Academic Council met for the fourth and final time this semester on Thursday, December 6, 2012, at the North Campus. At this month’s meeting, council received updates on Marketing and Communications, eLearning, and Varsity Athletics. And, as we have for the past several years, council collected donations for Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter and held our annual raffle, with all proceeds going to Ernestine’s. 

In the interest of keeping the Humber community informed about upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, I’ll be reporting on the highlights of the monthly meetings. For more information on any topic, or to give me feedback on the reports, please feel free to contact me directly, at lisa.salem-wiseman@humber.ca.

Marketing and Communications

Olga Lalka, Associate Director, Marketing, and Andrew Leopold, Associate Director, PR and Communications, gave an update on Marketing and Communications, focusing on the following key areas of responsibility:

Media Coverage

• In 2012, Humber has appeared in 580 media stories (more than 2 per day). Coverage has been mainly in daily and community papers, as well as on TV, and has featured quotations by faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
• Over 100 stories (an average of 3 per week) and over 80 videos (an average of 2.5 per week) have been posted on the Humber Today website. In the winter semester, the website will add a feature allowing people to comment on stories and videos, and there will be more focus on multimedia. The January 2013 print edition of Humber Today will have a distribution of 85,000 copies, which is the largest distribution to date.
• Humber’s YouTube channel had over 150,000 views

Advertising 

• There is a continued focus on promoting recruitment events, such as the Fall Open House, which was held on November 10, 2012. Attendance at the North campus was 2572 (up from 800 in 2011), and attendance at the Lakeshore campus was 1208 (up from 650 in 2011).
• Humber has continued to advertise in all the major postsecondary education guides, both print and online versions. Outdoor advertising (such as transit interiors) and online advertising also remain a focus.

Brand Support

• A new image bank is available at humber.ca/imagebank Marketing will be coordinating with schools to capture photos that reflect student engagement in action in program labs, facilities, and classrooms.

eLearning

Mark Ihnat, Director, eLearning, provided an overview of the past year’s eLearning activities, and shared some exciting news about upcoming initiatives for 2013.

Growth

• Online growth continues to be steady. For the 2011/2012 academic year, there were 17,000 online registrations, which is an increase of 5.75 per cent  from 2010/2011. Registration for winter 2013 is estimated at over 6000. Humber currently offers almost 400 fully online courses, with plans to build over 25 new online courses for 2012-2013. At least two fully-online programs are also planned for 2012/2013.

Student and Faculty Support

• The past year has seen a steady increase in student visits to the Open Learning Centre (OLC), with over 500 visits per week. The OLC has also received over 450 proctor requests, including on-site, off-campus, and virtual, and has administered over 750 nursing student dosage exams.
• In 2012-2013, eLearning delivered 70 faculty workshops and 21 eLearning Roadshows, as well as offering several training sessions targeted to the needs of specific Academic Schools.

Upcoming Initiatives

• Blackboard Learn 9.1: In 2013, the latest version of Blackboard will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase, beginning in January 2013, will see the new version piloted by approximately 80 faculty across all eight schools, for one section per faculty member. The second phase will begin in May 2013, with a complete rollout in September 2013.
• Virtual Proctoring allows students in online courses to take online exams at home, alleviating concerns regarding academic misconduct. Students are eligible for virtual proctoring if they are enrolled in an online course and live 100 km or further from the college. The exam is monitored and recorded, as is all activity on the student’s computer. The proctor is provided by a third-party vendor. This service was offered to student in September 2012, and a larger scale rollout and marketing campaign will begin in January 2013.

Varsity Year-End Update

In 2011/12, Humber won 14 Provincial Titles and 5 Silver Medals. Jim Bialek, Humber’s Sports Information Director, spoke to members of council about the Department of Athletics and Recreation and Humber’s Varsity teams.

Jim was accompanied by four Varsity athletes, all of whom are honours students, and all of whom spoke very highly of Humber’s Varsity Program’s commitment to academic excellence: all athletes are given access to a Varsity Academic Centre and a full-time, on-site Academic Advisor.

• Alex Dumais, captain of the Men’s Golf team, was Humber’s top male academic achiever in 2011/2012. Alex, who is now completing his second program at Humber, spoke of how his academic experience and athletic experience complemented one another.
• Renee Yip, a Guelph-Humber student and member of the Women’s Badminton team, shared her story of how Humber helped her grow from an unmotivated high school student to someone who is driven to excel academically. She is now applying to graduate schools.
• Brittany Szcerbakow, a member of the Women’s Soccer and Cross Country teams, spoke with infectious enthusiasm about how her experience at Humber helped her to get excited about school for the first time.
• Natalie Stoberman, of the Women’s Fastball team, came to Humber after two years at York University. She told us how different her experience has been at Humber, in particular because of the focus on academics and the warm atmosphere that comes with being a member of the “Hawk Family.”

The Department of Athletics and Recreation is a student-centred operation, employing over 200 students. Athletics also partners with Academic Schools, providing internships and other opportunities. For example, every Humber home game is broadcast live on TV and radio, in partnership with students in the Broadcast Television/Videography and Radio Broadcast programs.