Five new policy statements were adopted at last month's CAUT Council meeting.

Employment Status of Graduate Students

The policy statement on the employment status of graduate students seeks to ensure that graduate students who are given primary responsibility for a course will be considered the instructor of record, and, as such, will be treated as contract academic staff and a member of the appropriate bargaining unit. It also cites that graduate student teaching assistantships should not be used to replace more senior and/or better qualified contract academic staff.

Renewal of Tenure-Track Appointments

The policy statement on renewal of tenure-track appointments recognizes that "a tenure-track appointment is an appointment with the expectation that the academic staff member will demonstrate appropriate levels of scholarship, teaching excellence, professional activities and service to be awarded tenure at the end of the appointment," and outlines three principles that should govern the employment and renewal of candidates.

Privacy & Health-Related Information

The policy statement on privacy and health-related information while recognizing the administration of a collective agreement may require verification of an employee's health condition asserts that "measures must be adopted which allow access to appropriate information without violating the rights of individuals to privacy."

AIDS

In the face of continuing misconceptions regarding AIDS and the transmission of HIV, Council revised CAUT's policy statement on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome to reiterate that HIV/ AIDS related-intolerance and discrimination has no place in the work or union environment.

Canadian Post-Secondary Educational Initiatives Abroad
The policy statement on Canadian post-secondary educational initiatives abroad asserts that such initiatives should be "based on the principles of cooperation and exchange, and not competition, commerce and trade" and proposes 10 standards for Canadian institutions operating abroad.