The Technical University of British Columbia Ste. 1280, 13401 108 Avenue Surrey, BC, Canada V3T 5T3 Phone: 586-5225 Fax: 586-5237 www.tu.bc.ca

President's Office
Phone: (604) 586-5230

Date:	March 16, 1998
From:	Bernie Sheehan, President Ron Dickson, Chair, Board of Governors
To:	Robert Clift, Executive Director, CUFA/BC Tony Sheppard, President, CUFA/BC Bill Bruneau, President, CAUT

You have indicated to us that there are still some difficulties with our statement on HR policy development pertaining to faculty. In an attempt to both clarify this statement and to help achieve ratification of our agreement with CAUT and CUFA/BC representatives, we believe some background information might be useful:

• Bill 30, the Technical University of British Columbia Act, came into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor on December 5, 1997
• Excluding the President, TechBC currently operates with a four member Board:
  • Ron Dickson (Chair) -- Labour negotiator, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
  • Sharon Shilliday -- Teacher, Surrey School District
  • Nicole Sung -- Insurance broker, Manager, Transamerica Life Insurance Companies of Canada, West Coast Brokerage Office
  • Jack Finnbogason -- English Instructor; President, Kwantlen University College Faculty Association
• We currently have no faculty. Our first 3 faculty positions in Information Technology were recently advertised in University Affairs
• We currently have no students
• We will offer some courses/programs in September of 1998; these will mostly be in partnership with other post-secondary institutions
• Our first TechBC programs will be offered in September of 1999
• We do not yet have a campus site; any courses we offer in the next few years will take place in leased premises.

We are just beginning to develop our human resource policies. This is a complex process given the mandate of the University. Our statement on Academic Freedom indicates that we are committed to protecting academic freedom. In our statement on HR policy development we say that we will be guided both by provincial and Canadian law and custom as well as current practice in Canadian universities. We have further stated that we will have faculty on continuing appointments, term appointments, some seconded from other institutions, and some on alternate types of contractual arrangements. It is impossible at this time to make a statement such as "most faculty will be hired on continuing appointments" because we have not had the time or resources to devote to this type of detailed planning.

We can say that continuing appointments are contracts of an indefinite period. An academic employee would be able to terminate such a contract by resigning, or by retiring.

The University would be able to terminate a continuing appointment for one of the following reasons:

• for just cause, which shall include but not be limited to misconduct or persistent neglect of duties,
• due to the inability of the employee to perform duties for medical or other reasons of a like nature,
• due to discontinuance of a department or program of instruction,
• due to financial exigency,
• due to the employee having reached retirement age.

We will develop employment policies with respect to continuing appointments within this familiar framework.

We trust that these explanations are sufficient to convince your principals that our human resource policies will be fair and reasonable. We cannot elaborate further at this time.

Technical University of British Columbia
#1280 13401 108th Avenue, Surrey, BC V3T 5T3