Update on the Tuition Support and Child Care Benefits Funds

2010.02

Dear QUFA Members,

We have been receiving a number of enquiries about the payouts from the Tuition Support and Child Care Benefit Funds. There have been a number of changes in how payments are made, in the level of demand on these Funds, and in the interpretation of how the Canada Revenue Agency will deal with taxes relating to Tuition Support.

Both the Tuition Support Fund and the Child Care Fund have a large number of Members submitting applications, so the demographics of our Members and their families are playing a role in the pressure on the Funds. In the case of the Child Care Fund, the broadening of eligibility for Adjunct Members is also a factor. Historically, there has been a greater demand for Tuition Support than the Child Care Benefit, and unused money from the Child Care Fund has been transferred to Tuition Support. This can no longer happen and Members can expect prorated payouts from both Funds.

For Term Adjuncts, the parties have signed a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the calculation of entitlement for Tuition Support. The calculation now takes into account Unit Workload and results in a more equitable distribution of payouts. The new calculation can be found on the Faculty Relations website at:

http://www.queensu.ca/vpac/FacultyRelations/TuitionSupportNov09.pdf

In relation to the Canada Revenue Agency's changes to how Tuition Support is taxed, the circumstances of the current Queen's program - the employee receiving the payment instead of the student - means that T4A's cannot be sent to the student and revised T4s cannot be sent to the employee. QUFA will approach the University about directing the payment of Tuition Support to the student in the future.

Susan Fitzgibbon

Member Services Officer, QUFA