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Members' FAQs

Am I allowed to see my University personnel file?

Every faculty and librarian member may view their personnel file. Maintaining your personnel file is a task that WUFA encourages everyone to undertake. Members should ensure that items like thank-you notes from students, professional awards and other related materials are copied to their personnel file. The right to access your personnel file comes through the Collective Agreement, Article 27. Here are a few highlights:

The Dean, or in the case of the librarian members, the Dean of the Library, shall maintain the sole personnel file recognized by the Collective Agreement relating to each member, and the Departments of Human Resources and Finance shall maintain the benefits and payroll records of each member.

All documents pertaining to renewal, promotion and tenure shall be considered part of the member's personnel file. A copy of the summaries of the AAU Renewal, Promotion and Tenure Committee meetings as described in the Senate Bylaws shall be placed in the member's file in ample time for the member to consider the documentation prior to his/her presentation to UCAPT/UCRPPLM.

 Each member shall have the right to examine, by appointment during regular office hours, all of the contents of his/her personnel file. You may obtain copies of any information contained in your file.

Written complaints by a student or others shall not be placed in a member's personnel file before the member has an opportunity to respond in writing. No unsubstantiated complaints or allegations shall be placed in a member's personnel file.

 No anonymous material shall be kept by the University concerning any member or submitted as evidence in any formal or informal deliberation, action, or proceeding involving any member. If introduced, such material shall be sufficient in and of itself to invalidate the deliberation, action, or proceeding.

Read Article 28 for the full text of this Article.

As a faculty/librarian member, can I use the St. Denis Athletics Centre?

All faculty, librarians, sessional instructors and retirees can use the St. Denis Athletic and Community Centre free of charge during certain hours by obtaining a membership card from the Department of Human Resources. Cards expire annually on July 31 and must be renewed. Applications for card renewal are available online on the HR website or in the Human Resources office.  Once you have completed the form and submitted it to the Department of Human Resources, a membership card will be sent to you for access to the St. Denis Centre.

Membership to the St. Denis Athletic and Community Centre includes use of the pool, field house and existing weight room. It does not include access to the new Forge Fitness Centre which is the more modern facility and is paid for by the Student Alliance. If you wish to purchase a membership to the Forge, please visit www.golancers.ca or call 519-253-3000, ext. 7029.

What should I do when emergency notifications (such as fire alarms, bomb threats, etc.) go off in the middle of my scheduled exams/test?

Alarms

  • The rumour that fire alarms are turned off during exams is false.
  • NEVER ignore a fire alarm, even if you think it is a false alarm or a prank.  All individuals must evacuate the building immediately in a safe and orderly fashion.
  • Faculty members are responsible for instructing their students to evacuate.

UWindsor Alerts

  • In the event of a bomb threat or other serious emergency, the UWindsor Emergency Alert System is set up to notify students, faculty, campus police and the UofW Facebook and Twitter accounts.  There is currently no method in place that is used to isolate and notify certain groups first, and the standard ordering of alerts is by last name.
  • Faculty members can opt to have UWindsor Alerts sent to their cell phone via text message.  Contact the Emergency Operations Centre (ext. 4888) to set up alerts to your phone or to update your emergency contact information.

Test/Exam Rescheduling

  • If a test or other evaluation scheduled for class time cannot be held due to an emergency, the activity will automatically be rescheduled for the next regular class, as per Senate Bylaw 51 (item 1.8).
  • If a final exam is interrupted due to an emergency, within 24 hours, the Dean will consult with the course instructor to determine whether the exam results are acceptable or the exam needs to be rescheduled.  If the exam needs to be rescheduled, we assume that the Administration will select the new date. For more information, please read the Senate Policy of Exams and Tests.

How can I check to see if a student is properly registered for my course?

Each semester the Office of the Registrar receives requests to accommodate students who have failed to register properly for courses. Frequently, these requests are made very late into the semester, or after the semester has finished.

Some of the reasons students do not register for courses are as follows:

1. They are financially not eligible to register because they have an outstanding debt to the University.

2. They are academically not eligible to register because they are required to withdraw due to poor academic performance.

3. They want to "try" a course out, and may stay until the end of the term including writing the final and if they do poorly, they are not held financially or academically responsible. If they do well they will go to the instructor and/or the Dean and provide an excuse such as; they failed to process their course change form and just now realize that they are not registered.

4. They also "try" courses out by taking it once without registering, write the mid-term(s) and final, then re-take it and register properly, and will be more successful, since they have already had a practice turn, and if the instructor uses the same tests, the student will already know what is on the tests ahead of time.

No matter what the reason, the University will lose government funding for every student who does not register properly. While it is the student's responsibility to insure they are properly registered, instructors can monitor the situation by following policy and not allowing students to attend classes unless their names appear on the class list. Students whose names do not appear on the class list must contact the Office of the Registrar, and they should be told that no credit will be granted if they are not officially registered. Please do not accept assignments, or allow students to write tests or examinations if their name does not appear on the class list.

You may obtain a current class list at any time for your course, from the Faculty/Staff SIS.  GA’s and TA’s will need to get their class lists from the departmental secretary.

Are there Child Care Facilities at the University of Windsor?

Great Beginnings Child-Centred Co-operative is a non-profit organization which has partnered with the University of Windsor to offer its students, faculty, and staff flexible childcare choices adjacent to campus.

It operates a pre-school program designed to provide positive learning experiences to children—16 months to 6 years old—at its 820 California Avenue location.

For information on services, registration, fees, hours of operation, please call 519-253-5235.

How does one get Emeritus/Emerita status at the University of Windsor?

As of May 2005 the University of Windsor automatically confers the title "emeritus" or "emerita" on Full Professors and Librarians IV retiring with a minimum of 10 years' service under a policy change approved by Senate.

Under the previous policy, emeritus/emerita status was conferred only after application or nomination and approval by a special appointments committee. This process will remain in place for those who do not meet the minimum years of service.

What office hours must I maintain?

Full time faculty and Sessional Instructors must provide notification of their office hours to students within the first 2 weeks of the start of classes. Normally the office hours are announced on the course outline.  Office hours are a set period of time where students can consult with their instructors on various course questions, up to and including examination time periods.

'Office hours' do not have to be physically held in an office, although that is the preferable location. The student-instructor interaction can be conducted over email or by telephone, as long as the faculty member is available during the time period he/she has stated.

The Collective Agreement says the following about the length of office hours:

5:25 (j) in each semester in which a member has been assigned a teaching load the member shall make himself/herself available for student consultation on course-related matters on a regular basis, including examination periods, for the number of hours per week equal to the smaller of either five (5) or of two (2) times the number of courses the member has been assigned to teach in that semester, to meet the reasonable needs of students, and to make known this availability in writing in the course outline to their students and to the AAU Head within two (2) weeks after the start of lectures in a class or within such other time period as may be required by Senate bylaws and policies.

How much Vacation time am I entitled to?

Under Article 46 of the Collective Agreement, a faculty member is entitled to one month's vacation and a librarian member is entitled to 22 days of vacation. In the case of someone working less than one year, the vacation time will be pro-rated. Payment for vacation time is included in the salary of each member (in other words, when you go on vacation, you continue to receive your salary.) Ancillary Academic Staff are entitled to four weeks vacation. Sessional Lecturers are entitled to a prorated vacation based on their 8 months of employment. Sessional Instructors are paid 4% salary in lieu of vacation time.

Members are entitled to an uninterrupted vacation. Vacation is not cumulative, and must be used within the academic year it is earned (between July 1 and the following June 30.) Vacation must be taken at a time that is mutually agreeable between the employee and the department head/dean. The exception is for librarian members who may extend their vacation time until December 31 following the end of the employment year, subject to mutual agreement with the Library.

After 20 years of continued employment, a member is entitled to 25 working days of vacation time.

Holidays Observed by the University: Boxing Day, Canada Day, Christmas Day, Civic Holiday, Family Day, Good Friday, Labour Day, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Victoria Day, any other days that are proclaimed as holidays by the University.

Vacation in relation to Pregnancy/Parental/Adoption Leave:  Faculty or librarian members who are going on Pregnancy/Parental/Adoption Leave must use the vacation time owing to them in the year it is accumulated. In other words, vacation time can be 'tacked in front' of the pregnancy/parental/adoption leave so it can be used within the current academic year. Vacation days cannot be carried forward into the next academic year.

Can the WUFA office send out a message to all WUFA members on my behalf?

WUFA maintains a mailing list to distribute information to its members. This mailing list is only used by WUFA to send information about meetings, votes and other important Faculty Association or labour-related business. It is by its nature a low traffic list. If we were to allow conference notices, rental ads, and other personal or off topic posts, people would begin to unsubscribe, thereby reducing the effectiveness of this list.

To get your memo out to members, you might consider contacting the Public Affairs & Communications Office [Kevin Johnson, ext. 3238] to get a notice posted on the Daily News. You can also access the Daily News through the University website [www.uwindsor.ca] and submit an event directly to the Events Calendar. 

Why am I being called to appear before the UCAPT?

WUFA frequently hears from members when they have received a letter asking them to appear before UCAPT (University Committee on Academic Promotion & Tenure). This is a stressful time for members because they are usually waiting to hear results on their application for tenure, renewal or promotion. These results will affect their career and a letter from UCAPT will often cause a great deal of concern to a member.

WUFA has a great deal of experience dealing with cases before UCAPT (Article 13) and we are here to help. Members are advised to contact WUFA to discuss the request from UCAPT. We will need a copy of the letter for our reference. WUFA will talk to the member about their concerns and pair him/her up with a WUFA rep who can coach the member to anticipate questions by UCAPT, and offer to attend the UCAPT meeting with the member to provide moral support.

These are the most common reasons that UCAPT asks members to attend a meeting:

  • UCAPT has questions or concerns about teaching scores
  • UCAPT has questions or concerns about research productivity or publication
  • UCAPT routinely asks those members who are applying for early tenure to attend a meeting

The process for UCAPT is described under Article 13 of the Collective Agreement and Senate Bylaw 22 .

If, for whatever reason, the UCAPT decides not to recommend a member for tenure, promotion or renewal, the member can appeal in writing to the President of the University within a week of receiving the written denial. If the appeal is denied by the President, WUFA may consider proceeding to arbitration under Article 39. More information on the grounds for arbitration of UCAPT decisions is found under Article 13:07.

Am I eligible to receive tuition money?

Eligible faculty, librarians and others (see below) must register for their chosen course(s) through the Registrar’s Office (Extension 3315, 2nd Floor Chrysler Hall North). After registering for credit courses, the faculty member/librarian should go to Human Resources to get a Tuition Remission Form. You do not have to pay for the tuition in advance BUT be aware that if the Tuition Remission form is not processed in time to meet the tuition payment deadline you may have to pay interest on the outstanding amount.

The following individuals shall be entitled to free tuition for any credit course(s) taken in the University (as per Article G.1):

(a) Members and, with the member's written consent, their dependant(s) and spouse are eligible for free tuition for credit courses approved by the Senate of the University of Windsor excluding those credit courses and programs offered under the Executive Education Program. Dependants are defined as children of the employee for whom the member is entitled to claim tax exemption under the Income Tax Act in the year in which the free tuition privilege is requested, or children not over the age of twenty-six (26) to whom the member provides regular financial support.

(b) Members receiving benefits under the Long Term Disability Plan, their spouses and dependants, the spouses and dependants of members who die in service, and members who retire from the University of Windsor and their spouses and dependants shall also continue to enjoy the benefit of free tuition.

The free tuition provision set out in this Article shall apply to faculty members, librarian members, ancillary academic staff, and sessional lecturers.

Are sessional instructors eligible for tuition?

Yes, sessional instructors are eligible, but not their dependents or spouse, as per Article G.2. The tuition is not transferable.

A sessional instructor shall be entitled to a tuition credit of one (1) course in each teaching year in which the sessional instructor has been appointed to teach one (1) or more courses. Such credits must be used within one (1) year of the teaching year in which they are earned. The value of the tuition fee credit will be applied to the sessional instructor's student information system fee account and will be equivalent to the value of the first year of study course tuition fee as is contained in the tuition fee schedule 'Part Time Fall and Winter Undergraduate Tuition & Compulsory Fees" for "Canadian or Permanent residents' and applied in the year and semester for which the credit is claimed.

http://www1.uwindsor.ca/hr/tuition-remission-benefit-program

http://www1.uwindsor.ca/hr/system/files/Sessional%20Instructor.pdf

Are the Executive Education Program MBA or any other courses offered through CEPE covered under free tuition?

No, they are not included in the free tuition. Members must pay the full tuition fees.

Where do I report harassment or discriminatory behaviour made against me? 

If you believe that you have been treated unfairly, discriminated against, harassed or sexually harassed, you are welcome to speak to the Office of Human Rights, Equity & Accessiblity on campus, Kaye Johnson, Director, by calling (519) 253-3000 ext. 3400.

The Office of Human Rights, Equity & Accessibility provides a place where all members of campus are welcome. All concerns brought to the Office are kept confidential unless the individual files a complaint. The Director will investigate and assist in the resolution of complaints. No one is compelled to proceed with a complaint.

If you are contacted by the Office of Human Rights, Equity & Accessibility concerning a complaint against you for a human rights violation, it is important to know that under Article 59:02(c) of the Collective agreement, a faculty or librarian member has the right to consult with the Faculty Association. At the option of the member, the Faculty Association can represent the member at all stages of the informal or formal investigation, or other proceedings.

Where can I find parking information?

Staff parking permits (gate cards, decals, windshield hang tags or other passes) are available on an annual or monthly basis from the Campus Parking Services Office, located in the Joyce Entrepreneurship Centre, Room 106 (directly across from the Music Building). Faculty and librarian members can opt to have the parking fees deducted monthly from their pay cheque. Parking permits are valid for continuous parking over 24 hours until their expiry date.

Faculty and librarians are assigned to specific parking lots on a waiting-list basis. To request a change of parking lot, one must provide a written request to the Campus Parking Services no later than April 1 of the year in question (Article 8:01(d)(i) of the Collective agreement). After April 1, assignment of parking is on a first come, first served basis. If you park in a lot that is not eligible on your permit, you will receive a ticket and will have to pay the fine before another permit is issued.

People who need special accommodation for parking (due to a disability) are invited to discuss their needs with the Campus Parking Services and will be required to purchase a special pass at (519) 253-3000 ext. 1234

Metered parking is available on some streets around the University campus. These meters are watched carefully and the City of Windsor is not shy about enforcing time limits.

What is WUFA's Donation Policy?

The Association does not normally endorse requests for donations from individual members concerning non-union related causes.  They do endorse donations to other causes which are associated with union activities, whether academic or locally - read the Faculty Association Donations and Contributions Policy for more information.

$1,000 is the normal donation sent to striking Faculty Associations in Canada.

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