Must read: the path to a net-zero carbon future

As we celebrate Earth Day, our brand-new paper on sustainability highlights the critical role of colleges and institutes in helping Canada achieve net-zero emissions by 2050! Even as last week’s federal budget proposed $17.6 billion for green initiatives, it’s clear Canada must adopt a whole-of-country approach and will require strong leadership from post-secondary institutions. Everyone has a role to play!

Leading the Way to a Net-Zero Carbon Future presents the role of colleges and institutes on four pillars: green skills for a net-zero future, applied research and living labs, Indigenous and nature-based solutions, and leveraging campuses.

In the face of a climate emergency and pandemic recovery, leadership in sustainability is more important than ever. With their extensive footprint, expertise in equipping learners with job-ready skills, and an applied research innovation pipeline to small and medium-sized businesses, colleges and institutes are ideally positioned to support Canada’s transition to a net-zero future!

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October 19, 2020

Promote positive mental health outcomes with the new national student standard

To support post-secondary institutions in promoting positive mental health outcomes on and off campus, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), in collaboration with CSA Group, has created a brand-new national standard on Mental health and well-being for post-secondary students!

This new standard is the first of its kind in the world and serves as a set of voluntary guidelines developed in consultation with diverse stakeholders, including students, administrators, service providers, and people with lived and living experience of mental illness. Its goal is to provide a consistent, evidence-based framework schools can use to enhance existing mental health strategies or develop new ones.

Since 2018, we have been working with MHCC on the development of this National Standard and thank all CICan members for their contributions: those represented on the Advisory Committee for Student Mental Health and the Technical Committee charged with drafting the document, and the many others interviewed during the process.

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May 4, 2020

Keeping students connected and supported during COVID-19

Last week, the Government of Canada announced a historic $9-billion student aid package to help alleviate the financial burden faced by many students who are finding their summer job prospects severely limited as a result of restrictions on businesses caused by the COVID-19 crisis. This has been one of our principal advocacy priorities and we are thrilled to see the federal government take action to help students. This financial aid means that all students will have the resources needed to continue their studies, including those among the most vulnerable when global crises disrupt the status quo.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we shared how colleges and institutes have come to the aid of medical professionals, employing applied research facilities and 3D printers to find innovative ways of meeting demand for medical equipment; and have responded to physical distancing measures by moving teaching and learning online. But colleges and institutes always have their students top of mind, and have moved quickly to make sure student supports, from academics and tutoring opportunities, to finance, well-being and mental health support would remain available despite campus closures and disruption.

Our members have made a wealth of support mechanisms available for students during this time, including resources for managing stress and anxiety, tailored approaches for Indigenous students, help in acquiring necessary equipment to complete studies virtually, and creative ways of maintaining connected communities while physically distancing. For example:

Before government financial relief was announced, many colleges organized financial assistance and emergency relief bursaries for students, both domestic and international, and in many cases through collaboration with the institution’s student union to best meet their needs, including Coast Mountain College, Douglas College, Fleming College, Vancouver Island University, Collège André-Grasset, and more.
In collaboration with United Way Yukon, 48 Yukon College students needing additional support received grocery gift cards to assist help meet their immediate needs, whether it’s food, medications, cleaning supplies, or clothes.
Red River College’s Indigenous Student Supports quickly got to work ensuring that their Indigenous students were supported during this time, organizing deliveries of computers and emergency food hampers, and are also preparing traditional medicines such as sage and cedar so students can smudge at home.
Sheridan College’s Inclusive Communities team has launched a webinar series looking specifically at ways to support Indigenous students who may be disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in their transitions to online learning.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic students can book online video appointments with counsellors, including Indigenous counsellors and accessibility counsellors, on the institutions student wellness webpage and Learn from Home support page.
Loyalist College is helping find accommodations in local hotels and providing funding for food and other necessities for nearly 200 international students following campus residence closures related to COVID-19.
Working with the Montmorency Student Association (l’Association des étudiantes et des étudiants de Montmorency) Collège Montmorency was able to help low-income students obtain necessary computer equipment to allow them to continue their studies from home.
BCIT released a new Mental Health at Home service to provide students with tips, resources and one-to-one sessions to help manage stress, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness and isolation, and adjust to learning from home.
Conestoga College Student Engagement Services workshops, including Conversation Cafés and Transition Talks!, help students stay social connected during distancing efforts.
Humber College’s Student Life team is ensuring that vital support services remain accessible online, including virtual counselling support and Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) that allow students to connect with peer tutors online.
George Brown College has also moved its peer tutoring online for those needing support with English, math, accounting, and study skills, and quickly trained more than 50 peer tutors in using specialized digital tutoring platforms and interacting virtually with students.
Collège la Cité put together a special website with resources for students adapting to distance learning, including articles on how to manage stress as courses come to an end and a webinar with tips for how to maximize the potential of online classes.

Mental health remains a vital issue for students and all Canadians alike. Just yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an investment of $240.5 million to develop, expand, and launch virtual care and mental health tools to support Canadians, including investment to support the federal government’s new Wellness Together Canada website. Don’t forget to take advantage of resources made available by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

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April 20, 2020

Moving learning and teaching online

At Canada’s post-secondary institutions, online learning options are rapidly expanding. The Canadian Digital Learning Research Association’s latest report gives us a comprehensive look at the state of online learning in Canada, and highlights that 76% of institutions offer some form of online learning, and that interest in a wide range of alternative credentials continues to grow. In the current global context, this data is more relevant than ever and quickly changing.

In a previous issue of Perspectives, we shared the online, distance, and blended learning approaches that colleges and institutes have championed in almost every subject area. With such a strong history in online and blended learning methods, colleges and institutes all across the country were able to respond to distancing measures associated with COVID-19 incredibly quickly.

Within a week, Collège communautaire de Nouveau-Brunswick shared that it had converted 85 of its programs to online formats allowing 2,000 students to continue learning despite campus closures; in just four days, College of the North Atlantic implemented an extensive Academic Programs Continuity Plan to move 181 of 205 programs online; and at St Lawrence College classes are being delivered through a combination of online and digital simulations and collaborations until August, to name just a few. And now, as many colleges and institutes are working through the finer points of transitioning their regular programming online, still more are moving to train and support students, faculty, and community partners in unique online ways:

BCIT has created an online, self-directed fast-track education course to help frontline registered nurses and healthcare providers acquire the focused knowledge they need to provide support to patients with COVID-19.
Algonquin College is launching a series of free virtual training opportunities ranging in length from two to four days to support the local business community. Courses include Business Analysis in an Agile Environment, Project Management, and Change Management.
As a way of saying thank you to community members for doing their part to limit the spread of COVID-19, Canadore College is offering modules from six general education courses free online on topics ranging from astronomy to film and world culture.
The Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation at Lethbridge College is offering its first, freely available open course on facilitating online learning for instructors, aiming to address challenges of online student retention and satisfaction and offer practical strategies for online classrooms.
Collège La Cité, in collaboration with a local radio station and the newspaper Le Droit is offering a series of free public webinars on subjects like business, health, and family, and has developed a resources website designed for students adapting to distance learning during this time.
Collège de Rosemont, in Montreal, quickly formed a new partnership with Insertech, a local tech company, to ensure that students have the equipment they need to successfully continue their studies at home.
Elsewhere in Quebec, many institutions have taken advantage of funding through the government’s Programme d’actions concertées pour le maintien en emploi (Unified actions to maintain employment) plan to ensure that businesses are able to successfully rebound once COVID-19 measures are lifted:
- The Collège de Maisonneuve shared that it is improved online course offerings through the program, developing short training opportunities in online project management and team coordination, human resources, and managing a culture of diversity in the workplace.
- While the Cégep de Rimouski is offering 35 new training opportunities for businesses including strategies in remote working, file-sharing and online communications and language improvement classes.

While studying and working online can open up access to education beyond geographical barriers, it may also pose challenges to maintaining mental health for students, staff, and faculty as many face additional personal, academic, and financial stresses. The Government of Canada has launched a new online Wellness Together Canada platform providing free online resources, tools, apps and connections to trained volunteers and qualified mental health professionals. Be sure to take advantage of these great resources.

Consult our COVID-19 resources page for more tips on online learning and teaching.