The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB) is proud to share that a new Pride Flag crosswalk has been installed at the Humber Cultural Hub at Lakeshore Campus, serving as a vibrant and visible symbol of our commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

The Pride Flag crosswalk is more than a beautiful addition to our campus, it’s a daily reminder that Humber is “all in” when it comes to fostering a community where everyone feels safe, valued and celebrated. Its presence affirms our dedication to creating spaces where 2SLGBTQIA+ students, staff, faculty and community members know they belong.

Pride Through Collective Action

The new Pride Flag crosswalk is more than a visual landmark, it’s a call to action. It represents our shared responsibility to keep showing up for 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion every day, not just in June. We invite you to carry the spirit of Pride forward by engaging in meaningful ways that strengthen belonging across our campuses:

• Explore the 2SLGBTQ+ LibGuide: Dive into curated resources that support inclusive learning and awareness:
  • https://libguides.humber.ca/2SLGBTQ
• Champion Inclusion: Support student-led initiatives, integrate inclusive practices into your teaching, service, or leadership, and explore tools like The 519’s Creating Authentic Spaces guide:
  • https://www.the519.org/resources/creating-authentic-spaces
• Attend Upcoming Events & Learning Opportunities: Bookmark our events calendars and check back for upcoming Fall programming:
  • LGBTQ+ Events
  • EDIB Events
• For staff who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ you can join the 2SLGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG): where folks build community and contribute to a culture of belonging at Humber:
  • https://humber.ca/peoples-and-culture/employees/human-rights-and-harassment/resources/employee-resource-groups.html
• Support the 2SLGBTQ+ ERG Scholarship: This scholarship supports students in their first year of full-time study at Humber who self-identify as persons from diverse gender identities and/or sexual orientations and demonstrate financial need.
  • Make a one-time gift
  • Set up a payroll donation
  • Note: For both options, select “Other” under Designation and enter “2SLGBTQ+ Scholarship” in the “Other Designation” box.

Together, we’re shaping a campus where inclusion is reflected in our spaces, our actions, and our community every day.

Planning an event on campus?

Make it greener with the Sustainable Event Guide. Designed for use across all event types, it supports organizers in aligning with sustainability practices while delivering high-quality experiences. Download the guide and start planning with purpose. 

Access the Sustainable Supplier List, which offers a selection of stores that prioritize environmental and social responsibility. 

Both documents can be found on the Sustainability website.

Here are the highlights of faculty questions from July. These are not necessarily the most frequently asked questions, but helpful for all faculty members to know!

Question: How can I ensure academic integrity on my final assessments in Blackboard?

Answer:

Innovative Learning recommends using Blackboard’s features to secure your assessment in lower stakes assessment. There are a few ways you can secure your tests in Blackboard, without the use of any additional tools:

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• You can consider using question banks, which can be made with Blackboard’s AI Design Assistant, and can use your content using the Context Picker, or you can make them manually. When using question banks, you can randomize the questions that appear on each students’ test by following the instructions.
• To secure your assessment in lower stakes assessment, you can also consider randomizing answers for test questions, adding password protection, as well as prohibiting backtracking, displaying only one question at a time, randomizing the order of questions, prohibiting late submissions, and setting a time limit in the test settings, which can also be used to help with test security.

Instructors can also use Respondus Lockdown Browser. Here are some of its key features:

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• Assessments are displayed full-screen, cannot be minimized, and cannot be exited until the student submits it for grading
• The internet browser menu and toolbar options are removed, except for Back, Forward, Refresh and Stop
• Prevents access to other applications including messaging, screen-sharing, virtual machines, and remote desktops
• Printing and screen capture functions are disabled for the student
• Copying and pasting anything to or from an assessment is prevented
• Assessments that are set up for use with Lockdown Browser cannot be accessed with other browsers

Learn more about Respondus Lockdown Browser by watching the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njhZi4tuSz0

Question: How do I create groups in Blackboard? How do I grade group assignments?

Answer:

There are a few different kinds of groups available for you to create:

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1. Custom – You manually create groups and assign students to each group.
2. Randomly assigned – Students are automatically assigned evenly to groups.
3. Self-enrollment – This must be a visible group. Once created, it generates an announcement to notify students to sign up to a group. Students must self-enroll to a group to become part of it before the start of a group assignment; students will only see the assignment once they register in a self-enrolment group.
4. Reuse groups – You can reuse an existing course group or group set you had previously created in your course.

Learn more about grading group assignments.

Question: How does peer grading or peer reviews work in Blackboard?

Answer:

Learn more about how peer grading or peer reviews work in assignments in Blackboard by watching the video below:

https://vimeo.com/1044700294?fl=pl&fe=sh

It is important to note that students can leave peer reviews for other students, but that student feedback only becomes visible when the instructor publishes their grade and feedback. The student will get both the instructor and peer reviewer feedback all at once.

Question: What’s the difference between an Accommodation, Exception, and an Exemption in Blackboard? How do I give a student an Accommodation, Exception, or an Exemption?

Answer:

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• An Accommodation (learn more about setting up Accommodations in Blackboard by following the instructions in this resource) is course-wide and applies to due dates and time limits for all assessments in your course for a specific student.
• An Exception (learn more about setting up Exceptions in Blackboard by following the instructions in this resource) applies to a specific assessment for a specific student, where you can change the visibility dates, or the number of attempts for that student, to allow them to resubmit an assessment. (If the student already has the Accommodation that covers the Exception you want to apply, you do not need to set it again.)
• An Exemption (learn more about setting up Exemptions in Blackboard by following the instructions at the bottom of this resource) applies to a specific student to be exempted from a specific assessment, meaning they will not need to complete the specific assessment.

Question: How do I manually enter grades in the Gradebook?

Answer:

First, you will need to create a manual grade column in the Gradebook.

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• Locate where you want to add an item by hovering your cursor on the lines in between your gradable items. Select the plus sign and then select Add Item from the drop-down menu. The new item panel will open.

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• In the new item panel, select the pencil icon to create a new title.

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• To allow students to view the grade column, select the drop-down menu and select Visible to students.

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• Select the calendar and clock icon to add a due date.

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• Choose the grade unit, Points, Percentage, or Letter.

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• Type in a number to specify the maximum points possible.

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• Optionally, add a grade category and a description.

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• After you’ve made all the desired changes, select Save! You will now be able to assign a manual grade for each student in the Gradebook.

Need support? The Innovative Learning Support Centre is here to help!

Learn how it's done. Share how it's done.

Humber Esports has been recognized as the 2025 Emerging Program of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), the leading organization for varsity esports in higher education. NACE supports the growth and development of collegiate esports across North America by providing structure, governance and resources to over 240 member institutions and more than 5,000 student-athletes.

With this achievement, Humber becomes the first Canadian collegiate esports program to receive this award. This milestone highlights the program’s rapid growth, student-centered approach and commitment to building inclusive and career-focused pathways in gaming and education.

The award was presented at the 2025 NACE National Convention in Dallas, Texas, where Bernard Mafei, senior administrator of Esports at Humber, accepted the honour on behalf of the program. Humber was celebrated for its innovation in broadcasting, marketing, operations, and competitive development. From the digital stage to real-world careers, Humber Esports continues to set a new standard for what postsecondary esports can look like.

For more information or to collaborate with Humber Esports, reach out to Ahmed Sagarwala, associate dean, Interaction Design at ahmed.sagarwala@humber.ca and Bernard Mafei, senior administrator of Esports at bernard.mafei@humber.ca.