College Council Highlights: March, 2015
College Council held its third meeting of the winter semester on Thursday, March 12, at the North campus. In the interest of keeping the Humber community informed about upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, I will be continuing to report 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.

New Programs
Humber prides itself on providing leading-edge programming, a fact which is supported by the two new programs that were presented to Council.

Humber’s School of Health Sciences is launching an Advanced Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This three-year program is a direct response to industry demands, in light of the recent regulation of the profession in Ontario. This program offers students the theory and applied skills required for practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and will be the only program of its kind offered at a public institution in Ontario. This program offers a solid grounding in core health sciences, including anatomy, physiology, biology and pharmacology, and includes a mandatory clinical placement. Students will learn the theory and applied skills required for the practice of TCM, including diagnosis and treatment, legal procedures and requirements, and inter-professional collaboration.  It is anticipated that advanced diploma will be of interest to high school graduates, mature and international students, individuals working within the field who want to update their training, as well as students in Humber programs such as Practical Nursing, Paramedic, Pharmacy Technician, and OTA/PTA. 

Humber’s School of Media Studies and Information Technology will be offering a fully online Graduate Certificate in Multiplatform Storytelling. This two-semester program, which is already attracting interest from current Humber students, fits well with the existing cluster of film-related programs in the School. This program, which is the only Canadian example of a graduate level program in multi-platform storytelling that is offered completely online, cultivates students’ ability to adapt to a constantly changing multi-platform media industry through engagement with a range of traditional and emerging media forms. The program offers an additional pathway for graduates from many of the School’s advanced diplomas and degrees, demonstrating Humber’s strategic commitment to polytechnic education through identifiable pathways. 


2015-16 Business Plan and Budget
Amy Kaufman, Humber’s Manager, Planning and Government Relations, walked members of Council through the 2015-16 Business Plan. Key strategic initiatives include the following:

• To continue to respond to evolving student and labour market needs, Humber plans to offer nine new programs in 2015-16 (one degree, one diploma, four certificates and three graduate certificates. 
• Enrolment trends predict a continued increase, particularly in certificates and degrees. This growth will be supported by increased capacity at both campuses. A higher percentage of international students is also expected.
• This year, Humber will launch the Centre of Innovation in Healthy Living, the first of our Centres of Innovation (COIs), which was one of the key initiatives identified in the Strategic Plan.  COIs will generate stimulating and unique learning environments for our students as well as create employment opportunities for our graduates by building on community and industry partnerships and engaging in applied research and entrepreneurial activity.

Sanjay Puri, Director, Financial Services and Planning, spoke about the 2015-2016 Budget, which is informed by the Business Plan. The Budget provides for operating and ancillary activities, key strategic priorities and initiatives, and also addresses Humber’s three- year financial outlook, contingency planning, strategic infrastructure projects and cash flow impact.

To access a copy of the 2015-16 Business Plan, as well as additional information related to the implementation of the 2013-18 Strategic Plan, please visit

humber.ca/wearehumber/staff/humber-planning-documents

Alumni Relations Strategic Plan
Alister Mathieson, Vice-President, Advancement and External Affairs, Adelia Marchese, Manager, Annual Programs and Alumni Relations Advancement, and Krista O’Donnell, Humber’s new Chief Advancement Officer presented Humber’s first formalized Alumni Relations Strategic Plan. The process of developing the plan began in Feb 2014, and the plan has now been presented to the Board of Governors.  The development of an alumni relations strategy in order to build and maintain beneficial relationships with alumni is a key initiative in Humber’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. The process involved internal stakeholder consultation, an internal advisory committee, a best-practice review, and an alumni engagement survey.

The goals of the plan are to build an organizational structure that supports alumni engagement, to build a robust alumni database, and to expand existing alumni programs and activities and develop new ones to increase alumni engagement.

The current circulation of Humber Dialogue, Humber’s official alumni magazine is 83,000, plus an additional 4,000 available on campuses. E-Dialogue, the alumni e-newsletter, was launched in Fall 2014 and has a current circulation of 39,000. An official alumni presence on social media was established in 2011. Humber alumni has 3,756 likes on Facebook, 2,420 followers on Twitter, 1876 on LinkedIn, 287 on Instagram, and 42 subscribers on YouTube. In May, 2014, the office launched the Milestones Program, which recognizes alumni’s life milestones. To date, 90 new alumni milestones have been celebrated.

The office is continuing to expand its alumni perks and benefits. Currently, Humber has two affinity partners, 27 external perks, including discounts and coupons for organizations such as Ripley’s Aquarium and the Toronto Rock lacrosse team, and 4 internal perks.

Humber’s culture of alumni begins with orientation. Since 2011, the alumni office has engaged with Humber students by participating in campus-wide student events.  Since 2010, the alumni office has been present at every convocation ceremony, immediately welcoming each new graduate into the Humber alumni family with an alumni pin, and mailing an alumni package with a personalized alumni card to all new graduates. In 2014, the office interacted with over 5,0000 new graduates.

The office continues to partner with a number of schools and departments on alumni initiatives, as alumni engagement is a shared institutional responsibility

Upcoming Events

The 2015 International Development Symposium will be held at Humber College on May 1. Hosted by the Business School, the symposium, Beyond GDP: Development Alternatives to Growth, will explore issues around conceptualizing, implementing and measuring development in a multidimensional and integrated manner. The keynote address will be delivered by the Honourable Jigmi Y. Thinley, former prime minister of Bhutan and current chair, The New Development Paradigm. For more information, please visit https://business.humber.ca/idisymposium/

In keeping with Council’s mandate to report back to the President on key items, members of Council met in small working groups to discuss the evening’s presentations and to make notes that will be brought to the President.

The next meeting of College Council will be held on Thursday, April 9, 2015, at the North Campus.