Kwantlen University College has had a Centre for Academic Growth since last June but it is certainly not at the centre of anything physical. We are a tiny unit of .75 FTE faculty (me with .25 being Prior Learning Assessment) and .65 staff (other .35 works with our Third Age Learning at Kwantlen (TALK) program, located on our old Newton campus along with a few administration units. On the other hand "We are everywhere" and are willing to travel to all of the other campuses at the drop of a hint and work with others to deliver information or to collaborate on projects.
We have existed on the good grace and generosity of our colleagues from other institutions who have helped us out and shared expertise over the years. We hope to repay that sharing a bit.
ANNOUNCEMENT AND INVITATION
On August 23rd we will be having a one day symposium - Forging our Own Path: Dialogues on Teaching and Learning. This all day event starts a keynote panel of brilliant scholars talking about What we Value about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning - Dr. Marty Wall (UVIC), Dr. Lynn Taylor (Dalhousie), Dr. Farhad Dastur (Kwantlen), Dr. Heather Smith (UNBC).
There will be three concurrent sessions, another Keynote at lunch and a Plenary followed by a poster session and socializing (symposium means to "drink with" after all).
... and you are invited!
The event will be face to face in the Conference Centre at Kwantlen University College's Surrey Campus, 12666 72nd Avenue, Surrey, BC.
We can accommodate about 30 people from 'away' and have had approximately 10 of those spaces snapped up. That means there are 20 left and if you are available, come and join in the fun. The event is sponsored by the office of the SP Academic, Provost, our VP Strategic Services, and the Office of Research and Scholarship. More information at:
http://www.kwantlen.ca/academicgrowth/CASTL/Symposium0708.html
The cost is your attendance and interaction (much like this forum!).
To register, send an email to PDReg@kwantlen.ca.
collegially
alicemac
Alice,
Thanks for the notes about Kwantlen and the new staffing arrangement. Does the college have only these positions that support teaching and learning, and no physical office? What kinds of support is provided?
Vivian
Officially and outside departments, this is it for specific support.
Within departments, there are mentoring processes that are intended to support faculty. Each department also has a Curriculum committee that comments on and sometimes assists the development of course outlines, etc.
We also have individual initiatives that speak to particular project, particularly around accountability measures. These often come from the VP Academic's office.
There are also a number of colleagues who are doing projects and interactions "off the side of their desks" and with whom I am privileged to collaborate when they deem this to be appropriate.
The physical space that I inhabit is nice enough, but way off the beaten path and thus gets few visitors for us and our growing library of books that support teaching and learning. There is a promise of space in the new library that we are currently building on the Surrey Campus.
Projects that we are doing include our August 23rd Symposium (to which you are invited), our membership in a CASTL Leadership Cluster, our new eJournal: Transformative Dialogues on SoTL (http://www.kwantlen.ca/academicgrowth/TD/, a Certificate program for new and experienced faculty that is grounded in the ISW and includes basic workshops in Cooperative Learning, Instructional Media, Authentic Assessment, Inclusive Classrooms, and more; Reading Circles; Peer Mentoring Alliances (interdisciplinary), as well as an Appreciative Leadership Certificate Program (accessed primarily by staff). I also do facilitations for groups working on Strategic or other Planning projects. When a request comes in, we can arrange for PD Made 2 Order. We are also trying to spotlight the embedded "Essential (employability) Skills" from the 12 that Kwantlen recognizes in all of our sessions.
This activity is done by myself, willing volunteers from faculty, and some outside facilitators.
collegially
alicemac