It is with mixed emotions that I share that Heidi Marsh has accepted an exciting new role as Director of Faculty Development and Academic Technology at George Brown College.

Heidi started at Humber in 2015 as Director, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in the Centre for Teaching and Learning, where she led the development of Humber’s SoTL strategy focusing on evolving the knowledge and practice of teaching and learning within Humber and across the sector. Under Heidi’s leadership, Humber has contributed to the sector through numerous SoTL research projects, including the design of 21^st century learning spaces, the efficacy of virtual reality simulations, the impact of educational technology, such as real-time polling tools, and the assessment of sustainability literacy.

In addition to her leadership of the SoTL portfolio, Heidi has also headed Humber Press, re-launching a new podcast this month, publishing a book on the future of and role of Polytechnics in Ontario, and launching the Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE).

In 2019, Heidi took on the role of acting Director, Teaching and Learning where she has provided exceptional leadership, notably through the challenges of the pandemic. Heidi collaborated with the Innovative Learning teams on developing Humber’s 10-Step Process, supporting faculty to rapidly and successfully move courses from a face-to-face to virtual delivery. Heidi has worked tirelessly in the past months to ensure that Humber faculty have had the necessary tools to transition their teaching online in ways that support student success.

Across Humber, Heidi has become known for her thoughtful and knowledgeable contributions across a variety of areas, and for her collaborative leadership approach. Some of her accomplishments include the redesign of Humber’s flexible, collaborative learning spaces, an institution-wide investigation on academic misconduct at Humber, the Cutting EDge initiative, a UDL pilot project in partnership with ALS, and activity within the Global Polytechnic Alliance and Humber-Seneca Strategic Partnership.

Heidi will be with us until January 22. As part of the transition plan, I am pleased to announce that Lara McInnis will serve in an acting capacity while we undergo the search for Heidi’s replacement in the coming weeks.

Heidi will be missed by many here at Humber, including myself. Please join me in congratulating Heidi and wishing her continued success.

Vera Beletzan
Senior Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning

The Inclusive Curricular Design Certificate (ICDC) explores how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework can guide the creation of robust and accessible learning experiences for all students. The principles of UDL are founded in equity, collaboration, flexibility and accountability, and encourage a proactive, skill-building approach to course design that fosters the development of expert learners. Participants will apply these principles to ensure that the range of student diversities, abilities, and needs are met through a number of teaching and learning strategies.

This program is comprised of five (5) courses.

Winter 2021 
ICDC 002 - Technology to Support Effective and Inclusive Learning
ICDC 003 - UDL: From Theory to Practice
DDAT 001 - Creating Accessible Documents 1
DDAT 002 - Creating Accessible Documents 2  

Not offered this term:
ICDC 001 909 - Fundamentals of Inclusive Design

Note: Registration is restricted to current Humber employees only.

Register here

This memo outlines important dates for the upcoming year-end (as at March 31, 2021) by which pertinent information needs to be submitted to Finance and/or appropriate action needs to be taken. We need your strict adherence to these dates to complete the financial statements, external audit, Board and Ministry reporting in a stipulated and tight timeframe.

DEADLINES ARE TO BE INTERPRETED AS 4:30 P.M. OF THE DATE SPECIFIED

a) Procurement – Friday, January 15, 2021

It is strongly recommended that all Request for Proposal and related purchasing activities be initiated by the above date to ensure adequate time is allotted to complete the procurement cycle by year-end date. Reminder that goods must be received, and/or services must be rendered by March 31 to be recorded against the 2020-21 fiscal year budget.

b) Revenue Deferral – Friday, February 26, 2021

Requests for unearned revenue deferrals should be based on the anticipated year-end balance and must be made by submitting a Revenue Deferral Request Form to Hongliu Mo by the above date. Requests will be approved in accordance with accounting principles. The form identifies eligibility criteria.

c) New Fund, Org or Reporting Hierarchy Changes for the new fiscal year – Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Requests for new fund or org codes, or reporting hierarchy change requests should be submitted by March 23 to your Finance Liaison to be ready for the new fiscal year. This year, no new or change requests will be processed in Banner during the period from April 1 to April 30 as Finance completes year-end activities.

d) Accounts Receivable – Wednesday, March 24, 2021

All requests to invoice (external) customers for current fiscal year activities must be made by submitting a Request to Invoice form to accounts.receivable@humber.ca by the above date.

e) Interdepartmental Charges – Wednesday, March 31, 2021

All interdepartmental charges (i.e. Capital Works, Telephone, Graphics etc.) or journal entry requests for the current fiscal year must be submitted by the above date.

f) Purchase Card (MasterCard) – Wednesday, March 31, 2021

All purchase card transactions must be processed and approved in Chrome River by the above date.

It is important to note that until transactions are APPROVED in Chrome River, they are not transferred to and recorded in Banner. It is imperative that transactions are approved by the deadline to ensure they are recorded in Banner against the Fiscal 2020-21 budget. Any unapproved transactions will be recorded against next year’s budget. Please visit the Finance website Chrome River training documentation for a Job Aid on How to Approve P-Card Transactions.  

g) Banner Purchase Order Receiving – Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Banner receiving is an online acknowledgement that goods ordered or services rendered have been appropriately received and vendor invoice is approved for payment. Banner receiving must be completed for goods or services received by the above date.

If Banner receiving is not complete by the above deadline, expenses will be recorded against next fiscal year’s budget.

h) Vendor Invoices – Thursday, April 1, 2021

Vendor invoices must be emailed to Accounts Payable accounts.payable@humber.ca by the above date. Please note that Banner receiving must be complete by the date specified above (g); otherwise, the expense will be charged against next fiscal year’s budget.

Note:  Purchase orders with remaining balance of $100 (or less) and all standing orders for current year will be closed as of March 31, 2021 (i.e. not rolled over into the new fiscal year).

i) Travel & Expense Claims – Thursday April 1, 2021

Travel & expense claims must be emailed to Accounts Payable accounts.payable@humber.ca by the above date, otherwise they will be processed in the next fiscal year. Please visit our website www.humber.ca/finance for guidance on Travel & Expense Claims and the form.

j) Prepaid Expenses

As per accounting principles, payments made in the current fiscal year that relate to goods being received or services being rendered beyond March 31, 2021 date will be automatically charged to next fiscal year’s budget.

k) Payroll Timecards and Vacation Approval (HRMS) – Wednesday, March 31, 2021

All timecards for work performed in the current fiscal year and vacation planned for up to and including March 31, 2021 must be approved by the above date.   Further communication will be provided in March from HR/Payroll.

2021-22 Fiscal Year Readiness

Please note that effective March 1, 2021, the fiscal 2021-2022 budget will be available in Banner to process procurement related activities. Purchasing will host two refresher training sessions on Friday, February 19, 2021 from 10 a..m to 12 p.m. and Thursday, February 18, 2021 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to review items such as creating standing orders. Please email purchasing@humber.ca to register for one of these two sessions.

Summary

We appreciate and thank everyone in advance for their cooperation. Please contact anyone on our Finance team if you have any questions on the above, or year-end activities in general.

Quick Reference Table of Year-end Deadlines

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many Humber employees working from home to help minimize the spread of the virus, raising questions about how salaried employees affected by the new work conditions can claim work-space-in-the-home expenses and supplies deductions on their 2020 tax return.

In the past, one of the requirements by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is that a T2200 form, Declaration of Conditions of Employment, must be completed and signed by an employer. This form enables the employee to claim certain employment related expenses (including workspace-in-the-home expenses and supplies deductions).

On December 15, 2020, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced new temporary COVID-19 guidelines regarding work-space-in-the-home expenses and supplies deductions for the 2020 tax year.

Employees can claim a deduction for work-space-in-the-home expenses and supplies deductions for the period that they worked from home, if they meet all of the following criteria:

• The employee worked from home in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or the employer required the employee to work from home. Of note, even if the employee could have worked at their regular work location but chose to stay at home (with permission of their employer), the employee will be considered eligible for the deduction;
• The employee worked more than 50% of the time from home for a period of at least four (4) consecutive weeks in 2020;
• The employee has obtained a completed and signed form T2200S or form T2200 from the employer. This form is only applicable if the detailed method is used;
• The expenses were used directly in the employee’s work during the period.

Should you be eligible to claim work-space-in-the-home expenses and supplies deductions, and wish to do so, CRA has developed two (2) methods for you to choose from.

1. There is a Temporary Flat Rate Method, which does not require you to obtain a form T2200S from Humber. Using this method, you can claim up to a maximum of $400 in expenses. Click here to learn more about this method.
2. There is also the Detailed Method, which will require a form T2200S from Humber. Click here to learn more about this method.

For eligible employees who would like to choose the second (2.) option for Detailed Method to claim your expenses and deductions, we will be providing more information and instructions on the process to request a form T2200S by mid-January.

Please contact the HR Support Center if you have any questions regarding this communication.