Dear Faculty of Arts, 

As we bid farewell to yet another January and usher in February, the sweetest, shortest month, we wanted to share a few resources to both nourish and assist as many of us transition back to campus life. 

→ Know More

Get the Resources: Faculty may find the following resources from KPU and the province helpful. 

https://www.kpu.ca/hui/novel-coronavirus/return-to-campus

Student Disclosures about Covid and Requests for Extensions: If a student discloses to you that they have Covid, please remember to consult the Faculty Handbook for the steps to take. You can find the step-by-step instructions on page two of this document: Confirmed COVID-19 Case Protcol.pdf (kpu.ca) These steps help to ensure that the student is made aware of various KPU supports available to them. Also, we encourage everyone to be flexible and understanding if students are requesting extensions due to illness. As many of you are aware, it is difficult to get Covid-testing now, and it is also challenging to book a doctor’s appointment, so students are not likely to easily obtain medical notes. Please be understanding and accommodating with students knowing that the Omicron phase of the pandemic is challenging. 

→ Be In the Know – Upcoming Events 

Kitchen Table Talks: Please join Jennifer Anaquod in a new drop-in session titled “Kitchen Table Talks”. These biweekly sessions are a space to gather together in a safe and welcoming (virtual) circle to engage in these important discussions about indigenization, decolonization and our own roles in reconciliation. For Jennifer the most important discussions and moments of learning and unlearning take place over tea and bannock at the kitchen tables. The next meeting is on February 2 at noon. Join Zoom Meeting:  https://kpu-ca.zoom.us/j/63986814107?pwd=MnpsMi82aFdjbW9WRTE1NStESEJrdz09 – Meeting ID: 639 8681 4107 – Passcode: 140982.

Arts Speaker Series: Please join us on Wednesday, February 9 from 1 – 2 pm for the next installment of the Arts Speaker Series! Gordon Cobb, Dept. of Music, will present: “Collaborative Digital Content Production – Reflections on Re-visioning Pedagogy in the Post-Pandemic Era” on Microsoft Teams.Dr. Gordon Cobb is KPU’s first-ever Digital Content Producer for the Provost’s Office. In a post-pandemic, post-secondary world, digital media production is more prevalent than ever and a necessary skill-set used to facilitate effective and impactful communications between faculty, staff and students. Dr. Cobb will share examples of digital media created with various faculty and staff at KPU and the collaborative process involved in the production of each project. Click here to join the meeting via Microsoft Teams. For a list of upcoming 2022 Arts Speaker Series talks, please visit kpu.ca/arts/speakerseries.

Know Time Like the Present, so Declare! February is Arts Declaration Month! Please remind students to consider booking an appointment with an academic advisor. They can also check out the site below to learn how to declare various degrees and associate options. We also encourage you to share the attached PowerPoint with your students by posting it to your Course Moodle so they know the advantages of declaring. Follow this link to learn more: https://www.kpu.ca/arts/declare 

February is Black History Month. Please check out the following links to events sponsored by the City of Vancouver as well as a link to bcblackhistory.ca and a resource site on Black Canadian history.

 https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/black-history month.aspx https://bcblackhistory.ca/ https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month/resources.html 

→ Know Big Deal 

Trail Blazers: KPU is a leading adopter of open educational resources (OER) and home to Canada’s first Zero Textbook Cost programs. KPU Open Education is asking instructors teaching in Summer 2022 to complete a very brief webform indicating if their courses could be designated as Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses. For reference, courses are designated ZTC when students are not required to purchase learning resources, such as a commercial textbook, to fulfill the learning outcomes of a course. If any course sections should be listed in the course timetable as Zero Textbook Cost Courses, instructors should complete the webform by 28-January 2022.Students at KPU can filter the course timetable to choose from over 900 ZTC course sections in an academic year. ZTC courses consistently show gains in course enrolment, persistence, and performance. More than 20% of all KPU Courses are now designated as ZTC. 

→ Know Wonder 

COIL: Summer 2022: Are you a KPU instructor interested in bringing intercultural experiences into the classroom? Try Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) with an international faculty partner and have your students work on a project with students from another country online.  Faculty participants will be sponsored for COIL training. For more information, follow this link, or contact Associate Dean Shelley Boyd. The deadline for expressions of interest (for summer 2022) is January 31st .

STUDENT OPPORTUNITY #1: EDI Awards Selection Committee: We are still looking for 1 additional student to serve on the selection committee. You can learn more about the awards here: https://www.kpu.ca/arts/edi-awards  If you know of a current student who is interested, please send an email to the Arts Deans Assistant arts.deansassistant@kpu.ca by Friday, February 4, 2022. 

STUDENT OPPORTUNITY #2: Dean of Arts Teaching Award. We are looking for 1-2 Arts students to serve of the selection panel for the 2022 Dean of Arts Teaching Award. If you know of current students who may be interested, please send an email to the Arts Deans Assistant arts.deansassistant@kpu.ca by Friday, February 11th, 2022. The commitment involves attending up to three meetings in March, reviewing nominations, creating a shortlist, and recommending 1-2 Award winners.

STUDENT OPPORTUNITY #3: The Effects of COVID. The Psychology and Political Science departments are conducting research on how KPU students feel their relationship with the university has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will explore changes in students’ goals and motivations regarding their university education and future careers, and in their wider perceptions of their roles both as students within KPU and as student-citizens in their communities. Focus groups will take two hours and will be held online with dates convenient for students’ schedules. Registration is open to all current KPU students, participation is voluntary, and a $20 Amazon gift card will be sent to focus group participants. For more information, please contact Dr. Valérie Vézina or Dr. Hammond Tarry.

→ Know There Is Still Time! 

Dean of Arts Teaching Award: Have you always admired the teaching excellence of one of your colleagues? Please send in a nomination!  The Dean of Arts Teaching Award is presented annually to a KPU Faculty of Arts instructor in recognition of outstanding and innovative teaching practices that consistently encourage student success and academic achievement. The deadline for nominations is February 7th. To learn more about the criteria and to submit a nomination follow this link: Dean of Arts Teaching Award Nomination | KPU.ca – Kwantlen Polytechnic University .

University Wide: The JEDI Awards: The nomination period is now open for KPU’s JEDI awards. This link provides more information: Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Awards | KPU.ca – Kwantlen Polytechnic University . 

Faculty of Arts EDI Awards: The Faculty of Arts, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) awards recognize faculty, students, staff, and alumni who have demonstrated excellence in supporting and promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion from an intersectional social justice lens within the Faculty of Arts and/or the broader community. These awards honour individuals or groups/teams within the Faculty of Arts whose actions serve to advance KPU’s commitment to EDI. For more information on nominating an individual or self-nominating your group/team, follow this link. The nomination period for the EDI Awards has been extended to February 14th!  So, there is still time to get those nominations in! 

We’re taking a break next week. We look forward to sharing our next Update on February 11th. 

Greg, Wade, Shelley, and Billeh