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IL's newsletter covers faculty-focused initiatives, highlights upcoming events, impactful workshops and micro-credentials that aim to support the Humber community, and more.
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I am pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Sykes as Indigenous Curriculum & Pedagogy Specialist with Indigenous Education & Engagement. Aaron will join the Humber community in his new position on May 20, 2025.
Aaron Sykes (Kanien'kehá:ka -Canadian), originally from the Quinte area and a member of the Wolf Clan, is deeply committed to decolonizing the education system and reclaiming queer Indigenous identities. With a passion for promoting Indigenous contributions and fostering inclusive spaces, Aaron holds a Master of Education specializing in urban Indigenous education.
Drawing from his own experiences and identities, Aaron has explored intersections between two-spirit historical and contemporary identities and community education. His work is guided by a desire to honour diverse Indigenous perspectives and empower marginalized voices within educational spaces.
Residing in downtown Toronto, Aaron embraces a healthy lifestyle and enjoys activities such as cooking, biking, stand-up paddling, and practicing yoga. He finds inspiration in connecting with nature and values the importance of well-being and humour in his personal and professional life.
Please join me in congratulating Aaron in his new role!
Danielle Jeancart
Associate Dean, Indigenous Education & Engagement
These are the highlights of this month’s new and improved features in Blackboard Ultra that have been live since Thursday, May 1. The most relevant updates are related to a few key key areas:
Learn more about the full update at Anthology's Blackboard website
Creating personas and topics for an AI Conversation can take a lot of time. To streamline this process, the AI Design Assistant can generate three suggestions at once. You can select what the AI Design Assistant generates. You can choose to generate:
These suggestions provide inspiration for an AI Conversation. Instructors can refine the AI Design Assistant’s suggestions in several ways:
The time saved by auto-generating AI Conversations allows instructors to focus more on embedding AI Conversations into their courses.
We added a new test result setting option, View submission one time. When a student completes the test, they can review their answers and detailed feedback, such as which questions were answered correctly. The View submission one time option lets instructors provide students with immediate feedback, while maintaining test security.
Instructors can now create and use no-points rubrics for qualitative evaluation. This rubric type allows instructors to assess student work based on criteria and feedback, rather than numerical values. In addition, the AI generation option now supports no-points rubrics, providing a streamlined method to create detailed evaluation criteria.
Instructors can select No Points as a rubric type when creating or generating a rubric. This option is available alongside existing percentage and points-based rubrics. Instructors can also edit rubrics to switch between different rubric types, including percentage, points range, and no points.
Anthology has made several enhancements to discussions to improve the user experience and make discussions more engaging and efficient.
The Gradable Items tab in the Gradebook now features a redesigned interface to improve accessibility and navigation for keyboard-only and screen reader users. This enhancement supports an accessible experience for instructors grading student work, reducing the time and effort required to manage student grades.
With this update, the Gradable Items tab uses a table-based layout to enhance usability:
Instructors can now create text-based columns in the Gradebook. These columns allow instructors to record up to 32 characters. The column is not restricted to text input.
Instructors can:
Text-based columns exclude the following:
Content in text-based columns auto-posts and supports sorting functionality within the Gradebook grid view. Instructors can also download and upload text-based columns using the Gradebook's upload/download function.
Need support? Contact the Innovative Learning Support Centre. We are here to help!
Crane activities will take place on May 14 and 15. These operations will impact the area around Building B and Lot 15.
During this time, one lane will be closed to accommodate the craning work. Please be aware of the closure and follow any signage or instructions provided by personnel on site.
We appreciate your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience. Your safety is our priority, and we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure a smooth process.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thank you for your understanding.
Spa Services & Retail Boutique
Open Monday, Wednesday and Friday
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Spa services will be available on Monday and Fridays, May 5 to August 15, 2025; and Wednesdays by appointment only.
Appointments can be made in-person, by email or phone at thehumberspa@humber.ca or 416.675.5033.
Summer promotions available from May 5 to June 20, 2025.
Bring on summer:
Retail promotion:
From touring and photographing the biggest names in hip-hop to billboards in Times Square, a creative leap into videography and a bright future in film, Dragan Andic (AKA The. 97) has honed the lessons from Humber's Bachelor of Digital Communications program to become one of music's most sought-after video directors.
In this Alumni Spotlight, we explore how Dragan became "The. 97", finding his edge at Humber, in-field lessons and keys to success, and where he finds his inspiration.
View more alumni stories at humber.ca/alumni/ourstory.
If you know a Humber grad with a great story to tell, email us at alumni@humber.ca.
Further to the Communiqué sent on Tuesday, April 29 - Vacation Planning and Employee Appreciation Time for 2025, please read below for key considerations.
EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY and TIME (NOON CLOSURES):
EMPLOYEES PAID by TIMECARDS
Employees who are scheduled to work on the appreciation day/time will be required to submit a timecard using ‘Regular Hourly’ payroll time type to be paid for that day/time.
Employees should discuss with their managers on the working arrangement(s) for the appreciation day/time.
EMPLOYEES PAID by SCHEDULE
Employees paid by schedule will be paid automatically as per their schedule.
STATUTORY HOLIDAY PAY
For a full listing of the statutory holiday pay please refer to the Communiqué announcement on April 29 – Vacation Planning and Employee Appreciation Time for 2025.
For unionized employees please refer to the applicable Collective Agreement for details on eligibility and qualifying rules for statutory holiday pay. Please reference the Payroll Calendar for pay timelines.
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES
Full-time employees are automatically paid for the statutory holiday day. Employees required to work on a statutory holiday shall be entitled to be paid at time and one-half of each hour worked, plus holiday pay or equivalent time off in lieu.
ACTION REQUIRED: Managers/employees are required to submit a timecard using ‘Stat Holiday Worked x1.5’ payroll time type for the hours worked.
PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
Part-time employees may be eligible for holiday pay and/or the hours worked on the statutory holiday day.
Holiday pay calculations shall be equal to the total amount of regular wages and vacation pay to the employee in the two pay periods prior to the statutory holiday, divided by 20.
ACTION REQUIRED: Part-time employees who submit timecards only (for hours worked), must submit time if they worked on the statutory holiday using the ‘Stat Holiday Worked x1.5’ payroll time type for the hours worked.
ABSENCES SUBMITTED ON AN EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION TIME (CLOSURE AT NOON)
If an employee has submitted a full-day vacation day on an Employee Appreciation Time (closure at noon), they should:
ACTION REQUIRED: Revise the absence request on the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) for the respective day to a half day (0.5) vacation day.
If an employee is sick on an Employee Appreciation Time (closure at noon), they must:
ACTION REQUIRED: Submit the sick absence as a full sick day.
If you have any questions, please contact your manager.
Thank you.
People(s), Culture, & Organizational Excellence
Humber & University of Guelph-Humber Library (Library) is working on a new Library Vision & Action Plan, and we want to hear from you. What do you want your Library experience to look like and feel like? What role do you see the Library playing in Humber’s, UofGH’s, and your success?
Help us create the North Star that will guide the Library’s future by joining us at one or all of our three consultation sessions:
Can’t make the session but want to share your thoughts? Complete the online form.
Thank you for building our future with us. Your suggestions will help Humber refine our role and current practices and develop new initiatives.
| Alexandra Ross Director, Humber & University of Guelph-Humber Library |
Ranya Khan Associate Dean, Teaching Excellence |
Co-Chairs of the Humber & University of Guelph-Humber Library Vision & Action Plan Steering Committee
Is there a special Mom in your life who deserves to be celebrated?
This coming Sunday, on Mother’s Day, you can share your love and appreciation for her by making a donation in her honour.
Your gift will also give back to the Humber community by supporting students through much-needed scholarships, bursaries and emergency funds. These funds are crucial in helping many students continue with their studies, graduate and pursue their career goals.
Last year, thanks to donor support, we were able to award more than 1,200 scholarships to deserving students.
Honour a special mom in your life by donating. You can also choose to send an electronic card on Mother’s Day to let them know of the gift you have made in their honour.
Wishing everyone a happy weekend and a special Mother’s Day.
- The Advancement and Alumni team
When Humber Polytechnic students are given a challenge, they soar.
From May 5 to 7, more than 50 FAST students showcased their expertise — climbing, building, designing, landscaping, and excelling across more than 30 categories — at Skills Ontario. This competition provides a one-of-a-kind platform for students to demonstrate their talents and capture the attention of educators, family, friends, and future employers.
In the May FAST Times, Associate Dean & Principal of the Centre for Skilled Trades & Technology, Michael Auchincloss, spotlights our students’ accomplishments at the competition, where 13 FAST students earned 11 medals at the closing ceremony.
You’ll also find plenty of inspiring stories throughout this edition including photo galleries from the ICT and Engineering Capstone Expos and the AWS DeepRacer Competition.
Congratulations to all Humber students who continue to rise to the challenge with passion and determination.
Warm regards,
Paul Griffin
Senior Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology
