April 28, 2011

1. Faculty of Medicine Learning CollaborativeUnionization of Research Personneland Contract Academic Staff Regulations April 28, 2011

2. 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

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

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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”)

7. Ranked CAS - Descriptors • Ranked CAS are furthered identified with descriptors: • Clinicaleg. 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

8. 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*

9. 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

10. Letter of Offer for Ranked CAS • Letters of Offer: • Templates on AAO website include updated wording and links • (http://www.mcgill.ca/medicine-academic/recruitment/templates/) • 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

11. 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

12. 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 6th year; departments may put forward at any time • Excellence in two of the three spheres required for promotion

13. 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

14. Unranked CAS • Presentation by Melina Tondino, Manager and Senior HR Advisor, Faculty of Medicine

15. 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

16. 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*

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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

21. Questions?