Anatomy of Sessional Attrition in Canada

by S. McGinnis

After 14 years of teaching, University of Calgary lecturer Allison Dube abandoned his academic career because he said he couldn’t survive on his wages any longer. We wrote about Dube in the March/April 2007 issue of Adjunct Advocate. He is one of almost 600 part-time lecturers on the Calgary campus, and hundreds of students signed an online petition to coax the university into offering a full-time position to their favorite instructor.

“He is one of the most influential professors we’ve ever had. How can it be that the most amazing teacher could be leaving the institution and (the university) won’t do anything to prevent it,” said fifth-year U of C student Dean Horsfield, who helped launch the web site savedube.com.

Dube taught in the university’s political science department from 1989 to 1996 and again from 2001 until 2008.
Despite a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, 14 years experience and three back-to-back Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Awards, Dube is a part-time instructor who earns approximately $6,000 per course.
The position — also known as a sessional lecturer — has no benefits, pension plan or job security.

“I love the students so much and I care so much about lecturing. . . . The fact is, I have done nothing but break even,” said Dube, who earned $25,500 last year and said he could have made more working at Tim Hortons or McDonald’s.
“I’m 56. There is no pension or severance package waiting for me. I have financial hurdles I need to have taken care of. I can’t afford to work here anymore. I have to get a job that pays an actual salary.”

University of Calgary spokeswoman Colleen Turner said she would not comment on Dube’s situation or the web site because it is a personnel issue.

Dube isn’t the only sessional instructor struggling financially, said U. of C. faculty association president Anne Stalker.
Stalker said about a quarter of the 2,400 professors on campus are sessionals, many of whom are handling a full course load, which is between four and six courses. While these casual instructors are a helpful way to have working professionals teach the occasional course, or to offer graduate students experience in lecturing, it isn’t meant to be a substitute for hiring full-time professors, Stalker said.

“There’s been a dramatic increase in the use of sessional lecturers across the country,” said Jim Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

It’s the students who suffer from these cost-cutting measures, which force professors such as Dube out of their jobs, said second-year U of C psychology student Tarra Wandler. Outraged by the situation, Wandler helped found the savedube.com web site, where more than 350 people have signed an online petition.

“I truly feel the students of the University of Calgary are being ripped off by administration. . . . I pay a lot of money for my courses. Where is that money going?” she asked.

There has been some criticism that under funding from the province has contributed to the increasing use of part-time staff as cheap labor.

“The hiring of faculty is up to the individual post-secondary institution. That is their responsibility,” said Advanced Education spokesman Kevin Donnan.

The province has boosted university operational grants by six per cent, provided matching grants and endowment funds as well as $900 million in post-secondary infrastructure to help attract faculty, he said.

Dube said his conflict with U of C administrators isn’t just financial. He has applied for tenure positions in the past, but Dube thinks his focus on teaching instead of publishing has prevented him from being considered for the job. Most sessionals are caught in a similar “job ghetto,” said Turk. They have to load up on classes to make a meager income, then have no time left to do the research necessary to secure tenure positions. Turk wants universities to give sessional lecturers parity with tenured ones, making $80,000 a year, he said. If part-time lecturers are teaching a full course load, they should be receiving a full salary.

Changing the situation won’t be easy, Turk said. He said it could take years to negotiate new contracts.

Dube can’t wait any longer.