As we continue to grow and evolve, many of us have had first-hand experience with the impact our limited space has on delivering the programs and services that are part of our leading polytechnic experience. While Humber is one of the most efficient institutions in Canada in terms of space utilization, it is increasingly a challenge to find the spaces we need. When decisions about program delivery are shaped by our limited ability to accommodate, there is an impact on our competitive edge, reputation and overall student and client experiences. In fact, if we move forward with our current plans without any changes to our existing processes, by 2020 we will have exceeded our physical capacity for new programs and enrolment growth.

As part of our efforts to alleviate the scheduling pressures on instructional spaces, beginning in the 2018 Fall semester we will be scheduling more academic activity during weekday evenings. After consultation with a wide range of individuals and teams and a subsequent impact review, we have decided to move from a 55 period week to a 71 period week. This means that full-time programs will now have the ability to offer courses between 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Programming on Fridays will not be extended into the evening hours. 

This shift reflects the current practice in some of our Academic Schools in which full-time programming already stretches into the early evening. This change will also result in students being provided with more choice when it comes to course selection, enabling them to better tailor their academic schedules to fit their lifestyles and responsibilities.

Certainly, this change will require us to adapt a number of our approaches. Our Human Resources team will work with Schools to ensure a smooth transition to the creation of academic contracts for the fall semester and beyond. Key departments providing services to students and employees are aware of this change and will adjust their resources as required to support this change. The one exception is the Child Care Centre; there will be no changes to its hours of operations.

Working together, I know that we will make the transition to a new scheduling format successfully. Without your commitment and support, we would not be able to provide students with such a wide range of classroom and campus activities. Thank you for all that you do to make Humber a great place to work, learn and play.