aptpuo

Letter to the Editor

“The disciplining of professors based on ‘micro-aggressions,’ however, sets an unfortunate precedent and represents a slippery slope. No conscientious professor would willingly hurt their students’ feelings,” writes Thomas Boogaart, a professor of contemporary global history at the University of Ottawa since 2004 and a member of the APTPUO’s Board of Directors.

Campus unions at the University of Ottawa are calling on the administration to waive tuition fees for the upcoming spring and summer semesters after the global COVID-19 pandemic closed many of the school’s services indefinitely and shifted both semesters online, while also posing major financial challenges for students.

“The provincial government has changed and with it their legislative agenda, and the spending they foresee for the public and para-public sector, which includes universities.”—Shawn Philip Hunsdale, APTPUO communications and administration officer.

The university’s Board of Governors and APTPUO members will attempt to ratify the tentative deal on Nov. 24. If the deal is ratified it will be in place until August 2018, at which point a new deal will need to be negotiated.

Students are directly affected by conditions facing part-time professors—and here’s why When news broke that the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa (APTPUO) voted for a strike mandate, and would be in a legal position to strike if no agreement was reached by Oct. 30, much of the same messages were littered …

In a press release sent out early on Monday, Oct. 30, the University of Ottawa announced that it had reached a tentative deal the Association of Part-Time Professors (APTPUO), meaning the strike will not take place today. However, the negotiations will not be finalized until the agreement has been ratified by the U of O’s Board …

When professors go on strike, they are required to cease all communication with students. As part-time professors currently make up 50 per cent of all teaching staff at the U of O, this could mean that a large portion of the university’s student body would be out of classes indefinitely, which would put midterm exams and other assessments on hold.

According to the APTPUO’s website, the association’s collective agreement with the U of O expired on Aug. 31, 2016. Since then, the association’s bargaining team has held over 14 meetings with the university, however both parties have been unable to come to an agreement.