Faculty Association’s Response to the ‘Ahead of Tomorrow’ Implementation Plans

On Jan 12, 2024, at 3:00 PM, Provost’s Office <[email protected]> wrote:

Good Afternoon Dora,

Thank you for the fulsome feedback on the implementation plans. We appreciate the FA’s engagement in this process. I’ve shared your feedback with the other VPs who are responsible for revising their respective plans as well.

In response to your feedback on the academic plan, I wanted to share a few general thoughts as well as address some of the specific concerns you raised and where we have incorporated your feedback with revisions.

With regard to the concerns raised on a number of occasions throughout your letter around considerations involving the collective agreement, I want to reassure you that we will continue to work closely with all our bargaining units to ensure we are working within our agreements as we move forward with implementing the four plans.
Your letter notes concern regarding a lack of concrete initiatives to address impacts on Faculties. We heard feedback from community members throughout the fall that it was important to clearly indicate that support and resources will be required for the success of the plan and that faculty members should be made more central to the plan. We have made a number of changes throughout the document in response to this feedback including the addition of initiatives directly aimed at supporting faculty members, as well as recognition that support and investment will be required to achieve these ambitious objectives.

Response to the specific concerns raised in the Appendix:

#1 – We are very aware that continuing to build the academy both by hiring additional members and in expanding support systems will be critical to the success of this initiative. We will of course continue to engage with the FA regularly as we work to increase our academic faculty complement in support of these plans.

#2 – The full sentence reads “students are the foundation of our excellent, safe and inclusive environment that provides opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge and personal attributes necessary to contribute as citizen and leaders in their chosen fields”. This does not imply, as noted in your letter that students are the sole foundation of academic excellence, but rather are a foundational part of our campus community.

#3 – This statement refers to the institution’s general and ongoing commitment to assessment and continual improvement. As it does not relate to a specific initiative it would be difficult to indicate what is being assessed or by whom.

#4 – In response to your concerns, this sentence has been revised to “ We deliver programs that are timely, relevant, and responsive to the needs and interests of the community and high-quality professional and continuing education programming that is strongly connected to industry.”

#5 – These concerns will be an important consideration in the development of the digital learning strategy as identified in 3.1a

#6 – The shared governance box refers to our foundational commitment to shared governance which is why it sits along side our other foundational commitments/institutional strategies that guide all the work we do at the university.

A revised version of the Academic Plan will be begin moving through the GFC governance committees starting next week at APPC.

Thank you again for your thoughtful and thorough feedback.

Best,

Penny