ARTICLE 55 - Sessional Lecturers
The University shall not appoint any further sessional lecturers effective July 1, 2021.
Definition, Duties, Privileges and Responsibilities of Sessional Lecturers
55:01 (a) Sessional lecturer, when used in this Agreement, refers to members of the bargaining unit who held such positions as of September 1, 2021 and to whom this article applies, and:
(i) whose salary is fully paid from University operating funds, and
(ii) who is not in full-time employment with any other employer, and
(iii) who is not a retiree of the University, and
(iv) who on April 30, 1993 occupied the position of a Salaried Sessional Instructor or Salaried Clinical Instructor in Nursing and has done so for two (2) or more years; or who is appointed under Clauses 55:11 to 55:12.
(b) Sessional lecturers are appointed for either a nine (9) month or twelve (12) month period from September 1 to May 31 in the case of a nine (9) month position, and July 1 to June 30 in the case of a twelve (12) month position pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement: Twelve (12) month Sessional Lecturer Positions and carry out teaching duties as their principal function.
(c) In the event of lay off, sessional lecturers shall be subject to Article 16 of this Agreement and, in accordance with clause 16:02 shall be laid off after probationary members but before members with tenure or permanence.
(d) It is understood that a member qualifying as a sessional lecturer under this clause will be reappointed from year to year as a sessional lecturer until the member has retired, quit, been dismissed for just cause or been laid off in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
(e) Upon the effective date of this agreement under Letter II, and notwithstanding any provision in this agreement, no new or additional sessional lecturers shall be appointed under this article and the classification of ‘sessional lecturer’ shall cease following the resignation, retirement or termination of the last sessional lecturer member as defined in this Article.
Letter of Appointment
55:02 Within twenty-one (21) working days from July 1, each sessional lecturer, sessional lecturer in Nursing and sessional lecturer in Visual Arts will be sent a Letter of Appointment which shall be signed by the President and shall specify the terms and conditions of the appointment and the salary. This letter shall be sent electronically with a hard copy to follow.
55:03 (a) The appropriate Dean, on the recommendation of the Head, after the Head’s consultation with sessional lecturer member(s), shall assign and schedule the member’s duties and shall advise each sessional lecturer member of their assignment on or before March 15.
(b) Sessional lecturers appointed for a nine (9) month period shall be scheduled to teach six (6) credit courses during the Fall and Winter Semesters. Except that where the sessional lecturer at the expiry of the previous Agreement had a teaching load of five (5) courses they shall maintain the right to elect to teach their five (5) course teaching load with the salary adjustment stipulated in Article S.
Sessional lecturers appointed for a twelve (12) month period shall be scheduled to teach eight (8) courses between July 1 to June 30. A sessional lecturer’s eight (8) course load will be assigned in at least two (2) of the three (3) semesters and no more than four (4) courses or their equivalency shall be assigned in any given semester.
(c) Sessional lecturers appointed for a nine (9) month period in Nursing shall be scheduled to teach from 416 to 624 hours during the Fall and Winter semesters. A sessional lecturer in Nursing who at the expiry of the previous Agreement had a teaching load of 300 hours or more and of between 416 and 624 hours of clinical instruction shall maintain the right to elect to continue such a teaching load with the salary adjustment stipulated in Article S.
Sessional lecturers appointed for a twelve (12) month period in Nursing shall be scheduled to teach from 546 to 806 hours between July 1 to June 30.
(d) Sessional lecturers appointed for a nine (9) month period in Visual Arts shall be scheduled to teach four (4) studio courses during the Fall and Winter Semesters.
Sessional lecturers appointed for a twelve (12) month period in Visual Arts shall be scheduled to teach five (5) studio courses between July 1 to June 30.
55:04 The following Articles and Clauses of this Agreement shall apply to sessional lecturers:
1 (Definitions),
2 (Declaration of Principles),
3 (Recognition),
4 (Dues Check-Off),
5:01 to 5:37 (Rights, Duties and Responsibilities),
5:65 to 5:66 (Credit Courses Delivered through Alternative Learning Technology, and Tax Forms),
6 (Management Rights),
7 (Existing Practices),
8 (Facilities and Support Services),
9:02 (Employment of Non-Members of the Bargaining Unit),
10 (Academic Freedom),
11 (No Discrimination),
14:52-14:60 (Voluntary Contract Termination),
15 (Financial Exigency),
16 (Lay Off, Notice, and Recall Rights and Compensation and Benefits),
19 (Court Leave),
20 (Leave of Absence Without Salary),
22 (Conference and Convention Leave),
23:10 to 23:18 (Study Leave),
24 (Compassionate Leave and Family Medical Leave),
27 (Confidentiality and Access to Personnel files),
28 (Rights and Privileges of the Faculty Association and Members),
29 (Dismissal for Just Cause),
30 (Employment Equity),
32 (Amalgamation, Consolidation, Merger or Expansion of the University),
33 (Copies of this Agreement),
34 (Patents),
35 (Copyright),
36 (Patents and Copyright),
37 (Notices and Official Correspondence Pursuant to Agreement),
38:01 (e) (Information),
39 (Grievance and Arbitration Procedures),
44 (University Athletic Facilities),
45 (Public Liability Insurance),
47 (Resignations/Retirement),
50 (Role of the Senate),
51 (No Strikes or Lock-Outs),
52 (Salaries and Other Benefits),
53 (Validity),
54 (Sessional Instructors/Posted Courses),
55 (Sessional Lecturers),
56 (Vacations, Holidays and Leave for Sessional Members),
57 (Pregnancy, Parental and Adoption Leave for Sessional Members),
58 (Discipline),
59 (Investigation of Allegation and Complaints),
61 (Duration of Agreement),
A.2 (d), (Salaries),
A.2 (f), (Salary Increase Upon Promotion),
C. (The University Anomalies Fund),
D.4 (University Retirement Plan),
E. (Absence Due to Illness, Injury or Disability),
F. (Health Insurance Plans),
G. (Tuition),
H. (Group Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment),
I. (Professional Development and Membership Dues Reimbursement),
K. (Car Allowance),
M. (University Loans),
N. (Overload Stipend)
P. (Windsor Salary Standard), and
S. (Salary for Sessional Lecturers).
Sessional lecturers may join the Pension Plan, being the University of Windsor Retirement Plan for Faculty and Certain Employees, pursuant to eligibility requirements of the Pension Benefits Act of Ontario and will be notified in writing of this right by the University.
Full-time and Limited Term Appointments
55:05 In the event that a tenure-track or limited term position becomes available in an AAU in which a Sessional Lecturer(s) is/are employed, the AAU Head shall inform the sessional lecturer of the position.
55:06 A sessional lecturer who is appointed to a limited term position shall be entitled to revert to their sessional lecturer position at the expiry of the limited term appointment without a reduction in their level or losing any rights, privileges or benefits as a sessional lecturer as outlined in this Agreement.
Advancement
55:07 There will be three levels of sessional lecturers:
Sessional Lecturer I, Sessional Lecturer II, Sessional Lecturer III. Advancement from Sessional Lecturer II shall be on the recommendation of the AAU on the basis of job derived criteria developed by the AAU with regard to the teaching duties of Sessional Lecturers and approved by the Provost. A copy of the said job derived criteria shall be sent to the Faculty Association immediately after their adoption by the appropriate AAU, by the AAU Head. Persons appointed as sessional lecturers shall not be appointed at a level lower than they had held as a salaried sessional instructor. The procedures used to evaluate teaching performance of sessional lecturers in any AAU shall be the same as for evaluating the teaching performance of faculty members in the same AAU.
General
55:08 For purposes of ratification of this Agreement, sessional lecturers shall retain voting privileges in accordance with the Constitution of the Faculty Association of the University of Windsor from September 1 to August 31 of the year in which they are employed.
55:09 Sessional lecturers shall have the right to apply for Teaching/Graduate Assistants.
55:10 No sessional lecturer shall be reappointed at a Level lower than the Level the sessional lecturer held in the previous academic year.
55:11 By June 30, 2014, the University agrees to establish twenty (20) sessional lecturer positions to be filled by sessional instructors who meet the criteria of long-serving sessional as described in 55:11 (a) and 55:11 (b). These positions will be established at the rank of Sessional Lecturer Level 1 and will not be eligible for promotion for five (5) years from the date of appointment as a Sessional Lecturer under this Article 55.
(a) A sessional instructor who has taught thirty-two (32) or more sessional courses (or equivalent as defined in Article 54:04) over eight (8) or fewer consecutive academic years, including the current year, is a long-serving sessional instructor and may apply for a sessional lecturer position under this Article 55. The member will be considered the sole applicant.
(b) In circumstances where a currently appointed sessional instructor has been continuously employed by the University over the past eight (8) academic years including one or more Limited Term Appointments, the qualifying period stipulated in 55:11 (a) may be increased by a total of the number of years or part years the member was employed in the Limited Term Appointment(s). In the case of serious illness, extraordinary family responsibilities or other exceptional circumstances, a sessional instructor may request in writing, in a letter directed to the Provost, to have the sessional instructor’s qualifying period of eligibility as sessional lecturer under this clause extended for a period of up to one (1) year. Such extensions shall not be unreasonably denied. The Faculty Association shall be notified of all such requests in writing as soon as possible.
(c) Applications must be submitted to the AAU Head no later than October 15 in the academic year preceding the appointment. The AAU Head shall present the application to the AAU appointments committee. The appointments committee shall review the application and provide a recommendation to the AAU Head no later than January 15 in the academic year preceding the appointment. In the first year of this agreement, the reviews of sessional instructors who, as of June 30, 2011, meet the criteria specified in clause 55:11 (a) and 55:11 (b) shall be expedited such that successful applicants shall be appointed effective January 1, 2012.
(d) The appointment shall be principally for teaching purposes, except that where courses are unavailable to assign a full course load of six courses, the Sessional Lecturer may be assigned additional duties of an equivalent workload.
(e) Application shall be made by submission of a letter, supplemented by a CV, SET scores, and a teaching dossier.
(f) The AAU Head shall present the application(s) to the AAU appointments committee for review and recommendation to the AAU Head.
(g) The review conducted by the appointments committee shall include the following considerations:
(i) the qualifications and academic credentials of the applicant, which must include a terminal degree or equivalent where “equivalent” means the historically established experience and qualifications required to teach a range of courses in the AAU; and
(ii) a demonstrated standard of teaching performance and ability consistent with the criteria for the faculty rank equivalent to the rank at which the member will be appointed.
(h) The successful applicant shall be offered an appointment to commence September 1, or where applicable, January 1, 2012.
(i) A sessional instructor who, after the appropriate review, is not offered appointment as a Sessional Lecturer shall remain eligible for consideration in future competitions so long as the sessional instructor meets the criteria in clause 55:11 (a). Failure to secure an appointment as a sessional lecturer shall not by itself preclude a member’s future employment as a sessional instructor.
55:12 The University may also establish five (5) additional sessional lecturer positions which shall only be posted internally and may be filled by sessional instructors who meet the criteria of a long serving sessional as described in 55:11 (a) and (b). These five (5) positions will be established at the rank of Sessional Lecturer Level 1 with a five (5) year probationary period and subject to review and promotion under Article 13. Procedures for filling these positions are as described in 55:11 (d) through (h). The University and the Faculty Association agree with the principle that the basis for permanence is the performance of the member based on job-derived criteria. All renewal and permanence decisions shall be made in accordance with the procedures for achieving employment equity adopted by the Senate. Procedures followed in the appropriate Senate Committee(s) on renewal and tenure of faculty members shall apply mutatis mutandis to the granting of permanence to Sessional Lecturer members.
