Faculty of Medicine Learning Collaborative Unionization of Research Personnel and Contract Academic Staff Regulations April 28, 2011

Outline of Today’s Session:  Mr. Robert Comeau -- AMURE: the Association of McGill University Research Employees  Questions and discussion  Christine Dolden, Melina Tondino -- Contract Academic Staff (CAS) regulations  a. Ranked academic staff – Christine  b. Unranked academic staff – Melina  Questions and discussion

Ranked Contract Academic Staff (CAS)  Who is a CAS member?  Types  Ranks  Descriptors  Appointing CAS members  Joint CAS appointments  Promotions  Termination

Who is a CAS member?  Contract Academic Staff:  A member of the academic staff, other than a member appointed in a tenure track position or those covered by a collective agreement  May be ranked or unranked  Appointed to term positions  May be for a definite or indefinite term  May be full-time or part-time*  May hold joint appointments of the same classification  (ie. not a ranked appointment and an unranked appointment)

CAS Types- Ranked and Unranked  Ranked CAS:  eg. Faculty Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, full Professor, and Research Scientist  Unranked CAS:  eg. Research Assistant, Research Associate, Academic Associate  (R.A.’s – only until they have a collective agreement)  Unranked CAS – Other:  eg. Course Lecturer  Unranked CAS – Affiliation/Visiting:  eg. Adjunct Professor, Visiting Scholar, Visiting Professor, Professor of Practice

The Breakdown:  Total number of academic positions in the Faculty of Medicine: ~3,600  1. Tenure track members: ~500  2. CAS members: ~3,100  Unranked CAS: ~800  Ranked CAS: ~2, 200 (~1,600 our former “GFT-H’s”)

Ranked CAS - Descriptors  Ranked CAS are furthered identified with descriptors:  Clinical eg. Assistant Professor (Clinical). “GFT-H” will no longer be used  Professional (generally not used in Faculty of Medicine)  Practice (generally not used in Faculty of Medicine)  The Faculty of Medicine is requesting the creation of additional descriptors (pending approval):  Education  Research

Ranked CAS - Terms  Definite Term Appointments:  Ranked CAS are appointed for an initial term of not more than 3 years  May be reappointed for additional definite terms in the same department for up to 6 years  Indefinite Term Appointments:  A ranked CAS members who has 6 years of continuous service in the same department is appointed for an indefinite term (ie. no appointment end date)  NB: regular monitoring of indefinite term appointments paid from research funds is required*

Appointing New Ranked CAS  No change to our current Faculty of Medicine process:  C.V., letter of support from Chair/Director to Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs  Letter of offer to be co-signed by Chair and Associate Dean  NB: appointments of CAS staff to the rank of full Professor must go through the University Tenure Committee for Recruitment first

Letter of Offer for Ranked CAS  Letters of Offer:  Templates on AAO website include updated wording and links  (  Include info on academic duties (and clinical, if appropriate)  Academic duties may overlap with the 3 areas assigned to tenure track faculty: research, teaching, other scholarly contributions  Indicate full-time or part-time (if part-time, also FTE or hours per week)  Indicate if it is a joint appointment

Joint CAS Ranked Appointments  Treated similarly to joint tenure track appointments:  letter of offer must indicate that it is joint and be co-signed by both Chairs/Directors & Associate Dean  Reappointments require support from a review committee with equal representation from both departments  (no longer required once Indefinite)  Promotions require support from a special promotions committee with equal representation from both departments  Use part-time Associate Member title as appropriate

Promotions – Ranked CAS  Three classical spheres of evaluation: teaching, research and other scholarly duties (similar to tenure track)  In addition, Faculty of Medicine is revising our guidelines on the criteria for promotion to recognize clinical innovation as a sphere of evaluation equal to research (pending approval from Provost)  Ranked CAS may apply following the 6 th year; departments may put forward at any time  Excellence in two of the three spheres required for promotion

Termination of Ranked CAS  The process remains unchanged:  For ranked CAS with more than one year of service, 37 weeks written notice is given  Units should submit a written request to the Academic Affairs Office, who will submit request to the Academic Personnel Office  Formal written notification will come from the Provost’s Office to the member

Unranked CAS  Presentation by Melina Tondino, Manager and Senior HR Advisor, Faculty of Medicine

Unranked CAS - Descriptors  Unranked CAS are appointed to one of the following classifications:  Research Assistant;  Research Associate or Senior Research Associate;  Associate Curator or Curator;  Academic Associate or Senior Academic Associate;  Instructor or Senior Instructor

Unranked CAS - Terms  Definite Term Appointments:  Unranked CAS are initially appointed for a term of not more than 3 years (1 year at a time recommended)  May be reappointed for additional definite terms in the same department for up to 6 years  Indefinite Term Appointments:  An unranked CAS member who has 6 years of continuous service in the same department is appointed for an indefinite term (i.e. no appointment end date)  NB: regular monitoring of indefinite term appointments paid from research funds is required*

Appointing New Unranked CAS  No change to our current Faculty of Medicine process:  The following documents must be submitted to HR, Medicine for Research Assistants and to AAO for other groups:  CV  Job description  Draft offer letter  Once approved, can proceed with the appointment form

Letter of Offer for Unranked CAS  An extension letter is required at each renewal and must be sent to HR/AAO  Once a staff member has been appointed to the same position for 6 years, the end-date is removed from the letter.

Termination of Unranked CAS – Definite term  For an initial one year appointment, if the letter indicates non-renewal with no further notice, nothing further required  For any additional extensions of definite appointments, even if the above provision is in the letter, separate notice of termination required:  At MINIMUM four weeks written notice prior to the termination date of the appointment;  Otherwise, an additional two months (plus the four weeks) will be required *Notice can be worked or pay in lieu of working notice *Terminations approved at the Faculty level

Termination of Unranked CAS – Indefinite term  Letters do not contain an end-date in this case  Staff in unranked, indefinite term appointments must be given at MINIMUM eight weeks written notice prior to the termination date of the appointment;  Otherwise, an additional four months (plus the eight weeks) will be required. *Notice can be worked or pay in lieu of working notice *Terminations approved at the Faculty level

Questions?