It's a Bird Party! The 2nd Annual Toronto Bird Celebration is taking over sites around the city from May 12 - 27, which includes a variety of events at the Humber Arboretum.

Bird Celebration Events at the Humber Arboretum

The Humber Arboretum Bird Blitz - Saturday May 12, 8:30 a.m. (Free, please RSVP)

Kick off the city-wide Toronto Bird Celebration with a morning bird walk at the Humber Arboretum where we'll try to identify as many species as we can! All ages and skill levels are welcome. Bring binoculars if you have them; if not, we will have pairs available to borrow.

The Birds and the Bees Gardening Workshop - Saturday May 12, 10:30 a.m. (Free, please RSVP)

Join Humber Arboretum staff for a workshop on creating a garden with nature in mind. Learn how to choose plants and create structures that will attract and support birds, bees, and other wildlife.

Breaking Birding Boundaries - My Ontario Big Year with Jeremy Bensette - Wednesday May 16, 6 p.m. (Free, please RSVP)

Point Pelee area birder and naturalist Jeremy Bensette had a record-breaking Ontario Big Year in 2017, travelling to the far reaches of the province in pursuit of every bird species he could possibly cross paths with. Hear Jeremy speak about his competitive and very social birding journey, then join him for an informal Q&A/walk around the Humber Arboretum.

Backyard Chicken Workshop - Saturday May 19, 9 a.m. ($25, register online)

Domestic chickens are the most common bird in the world, so why not spend some time getting to know them? A coop and hens will be present for this fun learning experience that will teach you how to raise your own egg laying flock. 
 

Bird Celebration Events at Lakeshore Campus

9th Annual Spring Bird Festival at Colonel Samuel Smith Park - Saturday, May 26, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Free)

Staff from the Humber Arboretum will be joining a variety of partners to offer programming at the stunning waterfront park surrounding Humber College's Lakeshore Campus. Free activities include hourly guided bird walks, live birds, reptiles and amphibians, backyard habitat building, art workshops, children’s activities, and educational displays. 

More to Enjoy on Saturday May 12

The two May 12 events at the Humber Arboretum are also part of the City of Toronto's Ravine Days Celebration. Weather-permitting, Humber Music Alumni Claire Coupland will be performing two acoustic sets inside the entrance to the Arboretum on Saturday, one at 9:45 a.m. to entertain post-walk Bird Blitzers and early workshop attendees, and the second at 11 a.m. for other Arboretum visitors. 

Plus, come for the birds and stay for the science! After your bird walk, musical interlude, and gardening workshop, drop by the Univeristy of Guelph-Humber Atrium for Science Rendezvous, a free science festival for all ages that runs from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday May 12.

More Information:

The Humber Arboretum is located behind Humber College North Campus and offers extensive gardens, naturalized walking trails, and programming related to horticulture, nature, and ecology. Visit Humber.ca/arboretum 

For the full slate of Toronto Bird Celebration events across the city, visit torontobirdweek.ca

For more on Ravine Days visit the City of Toronto Festivals & Events Calendar

For more about the UofGH Science Rendezvous Festival visit the event page on the Science Rendezvous website

Banner will be upgraded to the latest version for all Banner Student and Banner Finance modules, ensuring Ellucian (the vendor) will continue to provide support.

When will Banner 9 be in Production?

Banner 9 Administrative Pages (replacing INB Production Database) will be live on Tuesday, May 22, 2018.

Banner 9 Self-Service Registration will be live on Monday, June 18, 2018 and visible to students for the Fall registration window starting Tuesday, July 17, 2018.

Banner 9 Self-Service Faculty Grade Entry, Attendance Tracking and the Student Advising Profile along with menu changes in MyHumber, will be live on Tuesday, February 19, 2019.

What’s not Changing?

The actual functionality of each student and finance module will not change for you.

What’s Changing? 

The esp.humber.ca URL will be decommissioned. On May 22 Banner 9 Administrative pages will be accessible to users via MyHumber.

Banner 9 will provide you with an up-to-date user interface. This includes enhanced navigation, drop-down menus, drag-and-drop capability, radio buttons and query filters for improved accessibility.

Other Improvements:

• Consistent look and feel
• All browser-capability – Google Chrome is preferred
• Improved system messaging
• Multiple record views
• Mobile and Tablet friendly

For inquiries related to the Banner Student Information System, please contact:

Janene Christiansen
Associate Registrar, Student Systems and Reporting
Office of the Registrar
janene.christiansen@humber.ca

For inquiries related to Banner Finance Information System, please contact:

Paula Borges
Manager, Financial Systems, Technology and Training
Financial Services and Planning
paula.borges@humber.ca

College Council Highlights: April 5, 2018
Humber College Council (HCC) held its seventh meeting of the 2017-18 academic year on Thursday, April 5, 2018 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 denise.rooney@humber.ca or bhupinder.malhotra@humber.ca

New Program: Bachelor of Social Science – Addictions and Mental Health
Derek Stockley, Dean, School of Social and Community Services (SSCS) and Kelly ONeill, Dean, Program Planning, Development and Renewal discussed the proposed Bachelor of Science – Addictions and Mental Health program. The program is currently in development, and going through various committees for final approval.

The four-year Bachelor of Science – Addictions and Mental Health program will provide students with the knowledge and skills required to work in the field of addictions and mental health. Examples of careers include counsellor, group facilitator and case manager.

There will be new pathways from existing programs in SSCS into this proposed degree. This degree will share a common first year platform with several of the school’s existing degrees. Thus after the first year or semester the student will have the option to select this degree or another program in SSCS.

This program aligns with the 2017-2020 Strategic Mandate Agreement.

Business Plan and Financial Budget

Corrine Johnston, Director, Strategic Planning and Institutional Analysis and Sanjay Puri, Director, Financial Services and Planning returned to College Council with an update to the 2018/2019 Business Plan and Budget.

Key Budget highlights:
Sanjay Puri gave an overview of the Fair Workplace, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148) and the effects it will have on the budget, which includes the financial costs, as well as 3rd party contracts, equal pay for equal work and maternity leave.

The Budget process is complex and is always looking several years ahead when forecasting. The executive team also takes into account Humber’s guiding principles which include operational activities, auxiliary activities and strategic investments when developing the budget.

Key Business Plan highlights: (approved March 2018)
Corrine Johnston gave an overview of the Business plan and discussed the areas that the college has focused on including; Teaching and Learning Excellence, Student Success, Research and Innovation, Partnerships, Internationalization, Focus on the Polytechnic Identity and Foundations.

Conceptual Overview: Degrees for Development

Farzad Rayegani, Dean, School of Applied Technology gave a detailed presentation on The School of Applied Technology.

Beginning in the Fall 2018, The School of Applied Technology will be structured into Academic Clusters.
1. Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship
2. Built/Design Environment
3. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
4. Advanced Manufacturing

Skilled Trades Gap in Ontario – Employers are having difficulties finding suitable candidates with the essential skills, trades, knowledge and education required for positions in industry. Humber is constantly working with industry to identify and position itself as a leader in trades and technology and close this gap.

School of Applied Technology is working on a new model where students will have access to practical components and project work from the beginning and throughout a program. As a result, students will gain practical experience by integrating classroom theory to potential industry projects.

New programs in development
Degree in the Built Environment (working title)
Bachelor of Information & Communications Technology
Bachelor of Mechatronics System Engineering

Human Resource Management System (HRMS) Update

Dawn Bassant, Director, Organizational Effectiveness, Human Resources and Bhupinder Malhotra, HRMS-Change Agent - Administrative Relations updated College Council regarding the HRMS.

The implementation of phase one of the HRMS release has been postponed to November 26, 2018. Phase two of HRMS will be released in February 2019.

HRMS will allow employees direct access to their HR information and services through an easy to navigate dashboard. Employees will have easy access to their vacation allotment, sick days, benefits, personal information etc.

Managers will have access to information related to their team members including vacation requests, sick leave requests, emergency contacts etc.

The new HRMS system will help Humber replace a number of legacy paper-based HR processes.

Membership/Elections/CICan

Call for College Council nominations closed on Friday April 13, 2018. If necessary, elections will be held May 3 and 4.

Nancey Adamson and Jeremy Brooks will be attending the CICan conference on behalf of Humber College in Victoria, BC from April 29 to May 1.

The next meeting of College Council will be held Thursday, May 10, 2018 at the Lakeshore Campus. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, or opportunities to provide feedback please visit the College Council website.