A banner year for the Student Success Centre
Phase 2 of Strategic Directions on track
President’s Remarks
In his report to the October 28 meeting of Concordia’s Board of Governors, President Alan Shepard started off by celebrating the graduation of some 1,750 students in the fall convocation cycle, noting that the three ceremonies at Place des Arts “went off seamlessly.”
He also proudly announced that despite financial constraints, the university continues to advertise faculty positions as it pursues its mission to deliver top-quality teaching and research to a growing student body. There are currently 33 positions posted, to start in the 2016-17 year.
He praised the Concordia faculty involved in the non-governmental organization, Academics Without Borders, who have taken part in some 60 pro bono higher education projects in developing countries that have sought help.
Among the ongoing improvements to the Student Information System (SIS), the platform’s look and feel have been changed to make it more user friendly, he noted.
Shepard celebrated the large gift from the Briscoes announced on October 23 to establish the Robert and Raye Briscoe Centre in Business Ownership Studies at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB). On a global scale, this field of management studies has become an area of particular and still-growing expertise at JMSB.
Strategic Directions Update
Benoit-Antoine Bacon, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs, explained that Phase 2 of the Strategic Directions initiative is now well underway. During this phase, faculties, libraries and administrative units have embarked on their own planning processes as units, taking into consideration the nine directions.
In keeping with the university community’s broad involvement during Phase I, Bacon said effort is being made to consult with as many people as possible during the plan-creation phase at the unit level.
Other key elements of Phase 2 include the development of cross-institutional strategies for four directions – Double our research; Teach for tomorrow; Grow smartly; and Embrace the city, embrace the world.
Phase 2 also includes a series of activities to improve several administrative processes, including the admissions process, hiring practices and research ethics reviews. Finally, the university will be looking at different challenges and engaging members of the Concordia community in collaborative problem-solving.
The next step is a Strategy Summit in January where both unit-based and cross-institutional plans will be received so that they can begin to be integrated. By April 2016, unit plans and the university-level objectives, along with process and design improvements should all be finalized.
Student Success Centre Update
In her update on Concordia’s Student Success Centre, created in 2013, deputy provost Lisa Ostiguy explained that one simple way to measure student success is the graduation rate. Concordia’s rate for undergraduates is 74 per cent, exactly the national average, which is especially impressive given Concordia's relatively high rate both of first-generation university students and those who must work part-time during their studies. Concordia’s master’s graduation rate is 88 per cent.
Beyond continuing the university’s comprehensive efforts to raise the graduation rate, Ostiguy explained that the centre’s goal is to act as a one-stop shop that ensures a better transition into the university and a better overall experience while here by supporting their journey toward becoming well-rounded, community-engaged and career-prepared graduates.
After only one year of operation, the centre’s 2014-15 statistics are already impressive, including: 3,056 students who were assigned a success mentor; 4,800 students accessing Learning Services; 2,500 students meeting with a peer math tutor and 2,054 students meeting with the peer writing team.
As the centre’s visibility improves, it is already approaching many of those numbers at just past the halfway mark of the current academic year. Ostiguy also noted the centre’s alignment with two of the new strategic directions, affording students the chance to "Get their hands dirty" with hands-on help, and to provide support that "Goes beyond the classroom."
New policy on audio/visual recording of lectures approved
Remarks by Provost Bacon
Provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs Benoit-Antoine Bacon provided an update to Senate at its November 6 meeting, on behalf of Concordia's president Alan Shepard who was absent because he was participating in Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre’s mission to China.
The provost began his remarks by celebrating the 1,750 degrees conferred at fall convocation ceremonies held October 27. Three honorary doctorates were presented to: business leader and philanthropist France Chrétien Desmarais, social economy leader Nancy Neamtan, and multidisciplinary artist Barbara Steinman.
Bacon celebrated Concordia’s strong showing in this year’s national and international university rankings. The university has continued its upward trajectory, moving up or maintaining its position in every ranking.
He also recounted the success of a recent all-day visit to the university by English-language CEGEP delegations. The program included a tour of libraries, District 3, the Centre for Teaching and Learning and cutting-edge labs in Engineering and Fine Arts. French-language CEGEPs will participate in a similar program on November 24.
New policy on recording of lectures
Senate passed a motion requiring students to obtain written consent from their instructors to make audio or video recordings of lectures — on any device. Such recordings cannot be shared, reproduced or uploaded to any publicly accessible web environment.
Any authorized access to these recordings, through Moodle, for example, can only be for personal use. Concordia is recommending that instructors include the new rules regarding lecture recordings in their course outlines.
While instructors retain the right to record their own lectures, any recording, whether made by a student or instructor, must ensure the privacy of other students in the class.