College Council Highlights: September 14, 2017

Humber College Council (HCC) held its first meeting of the 2016-17 academic year on Thursday, September 14th 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.singhmalhotra@humber.ca.

Chris Whitaker Remarks

C. Whitaker, President, Humber College, welcomed the Council and thanked all for their ongoing commitment. It was noted that there have been many positive changes to the Council over the years and that the work of Council supports the strategic mandate and provides an opportunity to engage in ongoing discussion and provide feedback.

C. Whitaker also noted that the following initiatives and events are taking place in the 2017-18 academic year:

• Development of the new Strategic Plan, with consultation sessions taking place at the various campuses throughout the fall semester
• Development of the new Strategic Mandate Agreement
• Several new buildings being constructed on campus (Centre for Technology Innovation, parking garage)

It was noted that the faculty strike vote took place September 14, 2017 and that this vote and ongoing negotiations and discussions are a normal part of the bargaining process.

Institutional Learning Outcomes

Presenters: Vera Beletzan [Senior Special Advisor Essential Skills], Jonathan Zeyl [Acting Program Coordinator, Department of Liberal Studies], and Lara McInnis [Professor, Department of English] provided information regarding the Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO) initiative and how it is related to Goal 7 of the Academic Plan.

The goal of the ILO initiative is to develop and implement a measurable ILO framework for Humber. ILOs are the skills, competencies, values and attributes that all graduates possess and can articulate. It was noted that the ILO team will be asking for feedback on key messaging which will be going out to key stakeholders, including industry.

The ILO initiative is a response to our knowledge based economy, which requires adaptability due to the increased pace of change and rapid technological innovation. The expectation is that graduates will be able to anticipate problems and help solve them, rather than just complete task-based work. An expectation of employers is that graduates will guide them, rather than employers guiding graduates.

ILOs will articulate our collective vision and value of a student’s education. ILOs will become an integrated educational component and experience for our students. They will enable faculty in prioritizing skill-building into the curriculum as well as support our student services by providing a shared framework for student success.

ILOs will increase our graduates’ employability and enhance their ability to contribute meaningfully to society, thus differentiating Humber in a competitive higher education environment and set the benchmark for the polytechnic model.

Business Plan & Financial Information

Presenters: Corrine Johnston [Director, Strategic Planning and Institutional Analysis] and Sanjay Puri [Director, Financial Services and Planning] presented the Budget and Business Plan the Board of Governors approved this spring.

The focus for the final year of the Strategic Plan will be:

Academic plan

• Centres of Innovation (Health & Wellness, Technology Innovation, Creative & Business Enterprise)
• Flexible Learning
• Strategic Enrolment Management

New Market Development and Revenue Growth/Diversification

• Fundraising
• Corporate Training
• Entrepreneurial Activities (IELTS, OELC, RECO)

Supporting principles

• Integrated planning
• Process improvement & resource efficiencies

Infrastructure development & enhancements

• Construction (CTI, Parking Structure & Lot, IEMP, Renovations)
• Technology (HRMS, Banner Upgrade, Net Tuition, Data Centre)

It was noted that the Business Plan is grounded in the Strategic Plan and that each year the Executive Team looks at the College’s strategic priorities when approving the Business Plan.

Human Resource Management System (HRMS) Project Overview

Presenters: Lori Diduch [Vice-President, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness] introduced Dawn Bassant [Director, Organizational Effectiveness, and the HR Transformational Lead on the HRMS project].

L. Diduch provided a recap of the project, noting that the procurement of the HRMS system was the final stage of the Enterprise System Project. Peoplesoft was initially selected through an RFP, however the HR technology landscape haschanged and cloud-based solutions are increasingly being utilized instead of on-premise solutions. Cross-institutional consultation took place in 2016 and helped inform the RFP for a cloud-based HRMS. D. Bassant noted that Workday, Success Factors, and HCM Fusion all submitted a proposal and that HCM Fusion was the successful applicant.

D. Bassant noted that the objective is to retire the legacy system we currently have, integrate processes and systems, manage the employee lifecycle, and support employee engagement. Humber is focused on adopting leading HR practices and progressive functions to deliver a positive employee experience.

The core elements of the Cloud include Human Capital Management (payroll, workforce management) and Talent Management (recruiting, onboarding, compensation and rewards).

It was noted that there will be opportunities to participate in design/build workshops, product testing, training and advisory groups. It will be an agile process where the end-user reviews the tool and provides feedback.

Enhancing the Student Experience Through a Focused Applied Research Plan

Presenter: Darren Lawless [Dean, Applied Research and Innovation]

Applied research provides students the opportunity to apply classroom learning  and  to see/assess results. It was noted that at Humber the objective is not to generate revenue but to recover costs and provide learning opportunities to students. Applied research can take the form of capstone projects, funded projects, contract research, or entrepreneurial activity. Associated costs include student pay, access to equipment, materials, release time for faculty, and project management costs.

At Humber, the department of Applied Research is a broad-based support for all Schools and works to remove real or perceived barriers to conducting applied research, including: time, understanding, hiring of students, ordering equipment, and finding partners.

The next meeting of College Council will be held Thursday, October 12th at the Lakeshore 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