Our current contract with NOSM University has protections for equity and fairness in the workplace which has ensured a high-quality educational experience for students and learners in the past. It provides workload and job security appropriate for Universities with medical schools in Canada.
When we negotiate with the administration for a new contract, we try to improve the overall quality of education for everyone at NOSM University. The quality of your education is determined by a number of factors, such as:
- how much time faculty members have to develop teaching and learning materials and assessment, integrate learning across courses and teach courses;
- autonomy over course content to ensure students are receiving culturally relevant, research-based, and northern specific education that are also in line with the licencing exam objectives;
- professional development opportunities to create a cutting edge and evidence-based teaching experience;
- whether your education environment is safe, open and inclusive; as well as
- what kind of learning and teaching resources are available to students, faculty, librarians and professional staff alike.
These are the issues NUFSA is trying to improve in bargaining. This is particularly important as NUFSA members are currently collaborating on and leading NOSM University’s medical doctor curriculum renewal.
As faculty, librarians, and professional staff, we’ve done the research. We are insisting that NOSM University remain comparable in educational quality, working conditions and support for scholarly excellence to comparators at medical schools in southern Ontario, including at the University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, McMaster University and Queen’s University.
NUFSA members are taking a stand for all of Northern Ontario to maintain conditions that allow us to remain a high-quality medical university in Canada.