You are here
AskAway Commitment Model: Effective 2027-2028
The AskAway Advisory Committee has endorsed the following cost-sharing and collaborative staffing commitment model to sustain AskAway. This model allows participating libraries to provide 63 hours of AskAway service per week, including evenings and weekends. The commitment model was approved by the Advisory Committee and endorsed by the BC ELN Steering Committee in 2026 and comes into effect on April 1, 2027. It was developed through a collaborative and consultative sustainability review of AskAway's previous, long-standing models. The Advisory Committee will oversee a review of the model every three years. Learn more about AskAway Sustainability.
The model is based on funded FTEs. BC ELN uses funded FTEs for all of its FTE models, and these numbers are obtained from the budget letters released annually by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills (PSFS). See below for your institution's current AskAway FTE Tier.
In accordance with the model, each participating library contributes the following:
- A Unified Service Support Fee, and
- Collaborative Staffing Hours.
Unified Service Support Fee
This fee covers AskAway's infrastructure, operational, and staffing costs. It includes an annual inflationary increase of 2 to 5%, which is set each year by the Advisory Committee. The fee is capped at $15,500.
April 2027 to March 2028
| Tier | FTE Range | Unified Service Support Fee, per library (model) | Unified Service Support Fee, per library (with subsidy)* |
| 1 | 0 - 2,999 | $2,245 | $2,175 |
| 2 | 3,000 - 7,999 | $3,723 | $3,606 |
| 3 | 8,000 - 14,999 | $5,210 | $5,047 |
| 4 | 15,000 - 24,999 | $11,904 | $11,530 |
| 5 | 25,000 + | $15,500 | $13,083 |
*The amount libraries will be invoiced for the Unified Service Support Fee, with PSFS Transition Funding support.
Collaborative Staffing Commitment Hours
Participating libraries provide appropriate staffing as set out in the staffing commitment model below. Actively staffing AskAway keeps the service healthy by ensuring a truly collaborative schedule and maintaining community among participating library staff. It is up to participating institutions how they will hire staff to meet their commitment, but the expectation is that service providers meet AskAway Competencies as laid out in the Service Guidelines.
April 2027 to March 2028
Staffing commitment hours are the number of hours per week that each participating library contributes according to their Tier, and by Section, over the year. Evening and weekend hours are defined as:
- Monday to Thursday: 5pm to 8pm (PT)
- Saturday: 11am to 5pm
- Sunday: 10am to 8pm
Section 1 (September-December) and Section 2 (January-April)
| Tier | FTE Range | Total Hours | Daytime | Evening/Weekend |
| 1 | 0 - 2,999 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 3,000 - 7,999 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | 8,000 - 14,999 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 4 | 15,000 - 24,999 | 17 | 10 | 7 |
| 5 | 25,000 + | 35 | 20 | 15 |
Section 3 (May-June)
| Tier | FTE Range | Total Hours per Week | Daytime | Evening/Weekend |
| 1 | 0 - 2,999 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | 3,000 - 7,999 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | 8,000 - 14,999 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | 15,000 - 24,999 | 15 | 8 | 7 |
| 5 | 25,000 + | 31 | 17 | 14 |
Section 4 (July-August)
| Tier | FTE Range | Total Hours per Week | Daytime | Evening/Weekend |
| 1 | 0 - 2,999 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 3,000 - 7,999 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 8,000 - 14,999 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | 15,000 - 24,999 | 15 | 9 | 6 |
| 5 | 25,000 + | 35 | 18 | 17 |
Evening / Weekend Offset Contribution
AskAway recognizes that some participating libraries are not able to meet the designated evening / weekend commitment in staffing hours. The Evening / Weekend Offset Contribution provides a flexible option for libraries to meet this commitment by contributing in funds in lieu of evening / weekend staffing. As with the Unified Service Support Fee, the Offset Contribution is subject to an annual inflationary increase of 2 to 5%, set by the Advisory Committee. Participating libraries may adjust their offset contribution from year to year. Prior to the start of each fiscal year, participating libraries will be asked to provide any Evening / Weekend Offset Contributions for the coming year to help with scheduling and budgeting.
April 2027 to March 2028
Section 1 (Sep-Dec): $360 per evening / weekend hour
Section 2 (Jan-Apr): $390 per evening / weekend hour
Section 3 (May-Jun): $210 per evening / weekend hour
Section 4 (Jul-Aug): $180 per evening / weekend hour
Tiers
Tier 1
Alexander College
Coast Mountain College
College of the Rockies
Columbia College
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Justice Institute of BC
Nicola Valley Institute of Technology
North Island College
Northern Lights College
Selkirk College
Yukon University
Tier 2
Camosun College
Capilano University
College of New Caledonia
Langara College
Okanagan College
Trinity Western University
University Canada West
University of Northern British Columbia
University of the Fraser Valley
Vancouver Community College
Tier 3
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Douglas College
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Thompson Rivers University
Tier 4
Simon Fraser University
Tier 5
University of British Columbia