Issues in Depth

The UBC Faculty Association is the voice of faculty on a number of important issues. To see related posts on these issues including calls for faculty input, select the relevant tag or select the search icon at the top right of this page to use the search bar. Many topics are ongoing and faculty perspectives are always welcome. If you would like to comment on any item, please send an email to [email protected].

Join the Dialogue: Proposed Policy Amendment: Policy #85 (Scholarly Integrity)

Please take the opportunity to express your voice in the formation/change of university policies!

The University is proposing amendments to  Policy #85 (Scholarly Integrity). We have attached the rationale for the changes that were presented to the Board of Governors at its meeting on 4 December 2012 as well as both the existing and proposed policies. Below you will find the University’s comments on the proposed amendments.

Please review the proposed changes to see if you have any questions or concerns. You can submit your response to the Faculty Association by January 23 to be considered when we formulate the Association’s response, or you may forward your concerns directly to the University by January 31. If you do submit a response to the University directly, please copy us so that we’re aware of your response.

Call For Comments – Proposed New Policy: Policy #104

Please take the opportunity to express your voice in the formation/change of university policies!

The University is proposing a new Policy #104 (Acceptable Use and Security of UBC Electronic Information and Systems) to replace existing policies #104 (Responsible Use of Information Technology Facilities and Services) and Policy #106 (Access to and Security of Administrative Information).

We have attached the rationale for the changes that were presented to the Board of Governors as well as both the existing and proposed policies. Below you will find the University’s comments on the proposed new policy.

Please review the proposed changes to see if you have any questions or concerns. You can submit your response to the Faculty Association by January 11 to be considered when we formulate the Association’s response, or you may forward your concerns directly to the University by January 25. If you do submit a response to the University directly, please copy us so that we’re aware of your response.

Intellectual Property Rights at Risk

The Faculty Association is very concerned about proposed revisions to Policy 88, Intellectual Products (formerly called Patents and Licenses). Some of the elements, if implemented, would appear to seriously erode your intellectual property rights, and negatively impact your academic freedom.

We have attached the Association&rsquos response to the proposed changes, and you can also find it here. A copy of the proposed policy is here. I urge you to review our concerns, and send an email to Hubert Lai, University Counsel, copied to us, to express your concerns. Comments on the revised policy are due to Mr. Lai by October 7, so you must act quickly. We do not think it is in the best interest of faculty members to have the revised policy implemented and I think a strong signal should be sent about this to the University.

Respectfully,
Nancy Langton
President

FA’s Positions on BOG Elections

In a previous email, I described the problem of having Faculty holding management positions representing the voices of rank-and-file Faculty on the Board of Governors. The Faculty Association’s interpretation of the University Act is that BoG representatives for faculty positions should represent non-management faculty voices. Under the Collective Agreement, Associate Deans are management and Heads are not. New language in the collective agreement supports this:  “In addition, they (Heads) represent the views of their Departments to the Deans and the University at large.” In other words, there is a difference between non-management faculty voices and management faculty voices.

I urge you to vote in the Board of Governor’s election for a second individual to represent the voices of non-management faculty. Be sure to visit the University’s website sometime this week to cast your vote.

Best,
Nancy

Nancy Langton, Ph.D.
President, UBC Faculty Association
112, 1924 West Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
ph 604.822.2651
www.facultyassociation.ubc.ca

Pay Equity and Salaries for Tenure-Stream Faculty at UBCV

I am very pleased to present to our members the results of two Working Groups jointly sponsored by the Faculty Association and the Provost to examine pay equity in salaries of full-time tenure stream professors at UBCV.

The committees were struck at the beginning of 2010 with the following mandates:

Achieving Pay Equity For UBC Women Faculty: Data & Progress

On February 3, 2011, the Faculty Association Status of Women Committee presented a panel discussion on male/female faculty pay equity and other gender-related issues at UBC. Presentations included:

Equity: Key Issues for Women Faculty at UBC (view video)
Analysis of the Gender Pay Gap in Professional Salaries at UBC (view video)
Fixing Pay Inequity at UBC: Recommendations from the Structural Measure and Resolution Tactics (SMART) Working Group (view video)
The Science of Unconscious Bias (view video)

For copies of the handouts, select this link.