business as usual. There are fewer sections, fewer courses, and fewer students than in any fall term since the pandemic. That means, now more than ever, we need to be on guard against workload bloat and reject uncompensated labour to solve our employer’s problems.

The start of term is exciting but also very busy for most of us, and it’s easy to deprioritize ourselves while we invest time and passion into preparing for and supporting students, so I want to highlight a few important issues to keep front of mind:

Excessive Workload and Student Overloads

This term, we are hearing increased reports of student overloads—extra students being added to classes above the agreed maximums without prior knowledge or agreement. Please remember:

• Your workload is governed by Article 7 of the Collective Agreement, which protects against unreasonable assignments.
• Overloads arising from any combination of the list in 7.02 should not be added without your consent and appropriate compensation must be negotiated in advance and provided to you in writing.
• If you are being pressured to take on more students or courses than you should, are being told that you can “green sheet” your overtime, or are not contact the CCFA right away.

Term Faculty – Know Your Rights

• Right of First Refusal (ROFR): If you’ve taught courses successfully, you may gain rights to future work. Make sure you’ve applied to establish your ROFR.
• Evaluations: Term faculty should receive fair and timely feedback; it should never come as a surprise at contract renewal time, if you aren’t informed that you are being evaluated this term, let us know if your students are surveyed.

Continuing Faculty – Protect Your Balance

• Be mindful of the balance between teaching, professional development, and service. If your assigned workload does not reflect the agreement, connect with us.
• Student evaluations are just one part of your appraisal process—your professional judgment and departmental contributions matter too.

Professional Development

Don’t forget: all faculty have Professional Development entitlements—funding and time to support your growth. Applications are welcome year-round, so don’t miss out on opportunities to enhance your teaching, research, or scholarly activities.

Stay Connected

The CCFA is here to support you. Whether it’s a question about your workload, benefits, ROFR, or any other workplace concern, we are only an email or a phone call away. We wish you a strong and supportive start to the term. Let’s look out for one another and ensure our rights and working conditions are respected.