SURVEY RESULTS: DC CONNECT AND Workload at DURHAM COLLEGE
Two weeks ago, May 27-31, your local Durham College faculty union circulated a survey monkey-type questionnaire on the topics of DC Connect usage and SWFing practices at our college. The interest and response rate were overwhelming, with 192 professors, counsellors, and librarians contributing out of a total population at Durham of just over 300. In addition, over 60 written comments were sent to us. This is an awesome result and will help us greatly in our effort to identify concerns and bring them forward to management. Below is a summary of the results:
- over 81% of respondents always use DC Connect
- 13.5% sometimes use it
- only 5% claimed to “never” use DC Connect
However, it should be noted that some respondents cannot use DC connect for various reasons (for instance, librarians, Academic Upgrading faculty), so it is probably fair to say that ALL Durham College faculty who can, use DC Connect.
- over 80% of respondents said they “always” post student marks on DC Connect
- 78.6% “Always” post their course outline to DC Connect
- over 67% post class notes or powerpoints to DC Connect.
Regarding the Standard Workload Form (SWF):
- 83.5% of respondents report that they are aware that during teaching weeks, ALL work should be listed
- 85.6% claimed to be aware of their right to “sign back” their SWF if they feel that it does not reflect their work situation.
- 79.3% claimed that their manager consulted with them before completing their SWF, while 20.7% replied that no, their manager did not consult prior
- Only 11.8% claimed to “often negotiate changes to my SWF with my manager” while 63.1% did this “sometimes.”
Alarmingly, 43.5% of respondents claimed that yes, in the past, they have agreed to a SWF that they felt did not reflect their true work load. This is a troubling result, and your union representatives will need to look into how to stop this practice from continuing. Your SWF was specifically designed to measure and reflect your work activities, and if it is not, the reasons will need to be investigated.
Exactly 50% of respondents indicated that they want information sessions to learn more about their SWF. As a result, drop-in meetings were arranged. However, new meeting times and/or one-on-one meetings can always be arranged – just contact your steward or visit us at the union office, C111, Willey.
Finally, it bears repeating that these surveys are of little value without your active participation. Thank you for putting in the effort to complete the survey and also send in so many valuable additional comments! This effort makes it possible for your local union representatives to do a better job of supporting you.