Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that represents 16,000 teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s, researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
s, and librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
s through its interaction with the Ontario government
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario refers to the provincial government of the province of Ontario, Canada. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
, opposition parties, related agencies, and associations. OCUFA also allows its twenty-six member faculty associations to coordinate media relations and research for collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
. OCUFA also publishes Academic Matters
Academic Matters
Academic Matters: The Journal of Higher Education is a Canadian magazine which publishes articles on issues of relevance to postsecondary education in Canada and internationally, as well as literature and film reviews, original fiction, research notes and commentaries...
, a quarterly journal that covers higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
topics across Canada, and a monthly electronic newsletter
Newsletter
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
, Ontario University Report, with specific content for Ontario members. OCUFA maintains a separate website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
for advocacy entitled Quality Matters and provides members with a discount program named Edvantage.
Background
1964 in Canada
-Incumbents:*Monarch: Elizabeth II*Governor General: Georges Vanier*Prime Minister: Lester B. Pearson*Premier of Alberta: Ernest Manning*Premier of British Columbia: W.A.C...
, the mandate of OCUFA is to represent and express the views of academic staff at universities in Ontario in order to improve the quality of higher education in the province. The objectives include representing the interests of its members, advocacy regarding legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
and public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
affecting universities in Ontario, researching applicable areas, resolving differences between members, and information sharing (e.g., conferences). The board of directors maintains governance of the OCUFA while each member (i.e., faculty association) appoints one person to be a director to represent the member at the board. OCUFA membership consists of twenty-six faculty associations that represent all but one of the public universities in Ontario.
Publications
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
Academic Matters in 2005 to cover higher education topics with a Canadian focus. The journal has a circulation
Circulation (journal)
Circulation is a scientific journal published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins for the American Heart Association. The journal publishes articles related to research in and the practice of cardiovascular diseases, including observational studies, clinical trials, epidemiology, health services and...
of 24,000 and includes contributions from academic and non-academic author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
s. In addition, OCUFA provides members with a biweekly electronic newsletter in English and French (i.e., Ontario University Report or Rapport sur les universités) that covers news and events in Ontario. OCUFA also gathers and authors research briefs and reports on its website.
Advocacy
OCUFA is one of seven associations interacting within the structure of higher education in OntarioHigher education in Ontario
Higher education in Ontario includes postsecondary education and skills training regulated by the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities and provided by universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, and private career colleges. The current minister is Glen Murray who assumed the...
to represent the interests of faculty, academic institutions, staff
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
and student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s. OCUFA primarily focuses on university faculty while the Council of Ontario Universities
Council of Ontario Universities
The Council of Ontario Universities builds awareness of the university sector’s contributions to the social, economic and cultural well-being of the province and the country, as well as the issues that impact the sector’s ability to maximize these contributions...
aims to represent institutions' perspectives. Correspondingly, Colleges Ontario represents college institutions in Ontario. In addition, the Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations & Unions represents non-union and union non-academic staff while students have the option of representation through the Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Federation of Students
The Canadian Federation of Students is the largest student organization in Canada. Founded in 1981, the stated goal of the CFS is to work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education.-Structure:...
, College Student Alliance
College Student Alliance
The College Student Alliance represents students in Ontario community colleges. They currently represent 17 colleges and 25 student associations with over 135,000 student members....
, or Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance is an alliance of university student governments from across Ontario, Canada. Their common objective is to protect the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students, and to provide research and...
. OCUFA conducts public opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
s and gathers relevant poll data from other organizations to inform its members and the public. Internally, OCUFA provides members with a lobbying manual and provides a forum to focus on key issues. Externally, OCUFA maintains a separate website to communicate and coordinate advocacy issues with the public and related associations with similar interests. In the past, OCUFA engaged in discussions to support and amend legislation regarding the elimination of mandatory retirement and extend the freedom of information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
coverage for universities.