People who say they have been summoned to disciplinary proceedings for “trifles” denounce the “climate of fear” in the largest department of the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in Montreal.
“I arrived in the harassment office crying […] I couldn’t get enough of being treated like that, ”says a person who says he was repeatedly humiliated and belittled by his superior.
On May 17, 2021, a letter was submitted to senior management, signed by 11 teachers from the General Education Service (SEG).
The SEG is the department that offers common core courses, such as those in chemistry, finance, communication or computer science, in this university specializing in engineering.
Denunciation letter
In the letter that got The newspaper, the plaintiffs denounce the “toxic climate” undermining the “psychological health of too many employees”. They explicitly blame the director of the department, Frédérick Henri, for “his non-respectful and intimidating mode of management”.
Eight people told the Journal that they had witnessed a problematic climate at the SEG. Seven say they have themselves suffered “arbitrary treatment” or even psychological or administrative “harassment”.
“There are experienced teachers who are blamed for 36,000 nonsense,” sums up Alain Régnier, president of the SEG lecturers’ union, and signatory of the letter.
Photo Chantal Poirier
Alain Régnier, president of the SEG lecturers’ union.
Some were summoned or punished for reasons such as the way they corrected, the material covered in class, the speed of replying to e-mails or the tone used in an e-mail.
Some have earned a disciplinary notice in their file or a suspension. Others denounce the fact of being summoned for trivialities with the threat of disciplinary action, even if the process did not result in a sanction.
The Journal has collected many of the stories mentioned above as well as others, but details cannot be published without the interviewees becoming identifiable to management.
Mr. Régnier estimates at least six the number of teachers who have had medical tickets for situational depression or harassment at work in recent years.
“Dilute the sauce”
From 2021, a survey on the working climate at SEG was conducted by an external firm. A follow-up committee, which includes the director of the department, was then set up, followed by a new consultation.
Management’s “lack of empathy” or listening, as well as the fear of disciplinary reprisals are elements that come up repeatedly in the data from this consultation.
An action plan was released on October 14. Several actions aim to “reduce the climate of fear”. We can read solutions such as “publicize the feedback process” or “clarify the role of managers”.
“Looks like we’re trying to dilute the sauce. We are here talking about ”communication” when the problem is the abuse of power, ”said a person interviewed.
“We are extremely disappointed,” said Alain Régnier.
EXAMPLES OF “CLIMATE OF FEAR”
Teachers summoned or punished for:
- the tone in an email
- the tone in a discussion
- email response speed
- how to correct
EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS AND SURVEY DATA:
“Perceptions regarding the quality of management of the SEG director are very polarized.”
“In some situations, is controlling and rigid.”
“Lack of sensitivity and support.”
Controversial grade control
SEG teachers say they were pressured to change their students’ grades, a controversial practice but assumed by ÉTS in a context where there is more and more talk of academic freedom.
“Never had that happened to me in my career”, is indignant a person who was asked to lower the grades of all his students in 2021 and who was the subject of a disciplinary summons.
“I don’t want to teach there anymore,” concluded this person who has since left the SEG.
According to some, the pressure on grades is sometimes part of the “disciplinary drift” attributed to management. Some have been criticized for their average being too high or too low, or even for a distribution of notes that does not follow a normal curve.
It should be noted that at SEG, the operation is specific: the lecturers do not have to design the plan or the exam for the course they are teaching. Rather, this responsibility rests with the “teachers”, who have a permanent post.
Systematic
In all ÉTS departments, grade sheets must be approved by the administration before being entered in the student report card.
This way of doing things is a concern for rigor and fairness and would be an “established practice” in several universities, particularly in engineering, explains ÉTS in its written response.
However, before Frédérick Henri took office, slips were almost systematically accepted, we are told.
“If the average is very low or very high, I will question the person”, defends the director in an interview with Le Journal. “If everyone has the same grade, it doesn’t work.”
For example, when session after session, a teacher never gives A+, there is a problem, he believes.
“It’s up to the teacher to ask himself: how come there aren’t any excellent students in my groups? […] It means that having this course, as a student, you are automatically at a disadvantage.
Unusual
At the Canadian Association of University Teachers, we have rarely seen grading guidelines applied in this way.
“It’s very unusual,” said general manager David Robinson.
“I would say that is clearly contrary to academic freedom,” he adds.
The story is the same at the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec. Other universities and departments operate similarly to SEG.
“But there is not such a tight surveillance”, is surprised the vice-president Christine Gauthier.
Last June, a law on academic freedom was also adopted by the Legault government. By June 2023, each university will therefore have to adopt a policy on the subject.
For ÉTS, “the purpose of the law is not to govern academic management practices such as grade approval practices.”
Contacted by Le Journal, the Ministry of Higher Education indicates that it cannot comment on the question of grading because it is the responsibility of the universities.
Petition in support of a suddenly suspended teacher
Students have in the past started a petition to bring back an SEG teacher who was suddenly suspended without explanation.
“We were a little overwhelmed,” says Ariel Jolicoeur, 26 and a graduate of ÉTS.
In the fall of 2019, she was studying construction engineering. The compulsory course in computer programming was therefore far from being a passion for her.
However, she had chosen the lecturer who gave it was recognized for his talents as a popularizer and was appreciated by the students, she explains.
Then, three classes away from the final exam, he was suspended.
“What we were told was that management didn’t like the way it corrected,” Ms. Jolicoeur was surprised.
The lecturers’ union confirms that what was alleged against this lecturer was of an academic and administrative nature.
Ms. Jolicoeur therefore launched a petition to encourage management to reconsider its decision, to no avail.
The petition was signed by 24 students, almost the entire group, she believes.
A questionable process
The director of the ÉTS department who was investigated for his “climate of fear” was never informed of the content of the letter denouncing him, a way of doing things that raised eyebrows among several experts.
Contacted by telephone, Frédérick Henri agreed to answer questions from the Journal. He claims that he was never made aware of the content of the letter of May 17, 2021, nor of the fact that he is blamed explicitly therein.
“ÉTS has accompanied and continues to support the director of the SEG in his files”, reacts the institution in a written response.
As for the letter of denunciation signed by 11 people, the ÉTS affirms that the plaintiffs asked that it remain “confidential”.
However, this request does not appear in the letter. The plaintiffs ask instead to remain “anonymous”, that is to say that their names are not communicated to the director.
But they expected at the very least that the latter would be met by senior management about his management style.
The Journal consulted three human resources experts on best practices for group whistleblowing.
All agree that, in principle, a manager whose practices are denounced by several people must be met to talk about these allegations.
“The question does not even arise”, is surprised Marie-Josée Douville, consultant in conflict management.
“Wrongful behavior”
The dissatisfaction at the SEG is the result of a “hard core” of people who have for the most part been subject to sanctions, explains Jean-Alexandre D’Etcheverry, director of public affairs at ÉTS.
In the past four years, 12 disciplinary measures have been imposed on 10 lecturers out of a total of 130 for “misconduct which is unacceptable to the employer”.
“To speak of ”disciplinary drift” would, in our opinion, be excessive.”
For his part, Frédérick Henri says he is “very comfortable with the decisions that have been made”.
“There is no situation where I made a decision without having the support and the agreement of the human resources department”, he assures.
Arbitrary
The president of the lecturers Alain Régnier refuses to make it a matter of personality. “I would say the system is more evil than that.”
Rather, he sees it as a symptom of a culture of arbitrariness where promotions are given less on the basis of competence than on being “chummy-chummy” with management.
For teacher Maxime Richard, who is part of the monitoring committee on the work climate at SEG, the committee has a real desire to improve the climate.
“There are some people for whom the only solution would be the dismissal of the director of the SEG. […] There are other people who say: we could just get rid of those who complain. We don’t want to go to those extremes. We are looking for balance,” explains Mr. Richard.