Mount Royal Faculty Association

Please share, and if possible join our teach-in on post-secondary education at MRU and in Alberta more generally: Wednesday, March 1 @ 2:00-3:20pm!

Teach-in on PSE: the neoliberal assault on education and what we can do about it Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023. 2:00 – 3:20pm | Online (meet.google.com/wut-pync-vwp) A panel discussion with Marc Schroeder, Brian Nichols, Roberta Lexier, and Mark Ayyash. Come discuss rising tuiti…

"Intriguingly, if you ask the students themselves what is the purpose of a higher education, the answer is, it depends. Research found it was contingent on how much it cost. In countries such as Denmark, Germany and Poland, where governments provide greater financial support and students are expected to make less of a personal financial sacrifice, students placed a greater emphasis on the social benefits of higher education, such as contributing to a more enlightened society, creating a more critical and reflective society and helping their country to be viewed more competitively worldwide.
Whereas, in England, Ireland and Spain, where students are expected to pay more for their university education and asked to shoulder a greater individual cost burden, the more they viewed their education as a means to a job."

Opinion: Universities are at a critical crossroads in defining their purpose We should consider the many and varied benefits of an inclusive, accessible and robust post-secondary education system.

Public institutions vital to democracy must themselves be governed democratically. An excellent if troubling read by Robin Whitaker of Memorial University, with lessons for Mount Royal University and Alberta post-secondary education.

We Need to Rethink How Memorial is Governed – The Independent Memorial University has a vital role in Newfoundland and Labrador's democracy. But it cannot fulfill that role without also embodying it.

Students on the gutting of Alberta's public universities like University of Alberta, as aided and abetted by highly paid administrators and for-profit consultants. Alberta's citizens - including students and staff - pay the price.

Two years in review: Academic restructuring at the U of A - The Gateway Despite recent successes, the U of A could experience an incredible loss of invaluable staff at the hands of academic restructuring.

Whoa. The Ontario Auditor General's damning report on the Laurentian University disaster: This is 100% why we need strong collegial governance oversight of our universities despite presidents speciously arguing that GFCs should butt-out.
https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/LaurentianUniversity_EN.pdf

The Mount Royal Faculty Association stands with Ontario education workers striking for fair wages and condemns legislation that seeks to strip them of their free collective bargaining rights. The Ontario government’s move to impose a contract and pre-emptively ban job action represents an egregious violation of its citizens’ fundamental rights, ultimately threatening the free association and collective bargaining rights of workers throughout the country. We encourage MRFA members visiting Ontario to join its 55,000 education workers on their picket lines, and we are making a $1000 donation to CUPE Ontario in solidarity.

MRFA Statement of Solidarity with Ontario Education Workers The Mount Royal Faculty Association stands with Ontario education workers striking for fair wages and condemns legislation that seeks to strip them of their free collective bargaining rights. …

The MRFA is happy to donate $1K to support striking workers & reminds all to sign the petition below. Come on & : You rely on these instructors & TAs to keep the institution running. Give them a fair deal!

Sign the Petition 1,845 signatures are needed to reach the next milestone!

In Alberta, tuition is skyrocketing by >31% over a 4-year program (much higher for some) as university and college funding is repeatedly slashed. Meanwhile, students are accessing food banks like never before.

More Canadians are turning to food banks than ever before, new report says | CBC News A record number of people used food banks in Canada this year, with high inflation and low social assistance rates cited as key factors in the rise, according to a new report.

Fair employment means better terms and conditions for contract academic staff, ideally with a shift to a pro-rata model of compensation, as well as improved pathways to permanent employment for those seeking it.

www.caut.ca

Solidarity with contract instructors, TAs, markers, and other members of CUPE 3912 at Dalhousie, who are now on strike in pursuit of a fair contract. This is Fair Employment Week across Canada. These colleagues are living the struggle for fair employment.

Dalhousie University teaching assistants go on strike | CBC News Teaching assistants at Dalhousie University went on strike Wednesday.

It's Fair Employment Week (Oct. 17-21):

- Contract faculty at MRU deliver the majority of credit instruction.
- 45% say that they would be unable to pay their monthly bills if their contract academic staff pay was interrupted.
- 45% self-describe as early-career academics or working academics attempting to sustain an academic career without a full-time appointment.
- Two thirds indicate that they would apply for a full-time position at MRU if one was posted in their area.

CAUT Final - Combined Edit - English w Subs This is "CAUT Final - Combined Edit - English w Subs" by Composite Film on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

It's Fair Employment Week across Canada, an annual national campaign to raise awareness about precarious employment at post-secondary institutions and support local organizing to improve the working conditions of contract academic staff, and the MRFA is participating! See our FEW web page for more information.

FAIR EMPLOYMENT WEEK 2022 Fair Employment Week is an annual national campaign to raise awareness about precarious employment at post-secondary institutions and support local organizing to improve the working conditions of c…