Humber hosted opening celebrations with partners, government representatives, funders and staff and students this week. Check out the Humber Today story about the opening here.

College Council Highlights: March 7, 2019

Humber College Council (HCC) held its seventh meeting of the 2018-19 academic year on Thursday, March 7, 2019 at the North Campus. To ensure the Humber community is informed of upcoming events, new initiatives and important issues, College Council reports the highlights of its monthly meetings. For more information or to provide feedback on the highlights, please contact marie.kyrinis@humber.ca. We apologize for the delay in posting the highlights.

Academic Update

Laurie Rancourt, Senior Vice President, Academic presented an update on changes to the academic division. The changes in the academic division are meant to support the commitments in the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan. Humber is positioning itself as a leader in the development of programs, credentials, and pathways that enhance choice, mobility and access to higher education.

Major changes include, the transformation of eight schools to six faculties, a move to the 7-1-7 academic model starting in Fall 2019, a renewed focus on Indigenous Education, led by Shelley Charles, Dean, Indigenous Education and Engagement, and her team in collaboration with the academic division, as well as the continued goal of ensuring the Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO’s) are embedded in every program.

Most of the structural changes will be complete in 2019 with the larger, strategic changes to take place in 2020-2021.

HRMS UPDATE

Lori Diduch, Vice-President, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness, introduced Dawn Bassant, Director, Organizational Effectiveness, and Bhupinder Malhotra, HRMS-Change Agent, who provided updates on the Human Resources Management System (HRMS).

D. Bassant shared the HRMS project timeline and noted that communications will be sent in the next month detailing next steps and training dates. The new system gives managers increased opportunities to take action on behalf of staff in regards to time entry, and employees will be able to take action on their own behalf on various functions in the new HRMS.

The implementation team is currently building training content such as data scenarios, knowledge base training, and “get ready” videos in preparation for the “go live” date in June 2019. The HR department will be trained from April 15-26, followed by training for managers April 22-May 3, and general College training from May 20-31. “Go live” readiness will be assessed from June 3-7 with final reinforcement training taking place during this period. Managers may soon receive a learning path to determine what the training needs are and to assess readiness. Refresher training will provided from June 10 through to September 30.

B. Malhotra noted that the HRMS team has developed a central source of all knowledge and training called HRMS knowledge base. The knowledge base includes training information, job aids, training calendar, search functions, and videos and can be found at https://dwww.humber.ca/hrs/training.

National College Health Assessment (NCHA)

Jacqueline Anderson, Associate Director, Health and Counselling Services, provided a presentation on the National College Health Assessment results from the 2016 survey. The assessment aligns with the strategic pillar related to healthy and inclusive college communities, and challenges us to embed health and well-being into all aspects of campus culture. The 2016 survey was distributed to a sample of students with an 18% response rate.

The NCHA survey is a nationally recognized research survey that assists in collecting precise data about students’ health habits, behaviours, and perceptions. It helps educators optimize student success by embedding health and well-being into program planning and other aspects of campus culture. The results of the survey helped to make an impact on types of services available to students including: same day appointments in Counselling Services; the introduction of groups for stress and anxiety like “Healthy Minds for Stressful Times”; implementing a mental health nursing role in the Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre (SWAC); the introduction of Student Support and Intervention Coordinators (SSICs); IGNITE implementing a sleep lounge and soup bar; wellness consultations and educational programs in residence. A Health Promotion Coordinator role was also added.

J. Anderson noted that this year the NCHA survey will launch in spring to over 4,500 students, and there will be small incentives for students who complete the survey (draw for gift cards).

NEW PROGRAM PROPOSAL: FAMILY LAW POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE

Alvina Cassiani, The Business School, introduced Susan Kelsall, Associate Dean, The Business School, and provided a presentation on the proposed Family Law Postgraduate Certificate Program.  This program is designed to provide paralegals with the training needed to practice in the area of family law.

The proposed program is being developed in response to recommendations to the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) by Court Justices, as well as the Canadian Bar Association, the Paralegal Society of Ontario, lawyers, academics and others in the legal community who feel that the scope of practice for paralegals should be expanded to include family law. This program provides a career pathway for licensed paralegals, and will be innovative in its delivery model with modular courses, intensive weekend courses or full week condensed courses to support students who will likely be working full time. Employment outcomes are expected to be good.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (IDI): ENGAGING IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT HUMBER COLLEGE

Andrew Ness, Dean, International, introduced Nalini Andrade, Manager, International Development Institute, who updated Council on IDI’s activities and areas of importance. It was noted that Humber engages with international development because it allows us to engage faculty and students in projects, connects communities, increases community awareness, positions Humber as a leader, creates networks, attracts talent to Humber, builds reputation, and allows us to engage in applied learning.

At Humber, International Development focuses within five areas:

1. International project management (e.g. Sulawesi Economic Development Strategy (SEDS), Indonesia, Kenya Education for Employment Program (KEFEP), Kenya) 
2. Customized training (e.g. IDI Summer Institute, Science Techno Park: Ministry of Research Technology and Higher Education in Indonesia) 
3. Applied research (e.g. The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH): Multi-disciplinary teams, applied research in Kenya)
4. Experiential Learning (e.g. CanWaCH: Multi-disciplinary teams, applied research in Kenya)
5. Local Community Engagement (e.g. International Education Week: Non-Profit Marketplace, International Development Week, Global Youth Economic Opportunities Summit, World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Roundtable)

PANAPTO: HUMBER’S NEW ACADEMIC STREAMING SERVICE

Lisa DiBarbora, Systems Librarian, Humber Libraries, and Darren Richards, Manager, Creative Productions, Centre for Teaching & Learning, presented Panopto, a leading online video platform recently launched at Humber.

Humber recognizes that video streaming is a strong component in 21st century learning and have updated their online video platform to Panopto. Videos will be available at the user’s fingertips with connected video experience and does not require a 3rd party login. Faculty can engage with learners, discover videos, and create and share content with colleagues. Panopto will be integrated with Blackboard which will provide access to video quizzes, and grade centres.

There are a number of workshops available, beginning Monday, March 11, 2019; please see the CTL Calendar of Events for workshop listings.

The next meeting of College Council will be held Thursday, April 4, 2019 at the North Campus. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, or opportunities to provide feedback please visit the College Council website at humber.ca/wearehumber/staff/committees/college-council.

Beginning May 6, the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences is offering a part-time TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Certificate of Achievement that is recognized by both TESL Canada and TESL Ontario.

The part-time Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL/TESL) certificate is a postgraduate 140-hour program. The program is designed to be completed in one semester part-time; however, students have the flexibility to complete the certificate at their own pace over one, two, or three semesters.

The certificate program is a hybrid program consisting of both in-class and online courses allowing students to take classes simultaneously. Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive Humber College’s TESOL credential and be eligible to apply to TESL Canada for certification.

With an increasing number of international students in our College, TESL training is no longer just for ESL teachers. This program provides any instructor or staff member with a solid base in teaching methodology, foundations of the English language, and ways to work with and support ESL students in their classes or departments, no matter the subject area.

For more information, visit our website.

Humber College Retirees Association presents a four-part seminar series that will showcase four former Humber faculty who have not only contributed significantly to the educational well being of our students but are in many cases also well renowned authors. Although each presentation is individual and unique the overall theme is the influence of the past on the present as conveyed through their personal stories.

Faces of Humber: The Ever Present Past

Classroom: North Campus, B204 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

May 7, 2019

     1. Joe Kertes  “Exploring Personal History Through Fiction

Joe will discuss his own roots and explain how he tried to uncover the meaning of personal historic events through the writing of his fiction – in other words, using fictional characters to reflect upon and give coherence to historic events. Kertes himself was a young Hungarian refugee who fled the Russians during the revolution of 1956. But before his birth his family had to endure and survive the horror that was World War II and to come to terms with what it meant to be East European Jews during the dark time. These events are recounted in Gratitude and The Afterlife of Stars,  Kertes’s two most recent books, both historic novels.

May 14, 2019

     2. John Steckley – “The History of Indigenous Groups in Ontario: Stories Untold

John Steckley’s presentation will be on three main Indigenous groups whose story forms a large part of the history of Ontario: the Wendat (Huron)/Wyandot, the Anishinaabe (Ojibwa, Chippewa, Mississauga, Algonquin), and the Haudenosaunee ( the Six Nations of the Iroquois). This presentation will include linguistic elements such as the difference between the names that the three groups are known by in most history books, and the names they call themselves, and the origin and meaning of place names such as Ontario, Toronto, Mississauga, Niagara and Etobicoke.

May 21, 2019

    3. Antanas Sileika – “Literature and History from ‘The Other Europe’”

The late Philip Roth edited a series of books from “The Other Europe” by which he meant Eastern Europe. Antanas Sileika will look at north-eastern Europe in the twentieth century through the lens of his own novels and the lenses of a few other writers of both fiction and non-fiction, including Timothy Snyder, Anne Applebaum, Czeslaw Milosz, Norman Davies, and others.

May 28, 2019

   4. Les Takahashi – Japanese Canadian History: an Overview and the Takahashi/Kodama families’ experiences

Les Takahashi will trace his family’s Canadian history and show the coincidental timeline of key events in Japanese Canadian history from the late 19^th Century to the present and from British Columbia to more general presence in Canada.       

Registration:

Experience all four sessions for $50.

Registration can be completed through Eventbrite using the following link.

For further information contact:

• Barbara Carruthers at barbe.carruthers@gmail.com
• Christine Tomchak at ctomchak@gmail.com