Monthly Action Guide: September 2023

This post contains reminders of key deadlines and administrative tasks related to academic HR. Please share with faculty or staff who would find this information relevant. 

Contact vpfal.prof.dev@utoronto.ca to be added to the distribution list or with any questions. 

Recruitment: Sample Job Ads

Ask your Dean’s Office for a copy of a relevant updated sample job ad. Basing your faculty ad on an approved model will help ensure your ad conforms with immigration, institutional, and best practice requirements, increasing the speed with which your ad can be approved and posted.

Part-Time Faculty Reviews for Continuing Appointment

Part-time faculty who have been renewed for a sixth year must be reviewed in the fall before December 31.

Interim Review (tenure stream faculty, PPAA)

Tenure stream faculty members should have their performance “reviewed no earlier than May 1 of the third year of [their] contract … Normally no later than 30th June, the appointee should be asked to submit an account of research or creative professional activity which has been completed or undertaken since the time of initial appointment … The appointee will not normally be required to complete the submission prior to August 31” (PPAA, II.8).

Tenure Review (tenure stream faculty, PPAA)

In units with faculty members coming forward for tenure review:

  • Candidate informed of membership of Tenure Committee: “This notification will normally happen in the fall” (PPAA, Part II, 14 iii). This correspondence and acknowledgement should be included in the tenure file.

Promotion to Professor

  • “Each year the Department Chairman will place before the Promotions Committee for preliminary consideration the names of all Associate Professors in the Department, together with their curricula vitae. The Committee will advise the Chairman as to which staff members should receive more detailed consideration for promotion” (PPP, 20).
  • “Associate Professors may request that they be considered for promotion in any given year. Such requests are to be made in writing to the Chairman of the department on or before October 15 of the calendar year preceding the possible promotion. In this case, the Promotions Committee is obliged to give the faculty member detailed consideration along with any other candidates under consideration” (PPP, 21).

Part-Time Faculty Eligibility for Promotion

This is a reminder that part-time faculty in both streams are eligible for promotion. See the Academic Administrative Procedures Manual for more information.

U of T Libraries Support for Faculty

 Please share with your faculty 

Please encourage both new and current faculty members to reach out to their University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) Faculty Liaison Librarian.  Each liaison librarian can provide valuable research and teaching assistance.  This includes research consultations on a wide variety of topics such as research impact, research data management, digital scholarship and open access.  Additionally, they can provide instructional sessions to your students that are tailored to your course content.  UTL also provides a Syllabus Service to support you with the management of course readings and reserves in a manner that respects Canadian copyright law and existing U of T licensing agreements and policies. Library Staff will retrieve, scan, license, and acquire eBooks where necessary to support instruction.

U of T Bookstore Support for Faculty

Please share with your faculty

The UofT Bookstore is now accepting course material orders for Fall 2023. The Bookstore works closely with faculty members to help them source the best materials for their courses, with both print and digital options available. For those looking to assign readings from multiple sources, the UofT Bookstore works with a licensed Access Copyright copy shop and can help faculty create and distribute a custom course pack with desired materials. All Fall course material orders should be placed with the UofT Bookstore ASAP to ensure availability at the term start. Reach out to the relevant buyer for support.

September & October Resources & Programming for Academic Administrators

Highlighted below are the sessions occurring in the next two months. To see the complete list of scheduled workshops, please visit the VPFAL programming page.

Bias in the Context of Academic Reviews for AAAs, Assessors, and Members of Committees

This programming is intended for Provostial, SGS, and Decanal assessors; members of any committee that involves peer assessment (e.g., search, PTR, tenure, continuing status); as well as Deans, Vice and Associate Deans, Principals, Chairs, and Directors. We are unable to accommodate to staff, students, post-docs, sessional lecturers, or clinicians.

Part I (available now): Faculty members who are serving on an upcoming committee are encouraged to review: 1) the recording of the 2022 workshop and 2) the Unconscious Bias Modules 1 & 2 and Module 3 through SuccessFactors.

Part II (September 22, 3-5pm): Faculty members serving on an upcoming committee are invited to attend a live, interactive online Q&A and case study workshop scheduled for September 22, 3-5pm.

Register Now for the September 22 workshop.

Advancement Process for Sessional Lecturers for AAAs and Staff (Online)

September 28, 2-4pm

This session, offered by Labour Relations, will provide Chairs, Directors, Associate Chairs Vice/Associate Deans, and Administrative Staff responsible for the administration of CUPE 3902 Unit 3 appointments with the necessary information to manage and conduct the processes for advancement to Sessional Lecturer II, and advancement to Sessional Lecturer III.

Register Now

Managing Teaching Assistants and Sessional Lecturers for AAAs and Staff (Online)

October 19, 2-4pm

This session, offered by Labour Relations, will provide Chairs, Directors, Associate Chairs, Vice/Associate Deans, TA Coordinators, and Administrative Staff responsible for the administration of CUPE 3902 appointments the tools and information necessary for managing employees under the CUPE 3902 Unit 1 and Unit 3 Collective Agreements. Topics will include performance management, accommodation, workload, leaves, and all other relevant processes under the Collective Agreements for the duration of an employee’s contract.

Register Now

September & October Resources & Programming for Faculty

New Faculty & Librarian Orientation Resources

The “Your Academic Career at U of T: New Faculty and Librarian Orientation” was held on August 14 & 15. Tenure-stream and continuing stream teaching-stream faculty members should contact vpfal.prof.dev@utoronto.ca for access to materials if they were unable to attend.

National Centre for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) Programming

Please share with your faculty.

NCFDD offers on-demand access to programs and resources designed to help faculty members “achieve extraordinary writing and research productivity while maintaining a full and healthy life off campus”

 Activate your NCFDD membership