Carleton University is expected to reduce the number of contract instructors (CIs) it employs in response to the institution’s growing financial deficit.
Among those affected is the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), which will see a projected 50 per cent cut to its CIs, affecting more than 87 jobs.
FASS is Carleton’s largest faculty and represents 38 areas of study at the undergraduate and graduate level.
“I am pleased to report progress on a key priority: reducing our reliance on contract instructors by 50 per cent,” said FASS dean Anne Bowker in a Dec. 13 email to some members of the Carleton community.
A letter from Esther Post, the president of CUPE 4600 representing Carleton’s CIs and teaching assistants, was shared to Instagram on Dec. 17 in response to Bowker’s email.
Addressed to Catherine Khordoc and Amy Wyse, Post’s letter requests an “urgent” meeting regarding the contents of the email.
On CUPE 4600’s website, the union posted a tracker indicating the length of time it has taken for the university to provide a “meaningful response” to CUPE 4600’s letter.
At the time of publication, the tracker indicated it has been 22 days with no response.
Post wrote that she is “appalled” that Bowker’s email was how contract instructors found out about these cuts.
Post’s letter points to sections 7.10 and 8.4 of CUPE 4600 Unit 2 and Carleton’s collective agreement, which state Carleton has a “duty to provide the Union with information necessary to the day-to-day workings of the Union and when changes are contemplated that would impact the working conditions and/or overall teaching environment.”
“Despite our repeated requests for specific information about how budget cuts would impact our members in the coming years, we had not received any information prior to Dean Bowker’s email,” Post said in the statement.
CUPE 4600 is demanding that the university provide the union with further information regarding the CI reductions, including the percentage of reduction and the criteria used to determine which CIs will be employed next year.
“There is no specific mandate requiring the faculties to reduce the number of contract instructors across the university,” said Steven Reid, Carleton University’s media relations officer, in a statement.
“The university values its contract instructor complement, and does not take lightly the impact that this situation will have on some contract instructors,” he said.
Since planning for the 2025-2026 academic year is still ongoing, the specific courses and departments that may be affected are not known at this time, according to Reid.
“There is no one solution to address the financial challenges that we face.”
“We continue to work towards implementing cost containment strategies, revenue growth ideas, academic program renewal and an organizational excellence and optimization plan to improve the overall sustainability of the institution,” he said.
The Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) issued a statement declaring its solidarity with CIs on Dec. 18.
According to CUASA, the “drastic” reduction of CIs will have “far-reaching and irreparable effects.”
“Fewer instructors mean fewer classes, larger class sizes, less time for research and [less time for] the mentoring of emerging scholars,” the statement reads. “Students and professors alike know all too well how the quality of learning is not maintained in these conditions.”
“It demonstrates that the administration has been acting in bad faith in its dealings with CUPE 4600, in its failure to be transparent about its financial planning to the larger Carleton community, and in its use of structural deficits to erode collegial governance,” CUASA’s statement continues.
CUASA has created a form to anonymously share thoughts and ideas on addressing the budgetary deficit with university provost Pauline Rankin.
Featured image from files.
