Maureen Nicholson from Print Futures: Professional Writing program recently shared thoughtful comments and questions in response to my post about strategic planning priorities for 2012/2013.
I invite others to respond to her comments. In particular:
How do you feel about the suggestion to revise our academic advising model?
How do you feel about the suggestion to add more evening and weekend support services for part-time students?
What do you think are the possible benefits of offering more career-placement services to our students?
Would you support the College in hosting a conference on Learner Pathways and/or educational futures?
To read Maureen's comments and share your own thoughts, go to the bottom of this post. I look forward to your input.
Douglas College's inaugural Student Co-Curricular Engagement Awards ceremony was April 3 at the Executive Plaza Hotel in Coquitlam.
The awards honour students who engage with the College, its clubs and the greater community. The ceremony was superbly organized by the staff and students from Douglife and the Centre for Campus Life and Athletics.
[Read more about the awards night on doug, the Douglas community blog.]
The moment was "a dream come true," in the words of VP Educational Services Blaine Jensen. It was the culmination of years of work building student leadership and campus life at Douglas College.
All who attended, me included, were deeply moved and inspired by the accomplishments of the students who were recognized.
We celebrated students who are not only involved, but are in fact trying to change the world through their direct action, whether through volunteering, participating in or establishing clubs and organizations, or working in an NGO or some other kind of organization. These young people believe they can make the world better. They have, and they are. And it was utterly humbling to see what they have accomplished.
Many would have you believe that the latest generation of young adults is obsessed with money and fame — disengaged and apathetic. I'm sorry, but I simply don't buy into that theory, and in fact I've been arguing against it for a long time. The students honored at this event may be special in many ways. But their motivations are typical of what I see in the students at Douglas College. They want to uphold human rights and democratic values, and to protect the environment. They're ambitious to make a difference in the world, and not just to make money. They're already doing amazing things at, and through, Douglas College. [For another great example, see Student Research Day.]
And it's important to note that this celebration, which will be an annual event from now on, isn't about building Douglas College as an institution. This is about helping and working with actual people to create a better world. Institutions like Douglas College should be places where people can explore different ways that they personally can make a difference.
In a nice example of serendipity, in the days after the ceremony, I was invited to discuss leadership with students in a Child, Family and Community Studies class. It was clear that the students saw their career not merely as a job, but as a calling. And at the end of the class, the instructor played a song called "Today I'm Gonna Try and Change the World", by Johnny Reid. It was a perfect fit for the class, and it struck me as a perfect theme song for the Engagement Awards celebration.
In response to my "Dinner with the President" post a student named Monica suggests that students want to hear instructors' opinions on controversial topics:
"I would like it to be acceptable for students to be able to hear what the personal opinions of instructors are on controversial topics such as religion, and politics (in particular in classes that involve studying such topics). I do not think enough flexibility is given to instructors to be allowed to speak their mind. This would make classes a lot more engaging, and would inspire curiosity in my fellow students."
Monica, thanks for that comment. This is a subject that is near and dear to the heart of any academic institution as it involves academic freedom.
Douglas believes in the academic freedom of our faculty. At its core, this academic freedom not only allows independent thinking and expression but insists upon it.
In the classroom, and in the subjects you mention (I used to teach political science), often the objectives of the course are to expose students to a wide range of views and arguments and, more importantly perhaps, the evidence and assumptions behind them. This is in an effort to encourage students to formulate and/or examine their views. Sometimes, the expression of the instructor's views may be seen by some as possibly unduly influencing the student's own exploration. This is up to the instructor and their sense of the situation and their sense of professional ethics and obligations.
In other cases, simply asking the instructor what their views are may elicit a lively discussion. Again, it is up to the instructor whether s/he discloses. Don't be surprised if the instructor turns the question back on you, however, and asks you to explain not only your views but, more importantly, why you hold them. They may even ask you to 'unpack' the assumptions behind your views.
That being said, for many instructors the expression of their academic freedom can be found in their research and publications, in their blog posts, in their conference presentations, and/or in opinion pieces they have written - among other things. Our instructors have an amazing range of views and perspectives which is what makes Douglas a vibrant academic environment.
Higher education is about the pursuit of truth(s) and knowledge(s). As a teaching institution, what is most important is that students explore and expand their knowledge(s) and perspectives. If we achieve this, we are doing our work, and for many, our calling.
"Douglas College will ensure a teaching and learning environment that supports academic freedom. Academic staff and students have rights and privileges to engage in independent thinking and expression unhindered by external or non-academic constraint, to pursue avenues of inquiry and to engage in full and unrestricted consideration of any opinion. These rights carry with them the duty and responsibility to use that freedom in a way that is consistent with the scholarly pursuit for truth, knowledge and understanding. These rights and privileges must be used within the applicable laws and College policy reflecting these laws."
At the end of March, about 40 students responded to my open invitation to join me for dinner to talk about their college experience.
I’d like to share my impressions of these students, and what they told me, with all Douglas College students and employees.
The group reflected the incredible diversity of Douglas College. Two of them brought young children, and I’m so pleased they felt comfortable bringing their kids. There were international students and ESL students. There were students completing Douglas degree programs and diplomas, along with students planning to transfer to a research university in a variety of disciplines. There was also a good mix of younger and older students, with several second-career learners in the mix.
As a group, they were bright, poised and confident in sharing their thoughts, both positive and critical. I was so impressed with them personally and equally impressed with what they had to say.
Student engagement was the topic that sparked the conversation. We asked: how important is engagement to you? Do you feel engaged — academically and intellectually and also as part of a college community? What can Douglas College do to better facilitate and support your engagement?
From there, the discussion took us into many different areas, as you’ll see from the full summary below.
Here are a few points that stood out for me:
Students want to feel engaged in their learning and in creating their own learner pathway; they want to be part of a community. All that follows from their desire to discover what they love to do and their determination to make a difference in the world.
Students expect high quality instruction and high quality classroom experiences. We’re delivering for the most part, but when we don’t, students notice.
Students want the College to communicate more — more often and through more channels — so they’re more aware of all the opportunities available to them.
Students want more flexibility in delivery of programs and services so that it’s easier to pursue their education while dealing with other responsibilities, such as work and family.
Does this feedback have anything to do with our vision to become the largest and most progressive baccalaureate degree-granting college in BC by 2015? Does it feed into our work on learner pathways, teaching quality, student and employee engagement, internationalization, experiential learning, or social, environmental and financial accountability?
Absolutely, 100%. After all, what’s all that hard work for? Why do we exist? Who are we really serving? It’s all about our students and that’s why it’s essential that we continue the dialogue with students. We need them to hold our feet to the fire so we can learn how to better facilitate their learning pathways.
Since the dinners, several students have said hi to me and we’ve continued the conversation in the hallways. I welcome that and I really enjoy talking to students about whatever is on their minds.
I invite all the students of Douglas College to take a look at the feedback below, and then add your own, by leaving a comment to this blog post.
I’m interested to know: what have you enjoyed about your experience at Douglas? What experiences and opportunities would you like to see more of? How does the College engage you as a student? What can we do differently to engage you better?
Best wishes for success on your exams and final assignments as you complete this semester!
—Scott
Dinner with the President: complete summary of students' feedback
Dinner with the President #1 March 27, 2012 Coquitlam campus
Engagement — academic and intellectual
Students said:
we want more engagement opportunities
we need opportunities to get experience that will help with career transition (help avoiding the chicken vs egg problem where you need experience to qualify to get experience)
the College’s internal opportunities (such as co-op) should have the same access-based mission as our admissions to the College
Students want:
more opportunities to be actively involved in applied research: including opportunities that are directly program linked as well as opportunities that are non-program linked; research experience strengthens resumes and adds value to four-year programs
more funding for research opportunities
stronger relationships between Douglas and other institutions through collaborative research
Engagement — co-curricular and campus life
Students said:
a student said that getting a job at the College (Learing Centre) increased his engagement and networking ability and helped him feel like part of the community for the first time
sometimes we are too busy to get involved
it can be hard to find ways to engage
Tues/Wed lunchtime seems to be best time for DLC events; best timing in the term is week 3-4
Students like:
douglife.ca — a central network
clubs
Students want:
more activities for students
a lipdub and flashmob — show college spirit, entertaining, evoke nostalgic memories for alumni
more events in atrium at Coquitlam and concourse at New West
more DSU activity
more social gatherings: activities, events, charitable events, pub crawls
more information about clubs including how to start one
free food events (DSU breakfasts are great)
to meet and get to know College leadership, staff, students better
more events to get to know others
events to meet the DSU reps
Quality instruction and curriculum
Students said:
teaching quality is generally good — need to keep it and the academic standards high
we want clear process for addressing teachers who provide a sub-par experience; but there are concerns about anonymity; perhaps the College can do a better job of sharing information about this process?
Students want:
use of iPads in the classroom
Learning environment
Students said:
the quality of the learning environment at Douglas College is generally good
Douglas employees are warm, helpful and welcoming (some perception that Coquitlam feels more friendly and helpful than New West)
there can be communications issues in the learning environment — issues can arise in many kinds of interaction, such as: faculty to students; faculty to faculty; students to faculty; admin to students; students to admin
there can be inconsistency in the administration and communication of programs from year to year
College can do more to create a framework that will reduce incivility (“horizontal violence”) which can occur in many kinds of relationships, such as: student to student; student to instructor; instructor to instructor; instructor to student
there is an expectation of cohesion with faculties and departments, but some areas seem more cohesive than others
some academic areas have to be careful about how changes will affect other departments or faculties; other academic areas can make changes without impacting other areas
GNUR has created positions that seem to contribute to a positive learning environment: a faculty liaison works with faculty issues; and a student liaison works with students’ issues
Students want:
consistency in administration and communication between programs
consistency between courses and expectations
more help for students in the transition from high school to college
the College to do more to make the learning environment more comfortable for non-traditional students
Communication / information
Students said:
we think this kind of discussion is good – but make it more open, transparent and accessible to more people
Students don't like:
myDouglas email — it isn’t used much
Students want:
better communication of program and course requirements — perhaps through better online info and use of in-person orientations
more information on governance, structures and systems
better promotion of things to get involved in – we need to do a better job of sharing opportunities
to hear about engagement opportunities in class, from instructors and from students
more use of video to communicate all kinds of things, such as the registration process, waitlist process, etc.; use Youtube (College should reduce dependence on text based web pages — “words just confuse people”)
a New Student Orientation event to be held after classes start for those who can’t make event before classes start
more information about clubs — should be on website home page; use announcements; use video screens
the College to consider using Google+
Services
Students don't like:
the wi-fi
Facilities
Students said:
Nursing students generally don’t hang out in the A/B buildings at Coquitlam because there are too many high school students around
we think that facilities are important — flexible spaces, like concourse and atrium, and soft seating, make a difference in how we feel about the environment
Students like:
the soft seating in the atrium
Students want:
more social space for students in C/D buildings (students sit in classrooms during lunch break, since there is nowhere else to sit in C/D buildings)
Miscellaneous
Features students would like to see on a mobile/tablet app:
Blackboard integration
myDouglas
Douglife
Library
DSU
Registrar’s Office
Athletics
Campus maps
Financial Aid
Comments
Videos
Dinner with the President #2 March 29, 2012 New Westminster
Engagement — academic and intellectual
Students like:
Douglas College Business Association — an example of a club/association that’s doing a great job of engaging students academically
Students want:
more symposiums / conferences in various academic subjects and disciplines
more field trips / field schools
to celebrate Black History Month and offer more activities for African Canadians (including academic options and classes)
more expert speakers’ events, College-wide and in classes, to help create more academic engagement
Engagement — co-curricular and campus life
Students said:
a student perceived a weak sense of community at Douglas College, but wasn’t expecting a strong community feel in the first place, given that Douglas is a commuter college
Students like:
clubs — because they're great for developing friendships
Students want:
improved funding structure for clubs
clarity around policies for fundraising on campus
more student activities, especially during the summer
more interactions with other post-secondary institutions – events, academic sharing
more encouragement for students to participate — awards/prizes
more activities or options on evenings and weekends for mature students
a pep rally and spirit team, dance team
faculty to be more involved in co-curricular activities on campus, to encourage students
better communication and more activity from Douglas Students’ Union — can the College do more to support the DSU?
Program / course delivery
Students like:
University Transfer options — good quality and less expensive than university
Students don't like:
when instructors change at the last minute — some students deliberately choose course sections with particular instructors
our grading system: it is harder to get an A+ at Douglas than it is at other schools; so there is a discrepancy of grading schemes between Douglas and other schools; this has negative repercussions for students transferring to other schools since their GPA might not be as high as it could be
when two courses needed to graduate are only offered once per semester or once per year, and are offered at exactly the same time, making it impossible to take both courses and therefore causing a potential delay in finishing the degree
when part-time students can’t get seats in certain classes because priority given to full time students
scheduling conflicts between academic and co-curricular activities
Students want:
lectures to be recorded and offered on iTunes U
more online options for popular classes
earlier start and end times for evening classes
more summer classes
classes to go ahead with as few as 10 registrants
more higher level courses
more post-baccalaureate programs
more bachelor’s degrees
more partnerships with other universities and institutions to share facilities and resources
more Aboriginal focus across CFCS programs and courses
more flexibility in electives that count towards graduation
more support in finding practicum / co-op jobs – this is not consistent across faculties/programs
more help in more areas to bridge from program/course work to work and career — co-op placements, student employment, field work
Quality instruction and curriculum
Students said:
we appreciate and expect good quality instruction; for the most part instruction at Douglas is really good, but we notice when it’s not
Business student extremely impressed with instructor who used his own business connections to introduce students to career opportunities
Business student extremely thankful to instructor who spent extra hours helping student fine tune a resume and conduct job search
instructors who are empathetic, adaptable and accommodating
smaller classes that allow for lots of interaction and discussion, and make it easier to introduce yourself to new friends
group work — being mixed in different groups
peer to peer learning, listening and learning from others’ views
discussion and opportunities to express yourself
when instructors bring in relevant guest speakers
research projects
Students don't like:
being required to buy expensive textbooks or other resources that go unused in class
being required to buy a brand new edition of a text book when the older one will do
when instructors’ office hours are too limited
when emails, phone calls, etc. to instructors are not answered or returned promptly
when instructors finish classes early
when instructors don’t make themselves available enough for discussion outside of class time
Students want:
faculty assessments / evaluations ratings for all instructors (they use ratemyprofessors.com — whether we like it or not)
lectures to be engaging, or else don’t do them
more discussion and group problem solving, and less lecture-based process, because information gained through engagement sticks with you more
more opportunities to apply learning
more peer educators, whether volunteer or Teaching Assistants
Learning environment
Students said:
some international students feel segregated — sometimes it's hard to initiate friendships
some ESL students feel there can be unrealistic expectations for them to engage like a native speaker in classes
some international students feeling discrimination of various kinds
a domestic student and an international student agreed that there is a sense of separation/segregation between international students and domestic students — international students sometimes keep too much to themselves, and miss opportunities to learn about and participate in Canadian culture (and, domestic students miss opportunities to learn about other cultures too)
Students like:
how people open doors for each other
Students don't like:
incivility between students in the classroom — and they wish faculty would intervene
when students show up late for class — it's disruptive
international students find it hard when instructors use culturally specific examples that are unfamiliar to them
Students want:
instructors to have a policy where class doors are locked at start of class, or part way through, so that latecomers aren’t admitted to class
more to help international students get involved both academically and culturally
Communication / information
Students said:
we have a strong desire to be involved and a strong need for information
Students like:
the New Student Orientation event — it's a great introduction to College services
Students don't like:
that it's hard to find details on first steps and services on the College website
not hearing about opportunities to get involved until it’s too late, or not at all
that if you work full time, it’s hard to find someone to answer questions during “off hours”
when College faculty/staff assume you know more than you do about College services and processes
Students want:
better information about academic departments
more information about College events
more/better information about road conditions and getting around by transit
a College mobile app
better explanation of waitlists
ability to provide feedback to the President – maybe through the President’s blog?
the College to reach out and communicate with students mid-semester to see how things are going (especially with first year students)
events to be shown on screens like the big one in the NW concourse
to see engagement opportunities on screens where students are waiting around, like in Tim Horton’s line upimproved website content/layout to make it easier to navigate
more live, real time support through the web
more information about the local area – for example, from the BIA or Chamber of Commerce
more use of audio and video to communicate events on campus (such as an informational video playing periodically throughout the day on concourse screens)
faculty to be more involved in communicating opportunities in the classroom
the College to use of all available forms of communication: email, tv, classrooms
Services
Students like:
free recreation classes
Students don't like:
poor wi-fi access
slow, expensive photocopiers
Students want:
less expensive, healthy food
more options for daycare and after-school care
more and faster printers
access to the College print shop for producing presentation handouts for in class presentations
water bottle refilling stations
in-house health services: doctors, nurses, dentists as well as para-medical services like massage and physio
more resources to supports students’ mental health
in-house professional services: for example, accountant
cell phone plans
better academic advising, and shorter waits to get an appointment; want to come away with a step by step action plan — consider hiring students to do some advising
advisors to provide documents from UBC and SFU
longer advising appointments – 30 mins is not enough
advisors to know more about universities outside of BC
advisors to offer better information about how to transfer: how to do it and what the process looks like
better academic advising for international students
the library to be open on Sundays
more help with career opportunities
the bookstore to improve textbook buy-back
the bookstore to consider book rental option instead of purchase
more open gym hours
the College to arrange access to municipal facilities for students
services to be open later
a snack kiosk on 4th floor at New West campus for quick access between classes
the College to provide blood pressure monitoring equipment for student use (equipment is quite inexpensive)
Facilities
Students like:
the Coquitlam Campus because it's nice, and roomy
the 1st floor of the library at New West because it's open and inviting
Students don't like:
when computer labs are full but some of the student users are only doing Facebook, etc., instead of doing school work; is there some way that students doing school work can have priority — maybe designate some computer lab space as school work only space and some space where you can do whatever?
that some classrooms affected by sound coming from the gym
the poor sound proofing and air circulation in the library small group rooms
the poor air flow in the “Den” in the New West concourse
that the 2nd floor of the library at New West feels constrained due to single-seat study carrells
Students want:
improved physical layout of library
more security at night outside the College
a hot tub and sauna in rec centre for relaxing after workout
more recreational and athletic facilities
a dormitory
the College to put instructions on group computer study stations at New West
more hallway seating so students don’t need to sit on the floor
better access to 3rd and 4th floor deck gardens at New West
Financial
Students want:
lower tuition fees
more scholarships
more campus jobs
Transportation, access, parking
Students said:
we're excited about better transit coming to Coquitlam campus
Students like:
that the New West campus is close to city centre and key services
Students don't like:
the steep hill from Skytrain station to New West campus
Students want:
a shuttle service between campuses
the College to allow students to trade U-Pass for a parking pass or have a better opt-out option
Miscellaneous
the College should get more involved with local businesses to create a better environment in the local area
the College should change its name to “James Douglas University”
I came away from our March 7 and 14 strategic planning Town Halls feeling inspired by the ideas, energy and passion of the 80 or so faculty and staff who attended one of those events.
Even if you couldn't attend a Town Hall discussion, we still need your ideas!
Especially, I want to know what you think of the proposed 3 areas of strategic focus for 2012/2013:
Learner Pathways
Teaching Quality
Student and Employee Engagement
Do you agree with these strategic priorities? Are we on the right track? How can we best achieve these strategic goals?
Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment to this blog post. I look forward to seeing what you have to say.
Summary of strategic planning Town Hall discussions
Now, for those of you who couldn't attend one of our Town Halls, here is a fairly brief summary of the proceedings.
At both events, I reviewed highlights from the Interim Report published last month, but with a little more detail on our external environment and our accomplishments. I also touched on some of the feedback from December's employee survey.
The challenges and opportunities in our external environment haven't shifted much over the past two years. Canada urgently needs to increase the education and skill level of its workforce. That remains our challenge, our opportunity, and the social mission that fuels our commitment to our strategic goals. It's the reason we need to keep growing enrollment, the reason we need to develop new programs, and the reason we need to improve our pathways as well as the quality of our instruction.
Change isn't easy, but I'm impressed by how much we've accomplished in the past two years, thanks to the dedication and hard work of our faculty and staff. In order to keep adapting, we need to improve the level of engagement with our students and with each other. Our success actually depends on our ability to communicate, collaborate, share our knowledge and experience, and support each other.
The Town Hall events were wonderful examples of engagement.
Key themes of Coquitlam discussion on March 7
At Coquitlam, two employees shared personal stories of life- and career-changing transformation that resulted from working and studying in a college. Those stories sparked a passionate discussion that reminded everyone that our goals and actions are grounded in a meaningful mission and heartfelt values.
Discussion topics included older students (are we losing sight of them?) as well as high school students (can we do more to help them transition into post-secondary?).
We also had a good discussion about how best to link formative evaluation of instructors with professional development.
Collaboration was another strong theme—ideas emerged about team teaching, colloquia to facilitate sharing across disciplines, and mentoring (including "reverse mentoring", where newer faculty and staff share knowledge with experienced employees).
Clearly, this group supported the proposed focus on Engagement in 2012/2013.
And in fact the proposed areas of strategic focus—Engagement, Learner Pathways and Quality Teaching—seemed to resonate with everyone at both Town Halls.
Key themes of New West discussion on March 14
Access issues were on the minds of faculty and staff who met at New West. We talked about online offerings, and wondered about the best way to leverage provincial resources for online services.
We discussed the challenges of serving Aboriginal and multicultural populations. We talked about reverse transfer students from universities, and about factors that affect applicant quality and demand levels, including shifting GPA entrance requirements at other institutions.
Another theme concerned how we provide for the diversity of our student population. A single class often includes students with a wide range of abilities, backgrounds and goals. This diversity is challenging for instructors, and they need supports throughout the College. The Foundation Year promises to help.
Someone emphasized the importance of ensuring that students not only know about services such as the Learning Centre but actually use them.
What else can we do to ensure the supports are there?
One suggestion was to do more tactical planning to help operationalize our strategic plan. [And this will definitely happen as we move forward.] Some see a need for more professional development. Others want to define what "engagement" means for different faculties and programs.
Overall, at our Town Hall events, I sensed an appetite to act, and not simply to talk.
What about you? Please share your thoughts on the proposed immediate priorities of Learner Pathways, Quality Teaching, and Student and Employee Engagement. Agree with those priorities? How can we move forward in those areas? Leave your thoughts in a comment to this blog post. I look forward to reading them!
Nineteen months later, the hard work of implementation is going extremely well.
Thanks to you, the faculty and staff of Douglas College, we're well on our way to achieving our Vision 2015 goals.
It's a good time to pause and take a look at just how far we've come. Our implementation report is ready and I'll walk everyone through it at our Strategic Planning Town Hall Forums in March.
I hope as many faculty and staff members as possible can attend a town hall forum on one of these two dates:
Coquitlam on March 7, 4-6pm in the Boardroom (RSVP here);
New Westminster, March 14, 4-6pm in the Boardroom (RSVP here).
[February 28 blog post update] The Town Hall Forum on March 14 at New Westminster will be followed by a reception in the Douglas Room, so we can continue the discussion in a more relaxed atmosphere while enjoying some snacks and refreshments (no-host bar).
Until then, here is an outline of the report, along with a few key discussion points:
(You can view this report presentation in full-screen mode here. You can download a copy of the PDF here.)
Demand for educated workers
Labor force demand trends continue to shape our strategy.
By 2020, 78% of BC's labour force will need some level of post-secondary education (see page 19). Now, it's estimated that 68% of BC's labour force has a post-secondary credential.
Soon, the demand for people with post-secondary education will outstrip supply. At the same time, there will be an excess of people to fill jobs that do not require post-secondary education (pages 20 and 21).
Immigration is often seen as one solution to the need for educated workers. However, some estimates say that even if we increased immigration levels by tenfold, it wouldn't solve the issue.
So BC, along with other areas of the country, faces high unemployment among those who lack post-secondary education, and unmet demand for people with post-secondary credentials.
You can see why this situation is a threat to social cohesion and a concern for a society that needs to make significant progress.
We need to increase high school completion rates and improve transition rates into post-secondary institutions. And we need to increase the educational attainment of British Columbians.
Douglas College will play its part: we will adapt and grow to help meet the need for educated citizens in the Lower Mainland of BC.
Demand for bachelor's degrees
The number of certificates and diplomas awarded in BC remains strong. But growth has been flat for some time and in the Lower Mainland the number has in fact decreased a little (pages 22 and 23).
The number of bachelor's degrees awarded in BC has been growing steadily for some time.
Today's employers often prefer to hire candidates with bachelor's degrees. Students are choosing to pursue bachelor's degrees. So it's clear where the demand is and where it's growing.
Douglas College will continue to offer certificates and diplomas. Demand for those credentials is steady and our faculty are doing excellent work in those programs. But in terms of where we'll look to grow our FTE, we'll focus on degrees and post-degree diplomas, because that's where the demand is increasing.
Focus on learner pathways
Improving our learner pathways has been a top priority since we began implementing the strategic plan. There is still a lot to be done, but we've come a long way.
Introducing the foundation year is a major step forward. Many students leave high school without clear academic goals. The foundation year allows them to be undecided. They can experiment with a range of general courses and gradually discover what they love and want to be good at. It's critical that we offer this option.
It's also critical that our credits transfer. Today's students are highly mobile. They move from institution to institution. It surprises many people to learn that two-thirds as many students transfer from the research universities to the colleges, as those who transfer to the universities from the colleges. (Read more in BC's excellent Student Transitions Project [PDF summary].)
Students shop for courses from whichever institution best meets their needs. They're cobbling together their own programs.
So rather than trying to capture and keep a student for four years, we want to be as flexible as possible. You can come to Douglas and complete your certificate, diploma or degree. Or, you can start here and then transfer to UBC, SFU, UVic, or maybe to U of T or UC Berkeley. Maybe you're best served by a program offered by Langara, VCC, Capilano or Kwantlen. That's fine. You should be able to transfer to any of those institutions with minimal loss of credit.
But, if you go to another institution, be careful: you might not have as much opportunity to transfer as you do at Douglas. Your pathways might not be as flexible or as seamless. As Douglas becomes a leader in learner pathways, I believe that students will see that advantage and more of them will choose Douglas for that reason.
The plan is a package
Beyond these few highlights, the implementation report shows inspiring progress in other areas, especially employee and student engagement.
I want to emphasize that all of the themes of the strategic plan, including superior teaching quality, internationalization, experiential learning, and the triple bottom line (social, environmental and fiscal responsibility) are important. They link together. It's a package. Prioritizing makes sense in terms of how we achieve results. But we need to keep moving on all these concepts.
I encourage you to bring your comments and questions about any of these themes to our Strategic Planning Town Hall Forums.
In our recent strategic planning survey, Douglas College faculty and staff said clearly that in the near term we need to focus our efforts on Teaching Quality and Learner Pathways.
I invite you to view or download the survey report [PDF].
Today I'd like to share my thoughts on a survey question that yielded much less consensus: What does "progressive" mean to you?
We asked you:
At a high level, our vision of being 'the most progressive college' means that we adapt to meet the changing needs of learners. At a practical level, what does 'progressive' mean to you? What changes to you think Douglas needs to make in order to be 'progressive'?
We got a wide range of answers. Here is a sample:
embracing change
having effective decision-making processes
making the best use of our people
making effective use of technology
ongoing dialogue about what teaching and learning are all about
I agree that all of these are components of a progressive institution.
I would emphasize the strategic goal of Seamless Learner Pathways. We've made good progress towards this goal and our vision is clearly progressive. Becoming a leader in offering seamless learner pathways puts us among the most progressive post-secondary institutions anywhere.
Achieving more consensus on what 'progressive' means will make our strategic vision more concrete and help us become more focused as an organization.
So you can expect this topic to be part of the discussion at our next strategic planning town hall forums in March (changed from February dates mentioned earlier):
At Coquitlam, March 7, 4-6pm in the Boardroom.
At New Westminster, March 14, 4-6pm in the Boardroom.
These events, open to all, will be opportunities to talk about what we've accomplished and what still remains to be done in order to achieve our vision for 2015. [Feb 17 note: Town hall forums are planned with employees in mind, and so the discussion will be shaped for faculty and staff.]
--Scott Read more...
But we can’t work equally on all of them at once – that wouldn't be practical. So given the current environment, and the challenges and opportunities facing us, and also looking at what we've done so far, where should we focus our efforts over the next couple of years?
Your feedback here was fairly consistent.
You said we should focus on Superior Teaching Quality and Learner Pathways.
Teaching was the most frequently identified goal, chosen by 70% of respondents overall and the top goal for people across the various divisions and departments. Learner pathways came in second, at around 60%.
It was good to see the consensus about the importance of teaching. Clearly, teaching is at the heart of what we do. But it wasn't necessarily a given that so many people across the organization would identify teaching as a key area of focus in the short term, among the major goals of our strategic plan.
I think the message that we captured in the survey is not about individual teachers. Our faculty members are constantly working to adapt and to improve their teaching. Instead, the message is that we need ongoing dialogue about teaching and learning.
To that end, VP Academic Kathy Denton has asked a task force headed by Science and Technology Dean Thor Borgford to evaluate faculty members' participation in and satisfaction with professional development provided by the College.
After a process of seeking input from faculty members, the task force will make recommendations about how the College can best provide PD support to faculty as teachers, practitioners and experts in their disciplines.
You'll hear an update on the task force's work at our next strategic planning town hall forums in March (changed from February dates mentioned earlier):
At Coquitlam, March 7, 4-6pm in the Boardroom.
At New Westminster, March 14, 4-6pm in the Boardroom.
These events, open to all, will be opportunities to talk about what we've accomplished and what still remains to be done in order to achieve our vision for 2015. [Feb 17 note: Town hall forums are planned with employees in mind, and so the discussion will be shaped for faculty and staff.]
--Scott Read more...
Towards the end of 2011 I invited Douglas College faculty and staff to share their perspectives on the implementation of Pathways to Success, the Douglas College 2010-2015 Strategic Plan.
You can delve into the survey results in this report [PDF] published by our Institutional Research and Planning office. It makes for fascinating reading.
In the survey, we asked: What changes have you seen in our external environment? How has your work changed? What goals should we focus on in the short term? And what does 'progressive' mean to you?
Despite the heavy work load at the end of the fall semester, I'm so pleased that nearly 300 of you made time to answer those questions. Thank you. That's a really good response and it came from a broad spectrum of people, most of whom work on the "front line".
About half work with students in the classroom. A quarter work with students outside the classroom. And a quarter work mainly with other employees and people outside the institution.
We had a good mix of newer and more experienced colleagues. And every area of the College was represented, which is valuable for an organization as complex as Douglas, since circumstances, needs and perspectives differ across departments.
Your answers were thoughtful and constructive as well as heartfelt and passionate. It's clear that you care about the College, and that you know your work is important.
Over the next few days, I'll share some of my thoughts about the survey results. And I encourage you to do the same, either by leaving a comment here on the blog, or by contacting me personally.
I want to emphasize that your feedback and engagement are essential. Our strategic plan emerged from dialogue and we need to keep listening and talking in order to focus on the changes that matter most to our students and to the communities we serve.
The feedback you provided in the employee survey will be reflected in an upcoming progress report on the implementation of our strategic plan, which will be ready in mid-February.
And your feedback will also shape two town hall meetings planned for the end of February. I'll let you know the dates and times soon. These events, open to all, will be an opportunity to talk about what we've accomplished and what still remains to be done in order to achieve our vision for 2015.
This month, the look of Douglas College changes with the rollout of our new brand identity material, which reflects a lot of engagement and listening to faculty, staff and students.
We have a new logo as well as new awareness images and messages based on the idea of "Do what you love. Be good at it."
I like the new material and so far the feedback I'm hearing is positive. The approach is sophisticated, compelling and smart. It reflects the high quality of our programs, our teaching and our student services. And it also reflects our strategic plan, and its vision to be the largest and most progressive baccalaureate degree-granting college in British Columbia.
You can get an in-depth overview of the College's new image on the 'inside douglas' blog.
Read more...
At Douglas College, we welcome Premier Christy Clark's plan to increase the number of international students studying in B.C.
Her proposal brings important issues to the forefront of public consciousness, but it has also stirred up some misconceptions about international education.
Some suggest that international students are free-riding on taxpayer-funded education infrastructure. A more serious claim is that international students take classroom seats away from local students, and that post-secondary institutions feel pressure to allow this to happen since international students are profitable.
None of this is true at Douglas College.
Our international students pay full freight for the services and infrastructure they use. And they do not take seats away from local students. In fact, the opposite is true: they allow us to expand our offerings to Canadian students.
The provincial government does not subsidize international students’ education in B.C. At Douglas, international students pay five times what domestic students pay. This year, those fees allow Douglas to create spaces for an additional 375 full-time domestic students. Those fees also allow us to hire an additional 55 faculty members as well as additional support staff. International students also pay their fair share of services such as libraries, and they even contribute to capital costs.
These data come from an internal audit of the contribution of international students, which we have shared with the provincial government.
This academic year – 2011/2012 – Douglas College will welcome approximately 1,000 international students, representing over 50 countries. That’s up 17% from last year, and up 75% from just three years ago. International students now represent about 10% of our total student body, and their experiences and perspectives enhance our classrooms.
But welcoming international students to B.C. is only part of a modern concept of internationalized education. At Douglas, we are also expanding opportunities for our own students and faculty to have international experiences, through partnerships with institutions and agencies abroad. We are delivering programs overseas. And we are adding international dimensions to our teaching as well as to our research and service functions at our local campuses.
This year, about 120 Douglas College students will participate in field schools, exchanges, internships and practicums in Uganda, Zambia, Australia, Belize, the U.S., Wales, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and China. More of these incredible, life-changing opportunities are being added every year as we work toward our longer-term goal to give every student an opportunity to participate in an international experience.
Douglas College has been delivering business programs in China since 1998. With our largest partner, the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade (SIFT), we have graduated 1,186 students so far. Today’s cohort can earn a Bachelor of Economics and Management from SIFT, as well as Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration (Financial Services) from Douglas. These students are helping meet the growing demand for international financial management specialists in China's fast-growing economy.
These partnerships create valuable international teaching, research and expertise-sharing opportunities for our faculty members, who bring those experiences back to enrich our local classrooms.
I look forward to introducing Premier Clark to our partners in China during her trip to Asia in November.
All these activities are part of a conscious effort to prepare our students – the next generation of political, social, cultural and economic participants — to live and work in a culturally diverse world. This is especially important for B.C. where immigration from other countries accounts for approximately 68% of our population growth and where hundreds of thousands of jobs are directly related to trade.
International students are certainly positive for B.C.'s economy. But international education is not about harvesting premium student fees. It's about transforming education by enriching our understanding of ourselves and others who share the planet. As our students learn to appreciate how people from different nations and cultures see the world, they gain insights into interactions between individuals and nations. This inter-cultural understanding promotes the spread of human rights and democracy.
We believe that international education is essential to the core mission of post-secondary institutions to develop rational and empathetic individuals who can contribute to a respectful and peaceful global society, both locally and globally. --Scott
On the same topic, check out this Oct. 4, 2011 story from the Tri-City News.
[Oct. 13 update: a version of my blog post was published in the Vancouver Sun today.]
Ask me what I learned from my recent visit to China for our partner-institution graduation ceremonies, and I would say this:
China is both highly developed and will always be a developing country.
I don’t mean that in the typical economic sense. What I’m referring to is a way of thinking that has very much in common with Douglas College.
Let me explain: Perhaps aside from the Cultural Revolution, China has always been an outward-looking nation, open to the world. Chinese history is not one of isolation, but one of trade and transportation, forever looking for new ideas and new ways of doing things.
So, when China opened its doors in 1978 after the Cultural Revolution, the policy of openness didn’t really reflect a radically new way of thinking for the country. It was more of a return to some of the original core elements of Chinese culture that China turned away from for a brief period.
That’s what I mean when I say China will always be a developing country: It will always be looking for ways to improve, grow and learn. In this way, it is both highly developed and will always be developing.
I like to think of Douglas College in the same way – as outward-looking and continually evolving. By examining and understanding other perspectives, we understand ourselves better, and we make progress towards becoming truly global citizens.
The students graduating at our partner institute, Heilongjiang Institute of Science and Technology (HIST), in Harbin reflect this philosophy. Although they may take all their studies in China, they are taught a largely Canadian curriculum, mostly in English, and they receive their parchment from Douglas College.
At this year’s ceremony, we were pleased to be joined by BC’s Minister of Advanced Education, Naomi Yamamoto. She gave a tremendous speech about the value of international education and international experience. And she commended Douglas College for helping to share our high-quality educational experience with the world.
It was a proud moment for me, and one I wish I could have shared with the rest of the college. We have so much to offer the world, and so much to learn as well. That kind of learning, growing and sharing is why I hope Douglas too will always be developing.
According to that research, between the 2007/08 and 2008/09 academic years, a large number of students (4,000) moved from BC colleges and institutes into one of the major research universities, such as UBC, SFU and UVic. This is not surprising.
What is perhaps surprising is that approximately 3,300 students moved in the opposite direction: from major universities to colleges and institutes. This means that about 3/4 as many students transfer from research universities to colleges and institutes as from colleges and institutes to research universities. A further 3,800 students switched between institutions within the college/institute sector.
One more interesting fact about the BC system: traditional "transfer students" entering major research universities represent fewer than 20 percent of all student movers, a number that is showing a declining trend.
For Douglas, the Student Transitions Project also reports that while over 600 students transferred from Douglas to research universities, approximately 450 students moved from research universities to Douglas. That is to say that Douglas receives about 3/4 as many students from research universities as we send. Further, Douglas received and sent approximately 200 students from/to other BC colleges in that year - largely Langara and VCC.
In addition, from the Fall 2010 survey of all Douglas students [PDF], our Office of Institutional Research and Planning tells us that half of our students self-reported some previous post-secondary education. This education covers the spectrum from a single course elsewhere, to completion of a one-year certificate or a two-year diploma, to, in the case of five per cent of our students, a university degree. The number of degree holders at Douglas will increase as we offer more post-degree credentials.
What explains these trends? A major factor in BC is our flexible transfer system, which is the envy of post-secondary systems around the world. Also, high quality degree programs at the new teaching-intensive universities (Kwantlen, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Capilano) as well as at the metropolitan colleges (Douglas, Langara, Camosun, and VCC) make transfer from research universities more attractive.
The point is that our student population is highly mobile, and increasingly so. Clearly, they want multiple options for entering and exiting programs at different institutions. They want the flexibility to pursue a learning pathway that works for them.
These trends give us confidence that our Vision 2015 goal of becoming a premier learner pathway institution is a sound strategy.
At Douglas College, we're focused on giving students even more mobility and flexibility. We're restructuring ourselves to better facilitate transitions and laddering between programs. That means between our own programs, and between our programs and programs elsewhere, as both a sending and a receiving institution.
As our student data shows, we're already a receiving institution. And as we increasingly demonstrate our leadership in building a learner pathway institution, I expect that we'll welcome more than our fair share of students from other institutions.
It’s that we’re a place of tremendous transformation, facilitated by highly skilled teachers and excellent support staff.
Our major university partners are world class and they do an excellent job in many respects. They have an orientation towards accepting students with high grades. And when those students graduate, by and large, they still have high grades.
By comparison, Douglas College accepts a much wider range of students. We have our share of students who have excelled academically. And we also welcome students who may be less academically prepared but who are ready for the challenge of post-secondary education.
And we help all of these students succeed. For example, reliable data shows that Douglas students who transfer to major universities end up doing just as well academically by the time they graduate as the students who started at those universities.
That’s what I mean when I say that Douglas College is a place of tremendous transformation.
Douglas College is also incredibly diverse culturally. Easily, we must have one of the most culturally diverse student populations in Canada.
Exposure to diversity is a great benefit to all our students, who must learn to communicate and collaborate in a global context.
It’s amazing and impressive that Douglas College is so successful in accommodating so much diversity. Just think about that. Obviously, it takes highly skilled teachers. Ours are among the very best. They know how to create learning environments where everyone can thrive and succeed at reaching the same learning goals.
And it takes excellent support staff to deliver the wide range of services needed to accommodate such a diverse population.
That is what’s amazing about Douglas College. --Scott
Read more...
I’d like to talk more about learner pathways and our Vision 2015 goal to become a learner pathway institution.
As you can tell, I’m passionate about this topic! I'm a public post-secondary educator who believes learning should be available to anyone who desires it. And I’m devoted to flexible learner pathways, because that’s the real world.
In my last post, I said that learner pathways means that a person can start post-secondary education somewhere, and go wherever they wish, by following a pathway of their choosing.
This means that we should accept learners where they are, help them imagine the possibilities, and facilitate their journey. It’s their pathway, not ours.
Douglas College has already come a long way towards becoming a learner pathway institution, and I believe that we’re poised to achieve excellence.
Students bring many assets to the table. As a learner pathway institution, we'll try to accept as much of their previous learning as we can, remove as many barriers as possible, and minimize time-wasting.
We’ll bring more flexibility to programs that currently operate as prescribed, stand-alone, single tracks. We’ll continue to re-structure, in order to create multiple pathways with multiple points of entry and exit. We’ll do more to facilitate transitions and laddering between programs – our own programs as well as programs at other institutions.
It’s a vision of quality education that is more learner-centred. It’s more about the journey, and less about the destination.
Going to university or college is about so much more than earning a certain credential, or learning a narrow set of skills. It’s about exploring who you are, what you want to know and how you want to make a contribution to the world.
As part of that exploration, a learner might take multiple courses, and follow multiple pathways. They might say: this one works for me, this is what I want. Or they might say: that was interesting, but I don’t think I’m headed any further in that direction.
A change of direction or a change of pathway is normal. The question is, did learning occur during that exploration? If so, great.
There are certain areas of knowledge as well as general skills, attributes and attitudes that we expect our grads to leave with, including literacy, numeracy, critical thinking and communication skills. These skills are needed for personal growth, for employment and for citizenship.
I think you can learn these skills through a multiplicity of different courses. Do you learn critical thinking in English Lit? Sure. In mathematics? Yes.
And this is the logic for the idea of a "foundation year", which is an idea with serious potential as we move forward. A foundation year is an attractive concept because it will immediately open up multiple pathways for students, compared to prescribed programs which limit students’ options from day one.
You’ll be hearing more about the idea of a foundation year from VP Academic Kathy Denton soon.
I'd like to talk about the concept of learner pathways, and what we mean when we say that Douglas College will become a learner pathway institution.
In many ways, the idea of learner pathways builds on the College’s foundation as an access-based institution.
In two of my recent posts, I talked about how well Canada’s post-secondary system has adapted to social changes over the last 50 years. As Canadians, we can be proud that we’ve created a system that provides good access to post-secondary education and training for those who are qualified.
But we must continue to adapt in order to provide quality education for a diverse population with diverse needs. Many people need a general foundation to pursue academic degrees. Others want job-ready career programs. Some need academic upgrading. And increasing numbers need help with mid-career transitions.
We’re still all about access. But the question has become: Access to what?
Which brings us to the concept of learner pathways, and our Vision 2015 goal to become a learner pathway institution.
To me, learner pathways means that a person can start their post-secondary education somewhere, and go wherever they wish, by following a pathway of their choosing. Further, students need to be able to return to school, to move between programs as much as possible, and to continue their studies after graduation.
For example, an individual should be able to start with academic upgrading, while perhaps also taking some regular university or college course for which they have the prerequisites. They should be able to start out in a certificate or diploma program, and ladder smoothly into a degree program, if they choose.
There should be multiple points of access, like onramps to a highway, and multiple offramps too, which allow people to get off one road and connect smoothly to a network of other roads.
That vision represents a significant change from the reality today, where too many post-secondary programs are limiting and rigid. They are prescribed sets of courses. Once you start, you’re committed to a single track. You get on at one place, and eventually get off at a destination. If you change your mind, there’s no easy way to transition to something else without starting over, and you lose credit for the work you did up to that point. And even if you reach the destination, it may not connect easily to further opportunities.
The encouraging news is that BC’s (and Alberta’s) post-secondary system is structurally poised for excellence in learner pathways. This is because our model, from the beginning, has included provisions for transfer between institutions.
In addition, Ontario just announced a major college-university transfer initiative.
This is all about student mobility and choice within a post-secondary educational system.
Students in British Columbia already take advantage of a high degree of mobility. Every year, large numbers of students move between institutions. And not just from colleges to universities, as you might expect. But also from college to college, university to university and yes: from universities to colleges.
At Douglas College, we want to give students even more mobility and flexibility. We want to become a leader in building a learner pathway institution. This means we will restructure ourselves to better facilitate transitions and laddering between programs – our own programs as well as programs at other institutions.
As a learner pathway institution, we support the pathways that learners wish to take. We welcome learners wherever they're at, and help them get to wherever they want to get to. It's their pathway, not ours.
And we make that journey as efficient as possible for them, not for us.
I’ll talk more about learner pathways in my next post.
In my June 6 post, I recalled Douglas College’s roots in the 1960s.
Back then, people saw post-secondary education as an answer to the challenges and opportunities created by massive demographic, social and economic changes.
Canadians needed a more egalitarian approach to post-secondary education, which would provide better access for more students to traditional universities, as well as access to training and re-training for job-ready skills at colleges.
Looking back over the past 50 years, how well has Canada’s post-secondary sector adapted in order to cope with massive social change?
The unequivocal answer is: extraordinarily well.
The US and Western Europe have also done extraordinarily well, and so have other regions around the world.
It’s a good news story.
Today in British Columbia, approximately 85% of high school grads who meet university entrance requirements do, in fact, attend a BC college or university within five years. That is awesome.
We’ve created a system based on merit, and not on financial means. I don’t want to dismiss the challenges of paying for education – barriers still exist for some. And there is still room for improvement in the number of high school graduates who meet university entrance requirements.
However, by and large, we have succeeded in creating a system that provides access to post-secondary education for those who are qualified.
Today, the question has become: Access to what?
And this brings us to the concept of learner pathways – the idea that today’s learners need more flexibility to start their post-secondary education somewhere, and go wherever they wish, by following a pathway of their choosing. Moreover, students returning to post-secondary need to be welcomed back and encouraged to explore and to follow their dreams.
In my next post, I’ll write about our Vision 2015 goal of becoming a learner pathway institution. --ScottRead more...
In my post yesterday, I talked about the history of Douglas College as an access-based institution.
I know that access is very important to many of you as well.
Now, I'd like to hear from you.
What does being an access-based institution mean to you?
Maybe you have personal story, or a story about a student, that expresses what it means to you?
I invite you to share your thoughts by leaving a comment on this blog post. Everyone who does will receive a free copy of Douglas College: the First 40 Years, by Gerry Della Mattia.
Douglas College opened its classrooms in September 1970. As we near the end of our 40th year of quality education, it’s appropriate to remember our roots in the 1960s.
As much as we have our sights set on the future with Vision 2015, a look back has value beyond mere nostalgia.
When we understand our heritage as an access-based institution, we gain insight into who we are today, as well as a deeper context for planning how we’ll change to meet the needs of tomorrow’s learners.
Besides, it’s a fascinating story.
So let me take you back to the 1960s. The civil rights movement. Sputnick and the space race. The Bay of Pigs, the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. In Canada, we had the Quiet Revolution and Trudeaumania, and a vision of a “just society,” which was a counterpoint to LBJ’s “great society.” It was a time of hope and aspiration, as well as tremendous social transformation.
A wave of baby boomers was coming of age. Increasing numbers of them were finishing high school, but the job market couldn’t absorb them. At the same time, the economy was industrializing, professionalizing and becoming more technologically sophisticated.
Post-secondary education became a major issue. Keeping young people in school would be good for society – better than unemployment lines, to be sure – and good for Canada’s productivity.
But the universities weren’t ready to cope – not yet. Many were elite institutions, by and large, serving affluent students with good grades. They weren’t structured to admit a broader range of people. They didn’t offer the career-focused, semi-professional and technological certificates and diplomas that the job market required. And, in general, they weren’t prepared to accommodate the projected increased demand for post-secondary education.
A more egalitarian approach was required that would provide better access for more students to university, as well as access to training and re-training for job-ready skills.
The post-secondary sector responded to this challenge differently in different places.
In Ontario, Education Minister Bill Davis (later, premier) created a college system as a “new and different level of education,” completely separate from universities. Colleges were to offer workplace training, pure and simple. Universities would continue to offer traditional degree programs, but they would expand. And new, non-elite universities were created, including York in 1959 and Waterloo 1n 1962.
BC and Alberta created a different model. While SFU (in 1965) and the University of Calgary (in 1966) were created with (at least partial) access mandates, the university system didn’t expand nearly as much as it did in Ontario.
Instead, a college system was designed to provide job-skills training as well as access to university, through the university transfer process. Here in BC, VCC and Selkirk College were open by the late 60s, and others, including Douglas, would soon follow.
By all accounts, the early days of Douglas College were wild and woolly. In September 1970, there were no College buildings to speak of, and faculty and students rushed around the district to find classes in about 20 different community halls, church basements and schools. Those fascinating details are well told by Gerry Della Mattia in his new book, Douglas College: The First 40 Years. I encourage everyone to get a copy.
The key thing to remember is that our roots are all about access: access to post-secondary education and access to the job market. That much hasn’t changed, and is certainly worth preserving.
In a future post, I’ll offer an opinion on how well our post-secondary system has done when it comes to adapting to society’s changing needs.
Student Research Day was a real highlight of the past few weeks for me, as I know it was for the entire College community. This wonderful event, which takes place at both campuses, featured presentations from over 100 students.
Douglas College Student Research Day 2011. Photo: Tamara Letkeman
As I wandered around, taking in the presentations, I sensed the students' energy, their curiosity, and their desire to apply their knowledge to make a difference in the world.
The range of projects was impressive. Subjects presented included: new mothers' childhood feeding practices, students’ sleep patterns, poverty, mental illness and community-based recreation, peer mentorship in nursing, microbiology topics, homelessness and addictions, barriers for clients with severe and persistent mental illness, early childhood development, prostitution, cocaine and health, and mental health clinical placements in general nursing.
I spoke with a Therapeutic Recreation student who has been studying part time while working in the field. Her research focused on workplace stress factors for staff who work with persons with developmental disabilities. I asked her: "How has this knowledge changed your practice?"
Her face lit up, and she said (I'm paraphrasing), "Wow, that's a great question. I would say that I'm more sensitive now to what my colleagues are feeling. And if we can get our colleagues to better understand each other's stresses, the beneficiary of that understanding will be the clients we serve."
Perfect! I love that answer. She delved into an issue, gained a deeper understanding, and was able to change her small part of the universe because of her research. That is deep learning, that is student engagement and that is why we support community research.
And of course this research doesn't happen in a vacuum. That student has to have a faculty member who understands the research, who is willing and able to mentor the research, and who is willing to let the student move outside of the books and into practice. Thank you to the 11 faculty members who sponsored student research projects this year, as well as to Acting Research and Scholarly Activity Coordinator David Wright and to Centre for Academic and Faculty Development Coordinator Laura Sandve.
And congratulations to the student organizers for an incredibly well run event! Student Research Day was coordinated by 35 Sport Science students from the 3rd-year Leadership course, part of the Bachelor of Physical Education and Coaching program. Six students served on a coordinating committee while the rest fulfilled other volunteer roles.
In particular, the organizers' "passport to learning" engagement strategy stimulated lots of interaction between visitors and the student researchers. By earning passport stamps, many visitors came away with great prizes sponsored by Starbucks, Charlie's Chocolate Factory, as well as by the VP Academic and all of the Faculties of Douglas College. A deserving thank you to Sport Science instructor Brian Storey and Placement Coordinator Winnie McKitrick for supporting the student organizers so well.
And there were many others who supported this event and deserve recognition, including people from CEIT, Building Services and the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program.
At each campus, a $250 President's Prize was up for grabs for the research presentation voted "best in show". In the next couple of weeks, watch for an announcement of those winners.
I'm already looking forward to the 2012 edition of Student Research Day!
I'm pleased and impressed with the high level of engagement with our strategic plan. This engagement was evident at the March 9 planning and budgeting forum, where many of you asked specific questions and contributed thoughtful comments about our immediate focus on Learner Pathways and on new program development.
If you didn't have an opportunity to attend that forum, I still want to hear from you.
How does your work contribute to our strategic priorities for 2011/2012? How does the work of your department or office connect to those priorities?
In the coming days and weeks, I'll be making the rounds and having exactly that conversation with as many of you as possible. I want to hear your feedback, your stories and your ideas.
But why wait? I encourage you to share your thoughts right now, by leaving a comment on this blog post about how your work connects to our strategic planning priorities.
In fact, I have a little incentive for those who do: the first 20 people who leave a comment on this post will receive a deluxe President's travel mug with an inspiring word cloud theme. (Ceramic outer shell with stainless steel interior - very nice!)
Highlights from March 9 forum on 2011/2012 Strategic Priorities and budget
The focus now is on improving Learner Pathways into, out of, and within Douglas. This priority reflects the fact that students today are highly mobile [PDF]. We want to open our doors wider to receive students from other institutions.
If you missed the Program Development and Implementation Funding Envelope deadline of March 4, we are flexible on this so please keep the ideas coming. While we expect another formal call to be announced by late summer, new ideas are still welcome under the first call.
We have a multi-year budgeting framework that will allow us to grow - we have the financial resources that we need to grow, and those those resources are sustainable.
Space at the New West Campus is a concern as we look to grow. There are many options here and we are exploring ways to improve the use of space at the David Lam Campus.
Why is our vision to be the largest baccalaureate degree granting college? The vision captures who we are: by achieving our funded FTE target, we'll be the biggest in terms of credit non-ITA (trades) FTE. And we're already a four-year college. Having said that, we remain an access-based learner pathway institution, offering upgrading. certificates, diplomas, and degrees as well as short term training and continuing education.
Community engagement is embedded in all we do: we're a community-oriented organization. Community engagement is central to student, faculty and staff engagement, and that remains a priority for Douglas in 2011/12 and beyond.
The President's blog is a forum for discussing all the ways that Douglas College is adapting to ongoing demographic, social and economic changes in the communities we serve.
Douglas College provides a high quality educational experience that is second to none. But we need to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities if we are to meet the needs of tomorrow's learners. The rich dialogue that developed through the creation of our latest strategic plan shows that we are ready to meet those challenges.
One of our biggest advantages is our incredible diversity - you would be hard pressed to find a more diverse college or university community anywhere in Canada. That diversity represents a multiplicity of perspectives, and we need to hear and consider all of them if we are to shape the best possible future for the College.
I invite employees, students and community members to participate in the discussion on this blog by adding your comments.
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* comments are reviewed for appropriateness - common sense stuff - I don't expect anything to be censored
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