SENECA COLLEGE OUR VISION, MANDATE AND PRIORITY OBJECTIVES

A submission to begin the process of developing strategic mandate agreements (SMAs): To: The Honourable Glen Murray Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities

From: David Agnew President, Seneca College

September 30, 2012

Part 1: Seneca College Proposed Mandate Statement

With outstanding and sophisticated career-based programs, Seneca is a different kind of school with a different kind of graduate. We are changing the way people think about colleges. As the largest comprehensive college in Ontario, we are leaders in full-time and continuing education. Located in one of the fastest growing regions in the province, with 24,000 full-time students and 70,000 continuing education registrations annually, Seneca offers unique, innovative programming at campuses in Toronto and York Region, including: The countrys only Bachelor of Aviation Technology; A new Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies that provides a new degree pathway for tens of thousands of Ontario college students and graduates; Pioneering applied research centres, such as the Centre for Development of Open Technology; One of the worlds top-ranked Animation programs; Advanced Forensic Investigations and Emergency Response programs; and,

A comprehensive range of Financial Services credentials leading to a number of professional designations. We are leaders in pathways. We are as committed to preparing students to continue their education as we are to welcoming students from other postsecondary institutions to our high-quality degrees, diplomas and graduate programs. Senecas strength has always been in preparing students for a diverse range of business, creative, technology, community service and public service careers and professions. Today, we continue to lead in top-tier career and professional education. We are leaders in expanding student choice through flexible learning options. In addition to offering many online courses, Seneca operates seven days a week with classes running from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and through the weekends. We offer multiple program entry points throughout the year for students and, for many years, we have been at the forefront of year-round delivery. We are leaders in efficiency. We schedule our daytime classes over 55 hours a week compared to the 50-hour Monday-Friday window used by most Ontario colleges. This has allowed us to maximize our current infrastructure. At Newnham, our largest campus, our classroom utilization rate is 96 per cent based on the traditional college model. This is significantly above the recommended rate and does not include our evening and weekend programming. Moreover, in the planning for our new King Campus expansion, we are continuing to increase our efficiency by moving to a 60-hour scheduled teaching window. Seneca will continue to maximize the use of our facilities and measure our utilization rates. We will improve our productivity through a 15 per cent increase in our utilization rates at our King, Seneca@York and Markham campuses. This will be done through increasing our part-time, hybrid, online and alternative delivery course options and will bring activity at these campuses in line with the level of utilization at Newnham. We are leaders in academic innovation. Our 10 Seneca Core Literacies go beyond the traditional definitions of literacy and are designed to equip all of our graduates with the skills they need to navigate change at work and in society. Using the Government of Ontarios Essential Employability Skills as a foundation, our plan goes well beyond by embedding into all of our programs a rich set of required competencies, including information, digital, intercultural and ethical literacies. We are helping our graduates become true leaders in our economy and society. We are leaders in applied research. Seneca attracted world-wide attention with the release of the $35 Raspberry Pi computer using operating software created in part by our faculty and students in our Centre for Development of Open Technology. Supported by federal and provincial funding, our applied research program is contributing to the growth of Ontarios creative and information economy. We are producing solution-focused, high-impact research that is improving local productivity, competitiveness, and innovative capacity. Our applied research program also provides unique experiential learning opportunities for our students by engaging them on the frontline of industry innovation, helping industry clients solve problems. 1

Part 2: Seneca College Vision

Seneca is building a different kind of school with a different kind of graduate. Seneca will be the preferred partner for colleges and universities, offering students the most innovative pathways in Ontario in a number of distinct academic clusters. With an enviable reputation for academic excellence, Seneca will continue to offer career-relevant programming at the diploma, baccalaureate and graduate certificate levels. We will continue to renew and refresh our programs, driven by a focus on student mobility and market demand. Every program at Seneca will embed cross-disciplinary and experiential learning and provide flexible learning options that enable students to learn during the day, in the evening, on weekends, in person and online. We are driven by our values of excellence, innovation, community and diversity. We are focused on connecting with and supporting our students as they develop their plans to enter the workforce or continue their education at Seneca, another college or university. We are committed to building a comprehensive set of integrated advising services to give our students easier access to information on career services, credit transfer, networking opportunities and how to best connect with our alumni. More students and faculty will be supported in international study, work and volunteer opportunities designed to enrich their own Seneca experiences. Attached are our 2012-17 Strategic and Academic Plans that are the result of extensive consultation with our students and the broader Seneca community.

Part 3: Seneca College Priority Objectives Priority #1: Innovative Pathways

At Seneca, we take the insights and aspirations of our students seriously. We know from our survey of incoming students that 50 per cent intend to pursue further education upon the completion of a Seneca credential. We are supporting students ambitions by giving them more options to achieve their education and career ambitions through new external and internal pathways. Working with other colleges and universities, we will construct more 2+2 and block transfer agreements and grow our enrolment through partnership-based expansion at our King and Markham campuses. We are particularly interested in expanding our partnership with York University to create a new collaborative model for postsecondary education. Within our programming, we will continue to increase student choice by expanding our families of credentials in Senecas areas of expertise. External Pathways Seneca is Ontarios leader in credit transfer and college-university collaboration. Not only do we help hundreds of students each year pursue further education at other colleges and universities, 46 per cent of our full-time students have attended a college or university before coming to Seneca. Seventy-five per cent of our Continuing Education students already hold a college or university credential. Our recently launched 2012-17 Strategic Plan and Academic Plans underline our commitment to maintaining our leadership role. Seneca will continue to be the preferred partner for colleges and universities, with the most innovative pathways in the province. Seneca was the first college in Ontario to open a dedicated Degree and Credit Transfer Office with the mission of providing comprehensive student advising, advocacy and assessment of quality pathways for students. More than 3,000 students are advised annually on degree pathways at over 50 partner institutions in Ontario and worldwide. We have a successful track record when it comes to the development of new and premier programs with builtin pathways. Seneca is the only college in Canada to have agreements with the University of Toronto and York University that enable students to earn a two-year Liberal Arts diploma and an honours degree in four years. This partnership approach to undergraduate education provides a cost-effective solution for both students and the government, costing substantially less than pursuing a diploma and degree consecutively. 2

To assist the government in meeting its goal of a 70 per cent postsecondary education attainment rate, we are collaborating on new pathways with the following Ontario colleges and universities: 1. We want to expand our partnership with York University, with a view to creating a new University of York-Seneca, a satellite campus that would be co-located on an existing York or Seneca campus, expanding student choice and mobility, and advancing college-university credit transfer more broadly throughout the system. The University of York-Seneca partnership would build on the strengths of each partner offering an integrated and holistic joint program that would provide students with breadth and depth in critical inquiry as well as the specific knowledge and focussed skills needed to succeed and contribute to innovation in the knowledge economy. The York-Seneca partnership would be much more than another 2 + 2 or bridging program; it would constitute a new, integrated and forward-looking approach to postsecondary education that could serve as a model for the sector (see the Appendix, York-Seneca Partnership: A Framework, September 2012). Locating this joint programming on an existing campus provides an innovative and fiscally responsible way to meet the need for new student spaces in York Region and its surroundings. This is a region that will grow by 450,000 people to reach a population of 1.5 million by 2031 and is currently underserved in its access to postsecondary programming. It could build on currently planned/committed capital investments such as those supporting the Phase 1 Expansion at King Campus. 2. We will develop an articulation agreement with UOIT that will allow Seneca students to maximize the transfer of their Seneca credits. The agreement will incorporate general transfer criteria for graduates from a range of programs including allied health sciences, kinesiology, biology, accounting, and biotechnology. 3. We will work with UTSC to build on the foundation of our pilot transfer agreement that enables students to earn both a Seneca diploma and a UTSC degree in four years. The pilot program will begin after two semesters of the Liberal Arts program at Seneca, and will allow students to take courses at UTSC as non-degree visiting students during their second year in the Seneca program. The credits earned can later count towards their University of Toronto Honours BA degree. We will explore with UTSC how this transfer agreement might be extended to other disciplines, including potential pathways in math and science and a joint program in Computer Science. 4. With the planned relocation of Senecas Bachelor of Aviation Technology program to a new home at the Peterborough Municipal Airport, Seneca and Fleming are partnering to support students through course offerings and student services. Not only will Senecas aviation students be able to take degree-level courses both on-site at Fleming and online, the courses will be cross-listed across the two colleges, allowing Fleming students to gain advanced standing when entering Seneca degree programs. Specific pathways are also being created between Senecas Aviation Operations Program/Aviation Safety Program and Flemings Security and Risk Management Program/Emergency Management Program. 5. The collaboration between Seneca and Mohawk is focused on increasing student mobility and maximizing credit recognition and is rooted in each colleges differentiated areas of expertise. A Seneca-Mohawk credit transfer partnership will increase student choice by providing new degree completion options for Mohawk students in Interdisciplinary Studies and Business and for Seneca students interested in completing a Bachelor of Technology. Working together, we will expand Seneca-Mohawk transfer pathways in areas such as Early Childhood Education and Chemical Engineering Technology and explore opportunities for students in programs such as Software Development to work on joint applied research projects. 6. As two of the largest colleges in Canada, Seneca and Humber are committed to improving options for credit transfer 3 Humber College Mohawk College Fleming College University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) York University

between the two institutions. We will enhance curriculum alignment and increase opportunities for student mobility between college programming in key areas, such as business and technology. Internal Pathways Senecas programs are designed around academic clusters. These clusters are characterized by a family of credentials: typically one or more degree offerings, related two- and three-year diplomas and graduate certificates, along with appropriate continuing education and corporate training offerings. Senecas academic clusters have been developed to reflect our areas of expertise, supporting system differentiation. They are: Financial Services and Business Community Health and Safety Creative Arts and Design

Environment and Sustainability Aviation and Flight Technology Liberal Arts and Sciences

Information and Communications Technology

Within these clusters, there will be program areas in which Seneca will be a provincially and nationally recognized leader. These will include existing areas of excellence, such as financial services, open source technology, child development and biotechnology. Using this approach to program design provides students with a wider range of credential options and a clear set of possibilities to build on their education and receive credit for prior learning. The ladders created within a cluster between credentials enable students to more easily transition between related programs. This is especially important for retention as students who find that a program may not be the best fit may be able to transfer into a different program or credential within the same cluster. On the administrative front, academic clusters allow for greater flexibility in teaching assignments as faculty can teach in a single semester courses attached to different credentials. Common semesters or first-year programming shared by multiple credentials improve efficiency through the sharing of facilities and deployment of faculty. We will concentrate on strengthening our clusters through the creation of new degree and graduate certificate programs. Based on our ten-year enrolment plan, we expect the majority of our future enrolment growth to be in current and new programming within certain clusters, specifically Community Health and Safety, Aviation and Flight Technology, Information and Communications Technology and Liberal Arts and Sciences. In both our long-term enrolment plan and King Campus expansion proposal, we have indicated to MTCU that our planning assumptions include approval to offer all four years of the BScN degree effective 2014/15. Our applied research activities will continue to build on our specific areas of expertise such as flight technology, digital media, built environments, and open source technology and will support teaching and learning within key clusters. This priority objective is directly related to the principles outlined in the governments vision statement: increasing student choice; increasing student mobility and focusing on institutional strength. Our progress measurements will include: year-over-year enrolment growth in our pathway programs; the number of new programs developed within our academic clusters; and, the number of new external pathways developed. Required Public Policy Tools To achieve this priority objective, minor changes to legislation will be required. A review of the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000 and related regulations is required to ensure that this legislation does not prevent the implementation of these initiatives. A key amendment to the Act would be the explicit allowance for colleges to apply to offer the full four years of the BScN degree. This would need to be accompanied by changes to the Nursing Act, 1991 Ontario Regulation 275/94 to allow for college degrees to be recognized as an approved credential for admission into the Ontario College of Nurses.

Other required public policy changes include: A streamlined program approval process. When a proposed program fits within an institutions area of expertise (or academic cluster) as identified in strategic mandate agreements, and where that institution has already developed a critical mass of degrees, the ministrys review process should be expedited. A formal document from MTCU which clarifies what constitutes public policy concerns would ensure the informed development of new degree programs. Specific timelines associated with each stage of the degree approval process should also be developed.

Revisions to the assessment process for new program funding weights. While the current system attempts to cluster similar programs and apply weighting based on historical precedent, unique and joint programs should be given special consideration.

New data collection tools to better track student mobility and outcomes. Two initiatives that could be implemented include using the Ontario Education Number (OEN) to track students as they move through their education and expanding the KPI graduate survey to track employment rates two years after graduation, similar to the university sector.

Priority #2: Expanding Student Choice through Flexible Programming

Our goal is to be the first Ontario college or university that enables students to develop truly customized learning plans. A coordinated and connected approach to learning will provide students in full- and part-time programs with the ability to study at a time and a place that best suits their individual lifestyle and needs, regardless of whether the learning is taking place in a classroom, a technology-enhanced lab or an online environment. Seneca will provide increased access to current course offerings throughout the school year, and continue to innovate in the areas of hybrid, online and alternative program delivery. Year-Round Delivery and Continuing Education We are at the forefront of year-round delivery. Seneca has substantially increased the use of our campuses through the expansion of summer enrolment and regular first-year student intakes in September, January and May. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of students studying full-time in the summer semester increased from 5,725 to 7,634 or by 33 per cent. With a high proportion of our Continuing Education students looking to supplement their existing postsecondary education, Seneca offers 135 programs leading to a formal credential on a part-time basis including 24 diploma programs, two degree programs and six graduate certificates with plans to continue to add more. Many programs and courses offered through continuing education already share common curriculum with full-time offerings. The characteristics of the full-time learner have dramatically changed over the years. More than 53 per cent of all students applying to Seneca do not come directly from high school. Of the full-time students already studying at Seneca, more than 25 per cent are aged 25 or older and 15 per cent have previously studied at university. In a 2011 survey, 74 per cent of first-year students told us they would be working up to 20 hours a week while studying at Seneca. Eleven per cent indicated they planned on working more than 20 hours a week. Our Plan Our ultimate goal is for students to have access to in-class or lab education up to 14 hours a day, seven days a week with online education available 24 hours a day. Moving to this model will provide students with maximum choice. Full-time students wishing to complete credential requirements faster will have more opportunities to do so. Individuals in the workforce on a full-time or part-time basis and those not able to fully commit to full-time studies due to personal obligations will be able to start or continue studies at a time most convenient to them. The expanded access to full-time and part-time programming is expected to attract more working professionals to return to school, leading to new connections to industry and new research opportunities for Seneca faculty and students.

This directly supports the governments commitment to put student needs first through the provision of better choices in the modalities and approaches to learning and flexible course and credential structures. This approach will provide greater access to postsecondary education, contributing to the governments objective of 70 per cent attainment while meeting the need for increased enrolment and program growth by more effectively using existing capital structures and internal resources. Action steps for this priority objective include: Continuing to increase our summer enrolment; Integrating course offerings across our Faculties and the Faculty of Continuing Education to give students more flexibility to tailor their schedules;

Piloting alternative delivery for highly competitive programs such as Police Foundations and Early Childhood Education. The pilots would offer students a program consisting of online learning courses with intensive in-class programming offered on weekends; Investing in our commitment to teaching excellence by implementing new policies and standards of practice for faculty which include requirements for working knowledge of digital media platforms;

Moving forward with our i3 (Information, Integration and Innovation) Project that will upgrade our student, finance and human resources information systems. These upgrades will allow for the removal of barriers created by hosting separate registration and scheduling systems for full-time and continuing education students; and, Tracking our progress by measuring the number of students enrolled in year-round learning and the number of new hybrid and online learning courses developed. Required Resources

We have been successful in offering year-round and weekend delivery of programming at our Newnham Campus. We want to introduce similar flexible delivery options at our Seneca@York, Markam and King campuses. This will be particularly important in the case of Seneca@York, with the opening of the York University subway stop slated for 2014. Significant up-front investment is required to modify curriculum, acquire and adapt learning technologies and re-engineer processes to enable truly flexible programming that responds to students needs. Enhancements to our learning management system, expansion of the use of learning technology including telecollaboration tools and the creation of mobile learning environments are crucial to enhancing the flexibility of our teaching and learning processes. The introduction of more online and web-based academic services will provide students with options irrespective of when, where and how they choose to study and learn. This front-end investment will enable us to move quickly to leverage flexible delivery options to increase access to highly competitive programs and optimize the utilization of highly-specialized labs. Required Public Policy Tools A review of the structure of the existing funding formula and tuition fee policies should be considered to ensure that colleges moving to a seamless model of program delivery will not be penalized financially. In some cases, Seneca receives two different levels of funding for the same courses depending on the time of day they are delivered, yet the academic and support services associated with those courses are the same. An integrated model of delivery requires a new approach to assessing the funding for full-time and continuing education programs; impact on students OSAP and OTG eligibility will also need to be considered. The current calculation of the graduation rate does not capture those students who choose to study on a part-time basis from the beginning of their program. Many of these students go on to earn a credential within the required 200 percent duration of the program.

Priority #3: Equipping our Graduates with the Skills they Need to be Successful
In Senecas 2012-17 Strategic and Academic Plans we commit to providing cross-disciplinary and experiential learning opportunities along with embedding Senecas Core Literacies in every program. Thats the Seneca difference: graduates who are highly attractive to employers; ethical, engaged and confident; and, adaptable and capable of addressing the challenges of the future in a global context. To achieve this commitment, we have set ambitious goals that build on Senecas record of academic excellence and the innovations in teaching and learning underway. Experiential Learning Seneca already has a strong history of experiential learning. In addition to cooperative education placements and applied research, experiential learning opportunities include field placements, internships, externships, international work/study, class projects and field trips. All contribute to grounding students acquired knowledge and skills in the real world of work. Seneca has been offering cooperative education opportunities for over three decades. Seneca currently offers paid cooperative education placements in 43 of its programs and places more than 1,000 students a year. All of our degree programs contain a work placement requirement. Seneca was one of the first colleges in Ontario to create an office dedicated to applied research and innovation. All Seneca research projects are relevant to industry and led by faculty, providing students with the opportunity to work with companies on real world challenges. Building on our internationally-recognized research through our Centre for the Development of Open Technology, Senecas applied research program has grown to engage a wide range of sectors including Aviation, Animation, Applied Health and Life Sciences, Environmental Technologies, Financial Services, Information and Communications Technologies and Advanced Manufacturing. In 2011-2012, the College was involved in 41 funded applied research projects and received a total of $2.3 million in government grants for research activities. Applied research provides a unique learning experience in which students can put into practice their vocational skills as well as their Seneca Core Literacies. Working with professionals from a wide range of backgrounds with different perspectives, our students gain valuable work experience as well as an appreciation for the skills and attitude needed to be successful in the creative and information economy. Seneca Core Literacies Seneca is committed to ensuring that graduates are adequately prepared to enter the workforce or pursue further study. The Seneca Core Literacies go beyond the Essential Employability Skills to address the complex set of global challenges facing this and future generations. By 2017, every Seneca graduate will demonstrate competency in the 10 Seneca Core Literacies. These are: Written communication Oral communication Inquiry and analysis Quantitative literacy Information literacy Creative thinking Intercultural knowledge and global perspective

Ethical reasoning, personal and social responsibility Our Plan

Critical thinking and Digital literacy problem solving

This priority objective speaks directly to the governments vision of ensuring that graduates have the knowledge and competencies needed, including a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, to succeed in the workforce or when starting their own business. It supports the goal of increasing engagement and collaborations with community and industry partners and creating programs in which teaching and learning occur both inside and outside of the classroom.

To meet this priority objective, we will: Ensure that opportunities for both cross-disciplinary and experiential learning are built into every existing and new program;

Identify new and creative methods to provide students with experiential learning opportunities within programs not typically associated with workplace or hands-on learning;

Track progress through measurements such as the number of new employer partnerships created and the increase in the number of programs with co-op and internship options; Establish a baseline measurement of our existing activity and develop a multi-year plan to embed Seneca Core Literacies in our curriculum;

Work with the Seneca Student Federation to develop and pilot an innovative new orientation model through which incoming students will be introduced to Senecas Core Literacies while achieving academic credits; Build on successful pilot initiatives such as Language Across the Curriculum and Information Literacy at Seneca College to ensure that every student has opportunities to build competency in our Core Literacies; and, Measure our delivery of cross-disciplinary and experiential learning and commitment to the Seneca Core Literacies through revamped internal program review and program approval processes. Required Public Policy Tools

Seneca believes that the majority of these objectives can be achieved within existing MTCU credential frameworks and guidelines. The current broad definition of experiential learning is essential to ensuring that students are offered a range of options. Current funding for experiential learning comes from a variety of sources. In the case of cooperative education, students pay additional fees. Applied research projects are supported through government research grants and private sector support. Experiential learning activities not associated with applied research or cooperative education are funded through regular tuition fees, mandatory or non-mandatory ancillary fees or through the General Purpose Operating Grant. Greater recognition within the funding formula calculation of the additional costs associated with experiential learning would ensure the offering of a wide range of experiential learning options in programs. This would also support a more centralized approach to measurement and reporting. One specific area for improvement would be greater flexibility within the degree approval process. Students are required to obtain the equivalent of at least 450 hours of work experience related to their field of study. An allowance for alternative experiential learning opportunities rather than a requirement for a minimum number of hours to be completed in a traditional workplace would give all colleges offering degrees the opportunity to be innovative and flexible in their approach to meeting this requirement.