University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA)

The University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA) comprises approximately 500 faculty, professional librarians, and instructors and over 100 sessional lecturers on both campuses. The Post-Secondary Learning Act and the Alberta Labour Relations Code legislate ULFA as the exclusive bargaining authority, on behalf of its members, to negotiate with the Board of Governors and to enter into an agreement with them.

The Academic Staff Collective Agreement (ASCA) covers all aspects of employment at the U of L for members of the Academic Staff, including Faculty, Librarians, Instructors and Academic Assistants, and Sessional Lecturers. You can access the ASCA on ULFA’s website.

ULFA is a member run organization and welcomes member participation! Changes to the ULFA Bylaws and, through collective bargaining, the ASCA are recommended by the elected Executive to the membership for ratification and are implemented by the Executive, standing committees, and staff. ULFA holds a range of meetings, town halls, workshops and events open to all members and advertised by member email and on the ULFA events page. Two general meetings of all ULFA Members are mandated by the ULFA Bylaws to be held each year on the first working day following the last day of classes in April and December. Please visit the ULFA website or contact staff if you are interested in becoming more involved.

ULFA is affiliated with the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). By virtue of the fact that you are members of ULFA, you are also automatically members of both CAFA and CAUT. CAFA’s objectives are to promote the quality of education in the province and to promote the well-being of Alberta universities and their academic staff. The CAUT objectives are similar in nature, but at the national level.

ULFA supports our members’ pedagogical practice by protecting the terms and conditions in which you teach. We are a defender of academic freedom and we support our members’ incorporation of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practices into the classroom. ULFA has previously issued statements on the use of student evaluations of teaching as a deeply flawed and biased method for the assessment of teaching effectiveness, aligning with recent arbitration decisions. ULFA supports the TRC Calls to Action including programming for Indigenous languages, adequate funding for Indigenous students, and 62.ii, “the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms”.

If you have any questions for ULFA please reach out to ULFA staff or a committee member. You can find contact information for ULFA here.