Fall Town Hall Follow-up

September 10, 2024

Thank you to all who joined me on Thursday, August 29th for the Faculty and Staff Fall Town Hall and Announcement of the Staff Awards of Excellence. As always, I enjoyed sharing updates and taking questions from the audience.

Town Halls are an important opportunity for me to hear directly from Faculty and Staff about what matters to them. Below, we have answered some of the questions we did not have time for during the Town Hall. Although we can’t answer every question, the entire executive team reviews all the questions submitted after each Town Hall and they help inform our work going forward.

I deeply appreciate everyone who came out, submitted thoughtful questions and/or engaged with the questions by upvoting.

Sincerely,
Lesley Cormack 

 

Under the Accessible BC Act, the university was required to release an accessibility plan by September 1, 2022. How will UBCO be making this work a priority? 

  • To meet the requirements of the Accessible BC Act, UBC has (1) established an Accessibility Committee and Accessibility Planning Team, (2) launched a feedback mechanism for disabled community members, and (3) articulated our commitments to accessibility priorities in the 2022 StEAR Roadmap for Change.
  • The Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO) has been leading a process to expand and codify accessibility priorities in a more comprehensive stand-alone plan. The EIO has secured staff time, new project leads, and graduate assistants to support the consultation and information gathering process that continues to inform the plan’s development and implementation.
  • The first phase of that stand-alone plan is expected to be released in this academic year. It will be an evolving plan as the government releases each of the accessibility standards – two of the eight have been released to date.

 

Will there be voting booths for the BC election on campus this year?The BC Provincial General Election is expected to take place on October 19th, 2024 and I encourage all members of the university community to engage in the democratic process, including executing their right to vote, if eligible.

  • I am pleased to confirm that there will be an advance voting place on the UBC Okanagan campus this year:

 

ADVANCE VOTING AT UBC Okanagan
UNC 200 (Ballroom)
Thursday October 10 – Sunday October 13
Per Elections BC, advance voting places will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

      • You don’t need a special reason to vote at advance voting – it’s an option for all eligible voters – and voters can vote at any advance voting place in the province.

 

  • Information on voting eligibility and registration:
    • You can vote in the BC election if you are:
      • a Canadian citizen;
      • 18 or older on October 19, 2024
      • and a resident of B.C. since April 18, 2024.
    • If you haven’t registered to vote in BC before, or your information is out of date, you may register or update when you vote.
  • More information, including how to register online, can be found here.

 

It appears that the retention outcomes for participation in Jump Start are significant (especially for international students). Are there plans to expand orientation programming to support retention?  

  • Our orientation programs, including UBC101, Jump Start, and Create, are evidence-based and designed to enhance student retention.
  • In 2024, Student Engagement & Learning updated the Student Learning Outcomes for these programs, aligning them with Alf Lizzio’s 5 Senses of Success framework and the Council for the Advancement of Standards for Orientation & Transition.
  • This year, in collaboration with campus partners, we reimagined Jump Start into a more effective three-day program, and recently UBC101 was expanded into a pre-orientation series with student leaders engaging small cohorts on various topics throughout the summer.
  • We are particularly focused on increasing participation among international students in Jump Start, given its proven impact on their transition to life and learning in Canada. At the same time, we recognize the importance of supporting traditionally underrepresented student populations, such as Indigenous students, first-generation learners, and students from rural communities, by expanding our orientation offerings and targeted orientation efforts.
  • UBC Okanagan and UBC Vancouver are collaborating to identify and implement strategies to expand and enhance orientation programs, ensuring that we meet the needs of students who will benefit most from these initiatives.

 

Last year, a question was asked regarding staff signing up for classes/tuition waivers and the challenges in doing so. Have there been any changes to the processes?

 

    • View or Edit/Cancel Previously Submitted Tuition Waivers
    • View their Tuition Waiver Anniversary Date
    • View their Created Tuition Waivers
    • Check their Tuition Waiver Balance

 

  • If an employee needs assistance for:
    • Tuition Waiver application issue, please the Tuition Waiver (TW) desk at UBC Vancouver Payroll via a Workday Support ticket

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