At its first meeting of the academic year, Humber Polytechnic Council (HPC) welcomed a presentation on significant academic initiatives, participated in a HPC orientation session, and adopted a new constituent engagement process.

HUMBER POLYTECHNIC COUNCIL UPDATES

Dr. Gina Antonacci, Senior Vice-President, Academic

An overview of significant academic initiatives was provided:

New Programs Launched 2025-2026

16 new programs were launched, including Local Board Approved Certificates (LBAC), Certificates, Advanced Diplomas, and Graduate Certificates.

• Architectural Technology – Sustainable Design ADip
• Artificial Intelligence – Integrations & Governance GC
• Cybersecurity – Artificial Intelligence GC
• Environmental Control GC
• Information Technology – Systems Analyst GC
• Mobile Applications Development GC
• Quality Assurance – Manufacturing and Management GC
• Medical Esthetics GC
• Medical Laboratory Assistant OCC
• Medical Laboratory Technologist Adip
• Health Informatics GC
• Data Analysis GC
• Mental Health for Healthcare Workers CPL Certificate
• Victimology GC
• Web Design and Development LBAC
• Graphic Design for Print and Digital Media LBAC

The Barrett STEAM Academy

Designed for curious minds, the Barrett STEAM academy engages kids in Grades 6-12 in project-based learning that mirrors real-world problem-solving in STEAM fields.

• Automated Systems
• Coding & Algorithms
• 3D Design & Printing
• Robotics & Sensors
• Web Development
• Virtual Environments
• Final Prototype Creation & Showcase

The academy is supported by the Barrett Family Foundation, a champion of youth education and innovation. 100 students have registered for this 12-week program hosted in the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation.

School of Clean Energy

The School of Clean Energy reflects Humber Polytechnic’s commitment to preparing learners for Canada’s transition to a net-zero future. As global electricity demand grows, driven by AI, data centres, and widespread electrification, the school brings together skilled trades, engineering, and ICT to develop talent ready grads for emerging fields such as nuclear and renewable energy, smart grids, battery storage, cybersecurity, and AI-driven energy systems. Francis Syms, from the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology is leading this initiative.

New Academic Plan

The 2023-2026 Academic Plan is coming to an end. A new one is in development, to launch next year.

Humber Polytechnic Council Orientation & Constituent Engagement Process

Regan Mancini and Fabian Marks, HPC Co-Chairs

As this was the first meeting of the academic year, HPC members participated in a HPC member orientation session.  A new constituent engagement process was proposed and will be adopted moving forward. Humber employees can expect to see a new approach to HPC communications within the coming months.

What an exciting Giving Tuesday we had at Humber Polytechnic!

Because of the generosity and spirit of our alumni, donors, students, staff, faculty, retirees, volunteers, and friends, the Humber Giving Well overflowed with support, stories and meaningful moments of connection.

Thank you to everyone who supported this exciting day — whether you made a gift, started a fundraiser, shared an opportunity, or simply cheered from the sidelines, you helped make yesterday truly special for our community.

And if you didn’t have a chance to take part yesterday, you should know that it’s not too late to choose how you want to make an impact at Humber.

Giving Tuesday may have passed, but the Humber Giving Well isn’t going anywhere. It’s here year-round for you to explore new opportunities and support students in ways that resonate with you.  So whether you’d like to make a one-time gift to an opportunity that inspires you, start your own fundraiser and rally your network, or share an opportunity with someone who might want to get involved, you can still do all of that today, and in the weeks and months to come!

Plus, the Giving Tuesday match has been extended — every gift made today will also be DOUBLED, amplifying the impact you choose to make through the Giving Well.

Visit the Humber Giving Well

And if you don’t see an opportunity that feels like the right fit, we’d love to hear from you. The Giving Well will continue to grow with new initiatives, programs and student needs, and your insights can help shape what comes next! Reach out to the Advancement and Alumni team at HumberPolytechnic@advancement.humber.ca.

Thanks again for being part of our community — on Giving Tuesday and every day of the year — and for believing in what’s possible when we all choose our own kind of impact.

Here are the highlights of faculty questions from November. These are not necessarily the most frequently asked questions, but helpful for all faculty members to know! Contact the Innovative Learning Support Centre if you need support with anything mentioned below.

Question: How do I ensure my test is secure 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 following instructions you can randomize the questions that appear on each students’ test.
• You can also consider randomizing answers for test questions, adding an access code, as well as prohibiting backtracking, displaying only one question at a time, randomizing the order of questions in the test settings, which can also be used to help with test security.

Respondus Lockdown Browser is also available for instructors. The purpose of the Lockdown Browser is to lock down student computers to uphold academic integrity while taking a test in Blackboard. Here are some of the key features of the Respondus Lockdown Browser:

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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.

Please review Innovative Learning's 'Using the Respondus Lockdown Browser' for more information on how to setup Respondus, how to enable spreadsheets, calculators, or view specified files during a Respondus-enabled test, as well as some information for students and other considerations.

Question: How do I use Release Conditions?

Answer:

Release conditions can be applied to all content items and assessments. With release conditions, you can set a combination of these rules:

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• Which course members or groups have access.
• When the course content is accessible, visible, and hidden.
• What student performance is required, such as submitting an assignment or scoring above a threshold on a test.

Assigning release conditions allows you to:

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• release content based on dates – You can release an item or folder on an exact date and time, until a certain date, or during a defined period of time (this is the most popular option).
• release content based on performance – You can release an item when a student achieves a certain grade on a specific assessment.
• release content by user or groups – You can allow only specific students to have access to content.

Please review Innovative Learning's resource on 'Setting up Release Conditions' to learn more.

Question: How do I export my course?

Answer:

Here are the step-by-step instructions for exporting your course. You can learn more by visiting Innovative Learning's 'Exporting or Archiving your Blackboard Course' resource.

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1. In the top-right corner of the Course Content area, select More options for course content ellipsis (…) > Export Course Package.

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1. This opens up the side panel. There are automatically backed up packages available. If you would like to download the most recent one, you can do so. However, if you want to generate a manual package, click on the arrow.

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1. In the Include student activity data in your export? prompt, select:

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• No to export only the course content. Innovative Learning recommends selecting ‘No’, because even if you choose to include student enrollment and data, that information will not be added to another or the same Ultra course if you choose to import the content.

When the file is ready, the status will change to display the file name (eg. ArchiveExFile_CourseName.zip) under Manual. Also, Blackboard may send an email or send a message when the export process is complete.

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1. To download the file to your computer, select the file name. Depending on your browser settings, the file may automatically download to a specified folder, or you may be prompted to save it. (CAUTION: Do not open the ZIP file after its been downloaded—doing so may corrupt the file.)

Question: How do I export or download my grades or student submissions from Blackboard's Gradebook?

Answer:

You can learn more in the steps that follow or by visiting Innovative Learning's 'Downloading Grades from the Gradebook' resource.

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1. In the Gradebook, select the down arrow icon. The Download Grades panel will open on the right.

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1. In the Download Grades panel, you must first select Download Options. If you select Full Gradebook, you are presented with the option to select items (and you are also presented with a toggle to include hidden Gradebook items), and whether or not to include feedback for the selected item.

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1. If you select Grade History, you must select which items to download, whether or not to include deleted items, and last modified date. The last modified date is a pull-down menu with the following options; All Time, 6 Months, 30 Days, 14 Days, 7 Days, and 1 Day. When you include deleted items, these won’t show up in the list of selectable items, but these will be included in the downloaded file.

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1. You also need to select File Type and Save Location for the file. Click Download when you are satisfied with your selections.

Contact the Innovative Learning Support Centre if you need support. We are here to help!

It’s officially Giving Tuesday!

At Humber, today is all about one thing: your choice. The choice to give, the choice to champion a cause, the choice to shape the kind of future you want to see for Humber Polytechnic.

The Humber Giving Well offers a simple, powerful way to explore meaningful fundraising opportunities at Humber and choose how you want to support them.

Here’s how you can use the Giving Well to make your impact today:

• Make a one-time gift
• Start your own fundraiser
• Share an opportunity

REMINDER: Every gift made in honour of Giving Tuesday — including gifts made through fundraisers — will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000, DOUBLING the impact you choose to make!

Because of the Giving Well, you’ll make a difference no matter how — or how much — you choose to toss into it. Every coin counts and every ripple grows.

Visit the Humber Giving Well and choose your impact

Thank you for being part of this special day of generosity. Whether you make a gift, start a fundraiser or simply share an opportunity, your choice today helps open doors for Humber students and every ripple you create makes our community stronger.

Questions? Contact Melissa in Advancement and Alumni at melissa.beauchamp@humber.ca.