With post-secondary institutions across the province in the process of planning for a fall return to campus, Dr. Bonnie Henry was on hand earlier this week to host an open house for post-secondary educators and provide further clarification to the guidance already set forward in the ‘COVID 19 Return to Campus Primer’. Acknowledging that the prospect of a fall return has occasioned both enthusiasm and anxiety, the Provincial Health Officer stressed that, while we will be living with the COVID virus for some time to come, the first vaccines will have been universally delivered by September, and immunization will have greatly enhanced the overall safety of our campuses and social spaces more generally.

Universities across the Province are adopting a variety of approaches in terms of planning for the return. UBC, for example, expects that roughly 75% of its Arts courses will have a significant face-to-face component, while UFV’s Faculty of Science is targeting 70% face-to-face instruction. The University of Victoria is expecting 80%-90% of its courses to be in-person. Here at KPU, by contrast, in the Faculty of Arts we have invited faculty and departments to exercise their discretion for the Fall semester and adopt approaches based on their own best judgments about what will most optimally serve learning outcomes and the educational needs of students, while also ensuring that faculty, students and staff alike feel safe.

The Comeback Kids: The logistics of Fall scheduling are unusually challenging this year, for obvious reasons. The goal is to strike a balance between flexibility/experimentation while minimizing confusion and cognitive overload for students. To that end, please see the attached flow chart. It simplifies the range of possibilities down to four basic delivery modes and clarifies what needs to be communicated for each mode. We would urge that all faculty and departments refer to this chart when working out their scheduling for Fall 2021. And please note: the schedule goes live in June, so your details (as per the chart) need to be submitted by May 28th.

Home, Safe and Sound: The keep.meSAFE program is an important support for faculty and staff who work with students. The program provides consultation with counsellors for faculty or staff who wish to discuss a wide array of issues including distressed students, grading issues, student conduct, communication, student isolation, and culturally sensitive topics.  Faculty and staff can be connected right away and do not need to create a profile, as long as they identify themselves as staff/faculty.

Some Real Impacts of Social Media OME REAL IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Congratulations to Petra Jonas (Criminology) whose recent article “Cyber Victimization Risk and the Problematic Use of Instagram” was published through the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform.  The article can be accessed here. Please forward along to colleagues and students who may be interested in this important topic.   

NOT TO BE MISSED: UPCOMING EVENTS

What Makes ‘Grrreat’ Meetings? Join us on Wednesday, May 19, 10:00 – 11:30 AM for an all-star panel of Faculty of Arts faculty and staff who will share their knowledge, practical tips, and guiding philosophies for fostering marvelous meetings. Panelists include Farhad Dastur, David Burns, Mike Larsen, Dana Cserepes, Parthi Krishnan, Alex Oliphant, Tracey Kinney. For a full program contact Arts@kpu.ca. Join the meeting here.

Looking Back to Move Teaching Forward: The Teaching and Learning Commons, via the expert guidance and insight of Christina Page, will be leading a workshop for the Faculty of Arts on May 27, 1:00 – 2:30 PM on the topic “Getting Unstuck: Helping Students Move Beyond Learning Bottlenecks.”Christina describes this important workshop in this way: “Do you find that there’s a learning task or assignment in your course where many of your students seem to continually struggle?  Wondering if there’s a solution to this challenge?  In this workshop, we will explore a method called Decoding the Disciplines that systematically breaks down the process of helping students move through these learning bottlenecks. You will leave the workshop with a series of next steps to move forward with your students and strategy for building up a collegial network of support through the process.”  We will keep sending out the Teams link as a reminder leading up to the event, but you will be able to join us on May 27th here.

Bringing Home The Bacon: The Summer 0.6% PD call for applications was communicated in Today@KPU (see the message here).  More information about this fund, including what can be claimed, is here. Don’t forget that applications need to be completed on ROMEO and submitted before Tuesday, May 25, 2021 (1 week prior to the deadline). Once you have completely submitted your application an Associate Dean will be notified that your application requires a letter of support.

Eternal Recurrence: Have you filled out the survey about last week’s Annual Faculty Meeting yet? If not, please take a gander here.

As the second week of May draws to a close, and with the promise of the Victoria Day long weekend right around the corner, we wish you a wonderful weekend of rest and rejuvenation. And, in the event that you are looking for something scintillating by way of diversion, don’t miss the opportunity to rendezvous with Van Gogh downtown, or take in a delightful documentary, or exercise your sleuthing skills to solve a Manichean metropolitan mystery…

Diane, Shelley, Greg, and Wade