YUFA

Collective Agreement

2009-2012

 

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Article 11
Professional Responsibilities

Faculty Members

11.01

A faculty member’s professional obligations and responsibilities to the University shall encompass: (a) teaching; (b) research, scholarly or creative activity; (c) service to the University. While the pattern of these duties may vary between streams and may vary from individual to individual, they constitute the faculty member’s principal obligation during the employment year, and include, without being restricted to, responsibilities as follows:

  1. A faculty member shall carry out his/her responsibility for teaching with all due attention to the establishment of fair and ethical dealings with students, taking care to make himself/herself accessible to students for academic consultation, to inform students adequately regarding course formats, assignments, and methods of evaluation, to maintain teaching schedules in all but exceptional circumstances, to inform students adequately of any necessary cancellation and rescheduling of instruction, and to adhere to the schedules for submission of grades and evaluations by his/her department and Faculty.
  2. A faculty member shall be entitled to and expected to devote a reasonable proportion of his/her time to research, scholarly or creative work consistent with his/her stream. He/she shall endeavour to make the results of such work accessible to the scholarly and general public through publications, lectures, and other appropriate means. Faculty members shall, in published works, indicate any reliance on the work and assistance of academic colleagues and/or students.
  3. Service to the University is performed by faculty members through participation in the decision-making councils of the University, and through sharing in the necessary administrative work of their departments, Faculties, the University, or the Association. In performance of these collegial and administrative activities, faculty members shall objectively assess the performance of their colleagues, shall avoid discrimination, shall not infringe their colleagues’ academic freedom, and shall observe appropriate principles of confidentiality.

In performance of their professional responsibilities faculty members shall deal fairly and ethically with their colleagues, students, and other members of the University community.

In the performance of their professional responsibilities, including any supervisory responsibilities, faculty members shall observe and comply with relevant provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Regulations thereto.

Librarians

11.02

A librarian’s professional obligations and responsibilities to the University shall encompass: (a) the development of his/her professional knowledge and performance in the areas of public service/collections development/bibliographic control; (b) [i] professional development, [ii] research, scholarship; and (c) service to the University.

While the pattern of these duties may vary from individual to individual consistent with the librarian’s specialties and qualifications, they constitute the librarian’s principal obligation during the employment year.

  1. A librarian shall carry out his/her responsibilities with all due attention to the establishment of fair and ethical dealings with library users, colleagues/staff, students, and other members of the University community, taking care to make himself/herself accessible. A librarian shall foster a free exchange of ideas and shall not impose nor permit censorship. A librarian shall provide a high level of professional service and shall ensure the fullest possible access to library materials.
  2. A librarian shall be entitled to and expected to devote a reasonable proportion of his/her time to professional development, research and scholarship. He/she shall endeavour to make the results of such work accessible to the scholarly and general public through publications, lectures, and other appropriate means. Librarians shall, in published works, indicate any reliance on the work and assistance of academic colleagues and/or students.
  3. Service to the University is performed by librarians through participation in the decision-making councils of the University, and through sharing in the necessary administrative work of the Libraries and the Law Library, the University or the Association. The parties agree that librarians appointed in the Law Library shall participate in relevant committees, councils and administrative bodies of the University and the York University Libraries on the same basis as all other professional librarians. For greater clarity, service to the University includes participation on relevant decision-making councils and administrative bodies of the Faculty of Law.

In performance of these collegial and administrative activities, librarians shall deal fairly and ethically with their colleagues, shall objectively assess the performance of their colleagues, shall avoid discrimination, shall not infringe their colleagues’ academic freedom, and shall observe appropriate principles of confidentiality and professional behaviour.

In the performance of these collegial and administrative activities, including any supervisory responsibilities, librarians shall observe and comply with relevant provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations thereto.

Misconduct in Academic Research

11.03

Misconduct in academic research is defined as:

  1. any conscious act of fabrication or plagiarism associated with the proposing, conducting or reporting or publication of research, but does not include differences in opinion, honest error or honest differences in interpretation or assessment of data or research results;
  2. material failure to comply with federal or provincial regulations for the protection of researchers, human subjects or the public, or for the welfare of laboratory animals, or material failure to meet other federal or provincial requirements as agreed to between the parties to the Agreement that relate to the conduct of research;
  3. failure to reveal to the sponsors any material conflict of interest which might be expected, on reasonable grounds, to be unknown to the sponsors and which might influence the sponsor’s decisions on whether the employee should be asked to undertake reviews of research grant applications or to test products for sale or distribution to the public;
  4. failure to reveal to the University any material financial interest in a company that contracts with the University to undertake research, particularly research involving the company’s products, or to provide research related materials or services. Material financial interest means ownership, substantial stock holding, a directorship, significant honoraria or consulting fees but does not include minor stock holding in publicly traded corporations.

11.04 

(a) An allegation of misconduct in academic research shall be in writing, and directed to the President. The President may refer the allegations to a designate. Within ten (10) days of the receipt of the allegation(s), the President or designate shall notify, in writing and with a copy of the allegation, the individual(s) named in the allegation.

The President or designate shall make reasonable and confidential enquiries to determine whether the allegation(s) have sufficient substance to warrant investigation. The enquiries shall be completed within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the allegation(s). The parties to the Agreement recognize that although time is of the essence, there may be exceptional circumstances whereby the enquiries cannot be completed within the thirty (30) days. Therefore, the parties to the Agreement agree that in exceptional circumstances the thirty (30) day limit may be extended for one further period not to exceed fifteen (15) days.

(b) If, in the opinion of the President or designate, the allegation(s) do not have sufficient substance to warrant investigation, the allegation(s) shall be dismissed and no action taken. The Employer shall remove all documentation within thirty (30) days from the individual’s file as per Article 22, and shall not use the documentation for any employment related purpose affecting the employee against whom the allegations were made.

(c) If, in the opinion of the President or designate, the allegation(s) have sufficient substance to warrant investigation, the President or designate shall inform the employee named in the allegation(s), in writing and with a copy to the Association. The written notice shall include a copy of the signed allegation(s), shall inform the employee of his/her right to be represented by the Association, and shall advise the employee of his/her right to contact the Association before responding to the allegation(s).

11.05 (a) Within thirty (30) days after the employee named in the allegation(s) has received the written notice, the President or designate shall convene a committee of three (3) individuals to assist in the investigation of the allegation(s). Two (2) members of this committee shall be academics working in the same discipline as the employee named in the allegation(s). No more than two (2) members of this committee shall be from the same Faculty as the employee named in the allegation(s).

(b) The Committee shall investigate the allegation(s) promptly, fairly, and judiciously. The employee named in the allegation(s) shall have adequate opportunity to know all evidence presented, the right to address the Committee on the matters before it, and the right to be represented by a person of his/her choice. During the course of the investigation, an authorized representative of the Association shall have the right to be present at any meeting involving the employee named in the allegation(s).

The Committee shall complete its investigation and report to the President within one hundred (100) days of its having been initially convened. The parties to the Agreement recognize that although time is of the essence, there may be exceptional circumstances whereby the investigation and report cannot be completed within the one hundred (100) days. Therefore, the parties to the Agreement agree that the one hundred (100) day time limit may be extended only by mutual agreement between the parties.

(c) During the course of the investigation all reasonable steps shall be taken to keep the matter confidential.

(d) After receiving the Committee’s report, the President or designate shall make a determination within twenty-one (21) days as to whether the allegation(s) of misconduct in academic research has been sustained. The parties to the Agreement recognize that although time is of the essence, there may be exceptional circumstances whereby the President or designate cannot make his/her determination within twenty-one (21) days. Therefore the parties to the Agreement agree that the twenty-one (21) day limit may be extended for one further period not to exceed seven (7) days.

11.06

  1. If the determination is that the misconduct in academic research constitutes adequate cause for dismissal, as set out in Article 15, the President shall expeditiously initiate the procedures of Article 15.
  2. Any other discipline imposed on an employee for misconduct in academic research shall be subject to Article 9 (Grievance and Arbitration). A statement from the Employer that an individual is guilty of misconduct in academic research without any other sanction constitutes discipline and may be grieved/arbitrated.
  3. If the determination is that misconduct in academic research has not taken place, the allegation(s) shall be dismissed and the individual shall be so notified in writing with a copy to the Association. The Employer shall remove all documentation within thirty (30) days from the individual’s file as per Article 22 and shall not use the documentation for any employment related purpose affecting the employee against whom the allegations were made.

11.07

  1. The Employer agrees to take such steps as may be both necessary and reasonable to protect the reputation and credibility of persons wrongfully accused of misconduct in academic research. The Employer agrees to take such steps as may be both necessary and reasonable to protect the rights of members of the bargaining unit who make allegations in good faith or who are called as witnesses before the investigation committee or in arbitration proceedings.
  2. Allegations of scholarly misconduct in academic research which are reckless, malicious, or made in bad faith may be the cause of disciplinary action.
  3. Where an allegation of misconduct in academic research has been made in relation to research funded by an external agency, the Employer agrees to protect the identities of the respondent and the complainant. Where the external agency requests information from the Employer, the Employer shall only confirm, in writing, whether an investigation is being conducted or not. A copy of this written statement shall be provided to the respondent and the complainant, by the Employer, at the time of writing. Subject to (d), the Employer shall not inform the external agency of any part of the substance of the allegations until dismissal proceedings or grievance/arbitration proceedings, if any, have been completed. The text of the Employer’s written statement to the external agency shall be as specified in Appendix J.
  4. Where an allegation of misconduct in academic research has been made in relation to research funded by an external agency:
    1. if a finding of misconduct in academic research is sustained after dismissal proceedings or grievance/arbitration proceedings have been completed, the Employer shall inform the agency concerned of the decision;
    2. if the allegation(s) is dismissed at any stage, the Employer shall, at the sole discretion of the employee named in the allegation(s), send the external agency a copy of the decision of the University or the arbitration.

11.08

The parties agree that a subcommittee of the Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement investigates and makes recommendations to the Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement concerning scholarly misconduct and private/public contracts.