Navigating the new roadmap for additional compensation during coronavirus pandemic

After seven months of negotiations, UWOFA and the employer have agreed to a new process to address additional teaching workloads experienced by the majority of UWOFA members. The employer recognizes that preparation for courses has been affected by the pandemic and may have involved additional duties and responsibilities. As a remedy, the employer has agreed to provide additional compensation under certain circumstances.

UWOFA developed the following suggestions to help you navigate this new process.

For members with a Limited-Duties appointment
For Limited Term, Probationary and Tenured members
Points to consider when preparing your request for additional compensation (with hypothetical examples of increased teaching workloads, and suggested requests)

For members with a Limited-Duties appointment

UWOFA recommends requesting the meeting with your Chair/Director/Dean as soon as you can demonstrate substantive workload increase.
UWOFA recommends you bring a trusted Academic Colleague or UWOFA Faculty Representative when meeting with your Chair/Director/Dean. As a courtesy, you should let your Chair/Director/Dean know you are bringing a colleague.
Before you talk to your Chair/Director/Dean, read the Appointments Article, Clauses 16.1 and 16.2 in the Faculty Collective Agreement, which address additional duties and supplemental remuneration.
In estimating your additional teaching workload, remember to account for any increases in time spent responding to student email, learning and troubleshooting online proctoring software such as ProctorTrack, and closed captioning of lecture recordings.
Deans, Chairs and Directors will consider the quality of the resulting work (e.g. by accessing the course OWL site and reviewing course materials) as well as the time used.
You need not have been involved in a Tier 0, 1 or 2 course redesign to qualify for supplemental remuneration. However, as a guideline, Western recognizes that a Tier 2 redesign of a 0.5 FCE course is estimated to increase teaching workloads by 2 days per week for 3-4 months. This corresponds in many departments to the equivalent of an additional 0.5 FCE.
If you disagree with the Dean’s decision, contact UWOFA about the possibility of filing a grievance.
Contact Lina Rodriguez, UWOFA’s Member Services Officer, at uwofamso@uwo.ca if you have any questions.

Click here for the full text outlining the process.

For Limited-Term, Probationary, and Tenured Members

Members who have experienced additional teaching duties and responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic should specify in writing the details and time commitment of such extra duties, and request a workload review with their Chair or Director (or Dean, in Faculties without departmental structure). If their Dean, in consultation with the Chair, Director, and the member, agrees that substantial additional work was done in the area of teaching, this may be recognized through remedies such as a workload redistribution (alternative workload) for the current or a subsequent year, or a workload credit which could be counted toward the Member’s teaching assignment for a subsequent year (course release).

UWOFA recommends requesting the meeting with your Chair/Director/Dean as soon as you can demonstrate substantive workload increase.
UWOFA recommends you bring a trusted Academic Colleague or UWOFA Faculty Representative when meeting with your Chair/Director/Dean. As a courtesy, you should let your Chair/Director/Dean know you are bringing a colleague.
Before you talk to your Chair/Director/Dean, read the Collective Agreement Article Alternative Workload, which outlines the process for a workload redistribution, and clauses 4 and 8 in the Article Workload.
In estimating your additional teaching workload, remember to account for any increases in time spent responding to student email, learning and troubleshooting online proctoring software such as ProctorTrack, and closed captioning of lecture recordings.
Deans, Chairs and Directors will consider the quality of the resulting work (e.g. by accessing the course OWL site and reviewing course materials) as well as the time used.
You need not have been involved in a Tier 0, 1 or 2 course redesign to qualify for supplemental remuneration. However, as a guideline, Western recognizes that a Tier 2 redesign of a 0.5 FCE course is estimated to increase teaching workloads by 2 days per week for 3-4 months. This corresponds in many departments to the equivalent of an additional 0.5 FCE.
If you disagree with the Dean’s decision, contact UWOFA about the possibility of filing a grievance.
Contact Lina Rodriguez, UWOFA’s Member Services Officer, at uwofamso@uwo.ca if you have any questions.

Click here for the full text outlining the process.

Full text of the process for members with a Limited-Duties appointment

Western recognizes that preparation for courses has been affected on account of the pandemic and the Declaration of Emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and may have involved additional duties and responsibilities.

Members who have experienced additional duties and responsibilities on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Declaration of Emergency, should meet with their Chair or Director (or Dean, in Faculties without departmental structure) to specify in writing details of such extra duties and responsibilities, and establish a schedule of supplemental remuneration in accordance with the Appointments Article, Clause 16.2. Members are welcome to invite an academic colleague to any meetings about additional duties and responsibilities.

In some cases, it may have been possible to mitigate the assigned teaching or duties/responsibilities increase through, for example, one or more of the following means:

Reduction of class size;
Assignment of additional support from teaching assistants or markers;
Assignment of a student intern to assist in course preparation;
Exploration of alternative methods of delivering a course; or
Enhanced support from the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

It is recognized that teaching duties may still entail an increase to Workload, despite such mitigating measures.

If the Dean, in consultation with the Chair, the Program Director, or other relevant person and the Member, after taking into account both the time used and the quality of the resulting work, agrees that substantial additional work was done, then the Dean and the Member will develop a schedule of supplemental remuneration for the additional duties and responsibilities under the Appointments Article, Clause 16.1 and 16.2.

Roadmap documents for Tier 0, Tier 1, and Tier 2 course redesign serve as guidelines for determining the amount of additional duties and responsibilities for which a Part-Time Member is entitled to remuneration upon satisfactory completion. For example, a Tier 1 course redesign entails a time commitment of one day per week, and a Tier 2 course redesign entails a time commitment of two days per week.

Arrangements to recognize or compensate for additional duties and responsibilities are subject to the Dean’s discretion and are not contingent on the Member signing a Course Authoring Agreement or a Commissioned Works Agreement, or participating in a formally recognized collaborative course redesign project (e.g. Tier 1, Tier 2). Budgetary restrictions cannot be the sole reason for denial.

Full text of the process for Limited Duties, Probationary and Tenured members

Western recognizes that preparation for courses has been affected on account of the pandemic and the Declaration of Emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act may involve additional assigned teaching or duties/responsibilities over and above the usual responsibilities.

If the Dean, in consultation with the Chair, the Program Director, or other relevant person and the Member, after taking into account both the time used and the quality of the resulting work, agrees that substantial additional work was done, then the Member can request a review of their Workload with their Dean. Members are welcome to invite an academic colleague to any meetings about Workload.

In some cases, it may have been possible to mitigate the Workload increase, for example, through one or more of the following means:

Reduction of class size;
Assignment of additional support from teaching assistants or markers;
Assignment of a summer student intern to assist in course preparation;
Exploration of alternative methods of delivering a course; or
Enhanced support from the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

It is recognized that teaching duties may still entail an increase to Workload, despite such mitigating measures.

If the Dean, in consultation with the Chair, the Program Director, or other relevant person and the Member, taking into account both the time used and the quality of the resulting work, agrees that substantial additional work was done, then this change in Workload may be recognized through means such as the following:

Redistribution of the Member’s Workload under processes set out in the Article Alternative Workload, for the current or a subsequent year. If necessary, timelines in Clause 3.1 could be waived.
Allocation of additional Workload credit, which could be counted toward the Member’s teaching assignment for a subsequent year;

Arrangements to recognize and adjust for an increased Workload are subject to the Dean’s discretion and are not contingent on the Member signing a Course Authoring Agreement or a Commissioned Works Agreement, or participating in a formally recognized collaborative course redesign project (e.g. Tier 1, Tier 2). Budgetary restrictions cannot be the sole reason for denial.