Do you have a wellness goal that you’d like to achieve? Do you have any resolutions that you’ve been putting off since the new year? We know the right people for you - Wellness Coaching students!

The Wellness Coaching students are open to taking any clients from now until April 24, 2022. If you’re interested in working with them, please register now.

To register, please scan the QR code on the PDF flyer or complete the registration form.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact thewellnessconnection@humber.ca.

I am pleased to announce that Leah State (she, her, hers) will be joining Humber College at the end of March as our inaugural Director, Student Well-being. Leah joins us from Sheridan College where she has served as the Manager, Wellness and Counselling Services since 2018. In this role, Leah:

• co-led the development and implementation of Sheridan’s Community Wellness Strategy which focuses on whole system approaches; healthy, supportive environments; life-long wellness learning opportunities; and inclusive wellness services;
• enhanced support for equity deserving student groups through numerous initiatives including representative hiring practices, collaborative professional development priorities focused on decolonizing counselling practices and enhancing student-centred care, and fostering community collaborations to enhance referral pathways for culturally-appropriate care; and
• participated in a number of initiatives to offer scalable, evidence-based practices and programs which support wholistic student care and well-being such as toolkits for cultivating well-being in the classroom, facilitating partnerships with other GTA Colleges related to enacting the National Standards for Post-Secondary Student Mental Health, and partnerships with local hospitals for coordinated care and support for recently discharged students.

Leah offers 15 years of leadership experience with expertise in social work, health promotion, health policy, and fostering conditions for students to thrive. Through the recruitment process and conversations with references, Leah stood out as a “mobilizer” and “connector” who leads from a space of curiosity and learning, bringing in and calling up members of teams and communities best positioned to contribute, guide, and facilitate key projects, conversations, and outcomes. We are excited to have her join our team!

About the Director, Student Well-being

The Director of Student Well-being provides strategic leadership for the planning, development, implementation, evaluation, operational management, and administration of all of Humber College and University of Guelph-Humber health, well-being, and accessible learning programs and services (Accessible Learning and Counselling Services, Health Centre, and Community Wellness Education and Program teams). The position has responsibility for ensuring effective interdisciplinary collaboration, service integration, and seamless student-centred delivery of associated clinical and non-clinical programs and services. The Director serves as co-chair of the College’s Student Support and Intervention Team (SSIT) which provides proactive support to students demonstrating concerning behaviours, where possible, and streamlines institutional responses to complex behavioural concerns in order to maintain a safe and supportive environment for the Humber community.

About the Student Well-being portfolio

The Student Well-being team is composed of SWAC Services, Accessible Learning and Counselling Services, Wellness Education and Programs, and the Health Centres. 

SWAC Services (Manager, SWAC Services – Vicki DiGiovanni):

• Oversee front desk teams at Student Wellness and Accessibility Centres (2 locations – North and Lakeshore Campuses which support Humber College and University of Guelph-Humber at 4 locations: the 2 named, International Graduate School (IGS), and Carrier Drive).
• Provide oversight and consistency to SWAC service models for seamless service delivery in collaboration with other functional unit teams within Student Well-being
• Low-level escalation and resolution in partnership with appropriate leads
• Liaise with IGS and UGH to ensure flow of communication, program alignment/promotion, and needs

Accessible Learning and Counselling Services (Associate Director, Accessible Learning and Counselling Services – Desta McCalla):

• Accessible Learning Services – facilitate transitional support and work with students to address functional limitations experienced as a result of a disability within the learning environment (including: alternate format learning materials, adaptive technology, academic accommodations).
• Counselling Services – provide individual and group mental health support in a psychotherapeutic environment, including: conducting initial assessments of student need and development of personalized care plans through intake appointments; providing counselling supports through brief, goal-oriented, single-session approaches; providing longer-term counselling for students with complex presentations and needs; and conducting risk management and suicide assessments, providing crisis interventions, and case management including campus and community referrals.

Wellness Education and Programs (Manager, Wellness Education and Programs – Bindia Darshan):

• wholistic health and well-being promotion, education, and prevention programs and services (including Peer Wellness Coaching, Sexual Violence Prevention and Education)
• oversight of a cross-functional, pan-College community wellness education and program strategy and framework which integrates existing health promotion and education efforts with priority growth initiatives (e.g., peer-to-peer programs, enhancing anti-oppressive practices and social determinants of health)

Health Centre (Clinical Nurse Specialist – Tawnya Clarkson; Manager, COVID Response – Jinhee Lee):

• SWAC’s Health Centre is a nurse-run clinic operating under guiding medical directives (Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurse) with various assignments, including: Mental Health Nurse, Float Nurse, COVID Reporting Nurse and supported by physicians
• Contribute to broader College health and wellness programs, health promotion activities, and larger-scale healthy community responses

An assembly of faculty, support staff, students, and administrators, Humber College Council (HCC) is Humber’s collective employee voice, making suggestions to Humber College’s President as it relates to long and short‐term priorities outlined in the institution’s Strategic Plan. To ensure the Humber community is informed of upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, HCC reports the highlights of its monthly meetings through this medium.

HCC held its sixth meeting of the 2021-2022 academic year on Thursday, February 17, 2022.

ACADEMIC & DIGITAL CAMPUS PLANS 2022-2025 CONSULTATION

Gina Antonacci, Senior Vice-President, Academic and Scott Briggs, Vice-President, Digital Innovation and CIO tabled a discussion on Humber’s current Academic and Digital Campus Plans. 

• The Academic Plan sets out the priorities and goals related to teaching and learning including programming, research and innovation, faculty and staff development, and partnerships.
• The Digital Campus Plan focuses on the technology that enhances teaching and learning and allows us to be more agile, connected, impactful, and sustainable

As these college plans are wrapping up, Humber is launching a consultation process to determine its teaching, learning, and digital campus priorities for the next three years.

This session was focused on consulting HCC. The following questions were posed to HCC by Corrine Johnston, Director, Institutional Planning & Analysis supported by Jennifer Larson, Strategic Communications and Innovation Manager, Applied Research & Innovation and Regan Mancini, Institutional Planning Specialist, Institutional Planning & Analysis:

1. What faculty and staff training would position Humber to meet the challenges of the future and enhance our existing academic activities?

2. How can Humber leverage digital resources or technology to enhance/improve our existing academic activities?

3. How can Humber ensure that our academic programs are of the highest quality and meet both the needs of our learners and the labour market? Are there new program areas we should consider?

4. What one big change could Humber make that would significantly differentiate it from its competitors?  Some broad areas to consider:

   • Building and leveraging strategic partnerships

   • Developing new credentials, programs, pathways, and/or curriculum

   • Growing our research and innovation activities

A summary of the discussion will be posted to the Academic & Digital Campus Plan refresh website along with all the other consultation summaries and information related to this process.

HUMBER’S QUALITY CULTURE

Vera Beletzan, Associate Vice-President Teaching and Learning, and Nichole Molinaro, Dean, Program Planning, Development and Renewal provided an update with the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS(/ College Quality Assurance Audit Process (CQAAP) audit process.

Every five years, each publicly-funded college undergoes an audit. The process engages the entire college in examining how well Humber is meeting the Ministry’s standards and its ongoing commitments to quality assessment. The audit assesses whether Humber has adequate quality assurance mechanisms in place, whether these mechanisms are effective, and whether Humber regularly reviews and updates it.  

In terms of what is meant by “quality” in this context, OCQAS defines it as “The alignment and consistency of the learning environment with the institution’s vision, mission and goals (fit for purpose) demonstrated by the development of a culture of quality”. At an Academic leaders meeting, Humber’s leadership associated the following words with a culture of quality: consistency, accountability, excellence, collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. “A culture of quality” was recognized as a core Humber value and a continuous process.

The audit process commenced at Humber in June 2021 and will end in May/June 2022 when a site visit is conducted. The process includes mapping COSSID and Humber’s programs, consultation with the academic faculties and service departments to complete a self-study, and a site visit conducted by OCQAS.

OCQAS chose to review nine Humber programs for Humber’s audit and to assess six quality assurance standards. Each standard has 3-8 associated requirements.

1. College-wide Program Quality Management System: includes the review processes and mechanisms to conduct data analysis and oversight/governance structures.

2. Vocational Learning Outcomes (VLOs) as the Centre of Program Development: ensures learning outcomes are at the center of each Humber program.

3. Conformity with Government Requirements: this includes ensuring that Program Advisory Committees are attached to each Humber program and that they actively input into Humber programs.

4. Program Delivery and Student Assessment: looks at the mechanisms Humber uses to ensure quality delivery and assessments.

5. Existence, Monitoring & Communication of Policies & Practices that Influence & Impact Academic Quality: ensures that academic policies and procedures are regularly monitored and updated and that they are communicated to stakeholders, including when they undergo changes.

6. Availability and Allocation of College-Wide Resources: includes professional development and onboarding for Humber employees and student support services.

In April, Humber will conduct a dry run for the site visit to ensure the Humber community understands the process, including HCC.

Once the review has been conducted, a report will be created that outlines the elements the college met or did not meet, or partially met. If it partially met or did not meet a standard, OCQAS makes recommendations as to how the college can meet it. Humber then has 18 months to comply with the standard. At that time, a final audit decision will be made as to whether Humber has met expectations.

NEXT HCC MEETING

The next Humber College Council meeting will be on Thursday, March 17, 2022 through Microsoft Teams.

For questions or comments about HCC meeting highlights, contact regan.mancini@humber.ca. For supporting materials or opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the College Council website or contact shovani.samalia@humber.ca.

In early December 2021, Humber officially launched a group for people who identify as white and/or as having white skin privilege to examine how they have been conditioned by their whiteness and how it shows up in their thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and within their institutions (home, work, educational, religious, etc.). The Unlearning Circle: Humber employees dismantling whiteness focuses on unpacking and dismantling white supremacy culture and unlearning it.

The Circle held its first meeting on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. The meeting materials and further information on The Unlearning Circle can be found on its webpage.

Interested in joining the circle or have questions about it? For more information email theunlearningcircle@humber.ca.