the pulse decemeber 2014
DESCRIPTION
The Official Newsletter of the Ontario Association of College and University Housing OfficersTRANSCRIPT
THE PULSETHE NEWSLETTER OF THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY HOUSING OFFICERS
DECEMBER 2014
Happy Holiday
s!
To: You
From: OACUHO
IN THIS ISSUE
President’s Welcome [4]Op-Ed: Holiday Closure [7]
Facilities Showcase [9]OACUHO Spotlight [10]OACUHO Research [12]
Board of Directors
The Communications Committee
! ! PRESIDENT! ! Laura Storey | Carleton University! ! [email protected]
! ! PRESIDENT-ELECT ! ! / FINANCE DIRECTOR! ! Julie West | University of Guelph ! ! [email protected]
! ! PAST PRESIDENT! ! Chad Nuttall | University of ! ! Toronto Mississauga ! ! [email protected]
! ! COMMUNICATION ! ! DIRECTOR! ! Brian Cunha | University of Waterloo! ! [email protected]
! ! PROFESSIONAL ! ! DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR! ! Matthew Harris | York University ! ! [email protected]
! ! ! !
! MEMBERSHIP ! ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR! Brian Ingoldsby | University of Guelph! [email protected]
! !! CONFERENCE ! DIRECTOR! Brittany Gawley | McMaster University! [email protected]
! CORPORATE PARTNER ! RELATIONS DIRECTOR! Colin Ryrie | Brock University! [email protected]
! SENIOR-LEVEL MEMBER AT LARGE! Glenn Matthews | Western University! [email protected]
! MEMBER AT LARGE! Mike Porritt | McMaster University ! [email protected]
! MEMBER AT LARGE! Samantha Wiebe | University of Waterloo! [email protected]
TH
E P
ULS
E DIRECTORBrian Cunha
CONTRIBUTORSDrew SimonHeather Lang
THE PULSE EDITORSVictoria GadonAlison KavanaghLyn-Marie FarleyKatie CalcaterraLaura Mammone
THE HISTORY PROJECTGlenn MatthewsMatt WaghornAndrew Quenneville
5professional development
Table ofContents
6OACUHO strategic planning
7closed for the break
9facilities showcase
EDITORBrian Cunha
DECEMBER EDITORSLaura MammoneLyn-Marie Farley
OACUHO Research
OACUHO spotlight moment
10
12
PD
Thinking Ahead
President’s Message
ongratulations to all OACUHO members for completing yet another semester! Cheers to us for not just surviving – but thriving – at our own institutions, in our positions and, most of all, with our students.
The OACUHO Board has had some incredible accomplishments this term including the beginning of our strategic planning process. The Board is engaged in looking forward to our 40th anniversary in 2019. We want look at where we’ve been and where we’re going – and create association-‐wide goals through consultation with our membership. Don’t be surprised if we contact you in the coming weeks to get your feedback to be used in our strategic planning process.
At our own organizations thinking ahead can be a challenge as we’re using current information to plan for the future. What if when we get there things change? Creating goals that are adaptable is critical to ongoing success and innovation.
On behalf of the OACUHO Board, I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic new year Pilled with innovation and thriving!
We want look at where we’ve been and where we’re going – and create association-‐wide goals through consultation with our membership ”
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C“
Laura StoreyOACUHO President
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Professional Development Mental Health First Aid MHFA January 5-‐6 WaterlooAdults Who Interact with Youth January 6-‐7 Sarnia MHFA January 8-‐9 Niagara Falls MHFA January 10-‐17 Toronto MHFA January 13-‐14 London MHFA January 15-‐16 Ohsweken MHFA January 15-‐16 Whitby MHFA January 15-‐16 Sault Ste. MarieAdults Who Interact with Youth January 17-‐18 North Bay MHFA January 17-‐18 Windsor MHFA January 20-‐21 Chatham MHFA January 20-‐21 Whitby MHFA January 21-‐22 Simcoe MHFA January 21-‐22 Oshawa MHFA January 24-‐31 CambridgeMHFA (Instructor Training) January 26-‐30 Toronto MHFA January 26-‐27 Toronto MHFA January 28-‐29 Leamington MHFA January 29-‐30 Oakville MHFA January 30-‐Feb 6 Hamilton
ASIST/safeTALKASIST January 9-‐10 Orangeville ASIST January 12-‐13 Hamilton ASIST January 13-‐14 Guelph ASIST January 15-‐16 Oshawa ASIST January 15-‐16 Dryden ASIST January 15-‐16 Brampton safeTALK January 16 Hamilton safeTALK January 19 Burlington safeTALK (T4T) January 19-‐20 Burlington safeTALK January 20 Oshawa ASIST January 22-‐23 Toronto safeTALK January 22 Oakville ASIST (T4T) January 26-‐27 Burlington safeTALK January 26 Dryden ASIST January 29-‐30 OXawa
WORKSHOPS
Professional Development
As mentioned at the Fall Business meeting, one of the goals of the Board this year is to develop a strategic plan to help guide the organization over the next 5 years. In 2019, OACUHO will be 40 – and we want to guide the organization through the next few years strategically, sustainably and successfully.
If you’re interested in being a key stakeholder in this project, please feel free to connect with Sam Wiebe or with me. ([email protected] or [email protected])
The estimated time commitment is:
• Monthly check ins by phone
• Two face-‐to-‐face meetings
• 1 in January to assist with facilitating focus groups (GTA)
• 1 in the spring to compile the 1st draft (GTA)
Our Pirst round-‐table/focus group will be with professional staff at the Residence Life Conference.
Call for Volunteers
OACUHO STRATEGIC PLANNING
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Op-Ed: Holiday Closure
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he Department of Residences at Brock University goes to great lengths to advise and remind students that residence buildings are closed for the winter break. In fact, students will be informed more than 20 Ames that we close! Students are advised that we are closed for winter break when they apply, which is typically many months before they actually move in. When students apply for residence, the on-‐line applicaAon forces them to electronically sign the Residence Agreement (the contract between the University and the student) and the Residence Community Guiding Principles. Those two documents outline a number of expectaAons including occupancy dates (which do not include the Winter Break) as well as the requirement that students must vacate their rooms by noon the day following their last exam in December and April.
The dates that our residences are closed for winter break are indicated in several places including the list of “Important Dates” noted by the Registrar’s Office (in calendars and websites) and, of course, on the residence website. In late Fall, residence students receive several noAces and reminders through email, Facebook and twiUer about the winter break closure
and that students must vacate their rooms by noon the day following their last December exam. It is menAoned by Res Life Staff at house/hall/court/block meeAngs. It is on posters throughout the residence system. It is wriUen on windows and flip charts. It is posted through the student portal. And finally, there is a paper noAce slid under every student’s door – addressed to each student – that reminds each student to vacate his/her room by noon the day following that parAcular student’s last exam, and states that date on the paper noAce. It has a check list of what they need to remember to do, or take with them, before they leave. That we are closed for the winter break is stated, yet again!
Exams at Brock end December 16th. Beginning at 1:00pm on December 17th the Department of Residences staff goes through the enAre residence system to be sure windows are closed (and locked), lights are off, furnaces are turned down (but not off), appliances and fire safety systems are checked, etc.
students will be informed more than 20 times that we close
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T
Jamie FlemingDirector of ResidencesBrock [email protected]
”
Closed for the Break
We check to be sure everyone has lea – and finally, we plug locks or disable the electronic swipe access as a last step when we close buildings.
Although the residences are closed for the winter break, we do allow some students to stay. That being said, those who are allowed to stay must saAsfy certain criteria. Students must indicate in the on-‐line applicaAon whether or not they want to be considered for staying in residence during the winter break. If applicants indicate that they do want to be considered for winter break stay, they are automaAcally directed to apply to the residence where we allow students to stay for winter break. They are advised that they must saAsfy certain criteria, in order to be approved for winter break stay. The criteria are as follows:
-‐ InternaAonal students with no means of gebng home or securing alternate accommodaAon.
-‐ Varsity team athletes who have an event such as a game or tournament.
-‐ Students who have an academic requirement that requires them to stay, (e.g. pre-‐service educaAon or graduate students).
Students who indicated they wanted to be considered for staying in residence during the winter break are contacted in November and, if they saAsfy the criteria, they are allowed to stay. They are charged an addiAonal fee for the week(s) they stay in residence and must sign a separate residence agreement, specifically regarding staying in residence during winter break.
Typically less than 1% of the residence populaAon stays in residence during the winter break. They are all assigned and live in the same townhouse style residence. Our Campus Security Services are aware of those who stay.
Our process is very thorough. It provides a high degree of assurance that we know who will be in residence during the winter break and where they will be. Also, that the vast majority of the residence system will be empty and has been closed down in a way to minimize risk and waste.
For more informa9on:
hUp://www.brocku.ca/residence/policies_procedures/eot hUp://www.brocku.ca/residence/policies_procedures/winter_break_policy
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January | Campus Community Partnerships
February | Residence Life Conference
March | Checking OutApril | It’s Hiring Season
May | Special Conference Edition
The Pulse Editorial Schedule 2015
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aer taking up an enArely new poriolio of Housing Field Supervisor at York University and aaer having worked many years at it, I was sAll trying to find an answer to the quesAon “What makes our students come to our residences?” A short while later Ana passed by sharing something of great value and cherished by all of us “her own personal stash of thank you cards from the resident students at Bethune”
Looking at those thank you cards, I didn’t have to look any further for my answer; as it was in front of me. All I had to do was read through the cards to learn that the students have a caring, motherly person like Ana at hand and someone with a great abtude who makes them feel at home away from home. One can go on and on about Ana and you cannot run away from being touched by her kindness. Whether it is baking a cake for an internaAonal student for her birthday, away from her parents for a year, or for helping a newly moved in student with a blanket as he did not know how cold a Canadian winter is.
Why do students choose to live in residence? Besides the daily cleaning standards, hopefully because we can provide them with an experience that they cannot get elsewhere. Ana will be one of the people that students will remember as part of their York experience. The custodian lunchroom resembles a gallery with pictures, cards and artwork that the students have given Ana in appreciaAon during their stay in residence. They oaen refer to her as ‘mama” because she has built that connecAon by taking care of their smallest of the needs and with the determinaAon of making a difference. Ana is a master of
building bridges. With effect communicaAon and respect for others she has been able to develop relaAonships with the students resulAng in excellent service by going the extra mile.
I wanted to take her view point on this faciliAes showcase arAcle and as expected the answer I got to my quesAon
was “you know I am a shy person and It does not maUer if anyone knows what I do, but the thank you leUers from the resident students make my day and me a winner everyday”. This made my decision to write this arAcle even easier.
It is my honor to write this arAcle to showcase Ana, as I feel she is the benchmark and an ambassador for Housing department custodians. With her proven qualiAes, Ana is a role model for others to emulate.
Acts of kindness and going the extra mile touch the heart so deeply, that Ame itself cannot erase the feeling when someone made you feel special. No maUer the faciliAes we built for students at York, people like Ana are the heart that helps us to aUract the students who come to live in these faciliAes.
It is amazing in today’s Ame that customer service can sAll be a difficult aspect for some organizaAons to achieve. Yet, it is the simplest part of any business with the biggest payback. Students are our most vital asset. When we give more than is expected of us, we contribute to fostering community spirit which ulAmately enhances the student experience of "home away from home".
OACUHO Facilities Showcase
Jeet MalholtraHousing Operations Field SupervisorYork University
A
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n August 2014, I was fortunate to join the team at Carleton University as the Residence Student Conduct Coordinator. While reading more about the Carleton Residence program before arriving, I learned that the current conduct system was focused on a more puniAve approach. While the Residence conduct system was doing some great things that are worth noAng, the program overall was not yet at the same level as many other Ontario insAtuAons. Unfortunately, it just hadn’t had the aUenAon it deserved. With the addiAon of our new Director in September, we have since then been working together to improve and evolve our Residence conduct program.
Within the first two weeks of this role, one of my first projects was helping to create a Peer Conduct Board in Residence. The iniAal idea came from the success of the on-‐campus Peer Conduct Board, which meets with non-‐residence students. Thus far, we also seen great success from our peer-‐based program! Many students who have met with the
Residence Peer Conduct Board (RPCB) have said that they appreciate the opportunity to be involved in the process, as well as, enjoy working with their peers to discuss outcomes.
The next significant change to the previous conduct program was improving connecAons between student engagement and sancAoning. As discussed, the previous program used a more puniAve approach, where students were given a variety of charges, fines and bonds in response to behaviour that was in contradicAon to our Residence Contract. We have since shiaed to a process that is more focused on developmental and educaAonal reflecAon. While these approaches to conduct are not ‘new’ to the field of conduct or Residence Life, it has been a significant shia for our department. In only a few short weeks, we are already seeing the benefits of this transiAon. Much of this success has been due to the implementaAon of more intenAonal and meaningful conversaAons with students. Through this process, we have been able to engage more students and focus more on the harm of their acAons on the community. In the past, we primarily
Spotlightmoment
Jordon McLindenResidence Student Conduct Coordinator Carleton University [email protected]
I
with
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used to discuss the monetary impacts their behaviour was going to have. While the previous conduct process allowed to process a large volume of instances in a short amount of Ame, it was not having impact on recidivism rates. Through this new approach, we already seeing the posiAve impact on both students and communiAes, as there is an increasingly lower rate of recidivism than previously. We will be conAnuing to assess this through the year, and compare the relaAonship between recidivism and educaAonal outcomes at the end of the academic term.
A third change to the program includes the design and introducAon of Residence Bounce Back. This iniAaAve is similar to the academic support program offered at many insAtuAons, including our own, as it connects students with peer mentors. Our program, rather, will operate slightly differently in that the pairs will be working on improving student behaviour, with a specific focus on substances (alcohol and drug use). Students can be suggested for our program by our professional staff as a result of their behaviour in Residence, or choose to opt-‐in on their own to have support in making more
posiAve choices in their community moving forward. The iniAaAve will be evaluated through pre-‐ and post-‐ assessments and qualitaAve assessments from the mentees and mentors at the end of the term.
As with most changes in Residence Life, it has not come without challenges. We have had to learn as we go, problem solve frequently, and be flexible when challenges arise. I aUribute our success in overcoming these obstacles to our department’s ability to conAnuously focus on always doing what is best for our students. ConAnuously focusing on student success and support has made the transiAon valuable and exciAng. The changes have also allowed our student staff to have more meaningful conversaAons with students, and focus on using conduct as a means to beUer build community. While we know there is sAll a long way to go, we are pleased at how far we have come in only a couple short months, and how supporAve our students and staff have been. We look forward to compleAng a very detailed program assessment in April and conAnuing to evolve the program even further in 2015.
FBM 2014 Follow Up: Student Staff HiringA"er great discussions at the Student Staff Hiring session presented during the 2014 Fall Business Mee=ng, we wanted to con=nue the conversa=on with the en=re membership. Please check out the Google Doc (link below) to review a variety of staff hiring subtopics with content submiLed by the PD CommiLee and the session par=cipants. Subtopics include: staff reten=on, how to maximize =me with candidates, how to tackle low applica=on numbers, how to diversify your staff team, and thoughts around returning staff. Please feel free to add any thoughts or ideas! Please include the name of your ins=tu=on so that further follow up may occur.
GOOGLE DOC
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In Summary: Highlights from the world of Canadian higher education
Beginning this month, we will be introducing a new series of features in the OACUHO Research-‐Writer space. Expect to see a number of branded
features rotaBng across the space in the coming months, all designed to benefit busy OACUHO member professionals.
Interna9onal student numbers con9nue to grow quickly across Canada
The Canadian Bureau of InternaAonal EducaAon (CBIE) released its annual report on the state of internaAonal educaAon in Canada during their 48th annual conference, held in OUawa November 19-‐22. According to the report, the number of internaAonal students studying at Canadian educaAon insAtuAons conAnues to grow at a quick pace.
The report, called A World of Learning—Canada’s Performance and PotenAal in InternaAonal EducaAon, highlights that in 2013, there were 293, 505 internaAonal students in Canada, an 84% increase over the last decade and an 11% increase over the previous year. China remains the top sending country with 32% of enrolments. Nigeria and Russia, however, head the list of the fastest growing sending countries.
The report also suggests that 55% of internaAonal students intend to pursue addiAonal studies in Canada following their current program, and that 50% of internaAonal students intend to apply for permanent resident status in Canada in future.
Source: Canadian Bureau of InternaBonal EducaBon
Easier transfer between Ontario colleges with new agreement
A new agreement signed by Ontario’s colleges means transferring between and among insAtuAons will become much easier for students in business diploma programs.
Transfers in the past could be lengthy, cumbersome affairs as officials at the receiving college evaluated
OACUHOResearch
with Trevor CorkumOACUHO Research Writer
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new arrangement, the process will be almost automaAc, as insAtuAons now recognize the academic similarity of each other’s programs. While students must sAll register with the Ontario College applicaAon service, the new process will reduce barriers and hurdles and increase the transfer rate among college students.
The agreement will apply to students in accounAng, business administraAon, human resources and markeAng programs. Business is the top transfer program among 21,500 students who shia each year between Ontario postsecondary insAtuAons, according to an arAcle in The Globe and Mail.
Source: The Globe and Mail
Outsourcing of mental health counseling slowly expands at Canadian universi9es
A recent arAcle in University Affairs highlights how some Canadian universiAes are expanding their use of outside mental health professional in order to address the need for increased counselling services for students.
The University of Prince Edward Island, for example, recently negoAated a deal with Morneau Shepell, a Canadian outsourcing agency specializing in employee health and wellness programs. According to the arAcle, the deal enAtles UPEI students access to the company’s phone and online mental health counsellors and to its naAonwide network of nutriAonists, dieAcians, financial and legal counsellors.
This 24-‐hour mobile service will complement the university two full-‐Ame, in-‐house mental health counsellors. UPEI student affairs manager Treena Smith says that among other things, the service allows UPEI to access counseling services in mulAple languages, something increasingly important to a diverse student body.
Nevertheless, the pracAce is a “hot topic” and remains controversial in many quarters. The arAcle reports that the Canadian OrganizaAon of University College Health (COUCH) and Canadian University College Counselling AssociaAon (CUCCA) will present a paper on outsourcing at the Canadian AssociaAon of College and University Student Services (CACUSS) annual conference in Vancouver in June.
Source: University Affairs
Ontario colleges agree to create sexual assault policy
The presidents of Ontario’s public colleges have voted to create a province-‐wide, stand-‐alone policy to deal with campus sexual assault, according to an arAcle in the Toronto Star.
The Star quotes Linda Franklin, president and chief execuAve officer of Colleges Ontario, who said “The presidents all agreed that the right and best thing to do was to work together to develop a province-‐wide policy on sexual assault that all of the insAtuAons could use.”
According to Franklin, the presidents of 24 public colleges believe the development of a special policy is a criAcal first step in what will be increased efforts to ensure their schools are beUer equipped to support their students. The arAcle says the decision came aaer a Star invesAgaAon revealed Canadian post-‐secondary insAtuAons are failing sexual assault vicAms, with several women saying they felt unsupported by their school aaer experiencing an assault.
During its invesAgaAon, the Star found that of 78 universiAes in Canada, only nine had special policies designed to deal with sexual violence.
Source: The Toronto Star
