the journal Que e n ’ s U n i v e r s i t y
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Vol. 153, Iss u e 19
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Friday , ja n u a ry 23, 20 26
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TAs speak out against increasing workload and reduced hours University refuses to address implications of a stagnant TA budget and the use of AI for marking Jonathan Reilly Senior News Editor Public Service Alliance Canada (PSAC) 901 representatives say reduced Teaching Assistant (TA) hours, rising enrolment caps, and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) marking software are reshaping undergraduate courses across the University. Yuanjin Xia, a PhD candidate in philosophy and a steward with PSAC 901, the union representing over 2,000 graduate student workers at Queen’s, said the union has received multiple reports from members across departments who feel workloads have increased while paid hours haven’t. “At our November steward council meeting, [...] there has been broad discussion of people feeling work has been increased, but the TA hours haven’t changed,” Xia said. “There are reports that even if the TA hours haven’t been changed, they feel the workload has been changed because there are more students per TA.” She linked the reduction in available TA hours to budget decisions at the faculty level, referencing comments made at a Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) town hall in November, where FAS Interim Dean Bob Lemieux stated the total TA budget hadn’t been cut
but remained at 2023-24 levels. This is despite wage increases following PSAC 901’s strike in 2025. “But our hourly wage has increased,” Xia said. “Effectively, it means available TA hours have to be reduced by
Empty tutorial room in Kingston Hall.
in the course increased this year, yet hours assigned to each TA decreased. Rebecca Chen, a PhD candidate in chemistry, a TA in CHEM 112, and a steward with PSAC 901, confirmed the enrolment increase. Chen claimed that CHEM 112
PHOTO BY CLAIRE BAK
approximately 18 per cent.” In a statement to The Journal, the FAS confirmed there have been no changes to TA budgets, claiming “TA allocations within FAS follow student enrollments to address student needs and course demands to achieve all learning outcomes for students.” However, the University didn’t address the effective cut in hours due to the wage increases, despite specific requests from The Journal. This comes after previous reports of TA hours decreasing in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, which saw the elimination of tutorials to address the issue. Xia pointed to CHEM 112 as one of the clearest examples reported to the union. According to Xia, enrolment
expanded from about 1,100 students last year to approximately 1,600 this year. “We’ve had to add four additional sections of lab and tutorial to accommodate everyone,” Chen said in an interview with The Journal. Despite specific requests from The Journal, Queen’s didn’t address increased enrolment numbers in its statement. Chen added that more TAs had to be brought into the class, which meant all TA contracts for the course were also reduced by five hours. Because many TAs hold one contract for each term, she said the reduction totals 10 hours. “For the lab TAs, there already weren’t enough hours for them to properly grade lab reports,” Chen said. “With
of Kingston released its own data showing a 2.4 per cent vacancy rate in 2025, slightly higher than the city’s 10-year average of 1.8 per cent. Only Vancouver, Burnaby, and Toronto rank higher than Kingston in rental cost, but all three cities report rental prices fell in 2025, while Kingston’s continues to grow. According to Zumper, the city’s 26.2 per cent rent increase was unrivalled by the rest of the country, “driven by limited rental inventory and steady demand from students and professionals.” In contrast to the rent increases, the City of Kingston’s 2025 Rental Market Report, published Dec. 15, highlighted “strong” housing growth, noting the 1,054 building permits in 2025, following 1,243 permits in 2024, exceeded the province’s municipal
housing targets. Despite the new growth, the vacancy rate of three-bedroom or larger units typically rented by students remains at just 1.2 per cent, according to the city’s report. The Journal interviewed several Queen’s students to hear what they thought of the new report and the current housing market. Aly Soloman, Comm ’27, told The Journal he wasn’t surprised by the rising costs but that it’s making it much more difficult for students to find affordable housing near campus. “I think even though the city has vacancies, the main problem is how high rent prices are, which dissuades a lot of students from being able to find housing, even if [there’s] housing available, because it’s out of their price range,” he
Kingston rents among Canada’s fourth highest as student housing falls short
Students speak to record-breaking rent increases, causing barriers for those looking for housing Lilly Meechan Assistant News Editor Kingston saw a 28.9 per cent spike in two-bedroom rents last year, making it the fourth most expensive rental market in Canada. On Jan. 14, Zumper, a digital rental marketplace, published the Canadian Rent Report. The report found that Kingston is now the fourth-most-expensive city to rent in Canada and one of the fastest-rising markets. This surge comes just weeks after the City queensjournal.ca
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the addition of all these new students, there’s just no way that the lab TAs could effectively [grade] the lab reports.” Xia later added that reduced hours often translate into unpaid labour for TAs who feel responsible for maintaining academic standards. “It basically means more de facto unpaid work,” Xia said. “If you really care about students [...], it’s really hard to do it right.” Chen then explained that CHEM 112 introduced an AI-based marking platform this year, called Stemble, which students are required to purchase to submit lab reports and access the lab manual. “It’s essentially mandatory to buy it,” Chen said. “You can only access your lab manual through there, and also only submit your lab reports through there.” Chen said the cost to students is approximately $90, but despite this, she says the software hasn’t been productive for both students and their TAs. “The platform is actually really bad at grading. The TAs still have to scroll through every single lab report to see that it was marked correctly. So effectively, there really isn’t a huge reduction of work at all,” Chen said. The Journal also inquired about the implementation of AI-marking in CHEM 112, but the University chose not to address it in its statement. Chen also said the use of AI marking risks undermining educational quality. “The feedback, if there is any at all, is really not the same,” Chen said. “It also creates this space between the student and the TA that doesn’t help with understanding
said. “I think new affordable housing should be built closer to the school, especially because of how volatile the weather is in Kingston.” Katie Saunders, ArtSci ’28, shared a similar opinion to Solomon, stating that living in the city has become increasingly difficult and sharing her own personal experience with the Kingston housing market. “In first year, my housemates and I found it very difficult to find a place to live, often feeling like we were being overchargedfor the accommodations we were being offered,” she said. Saunders also highlighted the need for more resources and accessible student housing. “If I had the chance to speak with a superior about these issues, I would advise them to prioritize affordable, accessible student housing, and also to make housing resources much more available to students,” Saunders explained. @queensjournalnow
Situated on the
traditional lands of
the Anishinaabe and
Haudenosaunee peoples.
S i n ce 1 873
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EDITORIALS - PAGE 5 Journal Editorial Board: Queen’s ‘responsible review’ process isn’t so responsible OPINIONS - PAGE 6
Eve Morrison: The mindset on overcomsumption BST - PAGE 7
Katarina Krivokapic: Ozempic and cancer biology SPORTS - PAGE 8
Noah Cyr: Final Stretch: Women’s Hockey A&C - PAGE 11
Daniel Gill-Sitoksi: ‘Sweet Dreams’ at Modern Fuel
POSTSCRIPT - PAGE 12
Yael Rusonik: Lessons learnt in a tiny kitchen the material.” They added that they’ll continue raising concerns with the University but remain frustrated by what they describe as a lack of clear communication and accountability. Alyssa Swift, ArtSci ’27, in a statement to The Journal, expressed frustration with the growing gap between student needs and the increasingly unaffordable housing market in Kingston. “Honestly, I don’t feel like it’s fair at all to the students and Kingston residents. Rent has gone up increasingly more than wages, and that obviously puts a lot of stress onto both students and long-term Kingstonians. It feels like housing is being treated more as a business than a basic need,” Swift wrote. She added that many units marketed as “affordable” often come with poor conditions or ongoing maintenance issues, making the rising costs feel even more unjust. Without stronger rent oversight and more student-focused developments, Swift said, students will continue to be priced out of the city where they study. @thequeensjournal