Total workload assigned and attributed by the College to a teacher shall not exceed 44 hours in any week for up to 36 weeks in which there are teaching contact hours for teachers in post-secondary programs and for up to 38 weeks in which there are teaching contact hours in the case of teachers not in post-secondary programs.

The balance of the academic year shall be reserved for complementary functions and professional development.

Workload factors to be considered are:

1. teaching contact hours
2. attributed hours for preparation
3. attributed hours for evaluation and feedback
4. attributed hours for complementary functions

A “teaching contact hour” is a College scheduled teaching hour assigned to the teacher by the College. Regardless of the delivery mode, courses shall be deemed to have the same number of teaching contact hours as they would if taught entirely in the classroom or laboratory.

Each teaching contact hour shall be assigned as a 50 minute block plus a break of up to ten minutes.

The voluntary extension of the teaching contact hour beyond 50 minutes by the teacher and any student(s) by not taking breaks or by re-arranging breaks or by the teacher staying after the period to consult with any student(s) shall not constitute an additional teaching contact hour.

Weekly hours for preparation shall be attributed to the teacher in accordance with the following formula:

No more than four different course preparations shall be assigned to a teacher in a given week except by voluntary agreement which shall not be unreasonably withheld.

For purposes of the formula:

1. “New” refers to the first section of a course which the teacher is
2. – teaching for the first time. (This definition does not apply to a new full- time teacher who has previously taught the course as a Partial-Load, Sessional or Part-time employee, nor to courses designated as “Special” as defined below); or
3. – teaching for the first time since a major revision of the course or curriculum has been approved by the College.
4. “Established A” refers to the first section of a course which the teacher has previously taught but not within the previous three academic years.
5. “Established B” refers to the first section of a course which the teacher has taught within the previous three academic years.
6. Where a non-language course is to be taught in more than one language the first section taught in a second language shall be regarded as “New” or “Established”.
7. “Repeat A” refers to another section which the teacher is teaching concurrently with the same course for which hours of preparation have been attributed under “New” or “Established”, but to students in a different program or year of study.
8. “Repeat B” refers to another section which the teacher is teaching concurrently with the same course for which hours of preparation have been attributed under “New” or “Established” or “Repeat A” to students in the same program and year of study.
9. “Special A” refers to sections of courses in which students may enter on a continuous intake basis or courses which have been organized into individualized self-learning packages.
10. The first section of a “Special A” course which the teacher has not taught before or which the teacher has not taught within the previous three academic years attracts the numerical value in “Established A” (1:0.85).
11. The first section of a “Special A” course which the teacher has taught within the previous three academic years attracts the numerical value in “Established B” (1:0.60).
12. Repeat sections of a “Special A” course attract the numerical value in “Repeat A” (1:0.45).
13. “Special B” refers to preparation for sections of a course in which the objectives describe the students’ application of knowledge in actual work settings.
14. The first section of a “Special B” course which the teacher has not taught before or which the teacher has not taught within the previous three academic years attracts the numerical value in “Established A” (1:0.85).
15. The first section of a “Special B” course which the teacher has taught within the previous three academic years attracts the numerical value in “Established B” (1:0.60).
16. Repeat sections of a “Special B” course attract the numerical value in “Repeat B” (1:0.35).
17. Additional time necessary to arrange and prepare for student placement in such learning situations shall be attributed on an hour for hour basis and recorded on the Standard Workload Form (SWF), as referred to in 11.02.
18. Hours for curriculum review or course development assigned to a teacher on an ongoing basis, in lieu of teaching or in a non-teaching period, shall be attributed on an hour for hour basis and recorded on the SWF.

Weekly hours for evaluation and feedback in a course shall be attributed to a teacher in accordance with the following formula:

For purposes of the formula:

1. “Essay or project evaluation and feedback” is grading:
   • essays
   • essay type assignments or tests
   • projects; or
   • student performance based on behavioral assessments compiled by the teacher outside teaching contact hours.
2. “Routine or assisted evaluation and feedback” is grading by the teacher outside teaching contact hours of short answer tests or other evaluative tools where mechanical marking assistance or marking assistants are provided.
3. “In-process evaluation and feedback” is evaluation performed within the teaching contact hour.
4. Where a course requires more than one type of evaluation and feedback, the teacher and the supervisor shall agree upon a proportionate attribution of hours. If such agreement cannot be reached the College shall apply evaluation factors in the same proportion as the weight attached to each type of evaluation in the final grade for the course.

Before the method(s) of evaluation and feedback are established for a course, the supervisor will consult with the affected teachers, as a group. Normally, the group will consist of the teachers working within the affected program. The group may consist of teachers teaching a course that is being taught across programs.

If only one teacher is assigned to a program, that teacher shall be deemed to be “the group” for purposes of this Article.

The number of students in a course or section shall be determined initially by the College’s planning estimates and recorded on the SWF as provided for in 11.02.

The number of students in a course or section shall be reviewed after the enrolment audit dates and not later than the completion of the course or section or, at the request of the teacher, following the last day for withdrawal of registration by the student(s), and revised where appropriate.

The number of students in a continuous intake program, course or section shall be reviewed every three months at the request of either the College or the teacher and determined as the weighted average of the number of students formally registered over the duration of the program, course or section. The weighted average shall be calculated by summing the number of formally registered students in each week of the program, course or section and then dividing the sum by the number of weeks in the duration of the program, course or section.

Complementary functions appropriate to the professional role of the teacher may be assigned to a teacher by the College. Hours for such functions shall be attributed on an hour for hour basis.

An allowance of a minimum of six hours of the 44 hour maximum weekly total workload shall be attributed as follows:

• four hours for routine out-of-class assistance to individual students
• two hours for normal administrative tasks.

The teacher shall inform his/her students of availability for out-of-class assistance in keeping with the academic needs of students.

The attribution of four hours of out-of-class assistance for students may not be sufficient where a teacher has unusually high numbers of students in his/her total course load. When a teacher who has more than 260 students in his/her total course load considers that he/she will not have sufficient time to provide appropriate levels of out-of-class assistance, the teacher will discuss the issue with his/her supervisor. Possible means of alleviating the concern should be considered such as additional types of assistance being provided or additional hours being attributed. Failing agreement on how to best manage the situation the teacher shall be attributed an additional 0.015 hour for every student in excess of 260.

Where preparation, evaluation, feedback to students and complementary functions can be appropriately performed outside the College, scheduling shall be at the discretion of the teacher, subject to the requirement to meet appropriate deadlines established by the College.

Where there are atypical circumstances affecting the workload of a teacher or group of teachers which are not adequately reflected in this Article 11, Workload, additional hours shall be attributed, following discussion between each teacher individually and the supervisor, on an hour for hour basis.

The College shall allow each teacher at least ten working days of professional development in each academic year

Unless otherwise agreed between the teacher and the supervisor, the allowance of ten days shall include one period of at least five consecutive working days for professional development.

The arrangements for such professional development shall be made following discussion between the supervisor and the teacher subject to agreement between the supervisor and the teacher, and such agreement shall not be unreasonably withheld.

The employee may be reimbursed for costs associated with such professional development, as approved by his/her supervisor or other body established by the College to deal with allocating resources made available for this purpose.

Teaching contact hours for a teacher in post-secondary programs shall not exceed 18 in any week. Teaching contact hours for a teacher not in post-secondary programs shall not exceed 20 in any week.

Notwithstanding the above, overtime worked by a teacher shall not exceed one teaching contact hour in any one week or three total workload hours in any one week and shall be voluntary.

Such teaching contact hour agreed to in excess of the respective weekly teaching contact hour maximum shall be compensated at the rate of 0.1% of annual regular salary. Such workload hours agreed to in excess of the 44 hour weekly workload maximum shall be compensated at the rate of 0.1% of annual regular salary. Such overtime payments shall be for the greater amount but shall not be pyramided.

All such voluntary overtime agreements, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, shall be set out in writing on the SWF for that period by the College and filed with the teacher and the Union Local within ten days.

Probationary teachers shall not be assigned teaching contact hours or total workload hours in excess of the maxima under any circumstances.

Contact days (being days in which one or more teaching contact hours are assigned) shall not exceed 180 contact days per academic year for a teacher in post-secondary programs or 190 contact days per academic year for a teacher not in post-secondary programs.

Weekly contact hours assigned to a teacher by the College may be scheduled into fewer than five contact days and such compressed schedule shall be deemed to be five contact days.

Teaching contact hours shall not exceed 648 teaching contact hours per academic year for a teacher in post-secondary programs or 760 teaching contact hours per academic year for a teacher not in post-secondary programs.

Compensation for work in excess of the maxima set out above shall be paid by the College to the teacher on the basis of:

1. 1/180 or 1/190 respectively of the teacher’s annual regular salary for each contact day in excess of the 180 or 190 contact day annual maximum;
2. 0.1% of the teacher’s annual regular salary for each teaching contact hour in excess of the 648 or 760 teaching contact hour annual maximum.

Such compensation shall be for the greatest amount and shall not be pyramided under this clause or under 11.01 J.

The contact day shall not exceed eight hours from the beginning of the first assigned hour to the end of the last assigned hour except by written voluntary agreement. The Union Local shall receive a copy of such agreement within seven days.

Every effort shall be made to ensure that work will not be assigned to begin less than 12 hours after the end of the previous day’s work assignment.

A teacher shall not normally be assigned work on calendar Saturdays or Sundays. Where a teacher is assigned to work on a Saturday or Sunday, the teacher shall be credited with one and one-half times the credit hours normally given for hours so assigned and attributed.

A teacher may agree in writing to waive the premium credits provided for in 11.01 L 3 for a specified period of time.

Where a Union Local and a College agree in writing on terms governing workload assignments at the College, such agreements shall be binding on the College, the Union Local and the teachers and timetables shall be established in accordance with such local agreements.

(a) Prior to the establishment of a total workload for any teacher the supervisor shall discuss the proposed workload with the teacher and complete the SWF, attached as Appendix I, to be provided by the College. The supervisor shall give a copy to the teacher not later than six weeks prior to the beginning of the period covered by the timetable excluding holidays and vacations. It is recognized that if the SWF is subsequently revised by the College, it will not be done without prior consultation with the teacher.

(b) The College may, where a change in circumstances requires it, amend assignments provided to a teacher after the original assignment, subject to the teacher’s right to refer any matter to the College Workload Monitoring Group (WMG) referred to in 11.02 B 1 and if necessary, the Workload Resolution Arbitrator (WRA) referred to in 11.02 E 1 and appointed under 11.02 F 1.

The SWF shall include all details of the total workload including teaching contact hours, accumulated contact days, accumulated teaching contact hours, number of sections, type and number of preparations, type of evaluation/feedback required by the curriculum, class size, attributed hours, contact days, language of instruction and complementary functions.

Following receipt of the SWF, the teacher shall indicate in writing on the SWF whether in agreement with the total workload. If not in agreement the teacher and the supervisor may add such other comments as is considered appropriate and may indicate in writing that the workload should be reviewed by the College WMG.

In the event that the teacher is not in agreement with the total workload and wishes it to be reviewed by the WMG, the teacher must so indicate in writing to the supervisor within five working days following the date of receipt of the SWF. The completed SWF will be forwarded by the supervisor to the WMG within three working days from date of receipt from the teacher with a copy to be given to the teacher.

Absent such indication, the teacher shall be considered to be in agreement with the total workload.

The timetable shall set out the schedule and location of assigned workload hours reported on the SWF, on a Timetable Form to be provided by the College, and a copy shall be given to the teacher no less than two weeks prior to the beginning of the period covered by the timetable, which shall be the same period as that covered by the SWF.

(a) In the event of any difference arising from the interpretation, application, administration or alleged contravention of 11.01, 11.02, or 11.09, a teacher shall discuss such difference as a complaint with the teacher’s immediate supervisor.

The discussion shall take place within 14 days after the circumstances giving rise to the complaint have occurred or have come or ought reasonably to have come to the attention of the teacher in order to give the immediate supervisor an opportunity of adjusting the complaint. The discussion shall be between the teacher and the immediate supervisor unless mutually agreed to have other persons in attendance. The immediate supervisor’s response to the complaint shall be given within seven days after discussion with the teacher.

Failing settlement of such a complaint, a teacher may refer the complaint, in writing, to the WMG within seven days of receipt of the immediate supervisor’s reply. The complaint shall then follow the procedures outlined in 11.02 B through 11.02 F.

(b) Grievances arising with respect to Article 11, Workload, other than 11.01, 11.02 and 11.09 shall be handled in accordance with the grievance procedure set out in Article 32, Grievance and Arbitration Procedures.

There shall be a College WMG at each College.

Each WMG will be composed of eight members, with four to be appointed by the College and four appointed by the Union Local unless the College and the Union Local otherwise agree. The term of office of each member of the WMG shall be two years, commencing on April 1 in each year with four members of the WMG, two College appointees and two Union appointees, retiring on March 31 of each year. A quorum shall be comprised of four, six or eight members with equal representation from the College and Union Local.

Alternative arrangements may be made at the local level upon agreement of the Union Local and the College.

The functions of the WMG shall include:

1. reviewing workload assignments in general at the College and resolving apparent inequitable assignments;
2. reviewing specific disputes pursuant to 11.02 A 4 and/or 11.02 A 6 (a) and where possible resolving such disputes;
3. making recommendations to the College on the operation of workload assignments at the College;
4. reviewing individual workload assignments where requested by the teacher or the Union Local and, where possible, resolving the disputes;
5. making recommendations to the College and Union Local committees appointed under Article 7, Union/College Committee (Local), as to amendments or additions to the provisions governing workload assignments at the College for local negotiation in accordance with 11.02 G in order to address particular workload needs at the College.

The WMG shall in its consideration have regard to such variables affecting assignments as:

1. nature of subjects to be taught, including type of program (e.g. apprenticeship, certificate, diploma, advanced diploma, degree);
2. level of teaching and experience of the teacher and availability of technical support and other resource assistance;
3. size and amenity of classroom, laboratory or other teaching/learning facility;
4. numbers of students in class;
5. instructional modes, including requirements for alternate delivery;
6. availability of time for the teacher’s professional development;
7. previously assigned schedules;
8. lead time for preparation of new and/or changed schedules;
9. availability of current curriculum;
10. students requiring accommodation;
11. introduction of new technology;
12. the timetabling of workload, including changes to the length of the course;
13. level of complexity and rate of change in curriculum;
14. requirements for applied research;
15. required translation of materials.

The WMG shall meet where feasible within one week of receipt of a workload complaint or at the request of any member of the WMG.

The WMG shall have access to all completed SWFs and timetables, and such other relevant workload data as it requires to review workload complaints at the College.

The WMG or any member of it may require the presence of the supervisor and/or the teacher before it to assist it in carrying out its responsibilities.

Any decision made by a majority of the WMG with respect to an individual workload assignment shall be in writing and shall be communicated by the College to the teacher, the supervisor, the senior academic officer at the College and the Union Local President as soon as possible after the decision is arrived at.

Such decision shall be binding on the College, the Union Local and the teacher involved.

If following a review by the WMG of an individual workload assignment which has been forwarded to the WMG, the matter is not resolved, the teacher shall be so advised in writing. The matter may then be referred by the teacher to a WRA provided under the agreement. Failing notification by the WMG within three weeks of the referral of the workload assignment to the WMG, the teacher may refer the matter to the WRA.

If the teacher does not refer an assignment to the WRA within one week of the receipt by the teacher of notification by the WMG that it has been unable to settle the matter, the matter will be considered to have been settled.

One or more WRAs shall be jointly selected by the College President or the President’s designee and the Union Local President. The appointment of a WRA shall be from July 1 until June 30 of the following year unless both parties otherwise agree in writing. A WRA shall act on a rotation basis or as otherwise agreed.

A WRA shall indicate to the College President or the President’s designee and the Union Local President, in writing, willingness to act within the time frames specified in this Article.

In the event that the College President or the President’s designee and the Union Local President are unable to agree upon the appointment of a WRA, either the College or the Union Local may request the Minister of Labour to appoint a WRA and the WRA shall, upon appointment by the Minister of Labour, have the same powers as if the appointment had been made by the College and the Union Local as provided herein.

The College and the Union Local will provide to a WRA the SWF and any other documents which were considered by the WMG in its deliberations and such other information as the WRA considers relevant.

A WRA shall determine appropriate procedure. The WRA shall commence proceedings within two weeks of the referral of the matter to the WRA. It is understood that the procedure shall be informal, that the WRA shall discuss the matter with the teacher, the teacher’s supervisor, and whomever else the WRA considers appropriate.

A WRA shall, following the informal discussions referred to above, issue a written award to the College and the Union Local and to the teacher, resolving the matter. Such award shall be issued by the WRA within ten working days of the informal discussion. The award shall only have application to the teacher affected by the matter and shall have no application beyond the end of a twelve-month period from the date of the beginning of the workload assignment.

On request of either or both parties within five working days of such award, the WRA shall provide a brief explanation of the reasons for the decision.

The award of the WRA shall be final and binding on the parties and the teacher, and shall have the same force and effect as a Board of Arbitration under Article 32, Grievance and Arbitration Procedures.

Having regard to the procedures set out herein for the resolution of disputes arising under 11.01, 11.02, or 11.09, no decision of the WMG or award of the WRA is subject to grievance or any other proceeding.

The Colleges and the Union shall each pay one-half of the remuneration and expenses of a WRA.

Where a referral is made to the WMG or the WRA by more than one teacher, references in the article to “teacher” shall be read as “teachers”.

References to “teacher” in this Article include “instructor” but do not include partial- load teachers.

It is recognized that speedy resolution of workload disputes is advantageous to all concerned. Therefore, the College and Union Local committees appointed under Article 7, Union/College Committee (Local), have the authority to agree to the local application of Article 11, Workload, and such agreement may be signed by them and apply for the specific term of this Agreement as currently in effect. Also, such agreement shall not serve as a precedent for the future at that or any other College. Such agreement is subject to ratification by the Union Local membership within ten days and is subject to approval by the College President.

The academic year shall be ten months in duration and shall, to the extent it be feasible in the several Colleges to do so, be from September 1 to the following June 30. The academic year shall in any event permit year-round operation and where a College determines the needs of any program otherwise, then the scheduling of a teacher in one or both of the months of July and August shall be on a consent or rotational basis.

The assigned hours of work for Librarians and Counsellors shall be 35 hours per week.

The College shall allow each Counsellor and Librarian at least ten working days of professional development in each academic year.

Unless otherwise agreed between the Counsellor or Librarian and the supervisor, the allowance of ten days shall include one period of at least five consecutive working days for professional development.

The arrangements for such professional development shall be made following discussion between the supervisor and the Counsellor or Librarian subject to agreement between the supervisor and the Counsellor or Librarian, and such agreement shall not be unreasonably withheld.

The employee may be reimbursed for costs associated with such professional development, as approved by his/her supervisor or other body established by the College to deal with allocating resources made available for this purpose.

Where Counsellors and Librarians are assigned teaching responsibilities the Colleges will take into consideration appropriate preparation and evaluation factors when assigning the Counsellors’ and Librarians’ workload.

The parties agree that no College shall circumvent the provision of this Article by arranging for unreasonable teaching loads on the part of persons who are excluded from or not included in the academic bargaining unit.

During the period of assigned workload, teachers shall not take any employment, consulting or teaching activity outside the College except with the prior written consent of the supervisor. The consent of the supervisor shall not be unreasonably withheld.

Where the College requires the performance of work beyond the limits herein established, the College shall provide any such teachers with proper work facilities during such period.

In keeping with the professional responsibility of the teacher, non-teaching periods are used for activities initiated by the teacher and by the College as part of the parties’ mutual commitment to professionalism, the quality of education and professional development.

Such activities will be undertaken by mutual consent and agreement will not be unreasonably withheld.

No SWF will be issued but such activities may be documented. Where mutually agreed activities can be appropriately performed outside the College, scheduling shall be at the discretion of the teacher, subject to the requirement to meet appropriate deadlines.

In order to meet the delivery needs of specific courses or programs, Modified Workload Arrangements may be agreed on instead of the workload arrangements specified in Articles 11.01 B 1, 11.01 C, 11.01 D 1 through 11.01 F, 11.01 G 2, 11.01 I, 11.01 J, 11.01 L, 11.01 M, 11.02 A 1 (a), 11.02 A 2, 11.02 A 3, 11.02 A 4, 11.02 A 5 and 11.08. A Modified Workload Arrangement requires the consent of the teacher(s) involved and the consent of the Local Union.

In order for a Modified Workload Arrangement to be implemented, at least two thirds (2/3) of the teachers involved and their manager must agree. Teachers not in agreement must be given the option of having the regular provisions of Article 11 apply to their workload assignment.

No more than 20% of the full-time teachers at a College may be participating in Modified Workload Arrangements at the same time.

The Modified Workload Arrangement may apply for any period of assignment, but shall not extend beyond one academic year, unless expressly renewed. Each Modified Workload Arrangement will have a start and end date.

Should the Modified Workload Arrangement extend beyond the life of the Collective Agreement, the terms shall be modified to respect any applicable changes contained within the amended Collective Agreement.

For clarity, the workload limits contained in 11.01 K 1, 11.01 K 2 and 11.01 K 3 shall apply to Modified Workload Arrangements established under Article 11.09.

If the Modified Workload Arrangement extends beyond an academic year, the limits of 11.01 K will be cumulative over the length of the Plan and 11.01 K 4 will not be applied unless the cumulative limits are exceeded.

The Modified Workload Arrangement shall document the details of the proposed workload assignments and schedules and shall be provided to the teachers and to the Local Union. It shall specify what provisions of Article 11 will not apply to the Modified Workload Arrangement, the start and end dates, the total teaching contact hours, and total contact days assigned to each teacher during the period. If the Local Union does not indicate in writing within five (5) days of the receipt of the documentation that it does not consent to the Modified Workload Arrangement, the Union will be considered to be in consent.

If the Union does not consent the parties will meet within three (3) days to discuss the matter. Failing resolution, the College may refer the matter directly to a WRA within seven (7) days of the discussion.

The WRA shall commence to hear the matter within seven (7) days of the referral of the matter and will issue a decision within three (3) days of the hearing. The Union will be a party at such a hearing.

The provisions of Article 11.02 F shall apply except as modified herein.

In determining whether the Union’s refusal to consent to the Modified Workload Arrangement should be upheld the WRA may consider any one or more of the following factors along with any other factor the WRA deems appropriate.

• whether it enhances or diminishes the quality of learning for students.
• whether it may lead to improvements in teaching and learning.
• whether it leads to a reduction in the use of part-time staff and better usage of full-time teachers.
• whether it distributes work equitably amongst participating teachers.
• whether it may lead to greater satisfaction with workload assignments than the regular workload formula.
• whether it would be an efficient workload assignment process.

If the WRA concludes the Union should have consented to the Modified Workload Arrangement the Modified Workload Arrangement may be implemented.