The School of Kinesiology and Health Studies (SKHS) has been forced to cut over half of the Teaching Assistant (TA) hours in multiple courses according to SKHS faculty.
According to internal data shared with The Journal by SKHS Associate Professor Stevenson Fergus, some of the largest reductions in Fall Term TA hours include HLTH 101, which lost half its allocation, dropping from 1,660 to 840 hours after bi-weekly tutorials were cut. By percentage in the fall courses, HLTH 102 saw a decline of 52 per cent, while HLTH 200, HLTH 237, and KNPE 335 reduced their hours by 20 per cent, 28 per cent, and 17 per cent, respectively
In terms of impacts on students, Fergus said the elimination of tutorials for HLTH 101—a mandatory first year course for Health Studies students—marked one of the most significant changes.
“I think we [as instructors] always felt that it was important that the students get together in smaller groups and think about and talk about the concepts, rather than just sitting and listening to the lecture. So, I think losing that is huge,” Fergus said in an interview with The Journal.
He added that an important part of the tutorials was the interactive relationship between students and TAs, giving students a place to bring their questions. He worries that TAs will now be more focused on grading, making it ‘a much different experience for the student.
In a statement to The Journal, the University wrote that “Decisions on teaching assistant (TA) hours are made at the Faculty level on an annual basis through the budget process and are based on undergraduate student enrolments and trends, and changing course pedagogies, which evolve in response to student interests,” adding that “budget numbers for student employment vary year to year [but] they’re forecasted to increase in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies in 2025/26.”
Fergus, however, clarified that the apparent increase in their overall TA budget is due to a reshuffling of financial responsibility. When Arts and Science Online offered SKHS courses, it covered both instructor and TA costs. With the closure of that unit due to the Arts and Science budget deficit, SKHS now pays for online TA hours out of its own budget. Similarly, the school had to absorb costs for a new statistics course after a multi-department math offering was discontinued.
“The number of courses that we’re offering is a lot greater now than it was in the past so if you look strictly at the numbers [in TA budget allocations], it doesn’t look like there’s a huge cut but it’s really us having to start paying for the online course TAs and then having to pay for the statistics class TAs [that add expenses].”
Fergus also linked the changes to broader austerity measures across the Faculty of Arts and Science. He explained that staff positions have been reduced or restructured, including the elimination of a student experience coordinator role and the sharing of an undergraduate assistant with the Department of Psychology, whereas SKHS used to have their own assistant.
Fergus also noted that the wage increases secured during last year’s PSAC 901 TA strike, which amounts to 21.53 per cent over five years, could’ve contributed to the reduction in available hours, but that making more money on fewer hours stifles their efforts.
“All that means is now they’re [TAs] getting fewer hours,” he said. “[So] what’d they go on strike for?”
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