Article 16 – Appointments

TA APPOINTMENTS

A full TA appointment is considered to be no fewer than 130 hours in an academic term. Letters of appointment will specify the number of hours to be worked during the academic term. Where a Department or College predominantly offers pro-rated TA appointments, they shall provide the Union reasons in writing for doing so.

A written commitment of Employment as a TA for a defined duration over the course of a graduate student’s program may be given at the time a graduate student applicant is offered admission to a graduate program. The graduate student applicant may elect not to accept such employment and forgo the associated salary.

A graduate student Employee may elect not to accept an appointment at any point during their graduate program and forgo the associate salary. An Employee who declines an offer of appointment shall not prejudice their future appointment opportunities in any way.

The Employer shall make the decision as to the number of graduate student appointments within the Bargaining Unit, and the qualifications required for each appointment.

Appointments shall be made using the order of preference as set out in Article 16.05 and are subject to the maximum number of hours of work per week as set out at Article 14, Hours of Work.

Appointments shall follow the three-level preference system outlined below. Vacant positions shall be offered to candidates in Group A before candidates in Group B may be considered for the appointments. Appointments may only be offered to candidates in Group C when there remain no qualified candidates in any other Group.

a. Group A – First Preference

Qualified graduate students registered as:

1. students in a department or non-departmentalized college in which the appointment will be offered; or students in a self-standing inter- disciplinary program; and for whom
2. the appointment has been committed as part of the funding offered by the Employer at the time of admission to the graduate program.

b. Group B – Second Preference

Qualified graduate students registered as:

1. students within a department or non-departmentalized college in which the appointment will be offered; and
2. for whom the appointment will not form part of the funding commitment offered by the Employer at the time of admission to the graduate program and
3. have held a TA appointment in the bargaining unit for the Employer during their current program of study. If a past TA appointment occurred outside the graduate student’s department or non-departmentalized college, the graduate student must bring this experience to the attention of the hiring manager.

OR

Interdisciplinary Students

Qualified graduate students registered as:

1. students in a self-standing inter-disciplinary program who have expressed interest, in writing, within the last 12 months, that they wish to be considered by the department or non-departmentalized college; and
2. for whom the appointment will not form part of the funding commitment offered by the Employer at the time of admission to the graduate program and
3. have held a TA appointment in the department or non-departmentalized college in which the appointment will be offered;

c. Group C – Third Preference

Qualified graduate students that have not met the criteria set out in 16.05 a), or b). When offering appointments to candidates in Group C, the Employer will take in to account demonstrated financial need and in particular, any students receiving less than $16,000 as a funding commitment provided or administered by the Employer.

The Employer will invite students to express their preferences for assignments. Students applying for posted positions may indicate preferences at the time of application. The Employer will make reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests consistent with the student's skills, abilities and experience.

Where unassigned TA appointments remain after allocating positions under Article 16.05, these appointments may be offered to any qualified graduate student(s) and are subject to the maximum number of hours of work per article set out at Article 14, Hours of Work.

The current practice concerning the use of undergraduate TAs shall be maintained. The Employer shall prioritize hiring of graduate students as TAs, and undergraduate TAs shall not be used to undermine the bargaining unit.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT AND STUDENT ASSISTANT APPOINTMENTS

This article applies to graduate students employed as Research Assistants and Student Assistants as defined in Article 13 – Job Classification.

Employment as a Research Assistant (RA) can be offered by a student’s Faculty Supervisor or a member of their Supervisory Committee without posting.

Research Assistant and Student Assistant positions which are not offered under the provisions of Clause 16.10 shall be awarded to a suitable candidate, as determined by the hiring faculty member or department, taking into account the following considerations:

1. the qualifications and ability of the candidate(s) based on academic merit and/or related experience;
2. other sources of graduate student financial support being received, with particular consideration given to students receiving less than $16,000 as a funding commitment provided or administered by the Employer.
3. the career and/or pedagogical value that the experience in a particular position will provide the student.