As we move boldly forward with our strategic plan, a strong foundation will be integral to our success.
Commitment 1
Create an innovative and differentiated educational experience by continuously improving academic and administrative processes, programs and services.
Current Lead(s): Corrine Johnston
Initiative Description: Building an environment of accountability and transparency is of paramount importance for Humber. The college will develop key performance metrics for its 2018-2023 Strategic Plan’s strategic priorities to monitor and report on its progress.
2018/2019-2022/2023 Achievements: Humber identified performance metrics for its 2018-2023 Strategic Plan’s strategic priorities. For the duration of the plan, Humber monitored and reported on its progress in meeting its priorities.
Initiative Description: As an ongoing activity, Humber will seek to harmonize business operations across its faculties and administrative departments through the definition and implementation of a structured and strategic approach to organizational design and business process review.
Update: This initiative was to formally commence in 2020/2021. Due to COVID-19, the college has deferred this initiative to a later date – still to be determined.
Current Lead(s): Corrine Johnston
Initiative Description: This project seeks to engage and unify all Humber divisions, departments and employees to achieve strategic and operational goals while emphasizing sustainability and change readiness.
2018/2019 Achievements: Humber conducted a best practices review and current state analysis of its planning processes to inform further development of its integrated planning framework.
2019/2020 Achievements: Humber made three major enhancements to its integrated planning processes:
- A project management methodology was implemented to improve the success of strategic initiatives
- The strategic initiatives planning timeframe was adjusted increasing the planning period
- An enhanced SEM structure and process was implemented
2020/2021-2022/2023 Achievements: Humber continued to evolve its planning structures and processes to enhance their effectiveness.
Commitment 2
Plan for a financially sustainable future.
Current Lead(s): Barb Riach & Derek Stockley
Initiative Description: Changing student demographics, labour market needs, and government policies and priorities continue to influence the post-secondary education landscape and Humber’s institutional priorities and approach to enrolment planning and associated goals. In response to this changing environment, Humber’s Core Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) Committee will work with the Academic Leadership Council and across the college to identify clear goals and deliverables for the following areas:
- Enrolment planning (domestic and international)
- Marketing, Recruitment and Conversion
- Student Success and Retention
- Program Planning, Development and Renewal
2018/2019 Achievements: Humber created and implemented an enrolment forecasting model to assist with enrolment planning.
2019/2020 Achievements: Humber conducted pan-institutional research on its current marketing, recruitment and conversion processes with an aim to establish a more rigorous and structured approach to these operations.
2020/2021 Achievements: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected enrolment in postsecondary education by both domestic and international students. In addition to the closure of the Canadian border, and the financial difficulties facing prospective students due to a lack of employment, students are also concerned about attending classes with virtual course delivery. These challenges meant that the college needed to find new ways of recruiting and retaining students (e.g., by leveraging government financial aid, scholarships and bursaries) and reconsider planned enrolment targets. Within this current environment, Humber determined new approaches to enrolment planning, with a focus on marketing, recruitment, conversion and retention strategies and plans.
2021/2022 Achievements: With several annual strategic enrolment management processes in place, the college maintained and continued to refine its enrolment planning and marketing, recruitment and retention approaches for the current environment. Initiatives included:
- The launch of a marketing campaign for online and hybrid programming
- The development of marketing strategies targeting learners who are looking to upskill or reskill within a polytechnic model of education or for pathways into Master’s degrees and from Graduate Certificates
- Significant changes were made to Humber’s website to support recruitment, including the launch of a comprehensive Future Students page, the embedment of pathway information within program search pages, and an-easy-to-use search function for pathways information.
2022/2023 Achievements: The college continued to fine-tune its processes and conduct annual strategic enrolment management approaches related to enrolment planning and marketing, recruitment and retention in response to the changing PSE environment. A framework for student success and retention was completed.
Current Lead(s): N/A Initiative completed/operational
Initiative Description: Focused on reciprocal strategic partnerships with its industry and community partners and the college’s financial sustainability, Humber will develop new fundraising initiatives, corporate education and entrepreneurial activities to support students, labour market needs, and the college and its community’s well-being.
2018/2019 Achievements: Humber partnered with Walmart Canada to be the retail giant’s referred provider of postsecondary education programming for its employees and their families. Through AdvancED, an education assistance program, employees can find and enroll in a diverse range of programs provided by Humber or one of the post-secondary institutions in Humber’s Canada-wide network. This unique partnership builds on Humber’s goals to enhance career-focused education while meeting the needs of people currently in the workforce.
2019/2020 Achievements: The Unlimited Campaign was launched in 2019, representing Humber’s first public fundraising campaign, and raising $35 million of its $50 million goal by fiscal year end. The campaign creates unlimited possibilities for Humber students, providing them with the tools they need to thrive and succeed now and in the future - including financial support, skills development and experiential learning opportunities and leading-edge learning spaces, technology, resources, faculty and programs.
As the new provider of the Real Estate Salesperson Program in Ontario, Humber launched a cutting-edge program delivered on behalf of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). Offered online and in locations across Ontario, the program enables students to start coursework at any point during the year, without the time commitment of a full-time, semester-based program. Launched in September 2019, 7009 learners enrolled in the program in its first 8 months.
2020/2021-2022/2023 Achievements: Humber’s Corporate Training Solutions launched a new 2-year Strategy in 2020/2021 that expands its capacity to support the future workforce, and learners' and employers' economic and social recovery while driving revenue diversification and growth in corporate training and professional learning. The strategy’s implementation will continue into 2022-2023.
The College continued to foster new and maturing partnerships that support the development of career-ready citizens, transform the student and campus experience, and support the Unlimited Campaign.
Commitment 3
Strategically invest in infrastructure that supports an innovative, collaborative and welcoming campus.
Current Lead(s): Scott Briggs
Initiative Description: Through extensive ongoing research and analysis of changing work environments and emerging technologies, and the development of a Digital Campus Plan, Humber will better position itself to develop the tools and secure the technologies that prepare students for the workforce.
2018/2019 Achievements: Following extensive community consultation and research, Humber launched its Digital Campus Plan in May 2019. More than 460 Humber students shared their vision for leveraging technology on campus. In addition to enhancing and supporting innovation across the community and working smarter by making data work harder, the plan seeks to increase student access, reach new learners, and transform their Humber experience.
2019/2020 Achievements: To provide students and employees with a transformative academic and work experience, Humber commenced implementation of its Digital Campus Plan. During this phase, the college:
- Expanded wireless services to all student residences.
- Expanded the open access learning space at the North campus with support from Ignite.
- Launched a digital way-finding app, "Humber Campus Compass," at North campus in the fall of 2019.
- Launched a new Human Resource Management System to provide employees with enhanced automated services, improved advice through data and analytics, and more timely access to information for decision-making. (This fully-integrated cloud-based system manages the entire employee lifecycle from hire to retire and incorporates leading HR practice that will deliver on Humber’s talent objectives).
- Undertook a comprehensive review of its website and future web needs, resulting in website enhancements and new privacy and security standards.
2020/2021 Achievements: Humber pivoted quickly to respond to the immediate needs of students and staff as they transitioned to an online Humber experience in the wake of COVID-19.
- Online learning and virtual support services were expanded, including enhancements to the college’s learning platform that supports online learning, content access and accessibility.
- Humber expanded virtual access to a range of software for students including Microsoft 365.
- The college introduced a new virtual computer lab supported by technology from Amazon Web Services.
- New easy-to-use digital tools were made available to support student administrative functions such as the transfer credit process and e-transfer for student aid payments. Students can now easily determine their eligibility for scholarships, bursaries and awards, and promptly receive their funds.
- A laptop loan program was launched to support students that depend on access to computers located on campus.
- For those requiring an on-campus presence, Humber’s digital wayfinding app, Campus Compass, now includes both North and Lakeshore campuses and includes information about on-campus and virtual access to services.
2021/2022 Achievements: The college focused on enabling staff and students to easily work, learn, and collaborate onsite and from anywhere in the world, through several technology and services investments.
- To support accessible learning, Humber transformed the educational environment for its non-postsecondary (NPS) learners’ as they seek to upskill and reskill through Continuous Professional Learning. The Flexible Registration Project focused on the implementation of NPS policies and procedures, while delivering a new registration system. The new system offers learners a user-friendly self-serve shopping and registration experience. Its enhanced built-in payment processing simplifies transactions and enables corporate clients to access their own “branded” portal to view their course offerings, register their employees, and pay invoices.
- To provide a space for Humber faculty, students and industry and community partners to showcase their latest innovation and obtain advice on digital solutions to academic and business challenges, Humber launched the TechZone. Centrally located in North Campus across from the bookstore, it replaces the IT Support Centre counter and expands Humber’s information technology services.
- Humber and the University of Guelph-Humber introduced the virtual ONECard, a transformative initiative designed to consolidate many on-campus solutions into a single digital app that is both easy-to-use and secure. Serving as an official identification that provides students with access to campus services, it can also be used as a payment method to purchase on-campus products and services.
2022/2023 Achievements: The college made two significant technology investments that enhanced access to Humber programs and resources this year:
- Learning management system upgrade: Humber’s learning management system was upgraded to Blackboard Ultra. This LMS enables several new features that enhance digital learning, collaboration, assessment, and accessibility. The platform provides a clear, personalized interface that focuses on the learning process and is accessible on mobile devices widely preferred by our learners. Embedded analytics offer potential options for the institution to explore new ways to provide students and faculty with helpful and timely insights about their academic progress.
- Enhanced library services: Humber Libraries partnered with 19 other Ontario colleges in the Page 1+ Project to implement the next generation of library services. The Page 1+ platform enables cross-college collaboration to build digital library resources, programs and services that advance teaching and learning, providing an improved user experience and equitable access to library resources for Humber students and faculty.
Current Lead(s): Angelo Presta
Initiative Description: Humber will continue to create innovative, state-of-the-art learning and working spaces that meet the needs of students and the broader Humber community.
2018/2019 Achievements: Aligned with the college’s Integrated Energy Management Plan (IEMP) - Humber's comprehensive plan to meet significant energy efficiency, greenhouse gas and water reduction goals by 2034, Humber remodeled and modernized academic, support, administrative, and public spaces.
The college opened the doors to its Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation, a five-story, 93,500 GSF structure, net-zero energy building built to achieve LEED-Platinum certification on Humber’s North Campus. It offers digital activity zones rather than traditional labs or classrooms, opportunities for applied research and training in automation, robotics, systems integration, advanced manufacturing and design, augmented and virtual reality, and user experience testing, and is a preparation ground for Humber’s alumni and skills teams to compete in local, national and international competitions.
Humber also opened its new Transportation Hub at North Campus, a 1,000 space parking structure incorporating bicycle storage for the adjacent student residences, retail and office space, 16 electric vehicle charging stations, and a 750kW solar power system.
2019/2020 Achievements: To support the delivery of curriculum and community well-being, Humber refurbished and modernized 30 classrooms, as well as hallways and other public circulation and administrative spaces. Work towards achieving carbon reduction targets continued with the transformation of Building NX, previously one of the most inefficient buildings on campus. It now uses 97% less heating energy and 70% less energy overall than before and is now a comfortable space with ideal temperatures and ample daylight. This retrofit set a new standard for building retrofits that prioritizes the conservation of its resources, as well as the well-being, comfort and performance of the Humber community. The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) awarded Zero Carbon Building - Design Certification to the building, making it the first existing building in Canada to be zero carbon certified.
2020/2021 Achievements: As part of its long-standing commitment to the arts, Humber embarked upon planning the transformation of its Lakeshore Campus into the Humber Cultural Hub. Built to the highest standards of sustainability and with the engagement of the community that will enjoy it, the Cultural Hub will be a catalyst for building and connecting the next generation of artistic, cultural and creative leaders as they generate world-class film, media, and performance.
Humber is developed a new parking lot at 170 Birmingham Street including a planned shuttle service to address the growth needs of the Lakeshore Campus. The college continued with its 8-year plan started in 2018/19 for the refurbishment and modernization of classrooms, administrative spaces and public circulation areas while addressing the space needs for both current capacity and future needs.
2021/2022 Achievements: In the spring of 2021, Humber broke ground at its Lakeshore Campus as it began construction of the Humber Cultural Hub (HCH). The college’s most ambitious capital development project to date, this creative 360,000 sq. ft. focal point will be built to the highest standards of sustainability to provide worldclass, technology-rich teaching and performance spaces for Humber and the creative and performing arts community.
Equipped with a 500 seat multi-disciplinary performance hall, 140-seat recital hall and professional-quality music, film, TV, multimedia equipment and training facilities, the building will spark student creativity and provide a unique venue for inspiration and networking with industry and community leaders. With the growing demand for skilled talent in the creative arts sector, the HCH will provide a space for unmatched talent development and sourcing. In addition to its sector impact, it will deliver important economic benefits to local communities by attracting businesses and creating jobs.
To support the new development on the west side of Lakeshore campus, a new 344 space parking lot was completed on Birmingham and Thirteenth streets. This lot adds to the current parking capacity at Lakeshore campus and will be available to students and staff with parking permits starting in September 2022.
2022/2023 Achievements: Humber continued to make strategic capital development investments to enhance the student experience and campus sustainability:
Humber Cultural Hub (HCH): Construction of Humber’s landmark building at its Lakeshore Campus, the HCH, continued in 2022/2023. This creative 360,000 sq. ft. focal point will celebrate creativity in both design and function, providing a new home for the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts by centralizing core media and performing arts programming at Humber’s Lakeshore West Campus. Built to the highest standards of sustainability, the HCH will provide world-class, technology-rich teaching and performance spaces for Humber and the creative and performing arts community. The project includes a new 500-seat multi-use performance hall, dedicated Indigenous Classroom, a new home for Humber’s Centre for Creative Business Innovation (CCBI) and a new 300 bed residence.
Skilled Trade Centre: The two-storey addition to the Skilled Trade Centre at Carrier Drive is scheduled for completion in 2024/2025 and will house additional apprenticeship labs.
Finch West Light Rail Transit (LRT): The development of Finch West LRT at Humber’s North Campus continued. The project will build a new entrance road directly into the North Campus from Highway 27 and a covered walkway along the new roadway - an extension of the existing Presidents’ Way.
Lakeshore shuttle: The Lakeshore shuttle bus began operating to link Humber’s new 344 vehicle Birmingham Parking Lot to the Lakeshore campus L Building.
SWITCH: Plans for the North Campus steam-to-hot water heating system replacement were completed, with construction scheduled for May 2023. To be known as SWITCH, this project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40% and fossil fuel use by 70% at Humber’s North Campus.
Classrooms: As part of our classroom redevelopment plan, 25+ classrooms were renovated; three were converted into Global Classrooms with enhanced audio-visual equipment, cameras, and microphones.
Town Square: A new centrally-located student Town Square was built at North Campus providing a new gathering space and enabling information-sharing through audio visual screens.
Specialized Labs: The College opened new specialized labs to provide students with hands-on education and training for in-demand jobs.
- The Faculty of Health and Wellness’ Hearing Instrument Specialist lab at Humber’s North campus offers a patient clinic and an instructional classroom with portable hearing booths.
- The Centre of Entrepreneurship’s “Idea Lab” at Humber’s Lakeshore campus provides studio spaces, workshops, online resources, and supports to enhance student and staff digital fluency.
- In partnership with Siemens Canada, Humber developed a Sustainable Microgrid and Renewable Technology (SMART) Lab at its North campus to teach students about microgrids - systems that reliably manage the generation, storage and consumption of energy.