With the region gasping from wildfire smoke and Covid-19, it seems somehow fitting that western hemlock looper moths have chosen this moment to launch a massive, coordinated invasion of Metro Vancouver.  Perhaps, like Associate Dean Shelley Boyd, you’ve taken to dispatching these flighty critters with whatever academic journal is ready to hand. Those of a more philosophical bent might be consoling themselves that it could be worse – they could be murder hornets. Perhaps you even take a naturalist’s delight in this dull kaleidoscope of pollinators, which one sourpuss referred to as the “Lepidoptera equivalent of Toyota Corollas.” In any case, today’s update is dedicated to these, our new moth overlords… 

Looping in with Accessibility Services: Following a request submitted to us by the Criminology Department, Laura Vail and her team in Accessibility Services were happy to share a couple of suggestion for handling student accommodations within this online learning environment.  Many thanks to Laura and her team for their support!

  • Many of our students are nervous about a new term in a new environment. If you receive an Accommodation Letter, we recommend reaching out to the student as soon as possible to acknowledge you’ve received the letter. It’s helpful to give the student some information about how the course will progress and what they can expect. It will make students more comfortable to know which accommodations will and won’t pertain, given the course delivery. Connecting with the student early will go a long way!
  • Not sure how to use the accommodations, given the structure of your course? We’re happy to give advice and help adapt accommodations based on the course delivery. We’re finding that implementing accommodations these days is an iterative process and we’re ready to adapt with you and the student to support students in a way that makes sense. Reach Accessibility Service via this link.

Like Moths to a Flame – academic integrity: We all know that integrity violations can be a dangerous lure to many students. Indeed, a burgeoning machinery now exists to subvert learning and to facilitate academic dishonesty. Examples include paraphrasing “spinners” and websites such as www.chegg.com and www.coursehero.com.  As you gear up to receive and assess student work, please remember to report integrity violations here. Even more valuable than reporting violations, however, is preventing them! In that spirit, we repost Kristie Dukewich’s stellar workshop from June 2020 here.

Butterfly Effect: A special Anti-Oppression Training session is being sponsored by the President’s Diversity and Equity Committee and organized by Arley Cruthers (CMNS). Cicely Blain will lead this interactive workshop. It will be held on Wednesday, October 14th from 12pm to 2pm with a limited number of seats (75). Please use this link to register.

A Flutter of Excitement – AGM notes available: The slideshow and attendant from last week’s very well-received AGM have now been made available here on Sharepoint. 

Very Hungry Caterpillars – student data to chew on:  The Office of Planning and Accountability (OPA) has created infographics from the student survey on their experience with remote learning in Summer 2020. These afford a wealth of insight into what students value in the online experience, and where they hunger for improvement. We highly recommend taking a look!  Also of interest are infographics on the 2019 Student Satisfaction Survey.  

Pollinators of Ideas – Arts Speaker Series: The Arts Speakers Series for 2020-21 took flight this week, with a fascinating and well-attended talk by Dr. Asma Sayed (ENGL) and KPU graduate Rahil Faruqi (Philosophy) on “Confronting Racism: The Role of South Asian Radio in Canada.” Thanks, Asma and Rahil! A video version of the discussion will soon be made available; please stay tuned. 

As the lights of summer slowly dim and September gathers pace, we wish you all a wonderful Fall semester. Your fortitude, hard work, and dedication to students continue to inspire. Neither moths, nor wildfires, nor Covid is forever; but from the chrysalis of your efforts will come metamorphoses in our students’ lives.

So we’ll live, and pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh at gilded butterflies. 

All our best,

Diane, Wade, Shelley, and Greg