Seneca Au Large

Seneca Au Large was not cut from whole cloth. It can find its roots in many initiatives well underway at Seneca prior to the pandemic, such as the Digital Strategy, customer service strategies and growing online and hybrid program and service delivery options. Perhaps most important, it picks up on a yearning among Seneca’s employees for innovation and change.

Like so many other areas, postsecondary education will be changed by the acceleration of pre-established trends through the pandemic, as well as the emergence of new opportunities in the wake of huge economic dislocation.

Taken together, the Au Large initiatives position Seneca to continue its leadership in polytechnic education, delivering on our core mission while being ready to take on those new opportunities as well.

Seneca Au Large has three pillars: the equitable Seneca, the sustainable Seneca and the more virtual Seneca.

Together, they represent the underpinnings of the renewed Seneca — the Seneca that will emerge from the pandemic thriving and continuing to lead. And these three areas have become organizational imperatives for Seneca in FY21-22.

The equitable Seneca

Educational institutions play a special role in building a more equitable world. We are many things — employer, teacher, gathering place, social venue, community space — and we have unique opportunities to model examples by what we do, how we do it and the environment we create for teaching and learning.

An Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Committee was established to advise the president on policies and procedures to build the equitable Seneca, free of systemic racism and bias.

In FY21-22, the committee focused on three initial tasks to contribute to building the equitable Seneca:

Developing anti-bias and inclusivity programming for all current and new employees, with similar programming for students; working with Human Resources and Student Services, resources were developed for use
Implementing a voluntary census to establish a database, and baseline, on the diversity of Seneca’s students and employees to allow progress to be measured; the goal was to complete the first round of both censuses
Reviewing admissions, retention and disciplinary policies and procedures for students, and of hiring, promotion and disciplinary policies and procedures for employees, to identify and remove any systemic biases; reviews were completed this year along with action plans to address shortcomings and gaps

Ongoing work included revising curriculum to incorporate citizenry, intercultural relations, ethics and inclusivity and assessing new programs with an EDI lens. Through Advancement, we encouraged the establishment of bursaries and scholarships to support racialized and minority students.

Year-end outcomes:

Launched review of hiring practices with the goal of identifying and eliminating barriers
Board of Governors approved The Jane Fund, a $12-million investment in an endowed fund dedicated to supporting student-focused EDI initiatives in perpetuity for student financial aid, support programs, projects and research initiatives (the oversight committee has been struck and first funds will be disbursed in FY22-23)
Modules being produced jointly by Leadership & Employee Development and Student Services for employees to develop baseline understanding of key EDI concepts
Series of virtual EDI-related events held for students, employees and the broader Seneca community
Census for students launched in November and for employees last April, serving as a baseline for gathering future data and assessing progress
Audit developed to evaluate classroom management, curriculum development and design, assessment and course materials with an EDI lens (implementation delayed due to labour action)
Tool to conduct environmental scan of courses that reflect EDI directly completed (implementation delayed due to labour action)
Review of policies and procedures for students and employee continuing

Highlights of 2021-22

A $12-million endowment for student-focused equity initiatives

Seneca established The Jane Fund, a $12-million investment dedicated to supporting student-focused equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives. The Jane Fund is endowed, providing resources in perpetuity for EDI-related student financial aid, support programs, projects and research initiatives. It is Seneca’s single largest endowed fund.

New financial aid for youth in care

In partnership with the Child Welfare Political Action Committee, Seneca introduced a tuition bursary in support of 30 current and former youth in care studying at Seneca. This is the first bursary program of its kind at a postsecondary institution in the Greater Toronto Area.

Students and employees complete first-ever demographic census

Seneca conducted a voluntary demographic census for students and employees to learn more about who is learning and working at our institution. This was an initiative of the EDI Committee, formed to help Seneca achieve the Au Large objective to become an equitable school, workplace and community.

HELIX “rises” with donation from Scotiabank

HELIX RISE launched thanks to a $300,000 donation from Scotiabank. This is the next phase of growth for HELIX, Seneca’s business incubator and accelerator, to provide more support for business-minded women and individuals from equity-seeking communities to reach their entrepreneurial goals.

New Career HERizons for female professionals

Seneca received $2 million from the federal government’s Women’s Employment Readiness pilot program in support of Career HERizons. This initiative will offer a series of 30 free skills development workshops, networking events and mentorship opportunities for women re-entering the workforce or preparing for new careers.

Founder of Afro Women and Youth Foundation wins Premier’s Award

Adebola Taiwo Adefioye received the Premier’s Award for College Graduates in the Recent Graduates category. Ms. Adefioye completed Seneca’s Child Development honours degree program and the Early Childhood Education diploma program. She founded the Afro Women and Youth Foundation to provide leadership development programs for vulnerable girls and women in Africa and Canada.

Tackling discrimination with TTC

Eunice Kays Yeboah, who graduated from Seneca’s Liberal Arts University Transfer diploma program, became the first-ever policy consultant for anti-racism at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Mrs. Yeboah contributes to developing an anti-racism strategy and applying a racial equity lens to the TTC’s hiring process.

Graduate ‘amplifies’ great outdoors

Journalism graduate Kristen Berkeley launched Amplify Outdoors to promote diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Ms. Berkeley, now living in Yellowknife, worked with graphic designers from diverse backgrounds to create merchandise, such as T-shirts, hoodies and mugs, to create more awareness about the benefits of being outdoors. She donates 10 per cent of Amplify’s proceeds to sports and recreation programming for marginalized and refugee youth.

The sustainable Seneca

Sustainability as both a core value and operational priority has been widely embraced in the Seneca community, with equal attention to reflecting the commitment to sustainability in academic programs, in services and in our physical spaces. Ongoing projects include retrofitting campuses for energy efficiency, sustainable landscaping and waste reduction initiatives.

Beyond environmental sustainability, Seneca is supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a wholistic approach to sustainability that includes economic, cultural and social goals as well.

In FY21-22, sustainability goals included:

Through broad consultations, creating a formal and first-ever sustainability plan to set goals and improve performance across academic and operations
Establishing a permanent Office of Sustainability to build partnerships across Seneca to advance the awareness and practice of sustainability
Aligning curriculum and research in Seneca Business to the Principles for Responsible Management Education, a global initiative among business schools to incorporate sustainability across all forms of business education and operations

Year-end outcomes:

Launched Seneca’s first sustainability plan, Our Path Forward, developed through broad consultations across the institution and with community input
Hired director for dedicated Office of Sustainability and three other key positions: sustainability specialists for academics, operations and engagement and outreach
Procured more than $1 million of technology equipment designated as gold-certified for sustainability by the World Electronics Council
Fifteen programs mapped against United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with another 18 going through the mapping process
Received a second grant from City of Toronto Greening Partnership to revitalize courtyard at Seneca@York Campus
Awarded $360,000 for applied research benefiting urban farmers
Hosted sustainability awareness events for students and employees

Highlights of 2021-22

Sustainability plan charts Seneca’s path forward

Seneca released its first-ever sustainability plan, titled Our Path Forward. The document provides a formal framework to become the sustainable Seneca over the next five years. It is one of the milestone deliverables of Seneca Au Large and includes the co-ordinated, cross-institutional approach that will embed sustainability into all aspects of life at Seneca.

Seneca signs sustainability accord

Seneca became one of nine Canadian institutions to sign the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord, a worldwide partnership to fight global injustice and advance the role of education in delivering the United Nations’ SDGs. Under the accord, Seneca will work towards attaining the SDGs by 2030 and share sustainable best practices with other institutions.

Newnham Campus is now even greener

A second round of funding through the City of Toronto’s Greening Partnership Grant was secured to support sustainable landscaping work at Newnham Campus. The $75,000 grant adds to the substantial investment Seneca has made in its natural campus spaces over the last few years. Previous funding from the city in 2020 supported the planting of 185 trees and 1,185 shrubs at Newnham Campus.

CITE is golden for being green

The award-winning Centre for Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship (CITE) at Newnham Campus earned a gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for office space from the Canada Green Building Council. The administrative levels on floors 4 and 5 were rated for water savings, energy efficiency, sustainable site development, material selection and more. CITE received LEED Gold certification in 2020 for floors 1, 2 and 3.

Recognition for excellence in sustainability

For the second year in a row, Seneca received a bronze in the sustainable development category of the Colleges and Institutes Canada Awards of Excellence. The award acknowledged Seneca’s commitment to sustainability as guided by our new sustainability plan, Our Path Forward, and the principles of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Supporting environmental innovation in York Region

Kingbridge Centre partnered with Seneca to create an innovation hub that will help entrepreneurs build and scale businesses in the agriculture, food production and processing, energy and environmental sectors. The hub will help companies grow and solve challenges related to technology, infrastructure and sustainability.

Applied research funds benefit urban farmers

A Seneca-led applied research project was awarded $360,000 by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The project will help urban farms develop sustainable businesses.

Seneca Business hosts sustainability speaker series

The four-part Seneca Business Sustainability Speaker Series began with an exclusive, live-streamed conversation with Erin Brockovich, author, consumer advocate and environmental activist. Subsequent talks featured Takara Small and David Miller. The series concluded with David Suzuki, the award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster.

Seneca pilots WWF-Canada Seed Orchard Project

World Wildlife Fund Canada selected Seneca as one of five Ontario postsecondary institutions to participate in its Seed Orchard Project. Seneca received funds to plant 400 native perennials at Newnham Campus. The seeds produced in Seneca’s orchard will help ecological restoration and expand viable habitat for wildlife.

More electric vehicle chargers at Newnham Campus

Seneca received funding for electric vehicle (EV) chargers at Newnham Campus through Natural Resources Canada’s Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Development Initiative. Since January 2020, Seneca has installed 10 EV charging ports at Newnham Campus.

Professor, industry partners featured at Canadian Colleges for Resilient Recovery event

As part of the Canadian Colleges for Resilient Recovery initiative, Seneca hosted Hollywood 2.0: How Digital Transformation has Canada Poised to Take Centre Stage. This webinar featured Thiago Carneiro, Professor, School of Creative Arts & Animation, industry partner Jeff Melanson, Partner, The Stratagem Group, and Kadon Douglas, Executive Director, BIPOC TV and Film.

Students go wild for campus sustainability projects

Two Environmental Landscape Management students received WWF-Canada Go Wild Grants for sustainability projects at King Campus. Lisa Vanin’s amphibian and reptile habitat helps conserve, restore and enhance ecosystems. Daniel Mack’s forest garden features 80 native plants to improve biodiversity and provides food that can be donated to local food banks.

Graduate featured on Hershey’s chocolate bar for International Women’s Day

Fashion Business Management graduate Natalya Amres was one of five women from across Canada featured in Hershey Canada’s Her For She campaign in celebration of International Women’s Day. The sustainable fashion designer was also chosen to be part of Foot Locker’s Behind Her Label platform in Canada and worked with British luxury footwear brand Nicholas Kirkwood for its Earth Day campaign.

The more virtual Seneca

Literally dozens of initiatives are underway to create the more virtual Seneca. Every part of Seneca is affected.

Collectively, these will propel Seneca into the post-pandemic world in a leadership position, offering more convenient access to programs for students, broadening the range of programs and courses to meet market needs and taking full advantage of the digital strategy to streamline services.

What follows are major areas of activity, highlighting initiatives with the most significant impact on students, employees and the community.

In FY21-22, goals included:

Academics

Determining what programs and courses would be offered post-pandemic in online, hybrid and in-person formats
Exploring new online markets across Canada and the world
Expanding the use of extended reality in programs, including virtual, augmented and simulated learning applications
Continuing to expand training for online teaching and learning

Year-end outcomes:

Introduced new flexible (flex) course delivery, giving students the option to be on campus or learning remotely; offering pilot courses in flexible mode, growing to 20 per cent of all delivery modes post-pandemic
Upgraded 90 classrooms to support new flex delivery mode (further technology made to 54 classrooms to significantly enhance the student experience)
The Teaching & Learning Centre (T&L) established a flexible teaching working group to gather student and faculty feedback for future planning and to determine resources and guidance on best practices (research studies on flexible delivery have been submitted to the Research Ethics Board)
More than 2,000 faculty participated in courses delivered by T&L and close to 3,000 participated in webinars and events
Further dedicated spaces being equipped as online teaching spaces for faculty who are on campus and teaching virtually

Highlights of 2021-22

Flexible learning brings Seneca classrooms to students

Four program and course delivery options were offered to students in the May 2021, Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 terms: online (exclusive remote learning), hybrid (a mix of online and in person) in person (all activities on campus) and flexible. The flexible format allows students the choice between attending the class on campus in person and remotely online, with everyone having the same access to the recorded class session at any time. More than 100 classrooms have been outfitted with flexible learning technology.

International virtual collaboration recognized by Colleges and Institutes Canada

Seneca received a Colleges and Institutes Canada Award of Excellence in the Global Engagement Excellence category. The International Mobility Office was honoured for its innovative and inclusive internationalization strategy, called Collaborative Online International Learning or COIL. This is a faculty-led teaching and learning model that connects students and educators virtually to collaborate on curriculum-embedded projects and discussions.

Government funding supports virtual teaching and learning

Seneca’s virtual classrooms have benefited from funding from the Ontario government’s Virtual Learning Strategy. The province supported nearly 400 projects at colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes to create online teaching and learning materials and virtual simulations. Seneca led seven of these projects that received almost $900,000 in funding.

VR project provides nursing students with new learning experiences

A School of Nursing virtual reality project received support from Epic Games’ MegaGrants program. Using the company’s Unreal Engine technology, students can practise the preparation and delivery of injectable medications from anywhere and at any time. The project is part of Seneca XR, an Au Large initiative led by the Teaching & Learning Centre, in partnership with the Faculty of Communication, Art & Design and Information Technology Services.

Services

Developing a new services model to offer students a superior services experience, including adopting service standards
Continuing all transactional services in an online and self-serve model while exploring adding virtual connection options to the transformational in-person services through service hubs
Starting a triage front-end for students to streamline access to relevant services and assistance
Providing just-in-time technology support to employees when faced with situations requiring immediate support

Year-end outcomes:

Service model expanded to deliver support through nine channels from three currently used
Salesforce Service Cloud secured to provide technology platform
Employees in need of ITS support had option to bypass first-level support and access technical support by email and phone
Subject matter experts developed knowledge base for new delivery model
Renovations neared completion, transforming former Registrar’s Office into a first-stop service hub at Newnham Campus

Highlights of 2021-22

ITS launches emergency virtual classroom and appointment support

A new emergency service called Just in Time was introduced for professors and student advisers needing urgent technical support for a virtual classroom or appointment.

Introducing new service hub

Work began in Building D at Newnham Campus to create a central service hub, totalling about 724 square metres. The initiative is part of Seneca’s more virtual and self-serve delivery model, which is now available as a portal on MySeneca with more online channels to follow. The one-stop service hub will offer both self-serve options and consultation stations for in-person support.

Going cashless

Cash transactions ended across all campuses in the fall. The initiative was a result of consultation across the Seneca community, with many expressing their desire to go cashless in the wake of the pandemic. A cashless Seneca promotes safety and security while reducing administrative costs.

Working Remotely

With the advice of an employee committee, developing a post-pandemic working remotely policy that balances the desire for more remote working options with operational needs

Year-end outcomes:

Supervisors worked with employees on flexible work approach for each department/team using these guiding principles:

Supporting our students always takes priority
Seneca continues to value in-person interaction on campuses
No one approach will fit all circumstances, and circumstances change
Arrangements are best made through team discussions and individual agreements
Training and support for all employees and supervisors is key

Results of pulse survey completed in December showed 41 per cent of employees prefer to work remotely 100 per cent of the time post-pandemic compared to 26 per cent in 2020. Other results:

80 per cent of time — 23 per cent
60 per cent of time — 16 per cent
40 per cent of time — eight per cent
20 per cent of time — six per cent
0 per cent of time — five per cent

CITE employee workspaces reconfigured to be used as hotelling space (Phase 1 underway with group of 50 employees piloting space and technology)
Spaces at other campuses being equipped for hotelling

Highlights of 2021-22

Employees participate in Return to Campus initiative

About 50 employees returned to campus to work on the fourth floor of CITE in February and March. Nineteen desks were available for booking in CITE’s newly designed hotelling space. Participants took part in a webinar with information on what to expect while on campus, COVID-19 safety protocols and using the new the new online desk and meeting room booking portal.

More spaces to work at each campus

As part of Seneca’s flexible work approach, employees will have the option to work at hotelling spaces at various campuses. Renovations are underway to add spaces at King, Markham and Seneca@York, building on the model implemented on the fourth and fifth floors of CITE at Newnham Campus.

Infrastructure

Converting classrooms into labs to accommodate more students in high-demand programs
Launching a new student intranet to improve communications
Exploring a distributed computing commons model across more areas of our campuses
Going cashless across all campuses in all services
A comprehensive space audit to reimagine both academic and office spaces to meet post-pandemic needs

Year-end outcomes:

First phase of distributed computing commons completed with more than 100 computers installed in study spaces across Newnham Campus (space freed up in the Computing Commons area has been transformed into a student lounge)
Classrooms converted into labs for animation and opticianry programs and of student-run marketing agency
Converting classroom at Newnham Campus into an XR Lab to support XR experience in aviation and nursing courses
New student intranet — one-stop site for information and access to services launched in January

Highlights of 2021-22

MySeneca reimagined to enhance the student experience

The new MySeneca student intranet launched. The one-stop platform helps current and prospective students access resources for classes, health and wellness, work opportunities, student life and more. It also includes an easy-to-use search function to locate information quickly.

Refraction lab shines a new light for Opticianry students

Students in the Opticianry diploma program now have access to a state-of-the-art refraction lab at Newnham Campus. Designed to mirror a clinical setting, the lab features new audio-visual technology and industry-standard equipment. It also provides students with opportunities to refine the skills they’ll need to measure the power of eyeglasses and contact lenses during eye exams.

On-campus marketing agency provides inspiring space for collaboration

The new student-run marketing agency at Seneca@York Campus provides opportunities for cross-disciplinary learning, entrepreneurial skill development and work-integrated learning. It also provides a non-traditional learning environment to bring together students from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds within the School of Marketing & Media.

Animation Arts Centre gets a new look for a growing number of creative students

The Animation Arts Centre at Seneca@York Campus has been renovated to meet increased enrolment in the Animation and 3D Animation programs. By rearranging the rooms and improving digital infrastructure, the spaces are more flexible and can accommodate twice as many students.

Adding student-friendly spaces at Markham Campus

Markham Campus was refreshed in time for in-person activities at the Seneca International Academy. Work included moving the Seneca Student Federation office to the garden level, a welcome desk and lounge in the lobby, and student seating on the third and fourth floors. Renovation of Markham Campus will take place over the next few years.