bright lights

“Exploding Stars” by LadyDragonflyCC – >;< is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In my head I have this image of an egg cracking open, with a kaleidoscope of stars escaping, shooting out in all directions. Higher Education is evolving (finally) and we are witnessing the birth of a new era. For institutions to survive, they will have to respond in ways that acknowledge new learners, broader perspectives and new technologies. Institutions are not the bricks and mortar but the individuals who come together under a name, a reputation, an ethos of learning.

As NIC embarks on the next stage of its journey, it seems serendipitous that the college is coming full circle: returning to its origins in distributed learning and at the same time embracing the new technologies that will ensure teaching and learning responds to the needs of a new generation of learners.

Back in March we pivoted, and now we are pivoting again. At the beginning of the week I was given a broad outline of the road map the college will be following, and where my role fits within the next stage of the journey. I’ve spent the last few days:

  • solidifying in my head in broad terms what I will be focusing on in the coming months;
  • identifying potential action points for the next week / month;
  • considering what I need to research / learn / review in order to best serve my colleagues;
  • looking back at the PD plan I wrote months ago to see ‘where I’m at.’

To begin with I created a summary that provides three broad areas of focus for my role moving forward: Curriculum review and renewal; curriculum development; and intercultural development. In creating this, what struck me most is the interconnected nature of all three areas. In order to develop curriculum we need to have an in depth understanding of what is being offered, how, whether courses and programs are meeting the needs of students and other stakeholders etc. (e.g., employers – do NIC graduates have the skills they’re looking for?) – curriculum review and renewal. Ensuring NIC graduates re prepared for a global economy, intercultural development needs to be considered at every point on this journey; not only to prepare students for the job market, but perhaps more importantly (depending on one’s perspective), to help them develop understanding, empathy and compassion for diverse others. Honoring diversity and inclusion is not just the ‘what;’ it’s the ‘why’ and the ‘how.’

In terms of action points, it’s hard to know where to start when everything weaves together in one amazing mosaic. Logically though, Program Review is the obvious place to start. Since I already went through last week documents on the PR processes already underway, I decided to read some External Review Reports, starting with the latest ones published by UBC, with a view to trying to pinpoint any common areas of exploration across the reviews – notwithstanding I would be reading only a small sample size (https://academic.ubc.ca/sites/vpa.ubc.ca/files/documents/Report%20to%20Senate%20on%20External%20Reviews%202018-19%20-%20final.pdf).

“renovate the program to align it more strongly with a narrower and clarified purpose.”
“Clearly state the mission of the Department, establish a common vision of the main goals, and
prepare a work plan to achieve this vision”
“Department needs to have a clear strategic direction”
“The Department should develop a common vision that unites its disparate streams by formulating a
mission statement and strategic plan”
“clarify and/or create a fresh and unified mission statement with a shared vision”

Amidst the amazing innovations outlined in the reviews, in terms of areas for growth, the need for clarity of purpose and vision was identified in six out of 11 areas. Even without a pandemic, establishing clear direction is hard; and now? Perhaps that is the single most significant and common challenge all programs face.

I wrote about change and adaptation last week, but in terms of the ‘bigger picture.’ I wasn’t thinking of this in its discrete implications – for each instructor, for each course, for each program, for each institution.

Now I know why I’m seeing a kaleidoscope of stars.