REMINDER! Notice of Spring 2024 Ed Co Elections

Once again, it’s Spring Elections time and there are three open Faculty seats on Education Council.  Some of you may remember my blog post, “Why should you care about Academic Governance?” which explains how important it is to have strong faculty representation on our Educational Council and maybe you read a suspiciously similar post called “Notice of Upcoming 2023 Spring Elections” that I sent out last Spring (and will keep recycling).

That’s because there’s nothing more important than ensuring we are in the room where so many important decisions about our futures are made. Faculty members are experts in their respective fields, possessing deep knowledge and understanding of academic disciplines. Our expertise is invaluable when it comes to making decisions related to curriculum development, academic policies, and pedagogy. We know our employer would like to restrict our voices and expand their managerial rights because that’s what they tried to bargain for.

Academic Governance is a vital part of how faculty are able to participate in the governance of our organization and directly affect more positive outcomes. Make no mistake, as recent events have sadly shown, time honoured faculty rights like Academic Freedom are being disregarded, operational and financial pressures are superseding good pedagogy, and none of us can afford to underestimate the significance Artificial Intelligence will have on our work.

We can’t afford to be absent from the spaces where academic decisions are made. We must not relinquish those few spaces where faculty voices (and votes) have the potential to make lasting, positive change. Serving on Ed Co is a great way to become more active, engaged, and united in shaping our working and learning conditions and helping to protect academic freedoms and collective agreement rights.

Upcoming Educational Council Elections

If you have an interest in policy, curriculum, or having a role in the strategic leadership of the College, consider putting your nomination forward to serve on Camosun’s Education Council as a great way to make a difference.

Nomination Period: Mar 7 – 20, 2024
Election Voting: April 8 – 10, 2024

Positions available:

Education Council

• Students: 4 seats with a term of August 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025
• Faculty: 3 seats with a term of August 1, 2024 – July 31, 2026
• Please refer to camosun.ca/elections for seat allocation

Board of Governors

• Students: 2 seats with a term of August 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025

At this point in time, there appear to be no seat allocation restrictions. Faculty from all areas are encouraged to run! Check out who the current EdCo members are to see who represents your area!

Be sure you check out the Rules & Guidelines or email ac.nusomac@snoitcele for more information. The nomination period begins March 7 and runs through March 20. I’ve linked the form from last elections, but will replace it once the College updates their webpage. Have more questions? Drop me an email or pop a question on our Discord Server!

You need to complete a form AND obtain signatures from five nominators no later than 3PM on March 20, 2024.

They reject nomination forms that are just one minute late, so don’t delay! Feel free to contact me if you have questions about serving on EdCo and the importance of faculty representation in Collegial Governance at Camosun College.  Don’t worry, I’ll remind everyone again (and again, and again); expect to see this in CamNews, too! Have suggestions about better ways we could reach you? Fill out our communications survey to let us know how your Union is doing!