Capacity, Consultation, and the Reality Facing APSA Members
Dear fellow APSA members,
Recent communications from and conversations with the university leadership continue to acknowledge a reality APSA members know all too well. Across SFU, people are being asked to do more with less. As the University pursues necessary modernization of systems and processes, it is important to recognize that the primary challenge facing our institution is not employee capability or willingness to embrace change: it is capacity.
APSA members continue to demonstrate exceptional commitment to supporting students, faculty, and the university community. However, identifying, planning, and implementing large-scale institutional change requires significant time and expertise at a moment when many units are operating under considerable strain.
Major transformation projects are also already underway. The eTRACS initiative, for example, reflects more than a decade of planning and represents a substantial investment of institutional resources and employee effort. Projects of this scale highlight the important reality that many faculty and staff are already contributing significant capacity to ongoing change initiatives.
For APSA members, the issue is not simply having opportunities to provide feedback. Members want to see long-standing concerns translated into clear priorities, tangible actions, and meaningful support. Consultation has value, but it must be accompanied by evidence that recurring concerns are informing decisions and leading to proper resolution.
Any discussion of service optimization should include honest conversations about workload, staffing levels, administrative burden, and the cumulative impact of continuous organizational change. This is particularly important as positions continue to be eliminated (a handful or so in recent weeks) and faculties are left picking up the pieces of additional responsibilities and declining employee morale.
When we, as members, recognize and communicate capacity constraints and push back, remember that it is not resistance to change; it is a necessary step toward creating sustainable improvements for students, faculty, and staff alike.
Thank you for your continued efforts!