On Thursday, April 17, Queen's Senate had a meeting that dealt with budgetary issues, fallout from the PSAC 901 strike, the shrinking of the Bachelor of Arts program, and how Deans are appointed. A win, and a note about gaslighting and the politics of budgets The Provost’s budget update largely focused on scapegoating the Faculty … Continue reading Gaslighting, the politics of budgets, concerns about surveillance, and more
Congratulations PSAC 901!
We congratulate our colleagues from PSAC 901 on ratifying a new collective agreement on the night of April 17. You managed to move the administration to make substantial concessions on wages, childcare, gender-affirming care, caste discrimination, and, perhaps most importantly, you laid the groundwork for strengthening your collective agreement with anti-clawback language to protect your … Continue reading Congratulations PSAC 901!
The Truth About CR Grades
On Monday, March 31, in response to immense community pressure to clarify expectations about final grade assignment, two sets of guidance were released to the Queen’s community: A Message to Faculty from Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning) Gavan Watson and a revised set of Winter 2025 Grading Guidelines from the Dean of FAS, Bob Lemieux. While … Continue reading The Truth About CR Grades
A Contentious Senate Meeting
A contentious Senate meeting on Thursday, March 27, left many members of the Queen’s community reeling. Originally scheduled as a hybrid session, the meeting was moved online at the last minute. In response to a query by a faculty member, the administration said they chose to make this change because they had learned of a … Continue reading A Contentious Senate Meeting
Fair Deal Now! Parents’ Messages to the Administration
Since we posted about the undergraduate students' open letter on March 26th, the number of signatories has more than doubled to over 1600. Today, we write to to draw your attention to the bottom of that letter where more than 100 parents have added their names and reasons for signing. QCAA has provided a sample … Continue reading Fair Deal Now! Parents’ Messages to the Administration
Newsletter #23 (03/27/2025)
Is there anyone left on this campus who still believes that senior administrators have the university’s best interests at heart? Three days before the exam deadline, ten days before the end of classes, the university refused an invitation to sit down to talk with PSAC. The university persists with the fiction that their side, though … Continue reading Newsletter #23 (03/27/2025)
A Response to the March 26 Labour News Update, Plus a Student Protest
The day after we published a post assessing the different options available to instructors for assigning grades in the context of the PSAC strike, the administration released an update on the university’s Labour News page. We are dismayed to see that the administration continues to insist on CR grades [credit standing] as the primary means … Continue reading A Response to the March 26 Labour News Update, Plus a Student Protest
Fair Grades, Fair Deal: Assessing the Impact of CR, GD, and Reweighting
Like everyone, we have been hearing a lot of concerns from students, faculty members, and department heads about all the unknowns related to grading decisions, final marks, and student transcripts. This post reflects the collaborative effort of MANY faculty members. It is a long post; if you prefer to read (and circulate!) a pdf, you … Continue reading Fair Grades, Fair Deal: Assessing the Impact of CR, GD, and Reweighting
Open Letter from Queen’s Faculty on PSAC 901 Strike
[This letter is still open for signatures here. Please circulate among faculty, librarian and archivist colleagues.] Dear Principal Deane, Provost Evans, and the Board of Trustees, We are writing to you as concerned Queen’s faculty, librarians, and archivists to urge you to resume negotiations with PSAC 901 workers immediately. We are dismayed that the university … Continue reading Open Letter from Queen’s Faculty on PSAC 901 Strike
Queen's Coalition Against Austerity 