This month, UBC Okanagan will undergo its first Quality Assurance Process Audit (QAPA) external review. This process was developed by the Degree Quality Assessment Board’s (DQAB) Quality Assurance Audit Committee and seeks to ensure that public post-secondary institutions periodically conduct rigorous, ongoing program and institutional quality assessments. All public institutions in British Columbia participate in a QAPA external review once every seven years. External reviews are an important means of promoting accountability and transparency across educational institutions and are an opportunity to continuously improve academic excellence.
Strategic Review of Health at UBC Okanagan
Dear colleagues,
Since the inception of UBC Okanagan in 2005, our campus has experienced tremendous growth—both in student population as well as our research and program offerings. This dramatic growth has included an expansion of health-related activities and programming across all faculties at UBC Okanagan. Earlier this year, UBC Health, which facilitates health-related collaborations across all disciplines at UBC’s two campuses, released its strategic plan—Better Health Together.
Now is an opportune time to build on the current momentum on the Okanagan campus around health-related activities. Recent growth and evolving plans and opportunities are a good foundation for strategizing health-related programming at UBC Okanagan. We are pleased to announce that the Office of the Provost is undertaking an external review of the campus’ health programming and activities, with an emphasis on enabling collaboration, growth and better support for health-related teaching, research and community engagement—across and within all faculties, as well as with our Indigenous and community partners.
Guidance for Faculty– Return to Classrooms Fall 2021
The following resources have been prepared for UBC Okanagan faculty to help guide a safe return to the classroom this Fall. These documents may be revised in the coming days as additional information regarding public health guidelines and measures becomes available.
Safety in the classroom
This flowchart describes plans for supporting a safe return to the classroom.
Classroom welcome slide
This is a sample slide that faculty might adapt for use in their classes to outline key messages to students.
Guidance for start of term teaching
This webpage provides detailed guidance on a number of questions and potential scenarios for in-person learning in Fall 2021.
For more information about UBC’s response to COVID-19, updates, FAQs and resources, visit ubc.ca. For UBC Okanagan-specific updates, visit ok.ubc.ca/covid19.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Academic Calendar adjustments
Dear colleagues,
On August 18, 2021, following the federal government’s recognition of September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, UBC President Santa J. Ono shared with the UBC community information on the observation of the statutory holiday for UBC campuses and distributed learning sites. We would like to take this opportunity to further clarify the resulting changes to the Academic Calendar.
As per UBC Okanagan Senate policy, the addition of a statutory holiday requires a slight shift of the Academic Calendar. One extra teaching day will be added at the end of the Winter term; the Winter term session dates will be Sept. 7 to Dec. 8, 2021. Exams will start one day later; the exam period will be Dec. 11 to 22, 2021, inclusive of and using all dates within.
This amendment was recommended by the Senate Academic Policy Committee and approved by the Senate Agenda Committee, using its delegated authority of Senate under Rule 25 of the Rules and Procedures of Senate. Should you have any questions about the above-noted change to the Academic Calendar, please connect with your manager.
We also encourage you to learn more about our campus’ declaration of truth and reconciliation commitments and the meaningful and important collaboration taking place on our campus and in our community in partnership with the Syilx Okanagan Nation. Another excellent resource is the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan.
For more information on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, please refer to President Ono’s recent UBC Broadcast.
Sincerely,
Ananya Mukherjee Reed
Provost and Vice-President Academic
UBC Okanagan
Lesley Cormack
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal
UBC Okanagan
2020/21 Teaching Excellence and Innovation Awards
Every year, UBC Okanagan celebrates the outstanding and innovative teaching taking place on our campus. We recognize the dedication and passion of faculty members who strive to inspire our diverse student body and prepare them for remarkable futures.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2020/21 Teaching Excellence Awards and the 2020/21 Killam Teaching Prize. Recipients of these awards are exemplary role models who have made a significant impact on the culture of teaching and learning at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
Asian Heritage Month 2021
As you know, the month of May is Asian Heritage Month. It comes to us amidst significant adversities: the unprecedented rise of anti-Asian racism, the scepter of the unrelenting pandemic, the humanitarian crisis in India and so on. And yet even in the face of such daunting realities, we see communities coming together, raising their voices and offering support to one another, within and across borders.
It is with this spirit of coming together that I am writing to invite you to the first-ever Asian Heritage Month at UBC Okanagan. Beginning on May 6, we will hold several virtual events during the four weeks of May. The initiative is inspired by our students . . .
Message to the community regarding Senate vote on use of remote proctoring software
On March 25, 2021, the UBC Okanagan Senate voted in favour of a motion to direct UBC Okanagan Faculties to stop using remote invigilation tools that involve automated recording and algorithmic analysis of data captured during invigilation, except in cases where the use of such ‘remote proctoring software’ is required by external accreditation bodies. This motion is effective immediately.
The Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic is working with Deans and Faculties in implementing the Senate’s decision. We know that this change, coming late in the term, will impact the planned final assessments for some courses. Support will be available for instructors, such as providing extra TA resources for alternative methods of invigilation and/or exploring alternate options for final course assessments. The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is available to support instructors and TAs. Contact the CTL Help Desk at ctl.helpdesk@ubc.ca.