Canadian Psychological Association Applauds Reinstatement of the University and College Academic Staff System

OTTAWA, Sept. 16, 2016 /CNW/ - The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) welcomed the announcement by Science Minister Kirsty Duncan that the University and College Academic Staff System (UCASS) will be reinstated.

"As part of our ongoing dialogue with the federal government, we have called for better data collection.  Reliable data collection allows for good public policy and effective resource planning.  The UCASS will give us the information we need to ensure that colleges and universities have optimal resources to be leaders in research, innovation and higher education" said Dr. David Dozois, President, CPA. "We are very glad to learn that our concerns and advocacy efforts around the reinstatement of the UCASS have paid off."

The previous discontinuation of the UCASS left significant gaps in the ability of the CPA and other scientific and professional associations to understand and plan for the country's academic resource.  Reinstatement of the UCASS allows us to track academic positions, predict faculty age and retirement and examine the composition of faculty by salary, field, age, gender and rank.

"The reinstatement of the UCASS builds on the successful relaunch of the Long-Form Census, which was another vital tool for the collection of high-quality data," added Dr. Lisa Votta-Bleeker, Deputy CEO, CPA. "We look forward to continuing to work with the federal government to address gaps in data collection and broaden the tools available to researchers in our field."

About the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)

The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) is the national association for the science, practice and education of psychology in Canada. With over 7,000 members and affiliates, CPA is Canada's largest association for psychology. To find out more information go to www.cpa.ca.  

SOURCE Canadian Psychological Association

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