College Council Highlights: January 9, 2020
The Humber College Council (HCC) held its fifth meeting of the 2019-2020 academic year on Thursday, January 9, 2020 at the North Campus. To ensure the Humber community is informed of upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, the College Council reports the highlights of its meetings. For more information or to provide feedback on these highlights, please contact denise.rooney@humber.ca.
Program Planning, Development & Renewal
Proposed Graduate Certificate: Law Clerk
Susan Kelsall, [Associate Dean, Faculty of Business] presented details of the proposed new Law Clerk Graduate Certificate. This program will be the first of its kind in Ontario and has a demanding curriculum to be completed over three semesters. There is also a 320 hour placement requirement in the final semester.
In this program students will develop a foundation in a variety of legal and court procedures, develop strong written and oral communication skills, acquire competencies in various areas of law including: contract, tort, real estate, corporate, estate and family law. Graduates may apply to become members of the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario. The program will be delivered by both lawyers and law clerks.
With the expected retirement wave of law clerks in Ontario, the potential for full-time employment is good.
Proposed Graduate Certificate: Retirement Home Management
Michael MacDougall, [Director, Professional and Continuing Education, Faculty of Business] presented details of the new Retirement Home Management Graduate Certificate.
The Canadian retirement home industry is expected to double within the next five years and there will be a need for qualified managers to work in this field. There has already been tremendous interest from potential industry partners for placement students.
Recruitment may be challenging because of the misconception in the difference between a retirement and nursing home. The main difference between these types of residences is that a retirement home does not offer medical intervention. M. MacDougall mentioned that Hospitality students would be well suited for this field.
Students will develop foundational skills in areas of finance, sales, marketing, health, wellness, recreation, food, leadership and administration.
Members discussed various ways and suggestions for the proposed programs to partner with existing programs.
Gender Diversity Policy Review
Adam Benn, [Manager, Human Rights, Equity and Diversity - Centre for Human Rights, Equity, and Diversity] presented details on the proposed changes to the current Gender Diversity Policy. The changes were a result of extensive consultations, and to bring alignment with the updated Human Rights Policy and the Humber College Strategic Plan, in particular strategic priority #7: Establish and implement an institutional framework and strategy for equity, diversity and inclusion that addresses the needs of both students and employees.
The updates to the policy reflect changes in the trans and gender diverse communities. One of the main changes to the policy is updating the language to be more inclusive. Changes include, “trans and non-binary” from “trans”, as well as changing “preferred pronoun” to “chosen pronoun”. The policy will likely be officially adopted in the spring of 2020.
Members reviewed various sections of the policy and provided feedback on the various revisions in the updated policy.
Pathways Marketing Strategy Update
Judy Tavares, [Manager, Student Transfer Services, Office of the Registrar] gave an overview of the development of targeted recruitment campaigns for diploma to degree pathways for Humber students, as well as students from other colleges and universities.
With the help of the New Transfer Student Recruitment Coordinator, the Office of the Registrar is able to bring broader awareness to current and potential students to select Humber as a viable option and pathway to enhance and advance their diploma credentials into a degree. This office has been able to identify and target specific programs for diploma to degree recruitment opportunities.
Student Transfer Services has been working with Humber Marketing to establish overarching themes and messaging which will align with the “We are Future Focused” rebrand. Some of the top highlighted reasons to take a degree at Humber include:
- Industry-experienced professors
- Smaller class sizes
- Credit for diploma studies
- $2,500 scholarship for domestic and international students
- Experiential learning and work placements
The “Pathways Advertising Campaign” includes a targeted plan to advertise at key Ontario College campuses using a mix of posters and murals installed directly on college campuses around Ontario as well as digital ads. Next steps for promotion include mail-outs to all college and internal stakeholders, internal kiosks, brochures, social media campaign and special events.
It should be noted that according to Statistics Canada, professionals with a college degree earn 12 percent more annually compared to university degree holders.
Members discussed the strengths and challenges with the campaign; how the Humber community sees the campaign being utilized within their department/area/faculty; and further resources the college may consider investing in to increase this pathway option.
HCC Feedback
Bhupinder Malhotra, [HR Systems Business Analyst, Office of the VP, Human Resources and Organization Effectiveness] discussed a new electronic collation and feedback form to be used instead of the current paper method.
The members agreed that the new electronic format was more suitable for council’s requirements.
The next meeting of the College Council will be held on Thursday February 6, 2020 at the North Campus. For meeting highlights, supporting materials, and opportunities to provide feedback please visit the College Council website.