Questions about hiring and appointments come up quite often in the work of your Union. There is some confusion both on the part of some of our members and, it would appear, on the part of some academic units. Here is a slightly updated version of what I sent out a bit over a year ago.

The Collective Agreement (CA hereafter) is what governs your relationship with the University as a LUMUN member. As it states in Article 2:

2.01 The general purpose of this Agreement is to establish orderly collective bargaining between Memorial University of Newfoundland (hereinafter referred to as the “University”) and its Per Course Instructors, represented by the Lecturers’ Union of Memorial University of Newfoundland (hereinafter referred to as the “Union”); to establish and maintain a harmonious working relationship between the parties; to ensure the prompt resolution of disputes and grievances; and to set forth the terms and conditions of employment.

2.02 The parties recognize that it is in their common interest to promote and enhance the working relations between the University, the Union, and its members, consistent with the principles of mutual respect, cooperation, and academic freedom.

It should be noted that, as with all CAs, the common law duty of fairness applies. This means that neither side can undertake actions that, even though they might follow the letter of the CA, are patently unfair and unreasonable.

APPOINTMENTS (ARTICLE 13)

The timing of appointments is outlined in Article 13.01, as follows:

When the Administrative Head determines that a course is available to be taught by a Per Course Instructor, the position shall be posted electronically and may be concurrently advertised elsewhere. The postings(s) shall be for ten (10) days except where this is not possible due to emergency circumstances.

And 13.02:

Appointments available for Per Course Instructors shall normally be posted no later than October 30 for the Winter semester, no later than February 28 for the Spring/Intersession/Summer semester, and no later than June 30 of each year for the Fall semester.

If the deadline for academic units to post ads falls on a weekend or a holiday, the deadline will move to the next work day.

Remember that it is your responsibility to check the website for your academic unit regularly for job ads. The reasonable place that they will be posted is on the Academic Unit's (department) website and that is where they have been posted so far. While there is nothing to say that job ads for per-course instructors cannot be posted earlier, unless there is a demonstrable reason for this early posting and LUMUN has been informed of it (and this has been the case so far), we would view this early posting as an attempt to circumvent the CA. As well, if the Academic Unit were to hide the posting in some hard-to-find or illogical place, we would see this as an attempt to circumvent the spirit of the CA (and again, we have seen no evidence of this hidden posting).

The Academic Units may also directly contact Per Course Instructors on their seniority and or probationary list if they wish to, but they are not required to inform instructors of available positions in this manner.

Article 13.03 reads:

Postings shall include, but are not limited to, the nature of the position, the application deadline and the requirements for the position including academic and professional qualifications and experience.

Note that hiring will follow the language of the Collective Agreement, regardless of the language used in the job posting. This means that requirements for instructors to teach courses cannot be arbitrary, nor can they be changed arbitrarily; for example, a course that has regularly been taught by instructors with certain qualifications cannot arbitrarily have new requirements. This also means that any language mentioning "preferences" applies only in cases where two or more qualified applicants with equal seniority apply or where there are no applications from LUMUN members on the seniority list. If you feel that you are qualified to teach a course and wish to apply, you should not feel that you cannot because of any language in a posting around 'preference'.

And Article13.04 reads:

Applications in response to postings shall be submitted electronically or in writing to the Administrative Head.

These articles are pretty straightforward, but note that either electronic or written applications may be submitted; academic units cannot require only one form of submission.

Article 13.05 reads:

In accordance with the provisions of the Collective Agreement in Article 12 – Seniority, persons applying for a posting shall have seniority for the appointment based on the number of courses or equivalents previously taught in that academic unit of Memorial University, provided they meet the requirements for the position as outlined in the job posting. In the event that more than one applicant has equal seniority, the final determination will be made by the Administrative Head.

This means that, providing you are qualified (and having taught the course before would normally clearly show such), the positions will be given out on the basis of seniority. Seniority is on an Academic Unit basis, not on the basis of having taught a particular course, nor on a university-wide basis. Note that if you are on the probationary list and apply to teach a course, the Academic Unit can give the position to an applicant who has never before taught in the Unit (i.e., someone not on the probationary or seniority list for the Unit) over you. Note, as well, that what is required on the application is up to the Academic Unit; if they want an updated CV, it is up to them, but they are not required to ask for one. Again, if they seem to you to be using the requirements of the application itself to circumvent the CA, then contact us.

Article 13.06 reads:

In the event a posted position is not filled through the posting procedure, including circumstances where there is no qualified applicant or no qualified applicant who is immediately available, the University may fill the position as it deems appropriate.

And Article 13.07 reads:

In the event of an emergency situation such as, but not limited to, resignation, death, serious illness, withdrawal of the assigned instructor, higher than anticipated student enrolment, or when an unanticipated position occurs, the University shall, where it is practicable in the circumstances to do so, choose first from the applicant pool in the original posting following the procedure in 13.05 above, which may result in a Per Course Instructor being assigned a second course. If there is no such applicant available, the University may fill the position as it deems appropriate.

Again, this seems pretty straightforward, but, once again, if they seem to you to be using this article to circumvent the CA then contact us.

Article 13.08 reads:

The University, without posting and without following seniority, may assign:

a) adjunct professors, up to ten (10) courses in an academic year,

b) post-doctoral fellows, up to twenty (20) courses in an academic year,

c) graduate students, during their program at the University, up to the percentage of per course appointments filled by graduate students during the preceding academic year.

Two things to note: first, we were told by the University during the bargaining process that the numbers for a) and b), 10 and 20 repectively, were well below what they expected to normally give out and, second, a LUMUN member on the seniority list, who happens to be a graduate student, can follow the same application process as any other applicant and be hired in that way (i.e., on the basis of seniority), rather than under 13.08. Such an appointment would not count toward the calculation of c.

Article 13.09 reads:

When a new graduate program is approved by Senate or modifications to an existing graduate program are approved by Senate, the percentage of per course appointments filled by graduate students may increase in accordance with academic requirements of such programs. The University shall inform and consult with the Union on such developments in a timely manner.

Since the CA came into effect, a new graduate program has been established, and we have agreed on the number of such positions in accordance with 13.09.

Article 13.10 reads:

All offers of employment to Per Course Instructors are conditional upon sufficient student enrolment in the course.

In other words, if an insufficient number of students register for a course, an Academic Unit may cancel the course. The following scenario illustrates LUMUN’s position: an Academic Unit posts an ad for four courses. Applicant A, who has the most seniority of the 12 applicants, lists 3 of these courses (Course Z, Course Y, and Course X) on her application form. The Unit informally offers her Course Z and Course Y; the Unit informally offers Applicant B, who has less seniority, Course X and Course W; none of the other 10 applicants is offered a course. Before the official letters of appointment are sent out by Faculty Relations, the Unit cancels Course Z due to low enrolment. It is LUMUN’s position that the Unit then needs to reapply the provisions of the Collective Agreement to the entire applicant pool – including Applicant A – for the courses that are still being offered. Thus, the Academic Unit would offer Course Y and Course X to Applicant A; Applicant B would be offered only Course W.

Article 13.11 reads:

Per Course Instructors shall be notified of their appointments in writing.

Fairly straightforward.

Article 13.12 reads:

Where the current practice of cross-listing a specified course between departments is discontinued, the University shall consult with the Union with respect to seniority rights and the parties shall deal with the seniority issues that arise on a case-by-case basis.

This hasn't come up yet.

So that is how things should work each term for you in getting a position.