Talks held between university teachers and the University College of the North to resolve outstanding issues

OTTAWA, Oct. 12 /CNW Telbec/ - Representatives of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the University College of the North (UCN) made progress at a meeting in Ottawa yesterday toward resolving significant concerns CAUT has with plans for the new institution.

"We were encouraged by the response of UCN officials in our discussions about the need for UCN staff to have academic freedom and tenure, for the institution's senior academic body to have full responsibility for setting educational policy, and for the institution to be arms-length from government," said James Turk, executive director of CAUT.

"UCN and the Manitoba Government Employees General Union (MGEU) have taken the first steps to negotiating typical university academic freedom and tenure provisions," Turk said. "More work needs to be done," he added, "but the biggest challenge is for the Manitoba government to amend the UCN Act to give UCN's Learning Council powers similar to equivalent bodies at southern Manitoba universities and to ensure that programs cannot be imposed on UCN."

MKO Grand Chief Dr. Sydney Garrioch also attended the meeting at the invitation of UCN.

"We are committed to further work together to support the successful resolution of the issues that remain," said Tony Bos, president of UCN.

In light of the progress made at the meeting and a commitment of all parties to continue working to resolve the outstanding problems, CAUT officials agreed to recommend that a motion to censure UCN as early as late November be postponed to the April 2006 meeting of the CAUT Council.

MKO Grand Chief Dr. Sydney Garrioch expressed in his closing remarks that the "MKO has had a long standing commitment to the creation of UCN and that the time is now to support and celebrate the new university college for its contribution to peoples and communities of northern Manitoba."

Thanks to LabourUnions.com for this item