College Council Highlights: September 12, 2019

The Humber College Council (HCC) held its first meeting of the 2019-20 academic year on Thursday, September 12, 2019 at the North Campus. To ensure the Humber community is informed of upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, the College Council reports the highlights of its meetings. For more information or to provide feedback on these highlights, please contact risha.toney@humber.ca.

Roundtable

Lisa Anketell [Program Development Consultant] noted that Humber and Centennial Colleges are hosting the Student Voices in Higher Education: Quality Assurance Perspectives and Practices Symposium on November 14 and 15, 2019 at the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation. Launching the symposium will be keynote speaker Dr. Francisco Marmolejo, Lead Tertiary Education Specialist with The World Bank. Registration is now open and space is limited. For more information please visit studentvoicessymposium.ca/registration.

 Opening Remarks

Chris Whitaker [President and CEO Humber College] welcomed new and returning Humber College Council (HCC) members and thanked all for their ongoing commitment. C. Whitaker acknowledged HCC members’ roles as ambassadors in their respective divisions, and invited HCC members to share information from College Council with colleagues and to bring their feedback to College Council to facilitate a two-way flow of communication in the spirit of continuous improvement.

C. Whitaker noted that there were several government initiatives over the past year that will continue to have an impact on the College, such as the Student Choice Initiative, development of the Strategic Mandate Agreement 3 (SMA3), and changes to the funding model. It was noted that enrollment is up, including domestic enrollment, which was previously declining. The transition to a six faculty structure has taken place, and we are still working to ensure a smooth changeover for all affected.

Facilitation Session

Risa Handler [HCC chair] introduced Dave Smiderle [Consultant] who provided an overview of the facilitation session for HCC members. During the session members explored topics related to the impact and value of College Council, the type of topics that should be presented, how presenters can benefit from feedback from HCC members, the physical space of the meetings and how information is best shared with constituent groups.

Wrap-up and next steps

D. Smiderle and R. Handler thanked HCC members for their participation in the session, and noted that the feedback would be reviewed at the College Council Executive meeting. A follow-up communication will be sent to HCC members before the October meeting to inform members of any changes to the upcoming meetings resulting from feedback from the facilitation session. 

The next meeting of the College Council will be held on Thursday October 10, 2019 at the Lakeshore Campus. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, and opportunities to provide feedback please visit the College Council website.