In celebration of Black Heritage Month 365 and in support of The BASE’s upcoming Black Excellence and Entrepreneurship Conference, Humber Libraries has prepared a list of selected resources to highlight Black excellence in business and leadership in North America and beyond.
Please visit our Library Spotlight for this feature collection.
The Humber College Council (HCC) held its fifth meeting of the 2020-2021 academic year on Thursday, January 21, 2021 online using Microsoft Teams. 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
Karen Stefou [Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellness] shared that $2,065 was raised in support of Ernestine’s House. And she would like to thank anyone who was able to contribute to the success of this fundraising campaign.
Risha Toney [Office of the Registrar] promoted a new pathways portal for students and alumni that launched at Humber’s Virtual Pathways Fair. This portal provides an avenue for students to use interactive searches to find diploma to degree pathways and graduate certificate and master's degree options.
Rose Anthony [Student Success and Engagement] shared information about Counselling Services’ Healthy Minds for Stressful Times student support group. This nine-week drop-in group session takes place on-line Thursday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., beginning February 11. The objective is to help students with feelings of overwhelm, stress, and anxiety. Students can email Rose at rose.anthony@humber.ca to register. A poster will be provided in the Communiqué if faculty would like to promote this initiative to their students.
Humber Recruitment update
Joy Borman [Manager, New Student Recruitment and Advising] and Yanni Thepanya [Recruitment Advisor] provided council with an update of the initiatives that Humber Student Recruitment have undertaken and how they’ve pivoted to the online environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pre-COVID, the recruitment team engaged in on and off-campus activities, which were predominantly in-person and included Fall and Spring Open Houses, March Break presentations and tours, year-round general campus tours, pathways events, the Ontario College Fair, and much more.
Shortly after the campus closed, they quickly switched to engaging students virtually starting with the first-ever Spring 2020 Virtual Open House. Since then, they’ve conducted over 130 virtual presentations with over 4,000 guests in attendance, 10+ Fall Ask Humber sessions with over 3,300 guests, created virtual campus tours of the North and Lakeshore campuses, and a long list of other events.
They have also been engaging in virtual pre-enrollment advising. Advising sessions are conducted using Cisco Jabber and Microsoft Teams Meetings. From April to December 2020 over 550 advising appointments were booked with 60% of visits booked by non-high school students.
Winter 2021: Academic Update
Gina Antonacci [Associate Vice president, Academic] outlined the legislative changes which have had an impact on the Winter 2021 academic delivery of programs. These legislative policies included in-person capacity limits and stay at home orders. As a result, some courses were reconfigured and rescheduled to address in-person capacity regulations and an additional 44 sections and 3,434 lab hours were added. Labs are now booked for 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days per week.
Overview of Programming in the winter semester
Enrollment Update
Barb Riach [Associate Vice President, Enrollment Management & Registrar] provided the enrollment update. As of the first day of the winter semester, we had a total of 25, 971 students registered. This is higher than the revised target of 23,681 students but lower than our original target of 28,703.
The largest decline for the winter semester was seen in the international student enrollment numbers, however, to date, there were already 3,500 international applications for the Fall 2021 semester intake.
Our newest campus, the International Graduate School opened virtually this semester to 109 students. Four graduate certificates are being offered in Winter 2021, an additional five programs in spring/summer, and an additional two programs in Fall 2021.
Summer 2021 planning will be completed by March 1 while planning for Fall 2021 will be completed by June 1.
The next meeting of the College Council will be held on Thursday, February 18, 2021. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, and opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the College Council website.
Winter term is moving into its fourth week and the Campus Bookstores (North and Lakeshore) are beginning preparations for our annual inventory. To streamline this process, we will begin to return unsold copies of course materials to publishers the week of February 8. We will be keeping a very limited stock of course materials.
Please remind your students to purchase their required course materials as soon as possible to ensure we have materials available.
If a textbook is required and stock is unavailable, we will gladly accept a prepayment for the title and place an order on your behalf. However, there is a lead time associated with this process which can be up to four to six business days, depending upon the source and their inventory the lead time may be longer. We will do our very best to accommodate each and every student request.
Please note the North Campus Bookstore will be closed on Thursday, February 25 for inventory.
Lakeshore Campus Bookstore will remain open due to no annual inventory.
The North Campus Bookstore will reopen on Friday, February 26.
We thank you in advance for your patience.
The Faculty of Media & Creative Arts asks you to join us in congratulating Robert Richardson on his upcoming retirement. He has almost 20 years of service at Humber.
Bob, as he is affectionately known, is a true Humber success story. Starting at Humber as a student in the Film & TV Production advanced diploma, launching a second career, he balanced his studies with a workstudy position, graduating with honours and top of the class, followed by a part-time role, full-time support staff position, full-time professor, program coordinator, and finally, Associate Dean. Bob has excelled in all of his roles and has made many valuable contributions to the Faculty of Media & Creative Arts and the broader Humber community.
Bob is a kind, generous, and fair leader who always took the time to listen and check in with you. His love of history, literature, films, and even farming made conversations more interesting. As an early riser, we often joked that Bob “opened up” the Lakeshore Campus, when on many occasions, he would arrive before Public Safety had a chance to open up the doors to the building.
Bob’s last day at Humber will be March 1. Please join me in wishing Bob the very best of luck in this next chapter of life.
Guillermo Acosta
Senior Dean, Faculty of Media & Creative Arts
Nuit Blanche Toronto is a free and annual overnight event, produced by the City of Toronto. Its mandate is to connect contemporary art to the broadest possible publics and to create opportunities for audiences to explore and engage with contemporary art in public spaces. In partnership with Humber Galleries and Humber College Lakeshore Campus, we invite proposals from college staff, faculty, students, and alumni, as well as Toronto-based professional artists, collectives, and arts organizations. Proposals should have a strong visual component, be rooted in contemporary art practice, and relate to this year’s curatorial theme.
2021 marks the 16th edition of Nuit Blanche Toronto and includes a major shift in the curatorial vision of the event. Its theme, The Space Between Us, has become even more pertinent during these many months of isolation amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic. Its content and audience participation will inevitably reflect new obstacles and opportunities for artists, encouraging everyone to rethink how we access art installations and collections, without undermining the true value of visitor experience. All submissions for Nuit Blanche Toronto, whether intended to be exhibited in-person or online, are encouraged. It is also suggested that physical distancing be kept at the forefront of mind when producing in-person artwork.
Applications must be submitted by Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EST via email to stefanie.galvanek@humber.ca. We accept proposals submitted as a digital PDF using the fillable PDF, or a scanned handwritten document. Alternative formats can be provided on an as needed basis.
Before applying, please read our Application Guidelines, and download the Application Form.
And for more information, please visit our website.
A familiar name at Humber and a familiar name associated with Research, Bernie Monette has made significant research contributions. He has done so through working with external partners and engaging students by allowing them to tactfully apply concepts they are learning in their respective programs to real-life industry challenges. This collaborative effort contributed on Bernie’s projects has resulted in improving the quality of products and services for industry partners, in turn positively impacting the community.
Read the entire article here.
T+L The Staff Lounge Podcast episode 2 is now LIVE!
This is a place to reflect and connect with staff from Humber College. We bring you interviews, panel discussions and tips from local and global educators, providing a platform to explore best teaching practices.
Episode 2: Reassessing Assessment - Moving to an online teaching environment has forced many to rethink the way we assess student learning. What are the most effective ways to assess? We hear ingenious and, importantly, time saving ideas from Humber’s T+L secondees.
Click here to hear the second epiosde of The Staff Lounge Podcast.
Recently, some of the information on the Humber Guardian App self-screening has been updated to reflect new information. In order to ensure you have the most up-to-date version of the app, please take the following steps:
From the Guardian’s home screen, users can click on About/Preferences > Data Update > Check for Updates.
Now you're all set to do your next self-assessment.
Last August, we introduced some exciting changes to the Benefits and Absence work areas within the Human Resource Management (HRMS) with the introduction of New Responsive User Interface (Experience) that replaced the old Classic User Interface design.
Today, we are excited to share with you that on February 22, 2021, we will introduce New Responsive User Experience (NUX) for the existing classic time card pages.
Click here to watch an overview video to learn what changes will be introduced.
Vacation Planning, Employee Appreciation Day and Summer Hours – 2021
The need to take time for ourselves and our family is an important part of a healthy work-life balance. This year, it has become especially important. No one could have imagined the challenges we have faced over the past year and although vacations might look a little different this year, it is still important to unplug and take time away from our workspaces to maintain a healthy work-life balance. We encourage all staff to schedule and plan their yearly vacation entitlement in consultation with their manager.
In order to ensure that vacation requests are considered fairly and effectively, please refer to the ‘Vacation Accrual Summary Document’ in HRMS as listed below for your employee group. It will provide information on how vacation accruals work within the HRMS and how you can use the accrued vacation days to request and plan for vacation. Key points to consider:
Academic Staff (Article 15 – Vacations)
Click here to read important information regarding the Academic Staff Vacation Accrual within the HRMS.
Click here to view the Academic Staff Collective Agreement.
For the majority of academic staff, the 2021 summer vacation period is as follows:
Begins: Monday, June 28, 2021
Ends: Friday, August 27, 2021
Faculty return on Monday, August 30, 2021. Classes begin on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.
Full-Time Support Staff (Article 11 – Vacation)
Click here to read important information regarding the Support Staff Vacation Accrual within the HRMS.
Click here to view the Support Staff Collective Agreement. Note, as per article 11.5 of the Full Time Support Staff Collective Agreement, employees are required to indicate their preference, if any, as to vacation dates no later than March 1 of the current vacation year for the next vacation year (July 1 to June 30).
Part-Time Support Staff (Article 14 – Vacation)
Click here to view the Part-Time Support Staff Collective Agreement.
Administrative (Admin) Staff (Vacations)
Click here to read important information regarding the Administrative (Admin) Staff Vacation Accrual within the HRMS.
Click here to view the Admin Staff Vacation Policy document.
SUMMER HOURS, EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY AND STATUTORY HOLIDAYS
Summer Hours
During the period from May to August, where operationally feasible, management has the authority and discretion to establish summer working hours for their employees. These hours may vary from regular operating hours.
Summer hours usually mean that employees continue to work their full number of hours each week but may start and finish earlier or later in the day. When considering requests for summer hours, managers are encouraged to engage in conversation with their employees to discuss feasible options while ensuring regular customer service is maintained.
Should there be any questions regarding the scheduling and/or taking of vacation, or the observance of holidays, please contact your HR Business Partner.
Summer Early Closings
Early closing days is a perk that allows staff to get away a bit early on the Friday of long weekends during the summer period. Although we encourage that this continues for 2021 wherever operationally feasible, we recognize that with most employees working remotely and the range of public health measures that may limit travel, this benefit may not have the same value as it has in the past. Therefore, in addition to the early closings, we have also deemed Friday, July 2 as an Employee Appreciation Day where the College will be closed for regular operations.
Managers are encouraged to support early Friday closing for statutory holidays that fall on a Monday, as listed below. Staff who are scheduled to work on the Friday before the holiday Monday, should be encouraged to finish work one and a half hours (1.5) early the Friday before the long weekend, from the end of their regular workday.
Subject to the operational requirements of the division/department, early closures for 2021 apply to the following:
Staff who are required to work full hours on any of the early closing days shall be given one and a half hours (1.5) off on another day during the summer, to be scheduled by their manager
The College will be closed for the summer employee appreciation day on:
Staff who would be regularly scheduled to work on Friday, July 2 will be paid their regular wages for the day. Any staff who are required to work on Friday, July 2, 2021 for any reason, will receive equivalent time off, on another day with regular pay.
Overtime pay on the early closing days and/or the employee-appreciation day, shall apply only in situations where employees are required to work beyond their regularly scheduled hours and have the approval of their manager. Any overtime must be submitted and approved using the HRMS.
Statutory Holidays
The College will be closed on the following Statutory Holidays during 2021:
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Monday, February 15 |
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Friday, April 2 |
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Monday, May 24 |
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Thursday, July 1 |
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Monday, August 2 |
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Monday, September 6 |
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Monday, October 11 |
Note: The December/January Holiday Closure details to be sent in a separate memo and closer the date
Statutory Holiday Pay
Staff required to work on a statutory holiday shall be entitled to paid time and one-half for each hour worked, plus holiday pay or equivalent time off in lieu. Refer to the applicable collective agreement or admin staff policy for further details on eligibility and qualifying rules for statutory holiday pay.
Part-time staff may be eligible for holiday pay, plus time and one half pay, for hours worked on any statutory holiday. To qualify for statutory holiday pay, part-time employees must have worked on their scheduled day of work preceding and following the recognized holiday.
Payments made to all part-time staff shall be equal to the total amount of regular wages and vacation pay payable to the employee in the pay prior to the statutory holiday, divided by the number of days worked in the prior pay period.
Any questions, please contact the HR Support Centre:
Call 416.675.5001
Chat with us at humber.ca/hrchat
Submit an e-form at humber.ca/hrinquiry
