Monthly Action Guide: October 2024

This email 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. 

Now Available! Unconscious Bias Education Module 4: Inclusive Academic Cultures: Ideas for Making Change

  • The Unconscious Bias Education Module, “Inclusive Academic Cultures: Ideas for Making Change” is now available. This module is the fourth in a series of online resources intended to provide faculty, librarians, and staff with an academic approach to understanding unconscious bias and to suggest practical ideas for how to disrupt the effects of bias in our work.
  • University of Toronto faculty and staff may access all four Unconscious Bias Education Modules on SuccessFactors. University students, partners, community members and collaborators who do not have access to SuccessFactors may access the modules through the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE) website.
  • The Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life recommends that members of search, tenure review, continuing status review, and promotion committees, faculty on PTR committees, and assessors review these modules at the outset of their work. 
  • The Unconscious Bias Education Modules are an initiative created at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) by University Professor Maydianne Andrade (Department of Biological Sciences) with input from members of TIDE. The newest module, Inclusive Academic Cultures: Ideas for Making Change, was composed and narrated by Professor Bryan Gaensler, former Co-Chair of TIDE, with financial support from the Canada Research Chairs Program Stipend for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and the Division of the Vice President & Provost. 

Recruitment

  • Academic searches are ongoing at this time. Chairs may find it helpful to review Strategies for Recruiting an Excellent & Diverse Faculty Complement.
  • Ask your Dean’s Office for a copy of a relevant sample job ad. Basing your ad on an approved model will help ensure your ad conforms with immigration and best practice requirements, increasing the speed with which your ad can be approved and posted.

Continuing Status Review for Teaching Stream Faculty

  • “The continuing status review should be completed and the candidate notified by December 31st.” (PPAA, 2021, Part VII, 30, x, emphasis added)” For reviews currently underway, VPFAL encourages submission of these files by October 31st where possible, to allow time for processing before the December 31 deadline.
  • Please submit your CSR files through the secure VPFAL Document Submission Portal.

Part-Time Faculty Review for Continuing Appointment

  • Part-time faculty who have been renewed for a sixth year, must be reviewed in the fall before December 31 (PtP, 7b).

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).
  • Single Department Faculty Deans should be aware that promotion files sent to VPFAL by January/February may allow for review and response by our Office before tenure season begins in April.

Promotion to Professor, Teaching Stream

  • “Each year the Department Chair will place before the Promotions Committee for preliminary consideration the names of all Associate Professors, Teaching Stream in the Department, together with their curricula vitae. The Committee will advise the Chair as to which faculty members should receive more detailed consideration for promotion” (PPPTS, 18).
  • “Associate Professors, Teaching Stream may request that they be considered for promotion in any given year. Such requests are to be made in writing to the Chair 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” (PPPTS, 18).
  • Single Department Faculty Deans should be aware that promotion files sent to VPFAL by January/February may allow for review and response by our Office before tenure season begins in April.

Research & Study Leave (RSL)

  • Academic units should be receiving leave requests from faculty and librarians and preparing their leave request form for the 2025-26 leave cycle.
    • “A faculty member who wishes to take research leave shall request such leave in writing from his or her chair, dean, or principal no later than October 31 of the academic year preceding. Every request for research leave requires the approval of the Vice-President and Provost of the University of Toronto.” (MoA, 2016, Article 4)
  • For details on leave information, eligibility, and requests, please see the Research & Study Leave section of the AAPM and the Research & Study Leave Tool
  • You should be aware of resources to assist with the RSL/Admin leave process.
    • The Research and Study Leave Report is available to specific users in Fiori. Instructions for the report: HR Systems Training & Support Centre and then HRIS Support Materials  > Fiori Launch Pad.
    • Revised Leave Request Form (revised Fall 2023): Dean’s Offices must submit leave requests using the revised RSL request form. Note: there is a separate form for Multi-Department Faculties (MDFs) and Single Department Faculties (SDFs).
      • Please be reminded that MDFs should separate exceptional RSL/admin leaves in annual omnibus submissions. Requests that do not conform to policy will receive additional review. Standard requests will not be given further review. The MDF-specific form reflects this process.
      • All SDF leave requests will be thoroughly reviewed by VPFAL. A reminder to please submit all leave documentation including leave proposals. The SDF-specific form reflects this process.
    • VPFAL was providing the technical leave entry details for HRIS in the RSL omnibus approval form to upkeep leave entitlements in HRIS after leaves were approved. This was provided on a transitional basis in support of the launch of the RSL Tool. As of the 2024-25 leave cycle, VPFAL will not be providing these technical leave entry details for HRIS in the approval form. Please be reminded that support materials (guides and video tutorials) will continue to be available on the HRIS Support Materials > Academic> Leave- Paid & Unpaid. In addition, the RSL request form has sample tabs with direct links to the “how-to” materials.

October & November Programming for Academic Administrators

Highlighted below are the sessions occurring in the months of October and November 2024. To see the complete list of scheduled workshops for academic administrators, please visit the VPFAL programming page.

Hosting International Collaborators (Online) for Academic Administrators, Faculty, Principal Investigators and Staff

October 18, 2024, 10am-12pm (for All Faculties)

November 28, 2024, 1-3pm (for Multi-Department Faculties)

Hosting international colleagues, researchers, expert knowledge holders, students or visitors to your department, lab, or office requires advance planning and must include immigration considerations. There can be a variety of negative repercussions if there are errors or omissions in the process. This session will guide participants on where to seek assistance. We will provide an overview of the Canadian immigration system, offer information on ways to invite and host international collaborators, and answer general questions about immigration processes and options.

Register Now for the October 18 session for All Faculties

Register Now for for the November 28 session for Multi-Department Faculties

Assessment of Teaching in Tenure, Continuing Status, and Promotion Reviews for Chairs, Directors, and Members of Teaching Evaluation Committees (Online)

November 4, 2024, 1-3pm

Session leader: Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation

The evaluation of teaching is a critical element in tenure, continuing status, and promotion reviews. This substantive session on the evaluation of teaching effectiveness will help those engaged in these reviews conduct their work in a fair and robust way.

Register Now

October & November Programming for Faculty

Unconscious Bias 102: Workshop U of T Faculty & Librarians

November 11, 2024, 1:10-2:40pm

Location: Governing Council Chamber, Simcoe Hall

This session, offered by the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE), will build on the learnings of the Unconscious Bias 101 talk. Speakers will provide concrete guidance to faculty on advancing equity and inclusion, focusing on individual level changes that could help spur transformation at the structural level.   

Learn more & register

NCFDD Programming

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 to access webinars

NCFDD Faculty Success Program Spring Session (January 27-April 6, 2025)

  • The University of Toronto is participating in a one-year pilot of the Priority Registration process for NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program.
  • Please see the Provostial Funding for the NCFDD Faculty Success Program and the Post-Tenure Pathfinders Program, 2024-25 memo for details about the program, eligibility, and funding requirements.
  • Important Dates
    • The Spring 2025 Session of the Faculty Success Program will run from January 27-April 6, 2025.
    • The Spring 2025 Priority Registration deadline is October 17, 2024.
    • Dean’s Offices must submit names of potential participants to VPFAL via the FSP Request for Provostial Funding Form no later than October 3, 2024.
    • Please be aware that NCFDD has reduced the priority registration discount from $1,000USD to $755USD per seat going forward. The Provost’s Office and the Faculty will split the cost savings evenly.
  • Please use the email template sent to Dean’s Offices to communicate to eligible faculty about the upcoming session and the change in the reimbursement process.
  • Faculty should not be registering themselves for the program.