Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Over the past month, the Academic Planning Committee (APC) has been carrying out engagement initiatives in support of Phase I of the academic planning process. During these widespread sessions we have gathered input from the University community on our mission, vision and values to help us reaffirm who we are as a University and to build on our strengths and address our challenges.

In conjunction, the APC released a number of surveys and hosted several engagement sessions to seek input into themes that are helping guide Phase I of our academic planning framework: faculty renewal and development; academic structure; academic administrative organization; enrolment initiatives planning; and student experience and pedagogy.

This outreach process was extensive and inclusive of our community of faculty, staff, students, and partners from across our vast region. I had the pleasure of attending some of the engagement sessions, and was rejuvenated by the number of responses and the level of thought we received in those responses.   Reading through the raw data, it is clear there is a great deal of commitment to this institution, and a desire to see build on our successes. I offer my thanks to all those participating in this important work.

In the spirit of keeping our community informed, you may view the Meeting Packages that include the raw data that was collected from the surveys and the various engagement sessions.

We will continue our engagement process over this next month as the APC presents its findings and a draft report to our UNBC community. As we move through this process, there will be many opportunities for the University community to provide feedback on that report, leading up to presentations to the Senate Committee on Academic Affairs (SCAAf) and Senate in November.  For a detailed schedule, please view the timeline on our Integrated University Planning – Academic Planning Sharepoint website.

The APC will conclude its work once the final recommendations are submitted to Senate at the end of November. The Phase I report will provide a framework for guiding the analysis and shaping the development of Phase II of the academic planning process. We’ll have more conversations about Phase II once Phase I has run its course.

To conclude, I express my gratitude to the APC members for their incredible commitment to the process, including many hours spent poring over the history of planning documents at UNBC, developing a thoughtful engagement process, hearing the voice of our community, and being representative of these voices in developing Phase I of our academic planning framework – Towards Developing a New Academic Plan. 

Together, the UNBC community is making great strides towards a meaningful and effective academic plan. I’m looking forward to your continued engagement.

Regards,

Dan Ryan