College Council Highlights: February 8, 2018

Humber College Council (HCC) held its fifth meeting of the 2017-18 academic year on Thursday, February 8, 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.

Government Relations Overview

Alister Mathieson, Vice-President, Advancement and External Affairs, introduced Kelly Jackson, Associate Vice-President, Government Relations and Communications, who discussed the development of a Government Relations Strategy for Humber College.

Kelly’s responsibilities include overseeing the communications team, developing a coordinated government relations strategy for the college, and bringing a strategic approach to communications and polytechnic positioning.

Kelly stressed the importance for Humber to have a coordinated Government Relations Strategy to ensure our key messaging is consistent across the Humber community. Moreover, applying a strategic lens to communications is important to support short and long term advocacy objectives for the college.

Humber works closely with the three levels of government. Currently Humber is finalizing a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the City of Toronto that confirms our institutional objectives and areas of engagement. At the provincial level, Humber is waiting for the three major political parties to unveil their platforms with a special interest on the impact that election platforms will have on post-secondary institutions. It was noted that at the federal level, the Minister of Science, Kirstie Duncan is the MP for the North Campus riding and has a strong relationship with Humber.

As part of the Government Relations Strategy, and as an effort to coordinate messaging, Kelly will prepare a “briefing note” for anyone requiring this prior to any key meetings with government officials.

Liberal Arts and Sciences “Education you can take with you”

Paula Gouveia, Dean, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS), Dawn Mccaulay, Associate Dean, LAS, and Mona Nouroozifar, Associate Dean, Math and Research Skills & Analytics, LAS, gave College Council an overview of LAS operations.

What we do

• Serve 1,100 students registered in LAS including: Academic Upgrading, English for Academic Purposes, General Arts and Sciences, Graduate Certificates as well as electives for the broader Humber student population.
• Operate the Math and Writing Centres at both campuses.
• Run Continuing Education and Professional studies including languages, ESL workshops and The International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Moving Forward

• Expand pathways, transition programs and hybrid options.
• Expand corporate training.
• Focus on mentoring, services and advising students.

Strategic Plan

Gina Antonacci, Associate Vice President, Academic, and Corrine Johnston, Director, Strategic Planning and Institutional Analysis, provided an update on the development and final stages of the Strategic Plan for 2018-2023.

The Strategic Plan is currently in the final of three phases of development, vetting, approval and implementation. The timeline is as follows: meet with key Humber stakeholders during February and March, present to the Board of Governors in March, with final approval expected in May.

The new Strategic Plan will align Humber’s new Vision, Mission and Values. Below are the draft vision, mission and values.

Vision

• Transform postsecondary education as a leading global polytechnic institution.

Mission

• Humber engages with industry and community to develop global citizens with the knowledge and skills to become leaders responsive to emerging world challenges.

Values

• Courage; Innovation; Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Health & Wellbeing; Sustainability.

Draft Strategic Priorities:

• Humber creates a differentiated PSE experience.
• Industry and community turn to Humber for innovation.
• Working and studying at Humber means you join a community.
• Humber’s strong foundations contribute to a sustainable future.

Next Steps:

Cross-institutional working groups for each strategic priority to identify the metrics by which we will assess our success and identify the short/medium term goals and strategies for achieving the priority.

Cloud Strategy

Scott Briggs, Chief Information Officer, discussed Humber’s Cloud Strategy going forward.

As background, Scott discussed how the institution looked at what is happening in the technology industry to base decisions for a new strategy. It was determined that Cloud-based platforms are an increasingly viable solution worldwide, and Humber took the same position.

The benefits of using Cloud-based platforms in our business model include:

• Rapid deployment and business agility, along with a modern user experience.
• Efficient use of resources at a reduced total cost. Some initiatives such as the migration to Microsoft Office 365 did not cost the college anything for the licensing.
• Humber is already using the Cloud for several products: BlackBoard, MyHumber (mobile app), Turnitin, Co-Curricular Records, Chrome River, and Raiser’s Edge.

Future Plans include:

• Implementation of the new Human Resources Management System.
• Real Estate (RECO) flexible learning portal.
• “Digital way finding” app at the North Campus.
• New features being released from Office 365 in the near future.

Leave for Change

Nancey Adamson, Manager, Employee Engagement, discussed the opportunity and requirements for staff to participate in the Leave for Change program.

The guest speakers and Humber faculty, Ionela Bacain (The Business School) and Karen Young (School of Media Studies & Information Technology), presented their experiences from last summer with the Leave for Change program.  This program is sponsored by Humber College in partnership with Uniterra. The program gives Humber full-time employees who feel they have the skills to offer and the passion for helping those in need the opportunity to volunteer for several international positions during their vacation for approximately 3-4 weeks. Prior to leaving, the employee participates in two days of pre-departure training. This volunteer opportunity gives participants a chance to build cross-cultural competency, gain a global perspective and to make a difference.

Leave for Change operates in 14 countries and strongly believes in helping stimulate economic growth and empowering others with the tools to continue working self-sufficiently. Fifty-seven Humber employees have participated over the past 10 years. Each year Humber sponsors six employees and covers all costs.

Apply by March 2, 2018 humber.ca/careers

The next meeting of College Council will be held Thursday, March 8, 2018 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