CUPE 3902, the Union representing all of U of T’s teaching assistants and well as sessional lecturers, has filed three official grievances with the university, challenging what it calls the use of undergraduates as “cheap labour.”

The grievances stemmed from CUPE’s investigation of a complaint last November against UTSC’s “Introduction to Psychology” course, taught by professor Steve Joordens, which used a peer grading program called Peerscholar. While examining the complaint, CUPE came across the University of Toronto Peer Tutoring club and the Economics Study Centre, both of whom promote and coordinate free services by undergraduate peer tutors and mentors.

CUPE called for all students engaged in peer tutoring, grading or mentoring to be professionally trained and paid for their services. But many U of T professors and students encourage undergraduates to tutor each other with little or no compensation, both to supplement funded TA support and promote engaged education

Undergraduate enrolment and class sizes grow every year. Even the recent influx of graduate students available for TA jobs, not enough funding exists to hire them.

“We just want [students] to get the proper help,” said Dr. Iain Martel, CUPE Grievance Officer. “U of T is finding ways of teaching without actually spending any money, which deteriorates the quality of education,” added Martel.

Others have joined CUPE in arguing that relying on peer tutoring and peer grading reduces the quality expected of a U of T education. “We need to regain that quality,” said David Scrivener, the University of Toronto Students’ Union’s VP external.

UTSU came out in support of CUPE’s grievance. The two unions have been strong partners in the past, and both lobby for more government funding of post-secondary education. Both CUPE and UTSU said that U of T needs to correct its funding priorities. The school, they say, needs to stop skimping and focus on increasing the number of tutorials and office hours, and accessibility of TAs.

The tutoring clubs were founded by professors who “clearly recognised that students weren’t getting the help that they needed,” according to Martel. He contended that these clubs should hire students under CUPE guidelines. Instead, he said, students are being “bribed with resume points and letters of recommendation” to voluntarily tutor their peers.

Muhammad Talal Latif, president of UTPT, was not aware of CUPE’s grievance when he spoke with The Varsity. He emphasized that the club’s service was academic support and one-on-one qualified tutoring Each UTPT tutor must officially apply and interview for a tutor position, and is selected by a panel of UTPT executives. Talal said the services provided by his club complement those given by TAs.

Joordens stood by his experience in the Peerscholar program, saying that Peerscholar neither reduces the quality of education nor saves the University money, as many TAs are involved in the grading process and oversee the program.

“CUPE is putting TA reputation ahead of the education of thousands of students,” says Joordens. “if we can’t use Peerscholar we will be punishing students for years to come.” Higher education should not be a “chip” traded by CUPE for something else.

Joordens is currently preparing a research paper, soon to be published, on the reliability and fairness of the Peerscholar marking process, which he has claimed measures up to TA standards. If students feel that their paper was graded unfairly they have the right to ask for it to be remarked by a TA, but fewer than 2 per cent ever do, according to Joordens.

Most TAs, Joorden contended, hate marking work, and Peerscholar is superior to the traditional marking method. Thus, he said, if more TAs are free of the “chore” of marking, they may spend their hours supporting undergraduate students in other ways, such as leading study groups or class discussions.

U of T Professors and undergraduate students, who are in support of clubs such as UTPT and the Economics Study Centre, along with those who are part of the Peerscholar program at PSYA01, are looking for an honest and fair solution to the issue raised by CUPE 3902. “If the issue really is about peer tutoring, there will be a rational solution,” said Joordens.