An explanation of how part-time professors accumulate seniority and how to see how much you have.
1. How are seniority points earned?
Points are earned as follows:
For teaching
- One point is earned for each three-credit course or equivalent of teaching experience at the University of Ottawa. Where the number of hours of teaching is less, the member will receive a fraction of the seniority point.
- Two points are earned for the year during which the member gets at least one course.
No points are awarded for the teaching of non-credit courses at the Faculty of Arts in the OLBI and in the Faculty of Education in the Professional Development Program. They will however, continue to accumulate points for the year during which the member gets at least one course.
For being a member of a committee
- Two points are earned for each complete year during which the member has filled any position on the APTPUO Executive committee.
- Two points are earned for each member of the Bargaining Committee.
- One point is earned for participating on a Departmental Assembly.
- A member can earn up to a total of eight (8) seniority points per year for participation on various University or joint employer-employee committees.
For receiving research grants
- Two points are earned if a member is awarded a University-administered research grant by a tri-council (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR) or by another funding organization allocating funds through a peer-review process, which is recognized by the Research Management Services.
- Two points are earned at the end of the year following the awarding of the grant
- Two points are earned for each subsequent year in which the member holds the grant
- Two points are awarded per year for the duration for the grant
Note that in general, APTPUO members are limited to eight points a year for participating on committees, but additional points may be awarded upon recommendation of the Labour-Management Committee in which case the APTPUO needs to be contacted.
2. Can points be removed?
Points cannot be removed. However, if a member receives a cumulative average score of 3.2 or lower for the responses to the three questions from the student evaluations, noted below, for all the courses taught in the academic year, the member will not receive the two points for the academic year unless the chair considers there are mitigating circumstances.
From the “Student response questionnaire for use in the evaluation of teaching and courses”, the three questions from the student evaluations are:
- The professor is well prepared for class
- I think the professor conveys the subject matter effectively
- I find that the professor, as a teacher, is … excellent, good. acceptable, poor, very poor
Refer to articles 5.8.1(i) and 4.3.1.1 in the Collective Agreement for more information on the process to follow for student evaluation scores of 3.2 or lower.
3. How can I check the number of points that I have?
A member’s point total is noted in four places:
- on the Hiring Report
- on the Seniority Report
- on the uOttawa site from the Part-time Academic Positions page
- on the Online Web Application Form under the Seniority Points tab
Note that although it appears that a professor can submit changes on this form, Human Resources does not acknowledge any changes made to the Online Web Application Form. Refer to question 4.
4. What do I do if I disagree with the number of points on record?
You must send a notice of disagreement that includes your name, employee number, uOttawa email address, and contact information to hracad@uottawa.ca.
5. When are points updated?
Points are updated by June 30 each year. Any courses ending after this date are not included. Points collected for the academic year ending August 31 are not recorded. The University must post an APTPUO member list on its Web site, as well as their seniority points, their faculty, and their home department. Members must report errors or omissions to the Human Resources Service before July 31. For more information, consult section 5.8 of the Collective Agreement.
