The use of Contract Academic Staff (CAS) has significantly increased through post-secondary education. Comprising only a small portion of the academic teaching staff in the 1970s, CAS teaching across the country has now grown to levels of up to 50% or more of courses being offered by many academic institutions. However, job security, salary levels, benefits and work conditions for the members have not increased equally across institutions. In part, these lagging work conditions can be attributed to the lack of representation and rights associated with collegial governance. Additionally, the lack of collegial governance participation by CAS entails the loss of an invaluable stakeholder voice towards the improvement of transparency, democracy and equity in institutional governance. The following would address these issues:
- As academic staff, CAS should have a right to participate in the collegial governance of the academic institution. They should be eligible to serve as elected or appointed members on all governing councils and committees. All CAS in the bargaining unit should be eligible to serve as elected members of the Senate, the Board of Governors or equivalent bodies, and their committees.
- CAS representation on governance bodies should be in proportion to the makeup of the institution's academic staff complement.
- All governance bodies, including but not limited to Councils and academic unit committees, should provide for the effective participation of CAS with speaking and voting rights.
- CAS should have elected or appointed representation, with voting rights, on all institution committees that may relate to CAS issues, such as search committees for chairs and deans, curriculum meetings and hiring committees.
- Planned academic unit meetings should be communicated and open to all CAS members.
- CAS representatives should be invited to participate in institution events, such as convocations, awards ceremonies, receptions, etc.
- To ensure more direct and consistent communication on matters concerning CAS, Collective Agreements should require regular meetings throughout the academic year between the administration and academic staff association representatives whose duties concern CAS issues.
- CAS who participate in institutional bodies and committees should be remunerated or given course release unless these activities are included in their compensated duties and responsibilities.
- CAS should not be penalized in relation to their seniority rights because of taking on collegial activities that are offset by course releases. As such, all course releases should count towards seniority credits or right of first refusal.
- All remunerated and non-remunerated appointments should be awarded seniority credits, if applicable to the Collective Agreement.
- CAS who participate in institutional bodies and committees should be able to freely vote and express relevant opinions with the full protection of the academic freedom principles detailed in the CAUT Policy Statement on Academic Freedom and Contract Academic Staff.
Approved by the CAUT Council, November 2025.
