A strike by members of OPSEU would affect 200,000 college students across Ontario. (Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

The union for Ontario's community college teachers has set a Feb. 11 deadline for a possible strike action that would curtail classes for at least 200,000 full-time students.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union said Monday it would rather come up with an agreement through binding arbitration and avoid a strike, but said it will strike if "forced to" by the colleges.

The move comes after the union rejected a "final" offer from the colleges last week and refused to take it directly to teachers for a vote.

College management says the offer is better than previous ones because it shortens the contract to three years, instead of four, and offers a slightly higher salary increase.

Key issues for the union are workload, academic freedom and management's decision in November to impose its offer on the teachers without a vote.

About 57 per cent of the teachers who voted earlier this month gave OPSEU a strike mandate to back their demands, but those opposed have set up a website asking to vote on the deal.

A provincial mediator has been appointed to attempt to resolve the impasse without a strike, and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has asked both sides to sit down and reach a negotiated contract settlement.