July 7, 2022

Dear SFUFA Members:

This information bulletin contains updates regarding:

– Pension transition and purchase of past service

– Chairs and Directors stipends

– Draft Intellectual Property Policy

– Acting VPA Effective July 1

– Bargaining survey and consultations

Pension Transition

The process under which members can elect to buy past service in the BCCPP is well-underway. Many members have already initiated the process, but several people have asked questions regarding specific steps. Any members who are having difficulty navigating the system are welcome to contact SFUFA’s Executive Director, Brian Green, at [email protected]

Brian will connect you with someone to help address any questions. The Association cannot provide financial advice, or recommend whether or not to purchase service, but we will do all we can to help make sense of what is required to work through the process.

Two other issues have been raised with us, and we have consulted with the BCCPP for answers:

the process for those who do not wish to purchase service now but may want the opportunity to do so next year (2023);

– what to do if you are on study leave or otherwise away from your home address and unable to access the information BCCPP has sent to you

Considering Past Service Purchase in 2023

As previously noted, the BCCPP has indicated that a second opportunity to purchase service will be available in 2023. Members who are considering this option will need to submit an application for calculation even if they already did so for this round. The second window to apply is open now, and the deadline to submit a second application is December 31, 2022. You will need to contact SFU pensions to request an application form – to do so, please write to [email protected]

For further details on purchase of past service, please refer to the following information on the CPP plan website: https://college.pensionsbc.ca/deadlines-for-buying-past-service

Members should also be aware that while calculations in this cycle were free, those who seek calculations for possible purchase of service next year will have to contribute to the cost of that calculation. Costs up to $500 must be paid by the member; anything above this will be paid by SFU. Finally, we understand that members may only purchase past service in one or the other window – that is, you cannot purchase past service in this cycle and additional service in the next cycle.

Away from Home?

For members who are not able to retrieve their past service statement of cost due to being away from their mailing address for an extended period of time, the BCCPP has provided the following information:

· If the member has their Person ID number (PID), they can register for My Account. They will be able to find information about their pension online and can also send a request using the secure messaging in My Account for a copy of their past service statement to be sent electronically.

https://college.pensionsbc.ca/register-for-my-account

· If the member does not have their Person ID number (PID), they can contact the College Pension Plan by phone. The member will be asked other questions to verify their identity, and once verified, the BCCPP can initiate sending a copy of the past service statement of cost. Our phone lines are answered Monday – Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm (Pacific Standard Time).

College Pension Plan General enquiries: 1-888-440-0111 (toll free in Canada and U.S)

https://college.pensionsbc.ca/web/college/contact-us

Chairs’ and Directors’ Stipends

The University and the Faculty Association have agreed to amend the provisions that govern administrative stipends paid to Chairs and Directors, as well as Associate Deans. The Policy (and corresponding Collective Agreement language) will be thoroughly reviewed in the near future, but given the significance of the compensation provisions, we have agreed to alter the compensation provisions immediately.

As a result of this agreement, the stipend amounts in section 2.1 of the Policy will be increased by 79% to match the increase to faculty salaries since the Policy was last updated in 2005.

SFUFA and the Board of Governors have approved the change, and the increased stipends will be implemented as of the current semester.

The remainder of the Policy remains unchanged; a comprehensive review will be undertaken in the coming months.

Chairs, Directors, Associate Deans and other academic administrative appointments are critical to the functioning of the University and to a strong and healthy collegial system. We are pleased to recognize that service with this long-overdue adjustment to administrative stipends.

Draft Intellectual Property Policy Revision

The Association has been sent a copy of a proposed revised Intellectual Property Policy that raises serious concerns and may indeed breach the terms of the Collective Agreement. We have only begun our review, but on first glance there are proposed revisions that could significantly impact the rights of all faculty members.

The changes are extensive, and it will require detailed analysis to fully understand what is being proposed. But among the revisions that we are particularly concerned about are:

– a provision to allow SFU use faculty members’ teaching materials for its own purposes, which would be a serious encroachment on the current rights members enjoy;

– a requirement that members who commercialize their inventions sign a Community Engagement Agreement with the University;

– amendments to the provisions for recovering direct costs by SFU and for sharing of revenues post-commercialization

The Association will be conducting a thorough review of the proposed policy, but believes this is a matter of some significance and all members ought to be aware as early as possible of the proposed changes. Documents related to the proposed revision are attached to this email so that members may download and review them directly.

If any members are particularly interested in this issue, or have thoughts to share that we might incorporate into the SFUFA response, please contact Executive Director Brian Green at [email protected]

Acting VPA Effective July 1

The resignation of Vice President Academic and Provost Catherine Dauvergne was effective July 1 of this year. Until such time as a search can be organized and the position filled, Wade Parkhouse will fill the role of VPA and Provost, pro tem. Given that this leaves the position of Associate VPA vacant, Kevin Oldknow (School of Sustainable Energy Engineering) will be serving as senior advisor to the acting Provost.

Bargaining Survey and Bargaining Consultations

The SFUFA Bargaining Survey has been running for just over 2 weeks, and remains open until noon on Friday, July 8. If you have not yet had an opportunity to complete the survey, please do so here: http://websurvey.sfu.ca/survey/428229808

We are also beginning a series of bargaining consultations to hear directly from you about priorities for the upcoming round of negotiations.

The Faculty Association is organizing a number of bargaining consultation sessions to hear from you about priorities for the upcoming round of negotiations.

The sessions are structured to ensure we reach out directly to particular groups of members but all sessions are open to anyone who wishes to attend. For the larger groups (Burnaby- based members and Teaching Faculty) there will be both zoom and in-person sessions; all others will be on zoom. The complete schedule follows.

Wednesday, July 13th, 11am, Burnaby members on zoom

Link: https://sfu.zoom.us/j/67963006830?pwd=SGZ5ZFRrM2VDVC9peCtzSTgzUzFJUT09

Meeting ID: 679 6300 6830

Password: 315036

Thursday, July 14th, 11 am, Surrey members on zoom

Link: https://sfu.zoom.us/j/62486277207?pwd=UlR6WTZsNDNZVlZJRlNXMkRKa0pmdz09

Meeting ID: 624 8627 7207

Password: 210810

Thursday, July 14, 11 am, Teaching Faculty in person

Room: The Irmacs Center ASB 10900, Burnaby campus

Friday, July 15th, 11:00 am, Practitioner Faculty on zoom

Link: https://sfu.zoom.us/j/63798033995?pwd=SnhzV2ZBN044V29LdEZubWxaRVI4Zz09