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Policy Statement on the Employment Status of Graduate Students

CAUT recognizes the importance of teaching as part of a graduate student's training. However, graduate student numbers are increasing in concert with greater undergraduate student enrolments in Canadian universities, at a time when academic staff numbers are decreasing and funding to post-secondary education continues to be eroded.

CAUT is concerned that, as student-academic staff ratios continue to climb, graduate students will be used increasingly to staff courses.

Collective agreements must include language to ensure that:

1
All university teaching is employment.  Graduate students who are teaching should be considered members of the contract academic staff bargaining unit and have the protection of a collective agreement.

2
Graduate student enrolment should not be determined by undergraduate teaching needs.

3
Graduate student funding envelopes shall not be used to fill ongoing teaching requirements.

4
The teaching of any credit course on contract must be considered a per-course academic appointment, for which the instructor of record will be paid a pro rated salary and will receive seniority credits according to the appropriate collective agreement.

5
The graduate student employee's status as a member of the bargaining unit is determined by his/her responsibilities rather than the source of funding, his/her title, or nominal supervision.

6
Appointments shall be subject to the employment equity provisions in the collective agreement.

7
Graduate student teaching shall be assigned in accordance with the seniority provisions of the collective agreement.  Members should be entitled to exercise their right of first refusal for courses prior to the allocation of teaching of all or part of a course to graduate students

8
Where learning to teach is considered an important and integral component of a graduate student's formation, teaching shall be explicitly incorporated into the graduate program.

9
Graduate students working as teaching assistants have the rights stated in CAUT's Policy Statement on the Rights of Graduate Student Employees.
Approved by the CAUT Council, November 2010.