*This new monthly series (written by and for TAs) will share practical guidance, personal reflections, and resources for teaching assistants and tutorial leaders at OCAD University. If you are a TA an...

By John Friere (FAS), OCADFA Director Becoming a teaching assistant means entering two roles at once: you are still a student, but you are also responsible for supporting the learning of others. This ...

Text and art by Yaw Asante, Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design (MDES), 2027 Working as a TA has been one of the most formative parts of my academic experience. From the outside, the r...

Grievances can be difficult to talk about because we are careful to respect confidentiality for individual members, but there are a number of recent grievance outcomes the membership should be aware o...

By Graeme Reniers, OCADFA Executive Director You may have noticed our Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) expired on June 30, 2026, and we do not yet have another one in place. We have been in active bargai...

Dr. Sabine Graf has been stripped of her faculty association membership and told she must abandon her family, relocate her child to Canada where his legs will be amputated, or lose her job.

Annual Reports are due on August 1 for all non-Sessional faculty members, with members asked to list activities between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. We understand all three faculties now have close...

The OCAD University Faculty Association (OCADFA) represents all faculty and academic staff at OCAD, with over 600 members. Our collective agreement (referred to as a Memorandum of Agreement, or MoA), ...

When Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government drastically cut student assistance grants earlier this year, it cited "unsustainable" costs, but new figures show nearly all of the recent growth was among ...

By John Friere (Faculty of Arts and Science), OCADFA Director-at-Large My name is John Freire, and I am a senior product designer with a background that bridges design, technology, and inclusive think...

By Graeme Reniers, OCADFA Executive Director I wrote about why our benefits coverage at end at age 70 our February 2025 Dispatch and how this was an evolving area of employment and human rights law. U...

By Michelle Miller (Faculty of Arts & Science) and Suzanne Morrissette (Faculty of Arts & Science) We represented OCADFA at the 100th Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) Council meeting...

We had a great time in great weather and great company at the OCAFA social on Monday! Thanks to everyone who came out! www.ocadfa.

In the past few months three members have shared their thoughts on the use of AI in education. It's obviously an issue educators will have to take a position on.

By Parantap Bhatt, Faculty of Design In recent studio reviews, I’ve noticed a shift that is difficult to ignore. The work is often more resolved, more polished—and yet, something feels missing.

by Graeme Reniers, OCADFA Executive Director Our Memorandum of Agreement defines course load in terms of “student contact hours.” For Tenured, Tenure-Track, CLTA, and Continuing faculty, a maximum cou...

by Min Sook Lee, OCADFA President There is an assumption that circulates in universities, and we’ve all heard some version of it, that these are not dangerous places, that risk belongs somewhere else—...

During our AGM yesterday (20 April 2026) we paused for a moment of silence for OCAD faulty members recently passed. We remember their contributions to the university and the arts world—and are thankfu...