Faculty Rights Tips

We are living in times of intense stress and grief, as we navigate the crises of systemic racism and anti-Blackness, economic downturn, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Many faculty are not only teaching, counseling, and coaching students, but also trying to improve our communities, challenge injustice, and keep our families healthy and nurtured. 

As there is generally a seasonal rhythm to our working lives as faculty, we often scale back the intensity of our communications in the summertime. For the next two months, CFA’s weekly headlines will be going on hiatus. However, our work on your behalf continues.

When faculty are hired, they are often told that there are opportunities for additional employment in the summer or other “special sessions.” For many faculty, this additional employment is a critical part of their income.

Article 36 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement covers the rules for additional work and places a limitation on that “overage” to 25 percent of a full-time position.

In the wake of COVID-19, the majority of faculty members now create electronic or online content for their courses. These materials are usually placed on the web in a variety of ways, often in course management systems like Moodle or Canvas.

Occasionally, there are misunderstandings about who actually owns these materials once they are placed online.

As summer nears, we are reminded that there is a yearly rhythm and cycle to our work.

There are three types of “Work Years” in our Collective Bargaining Agreement:

• Academic Year (AY)
• Ten (10)-Month Work Year
• Twelve (12)-Month Work Year

While the individual campuses have their own particular academic calendars, they must conform to the parameters set out in Articles 20.4, 20.5, and 20.6 of our Collective Bargaining Agreement.

In the coming years, faculty members will be applying for tenure and promotion after serving as faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic.  It’s possible that the COVID-19 crisis will limit faculty members’ abilities to teach as effectively, complete as normative forms of expected research, and perform familiar forms of university service.  It is conceivable that student evaluations of teaching will, on average, decline, conference presentations may be cancelled, and research opportunities may be limited during this period of social distancing. 

At the beginning of each new term during the academic year, teaching assignments for Lecturers are often in flux until the last minute. It can be a challenging time for both Lecturers and department chairs, and the uncertainties we face with regard to our COVID-19 public health crisis only compound Lecturers’ experiences of precarity.

With campuses taking emergency steps in response to COVID-19, many faculty members are being asked to make plans for teaching online, “virtually,” or though self-directed study. Taking on this work may not always be possible, but when it is, some faculty are concerned about their Intellectual Property rights as they share their work electronically and in online, electronic platforms. 

Sometimes, we need to take time away from the University to care for an ill family member.  

Faculty members with seriously ill parents, children, spouses, or domestic partners have the right to take a leave of absence of up to 12 weeks to care for their eligible family member.