Know What’s on Your Standard Workload Form (SWF)
All Full-time Academic Faculty are assigned a Standard Workload Formula to objectively assign, measure and monitor workload. SWF requirements are clearly articulated in Article 11 of the CAAT-A Collective Agreement here.
Quick SWF Checklist:
- Pre-SWF: Manager must discuss workload with you [Art 11.02 A1]
- SWF Meeting: You have the right to have a steward accompany you
- SWF Received: You have 5 business days to accept or disagree, default is that you have accepted it [Art 11.02 A4]. Disagree? Refer to WMG.
- Check your SWF: Do dates align with teaching weeks? Are there a maximum of 4 different courses (or a mutually-agreed number)? Are your evaluation factors and complementary functions correct? (Reminder: check to ensure new factors we gained in our latest contract negotiations are reflected. Find details here.
- Coordinators: Is your step (1 or 2) acknowledged?
Dispute resolution
Do you have concerns or questions? Disagree with the SWF and return it to your manager within 5 days to continue negotiating to reach a mutually agreed upon workload. Contact a Steward to discuss it further; refer your proposed SWF to the Workload Management Group (WMG) for review. Learn more about the SWF process here.
What are the various limits to my workload?
The maximum limits to your workload are:
- No more than 4 different course preparations or 6 different sections in a given week [11.01 D]
- 10-month academic year [11.03]
- 12 consecutive months of teaching in a continuous-intake program, followed by at least one month’s vacation [15]
- 36 teaching weeks / academic year for post-secondary faculty, or 38 teaching weeks / academic year for non-post-secondary faculty [11.01 B 1]
- 18 TCH / week for post-secondary faculty (648 TCH / academic year), or 20 TCH / week for non-post-secondary faculty (760 TCH / Academic year) [11.01 I]
- 180 contact days / academic year (10 months) for post-secondary faculty, or 190 contact days / academic year (10 months) for non-post-secondary faculty [11.01 K 1]
- 44 hours / week for total workload [11.01 B1]
- 8-hour teaching day (including breaks between classes) [11.01 L 1]
Goal? Mutually agreed upon workload between 40-44 hours/week. Probationary faculty are not permitted to work over 44 hours/week. Overtime and Coordinator hours are not mandatory and faculty have the right to decline the offer.
Key Updates to Workload Factors (Kaplan Award)
The recent Kaplan Award introduced important changes, particularly affecting how time is attributed for Complementary Functions and Evaluation and Feedback, effective January 1, 2026.
- Complementary Functions: Increased Minimum Allowance
Complementary functions are tasks appropriate to your professional role as a teacher, assigned by the College, with hours attributed on an hour-for-hour basis.
Effective January 1, 2026, the minimum allowance for complementary functions has increased from six hours to seven hours per week. This seven-hour minimum is now specifically attributed as follows:
* 5 hours Routine Out-of-Class Assistance to Individual Students
* 2 hours Normal Administrative Tasks (ADM/RTN
Note on High Student Loads: If you have an unusually high number of students (more than 260) in your total course load and feel the five hours for out-of-class assistance is insufficient, you should discuss this with your supervisor. If agreement is not reached on how best to manage the situation, you are attributed an additional 0.015 hour for every student exceeding 260.
- Evaluation and Feedback: Change to Essay/Project Factor
The workload formula attributes weekly hours for evaluation and feedback based on the type of evaluation and the class size.
Effective January 1, 2026, the evaluation factor for “Essay or project” has been increased from 1:0.030 per student to 1:0.035 per student. This means that for courses relying heavily on essays, essay-type assignments/tests, projects, or student performance assessments compiled outside teaching contact hours, you will receive a slightly greater attribution of evaluation hours.
- 3. New Preparation Credit for Delivery Mode
In the Preparation section of your SWF, preparation credit is designated by type (New, Established A, B, Repeat A, B).
Effective for the 2026-2027 academic year, the definition of a “New” course preparation (attracting the 1:1.10 ratio) will also include courses where you are teaching for the first time in a new delivery mode as assigned by the College.
Reviewing your SWF carefully, especially noting these updated attribution minimums and factors, ensures that your workload accurately reflects the demands of your teaching assignments. Should you have concerns that cannot be resolved with your supervisor, remember you have the right to refer the proposed workload to the College Workload Management Group (WMG).
What I need to know about the WMG
WMG is part of the Collective Agreement – agreed to by both the union and College. It isn’t unreasonable there may be disagreements between faculty and managers from time to time. When they can’t resolve those disagreements, the WMG (with members from both the union and College) take the decision out of the hands of faculty and managers and come to an agreement on their behalf.
WMG meetings are professional and collegial. It is not adversarial – it’s just business. It helps dissolve tensions around lack of agreement.
Union stewards can meet with you ahead of time—often more than once—and support you in preparing for WMG. It’s a bit of work to prep., but we find that most faculty can pull together things like samples of assessments and LPs that substantiate their requests for things like higher evaluation factors. And while it works well if you attend your WMG in person, if you really can’t face the prospect of attending yourself, then we can attend on your behalf.
A Video Guide to Understanding your Standard Workload Form:
