VPA Update
Contents:
- Academic Plan Update
- Performance Management roll out
- Access Project update
- Blended Learning update
- Credit Transfer update
- New Programs and Modifications
Academic Plan Update
Mohawk College will complete the writing and implementation plans for its Academic Plan in 2012. More than 500 people participated in 29 consultation sessions that were held throughout 2011, and many more submitted their comments online through the Academic Plan website.
In total, the Academic Plan Steering Committee and Task Force received more than 3,100 responses to three questions: (1) what might make students want to come to Mohawk over the next ten years; (2) what core capabilities and skills might students need for the future; and (3) how might we enable high-quality learning over the next 10 years.
Three key themes emerged from the discussions and online responses: the need to develop flexible learning options for students, the need to graduate students with soft skills, and the need to assist faculty to be current on the latest trends in their business or industry. The Academic Plan Steering Committee and Task Force are taking those comments and themes into consideration as they draft the Plan this Spring. The draft will be presented to stakeholders for validation and an implementation plan developed before it goes to the Board for approval in the spring.
The completed plan will clearly describe the College's academic priorities and inform key decisions regarding Mohawk's future such as program development, human resource requirements and technology needs. It will also consider the needs of our community and ensure that the College graduates entrepreneurial and innovative thinkers capable of developing the next great idea.
Performance Management roll out
In April, we'll be rolling out a new staff development and performance management tool that is closely linked with the third theme that emerged from Academic Plan consultations. Faculty members and support staff will participate in this process (note that administrators have been utilizing a similar tool for the last two years).
After extensive consultations that took place between June and November last year, a team consisting of faculty members, deans and associate deans and representatives from Institutional Research, Human Resources and OPSEU 240, has put together a development and performance management tool aimed at helping faculty map out a plan to stay current in their field, while developing teaching effectiveness and contributing to the success of their program. Support staff will use a toll similar to the one already being used by college administrators.
Implementation will be carefully planned and executed over a two-year period, beginning in April of this year. The two-year time frame is needed to make sure everyone gets the support they need to build an effective plan, including workshops that will be offered to help you prepare your plan. The extended time frame means that not everyone will complete a plan in the first year. In year one the process will be rolled out to one-third of all faculty going in alphabetical order. All probationary faculty will be complete a plan in year one. The remaining two-thirds will complete a plan in year two. Part-time faculty will be added at a later date.
Mohawk's first priority is to give students a quality educational experience. Having employees who perform at their best is one of the simplest and best ways to achieve this. Performance management, along with other feedback mechanisms such as the Student Feedback on Teaching Survey, play an important part in our ability to measure how effective we are at delivering on our promises.
Access Project update
The Access program initiative at Mohawk, led by Dean Jim Vanderveken, is one of our major initiatives and many staff are working very hard to address the needs of individuals for whom postsecondary education is not seen as an opportunity they will ever experience. I often say that Access can be viewed in two ways: hope and quality. First, hope. We need to reach out to individuals who don't feel that hope. This is particularly true in the Code Red area identified in the Hamilton Spectator two years ago. We know we have to reach out to these individuals in their own communities, build trust, and provide tools and resources to make postsecondary education a real possibility.
Mohawk has set up a College in Motion team as part of this Access Strategy. Community Outreach and Education Advisors, Samara Young and Terrilynn MacMillan, have begun a regular schedule of visits in the community to connect with youth from underrepresented groups. The team's goal is to assist these individuals with clarifying their career and employment goals and aspirations, identifying personalized educational plans, increasing awareness of financial aid resources, and to make referrals to appropriate community resources and supports.
The team activity launched in the community on February 29. https://buildthedream.wordpress.com/
Blended Learning update
Mohawk's Chief Innovation Officer, Ted Scott is taking the lead on identifying and pursuing innovative technologies that will chart a new course for the future of learning technology at the college.
Until now the college's approach to blended learning has concentrated on facilitating the use of its Learning Management System. In the next few months, Ted will be working with faculty and students to closely examine the benefits of blended learning and clearly articulate the value to Mohawk students and faculty. Ted is hosting a series of informal brainstorming sessions for faculty and students through February and March and will use the input gathered at those sessions to articulate the value of blended learning and pinpoint technologies that are worth a closer look. The goal is to find out what tools are being used now; how those tools can be used at Mohawk; and what the college can do to better support and serve the learning technology needs of faculty and students.
Credit Transfer update
Ontario's Credit Transfer Innovation Fund, which was established in 2011, is creating more opportunities for students transferring among Ontario's colleges and universities.
Credit transfer agreements allow students to move between schools without academic penalty or to apply what they've learned at a college towards earning a credential at a university, and vice-versa. Transfers eliminate the need for students to repeat similar courses or years while maintaining academic standards for the institutions and their programs. There will be at least eight projects approved by the end of March in two distinct areas: college to college and college to university pathways. These projects have been submitted and are being evaluated for implementation. We will have news of the successful projects by the end of March.
Transfer credit agreements are already in place for several Mohawk programs including Architectural Technology, Chemical Technology and Biotechnology.
Adam Missiuna is a graduate of Mohawk's Architectural Technology program that went on to complete a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering Infrastructure at McMaster, and has now been accepted to the University of Calgary for its Master's of Architecture program. Adam is a recent example of how credit transfer agreements help students achieve their goals sooner, says Chris Blackwood, Mohawk's Associate Dean for the School of Building & Construction Sciences. Every year, Mohawk sends between three to six civil engineering technology students to Lakehead University to complete a Bachelor of Engineering.
I am sure you all have examples of Mohawk students who have gone on to complete Bachelor and Master's degrees – even PhD's. The goal of the pathways projects is to make the system seamless for our graduates, so that they don't have to negotiate their credit transfer at each institution. This has been a personal goal of mine for many, many years at Mohawk and I am so happy to see the level of attention and commitment that credit transfer is receiving from the Provincial government.
- To find out more about Ontario Credit Transfer Fund visit: http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/pepg/programs/credittransfer/index.html.
- To find out more about credit transfer agreements at Mohawk visit: http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/college-university-transfer-credit.html.
New Programs and Program Modifications
Modifications to Pre-Technology program
Dean Tony Thoma has led the redesign of Mohawk's Pre-Technology Certificate program to help students who do not have the Science and/or Mathematics background for most two and three year technical programs. The addition of six streams to Mohawk's Pre-Technology Certificate program gives students the opportunity to explore courses in their field of interest while completing the certificate. This is part of our Access strategy to provide quality programs to all students while ensuring that individuals have the opportunity to prepare for and be successful in their program of choice.
Co-op stream for Insurance Program
Mohawk College is asking for provincial approval to add a co-op stream to the popular two-year Insurance diploma program. The co-op component will give students an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in an in-demand field. Mohawk's Insurance program will also become the first program to benefit from a recently announced partnership with Sheridan College. Starting in September 2012, Sheridan students will be able to enroll in the Mohawk Insurance program at Sheridan's Hazel McCallion Campus in Mississauga. The co-location will be benefit Mississauga residents who wish to pursue this credential closer to home.
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