What is the Transitional Continuing Appointment (TCA) Program?

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The Transitional Continuing Appointment (TCA) program is designed as an end-of-career option to allow for a gradual transition from work to retirement (or a different career). Qualification for the program is based on teaching intensity and years of service.

Can I Apply for the TCA?
To determine if you are eligible for the TCA, you must ask yourself three questions:

1) Length of service: Have you had at least 1.0 Full Course Equivalents (aggregated TAs and CDs) in at least 20 of your years at York (15 years from members of designated equity groups)? This includes approved leaves.

Note: when the CA refers to “years of service” it refers to an academic session in which you have held at least 1 Full Course Equivalent so, for example 3 TAs = 1 CD, so either or both would count as 1 FCE.

2) Teaching intensity: Have you been assigned to a least 30 Full Course Equivalents in the past 15 years (10 for members of designated equity groups)?

3) End of employment: Will you be retiring/resigning from York at the end of the TCA period?

If you have answered yes to all of the questions above, you qualify. If you got the November 1st letter notifying you of the program’s existence, you qualify. If you have not received the letter but believe you qualify based on the above contact Staff Representative Julian Arend (cupe3903staffrep@gmail.com)

I’m Qualified – When Do I Apply?
Originally, November 1st was the negotiated deadline to apply to the TCA. However, since the employer missed the September 30th date by which to notify members of their eligibility, the deadline has been extended to December 1st. The application window opened on November 15th through the usual blanket application portal (cupejobs.uit.yorku.ca). During this window, there is an option in the application to select the TCA.

Should I Apply for the TCA?
If you meet the eligibility criteria above and you intend to end your relationship with York in the next 2 or 3 years, then you should apply before the closing date of December 1st, 2021. No application by an eligible member shall be unreasonably denied.

How does it work?
The program itself has two options, which you need to choose when you apply: a 2-year or a 3-year appointment starting September 1st, 2022. When you enter the program, the Employer calculates your average teaching intensity for the last 5 years (rounding down to the nearest 0.5). Averages at or above 4.0 full course equivalents are counted as 4.0. This becomes your TCA “teaching commitment” number which determines the parameters of the program for you going forward.

  1. 2-Year TCA
    In a 2-year TCA you are assigned teaching work equivalent to 0.5 below your teaching commitment number in your first year, with a further 0.5 reduction in your second year. For example, if you had a teaching commitment number of 4.0, you would teach 3.5 in the first year and then 3.0 in the second, with both years paid at the 4.0 CD rate. 
  1. 3-Year TCA
    In a 3-year TCA,  your teaching load in the first year is your teaching commitment, which is then reduced by 0.5 per year. For example, if your teaching commitment number is 4.0, you would teach 4.0 in the first year, 3.5 in the second, and 3.0 in the third year, with all three years paid at the 4.0 CD rate in each year.

Note: The purpose of the TCA is to reduce teaching load while maintaining income as a transition out of employment at York. As such, one cannot apply for or accept additional teaching in Unit 2 during the period of the TCA.

What Happens at the End of the TCA?
At the conclusion of the 2- or 3-year period you are paid a lump sum severance payment  calculated based on your teaching commitment and the length of the TCA and whether your teaching commitment number is 1) less than 3.0, or 2) 3.0 or higher.

Consequently, the calculation will follow one of four scenarios: your teaching commitment number times one of the multipliers below:

2.5 or lower teaching commitment number 3.0 or higher teaching commitment number
2-year TCA x0.72 x0.80
3-year TCA x0.60 x0.67

Examples: 

  1. 3.0 or greater teaching commitment number
    With, for example, a 4.0 teaching commitment (higher multiplier) and a 2-year TCA the lump sum would come out to the value of 4.0 Course Directorships x 0.8, which is approximately $64,000. A 3-year TCA with the same commitment would work out to 4.0 CDs x 0.67, or about $54,000.
  1. Less than 3.0 teaching commitment number
    With a teaching commitment number of 2.5 (lower multiplier) and a 2-year TCA the lump sum would come out to the value of 2.5 Course Directorships x 0.72, which is approximately $35,000. A 3-year TCA with the same commitment would work out to 2.5 CDs x 0.6, or about $30,000

Once your TCA ends, your employment relationship with York ends irrevocably, whether you choose to retire with pension or move on to a different career. If applicable you can retire and activate your York pension. If you are not eligible to collect the pension yet, the pension is frozen at its current level. In all cases, there is no option to return to teaching at York in Unit 2 in the future.

What are the Advantages?
The main advantage of the TCA is to maintain guaranteed income stability and work predictability, while gradually reducing actual workload. This program is designed for those who either want to wind down their careers and retire, or who want to spend additional time developing skills for an alternative career without sacrificing base income.

Another advantage is the enhanced severance payment that provides a significant single payment that is available immediately upon completion of the program.

A third advantage is that these positions are assigned rather than part of a competition (somewhat like Long Service Teaching Appointments (LSTAs)), so there is no Notice of Recommended Appointment (NRA) process or grievance process associated with the TCA. That said, because this is supposed to be a gradual work reduction program, as noted above (unlike LSTAs), participants are precluded from taking additional Unit 2 work outside of the program. So, if one is already teaching at the cap (5.5) then it would mean a de facto  reduction in monthly income in the short term as a trade-off for the other benefits of the program, since the guaranteed teaching commitment  is capped at 4.0.

 How do I Apply (See our visual step-by-step guide)

  1. Access the CUPE Jobs page via link https://cupejobs.uit.yorku.ca/# on or before December 1, 2021.
  2. Select your Faculty and open the Blanket/CSSP/TCA
  3. Select up to 2 departments to which you want to apply. Once your department(s) have been selected, click on the Review & Submit Application button on the upper right-hand side.
  4. After selecting the Review & Submit Application button you will be directed to a confirmation screen summarizing your application. Click on Submit Application.
  5. You will then be asked to log in using Passport York.
  6. Once you have logged in using Passport York you will be directed to a final confirmation page. Click on Continue Application.
  7. You will be directed to a 6-step application. On step 2 you will find the option for a 2-year or 3-year TCA. Complete all relevant information on this list and click Submit once completed.