Academic Council met for the fourth time this semester on Thursday, April 11, 2013, at the North Campus. In the interest of keeping the Humber community informed about upcoming events, new initiatives, and important issues, I’ll be reporting on the highlights of the monthly meetings. For more information on any topic, or to give me feedback on the reports, please feel free to contact me directly, at lisa.salem-wiseman@humber.ca.

President’s Update

Humber’s President, Chris Whitaker, gave members of Council an update on the Strategic Planning Process. On Wednesday, April 10, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee partnered with the Humber Student Federation to offer a Virtual Town Hall for students to provide feedback on key areas of the Student Success Framework. The next step is to take the Student Success framework to the Board of Governors for further discussion and feedback. It is expected that the Strategic Plan will be rolled out in the fall. President Whitaker thanked everyone for their input and contributions during the consultation process.

For more information, please visit humber.ca/imaginehumber/.

President Whitaker then spoke about the organizational restructuring which was announced on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. The restructuring is an attempt to address emergent priorities from the strategic planning process and to build on Humber’s strengths moving forward. In addition to a redistribution of portfolios, the executive team will now include five Vice Presidents; Deb McCarthy has been appointed to Vice-President, Human Resources, effective April 1, 2013 and in the coming months, Humber will initiate a national search for a new Vice-President, Advancement & External Affairs. This role will focus on our larger Humber community and be responsible for developing and fostering external strategic partnerships.

Sustainability at Humber

Lindsay Walker, Humber’s Sustainability Manager, and Laurie Turner and Spencer Wood, co-chairs of the Sustainability Coordinating Committee, spoke about Sustainability at Humber. Sustainability is identified as one of Humber’s values in the 2008-2013 Strategic Plan, and Humber remains committed to promoting sustainability across all areas of the college.
The following are some of the highlights of the 2012-2013 year:

• Humber is now a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
• As of November, 2013, Humber is participating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), a program that is widely adopted throughout North America (including 27 Canadian institutions). STARS credits are earned in four main categories: education and research; operations; planning, administration and engagement; and innovation. Currently, we are collecting data, and will make our STARS submission in July 2013. In fall 2013, we will share successes and set future goals.
• In January, 2013, Humber students started a Student Sustainability Club, which is now the largest HSF club on campus.
• Humber’s Green Teams continue to grow; Green Team events over the past year included a White Elephant Swap, an Electronics Round-Up, and an Eyeglasses Recycling event.
• In March, Humber Sustainability published its first Sustainability Report. The goal of the report is to communicate accomplishments and initiatives across the Humber community. The 2009-2012 report highlights achievements in nine key areas, including Teaching and Learning, Student Engagement, Campus Development, and Transportation.
• Future plans include the creation of a Sustainability Strategic Plan, which would align with the Humber Strategic Plan; the publication of an annual Sustainability Report; and the further development of Humber’s Green Teams.

For more information on Sustainability at Humber, and to read the 2009-2012 Sustainability Report, please visit:  humber.ca/sustainability/

Academic Regulations

Barb Riach and Eileen De Courcy gave a presentation on Humber’s Academic Regulations, as they apply to issues of Academic Misconduct. The Academic Regulations define Academic Misconduct as “behaviour that erodes the basis of mutual trust on which scholarly exchanges commonly rest, undermines Humber’s ability to evaluate students’ academic achievements, or restricts the College’s ability to accomplish its learning objectives.” There are three types of offences: academic dishonesty, misrepresentation of personal performance, and restrictions of equal opportunities for access to scholarly resources.

In the last calendar year, there were 450 incidents of academic misconduct, of which 420 were plagiarism. Of these, only 16 were repeat offences.

The penalties for academic misconduct, as outlined in the Academic Regulations, are to be decided at the discretion of the Associate Dean. In order to give flexibility, and to recognize the varying levels of intent, the Academic Regulations list a variety of penalties to be chosen from. This is consistent with other postsecondary institutions.

Since 2010, Humber has been taking a proactive approach to the issue, focusing on promoting academic integrity, rather than simply penalizing academic misconduct. This approach has included creating conditions for deep learning as well as addressing instructional design, assessment design, faculty-student relationships, and the creation of a positive learning environment.

To assist faculty in promoting academic integrity in their classrooms, the Centre for Teaching & Learning website provides downloadable resources and tip sheets, a blog for sharing best practices, and specialized resources for international students. In addition, the Humber and Guelph-Humber libraries provide tutorials and other resources for students.

Interim Business Plan and Budget 

Rani Dhaliwal, Rick Embree, and Sanjay Puri presented the 2013-14 Interim Business Plan and Budget. 2013-2014 will serve as a transition year for Humber, as we build our 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. The Interim Business Plan is built around the four strategic priorities identified in the 2008-2013 Strategic Plan.

1. Manage Enrolment Growth

• 4.3 per cent  increase in full-time enrolment is projected for Fall 2013.
• Humber will launch nine new programs and discontinue seven programs that no longer meet student or labour market demand.
• Humber will continue and strengthen efforts to increase student retention, and will engage in ongoing program development and review, recruitment and marketing strategies, and infrastructure enhancements.

2. Commitment to Teaching and Learning Excellence

• Humber will continue to develop and offer new professional development workshops for faculty, will explore the effective application of technology to enhance teaching and learning, and will commit substantial funds toward academic equipment.
• Humber will expand research and entrepreneurism opportunities for students.

3. Commitment to Human Resource Planning and Professional Development

• Humber will continue to recruit and retain faculty and staff with appropriate credentials.
• Humber will expand professional development opportunities for faculty, support staff, and administration, and conduct an employee engagement survey.

4. Commitment to high quality services to support student success and business practices

• Humber will continue to review and update IT services and strategies, including ESP, telephony and unified communication system, and data centres.
• Humber will invest in initiatives that will address student satisfaction levels, and engage in integrated planning and organizational risk assessment.

Liberal Arts and Sciences Conference

Paul Corey and Lisa Salem-Wiseman spoke about the fourth annual Liberal Arts and Sciences Conference, which will be held October 4 and 5, 2013 at the North Campus. This year’s theme is Telling Stories: Narratives of Knowledge; Narratives as Knowledge, and the organizing committee is excited to welcome Dr. Shahrzad Mojab, of OISE/ University of Toronto as this year’s keynote speaker.

This year’s theme, which looks at the ways in which the stories we tell ourselves shape our experience, both personally and professionally, should inspire a wide variety of presentations. Proposals from all schools and departments are welcomed until Sunday, May 19, 2013.
For more information, please visit the conference website at: humber.ca/liberalarts/conference/home

Financial Aid Update

Holsee Sahid, Manager of Financial Aid, gave Council a report on the services offered by Financial Aid. Humber has seen a 40 per cent increase in OSAP funding since the 2010/11 academic year. In addition to OSAP loans, several scholarships and bursaries are available to Humber students, including the following:

• Academic Entrance Scholarships (for students with a high school GPA of at least 80 per cent)
• Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS) and Ontario Student Trust Fund (OSOTFII) Scholarships
• Degree Scholarships
• Tuition Bursaries
• Financial Need Bursaries
• Student Access Guarantee Bursaries
• First Generation Bursaries
• Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) Bursaries

Emergency bursaries are available for students in financial need. If faculty or staff are aware of a student in financial need, they should contact Holsee and send the student to see her. Students should prepare a budget and a letter explaining their situation and how the bursary can help them meet their educational goals.

After Holsee’s presentation, several members of Council thanked her for everything she does to support our students. For more information about the scholarships and awards available to Humber students, please visit the Financial Aid website.