Fixed Term Contracts

Up to 25 fixed-term appointments are available across the University.  These appointments are allocated by deans based on the needs of disciplines/departments and projected workload availability.

To be eligible for consideration for a fixed-term appointment, a contract faculty member must satisfy the following criteria:

• Has completed 4 semesters as a contract faculty member within the previous 36 months
• Has normally taught 384 SICH (generally equal to 8 sections) or more, including spring semester, in previous academic years
• Has a projected teaching load of 144 SICH (generally equal to 3 sections) or more in the fall semester
• Is at Step 4 or higher of the hourly rate schedule for contract appointments in Article 13

Initial fixed-term appointments are subject to

• Qualifications as identified in the selection criteria in Article 4
• Consistent satisfactory performance (based on chair or designate evaluations and student evaluations of instruction
• An appointment period of no more than 36 months, staring in the fall semester

Workload

Fixed-term appointment annual workload ranges from 384 to 480 SICH (generally equal to 8 – 10 sections), with at least 144 SICH (generally equal to 3 sections) in the fall semester.  Workload for a fixed-term librarian appointment is no less than 25 hours per week in each semester.  Workload for a fixed-term counsellor appointment is no less than 190 hours per semester.

Fixed-term contract faculty may accept sessional contracts in addition to the fixed-term appointment contract; these additional contracts are not eligible for pension and are treated as separate sessional contracts for compensation purposes.

Benefits

Benefit eligibility (per Article 16 of the Collective Agreement) and pension begins immediately upon the start of the fixed-term appointment.  Participation in the Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP) is optional.  Fixed-term contract faculty must be insured under the University’s basic life insurance, extended health care, and dental plans.  Fixed-term contract faculty who wish to opt out of extended health care and dental care must have coverage for these benefits under another group plan.

Fixed-term appointment compensation is prorated over twelve months.  Fixed-term contract faculty receive $1000 in professional development funds each year of the fixed-term appointment.  Unused funds can accumulate for up to four years.

Reappointment

At the end of an initial fixed-term appointment, an incumbent has the right of first refusal for consideration for reappointment.  Eligible incumbents are normally reappointed for a term of up to three years.  To be eligible for reappointment, evaluations as outlined in Article 28 carried out in the previous term must have been consistently satisfactory.

Fixed-term reappointments are subject to projected workload availability and discipline/department needs.  If there are multiple eligible incumbents within one academic unit and not all incumbents can be reappointed, then reappointment decisions will be based on the criteria outlined in Article 4.

Reappointment decisions will usually be made by April 1 of the last year of the appointment, and reappointment terms will begin on August 15.

Following are the conditions for termination of a fixed-term appointment:

• The Board may terminate the appointment by written notice with reasons in full per Article 4
• The fixed-term contract faculty member may terminate the appointment by written notice to the Board with reasons in full no later than March 15
• Mutual consent at any time