Québec Report

Submitted by: Heidi Emami Québec Representative McGill University

PCATT 2011 Annual Meeting to be held at McGill
As mentioned in the last issue, the next meeting of the Pan-Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer (PCCAT) will be held June 20-22 at McGill University. The theme is Emerging Trends and Innovation in Student Mobility. The call for presentations is now open and we invite your submissions. If you are interested in presenting, please contact Emily Kingsland at emily.kingsland@mcgill.ca.

The conference details can be found at www.pccat.ca/pccat-2011. We hope to see you there!

Guide for Quebec Registrars
A subcommittee of the CREPUQ Quebec Registrars Group has completed work on a comprehensive guide for new registrars. The manual covers a wide range of topics, including recruitment, admissions, registration and records, transfer credits, government reporting, and graduation. This information is geared at new registrars working in Quebec, however, many of the practices are similar to those in universities in other provinces. The subcommittee plans to present this document at the ARUCC 2012 conference.

International Exchange Participation in 2009-2010
Preliminary statistics on the number of students who participated in CREPUQ Exchange programs in the 2009-2010 academic year are now available. These exchange agreements are coordinated by CREPUQ, on behalf of Quebec universities, with more than 500 partner institutions in Europe, and North and South America.

Here is a summary:

Compared to 2008-2009, these figures reflect an increase of approximately 4% in the number of Quebec students participating and the number of international students coming to Quebec on exchange.

People on the Move

The University of Quebec in Abitibi-Temiscamingue has a new Registrar and Director of Student Services, Ms. Hélène Boissé, who has replaced Ms. Monique Fay.

Mr. Romain Lavoie is the new Registrar at University of Quebec in Rimouski (UQAR), replacing Mr. Philippe Horth, who has taken on the role of Vice President, Training and Research (Lévis campus) at UQAR.

Western Region Report

Submitted by: Jody Gordon Western Region Representative Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Reports from around the Western Region

Another spring is just around the corner. Well at least that is what it says on the calendar! Soon the province of Saskatchewan will welcome conference attendees for this year's western regional conference. The conference will be held at the beautiful Delta Bessborough Hotel in downtown Saskatoon, June 21-24, 2011. Attendees will get to "rethink, renew and relate." You can view the details about the conference on-line at warucc.usask.ca.

In B.C. the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer has published several new resources including the Articulation Committee Companion designed to serve as both an introductory resource for new articulation committee members and as an ongoing reference for committees and the New Members Resource Book which is a reference for new member institutions which are those private institutions admitted to the BC Transfer System by way of having one or more programs reviewed by the Degree Quality Assessment Board and given Minister's Consent. All current BC Transfer System members and prospective members (private institutions contemplating a Minister's Consent program) will also find this a useful resource. It describes the culture and norms of the BC Transfer System, the rights and obligations of membership and provides an overview of articulation tools, resources and processes.  Those working outside of B.C. may find both of these resources useful in understanding the BC post-secondary system.  Visit www.bccat.bc.ca for more information.

Work on student mobility by The Western Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer (WestCAT) continues.  It is a voluntary consortium whose purpose is to encourage and facilitate inter-provincial access, mobility, and transfer of credits for students moving among British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Its work is guided by the principles stated in the Council of Ministers of Education (CMEC) (2009) Ministerial Statement on Credit Transfer in Canada and is compatible with the mandate and role of the Pan-Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer (PCCAT).

In Alberta, the Alberta Registrars Association is now in its 2nd year. Registrars from all the publicly supported institutions are members of this discussion, advocacy and consultative group. This past fall an "Alberta Day" was arranged in conjunction with the PACRAO conference, and we look forward to restoring the tradition of an annual fall professional development day for registrarial staff. The executive is Glenn Keeler (The King's University College), Scott Robinson (St Mary's University College), Barb Gordey (Lakeland College), Anna Foshay (NAIT), and James D'Arcy (Athabasca University).

In Saskatchewan, the University of Regina is in the second year of implementing a new strategic plan mâmawohkamâtowin: Our Work, Our People, Our Communities, 2009-2014. Key components of the plan include community engagement, research, and internationalization, increasing enrolments, improving the student experience and improving operational efficiencies. One step to implementing the Plan was the creation of a new department called Enrolment Services which houses Student Recruitment, Admissions and Student Awards and Financial Aid. Enrolment Services reports directly to the Associate Vice-President, Student Affairs.

The University of Regina in collaboration with SIAST will be offering a new collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The first intake will be in September 2011 and the program will run on a direct entry model. The program is a fully integrated model where students will be taking courses at both institutions at the same time. The program will take in 350 students each year with 200 in Regina and 150 in Saskatoon.

Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) has a number of exciting initiatives and projects underway, such as the implementation of Flexible Registration (Banner’s on-line registration system), producing our year-end census reports as well as on-demand reports using the Operational Data Store (ODS) and eventually strategic enrolment management reports from the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), myChoice (SIAST’s branding of ezRecruit) where approximately 2,000 questions and answers have been built through the FAQ functionality, and implementation of a 5-year Aboriginal student success strategy project. The focus of this project is to address barriers to Aboriginal student recruitment and program completion through the implementation of 21-strategic actions that will integrate responsibility for Aboriginal student success throughout the institution. For more information visit www.goSIAST.com/ASAP.

The Student and Enrolment Services Division at the University of Saskatchewan have seen a few organizational and staffing changes.  They have renamed their three main units Enrolment Services, Support Services, and Academic Services. Within these units, several groups are sporting new names, including: Student Central Support Services under Support Services; Registrarial Services, Awards and Financial Aid under Academic Services; International Student and Study Abroad Centre, Undergraduate Recruitment under Enrolment Services. President Peter MacKinnon, in his update to our Strategic Directions, has set a goal of 15% of total enrolment being Aboriginal students by 2020, and 20% of total enrolment being graduate students by 2015. For more information on our enrolment numbers and plans, please visit www.usask.ca/sesd/reports/enrolment-report-2010.pdf.

In Manitoba, for many years students in Northern Manitoba have been able to access courses delivered by Brandon University, University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg and more recently University College of the North in their communities through Inter-Universities Services (IUS). In preparation for the expiration of the IUS agreement in 2013, these four Manitoba universities are currently partnering with IUS to develop a web-based provincial transfer credit database. The transfer credit database will help facilitate mobility of northern students taking courses across all four institutions.

Special thanks to Angelique Saweczko, University of Regina and Russell Isinger, University of Saskatchewan, Kathy Larsen, SIAST, Neil Marnoch, University of Manitoba and Mike SeKulic, University of Calgary for their contributions to this report.

Go West!  People on the Move

At the University of Saskatchewan, Dan Seneker, formerly of the University of Calgary, began as the new Manager of Undergraduate Recruitment in January, a new unit which combines our domestic and international recruitment units. Tonya Wirchenko is our new Student Critical Incidents Advisor to the Associate Vice President, and Dr. Vicki Squires joins us as Project Manager, Divisional Assessment and Planning. Sandra Ritchie is our Manager, Student Central Support Services. Janelle Hutchinson returns from maternity leave on January 1 as Manager, IT and Communications. We also congratulate two of our staff members who graduated with their PhDs in 2010 – Dr. Frank Kusch in Awards and Financial Aid, and Dr. Susan Bens, Director of Support Services.  Derek Tannis, Manager of the International Student and Study Abroad Centre, also graduated in this past year with his MEd.

At the University of Regina, there have been a number of staff changes this year. John Smith is the new Associate Vice President, Student Affairs. Angelique Saweczko is the new Director, Enrolment Services and John Metcalfe is the new Registrar. The Manager, Student Awards and Financial Aid (SAFA), Betty St. Onge, retired effective November 1, 2010.  The new manager, Ms. Donnell Schoenhofen,  joined SAFA in November 2010.  Richard Kleer has been named the Dean, Faculty of Arts.

At SIAST, over the past few years they have been moving toward an internal international document assessor. Maxine Reimer is settling into this new full-time position at SIAST.

UCN's former president and vice-chancellor, Dr. Denise K. Henning has taken up the presidency at Northwest Community College in Terrace BC.  Glenn Feltham, former Dean of the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, has commenced his term as President of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).  Greg Coates has been appointed Acting Registrar at Brandon University, following the departure of Larry VanBeek.

University of Calgary Outgoing Provost and Vice-President, Academic, Dr. Alan Harrison, was appointed as the next provost and vice-principal (academic) at Queen’s University. He will start at Queen’s Aug. 1. Harrison has been the University of Calgary’s provost and vice-president (academic) since July of 2006.

After five successful years at MacEwan University and over 30 years extensive experience in the post-secondary educational system in Alberta (five institutions including, aside from MacEwan, two universities, a community college and a hospital school of Nursing), Joan Fraser is retiring as of June 2011. With her many years of experience, it is befitting that she ends her long career in the position of MacEwan's first University Registrar. Throughout her time in the registrarial field, Joan contributed extensively to the profession through her work on WARUCC as President, Vice President, Past President, Newsletter Editor and Conference Coordinator. In addition, she has served as the Western Representative for ARUCC. Joan's friends and colleagues at MacEwan and around the country wish her a happy, restful, ERP-free retirement. Final grade: Joan Fraser: A+ . Retirement with Distinction.

Leslie Lavers Bids Farewell to University of Lethbridge! After over 31 years of service with the University of Lethbridge, 21 of those in the Registrar’s Office and the last 9 as Associate Vice President (student Services) and Registrar, Leslie Lavers has decided to retire as of June 30, 2011. Throughout her career Leslie had many success stories. She created the Office of Native Student Advising and was instrumental in the creation of the First Nations’ Support Group. In 2005 Leslie received the signal honour of a Blackfoot Name by the UofL’s Native American Student Association. The name “Bluebird Woman” was bestowed upon her because she “flies high to see the big picture and swoops low to attend to countless details.” There cannot be a more accurate description of Leslie. She is admired and respected by her staff in the Registrar’s Office and Student Services and by her colleagues in the wider University Community. She will be greatly missed and we wish her all the best in her new set of adventures. Some of us will miss you even more come the next round of Curriculum meetings in the fall

UA/AU University Affairs

The most trusted news source for Canadian Universities launched its April edition on-line. Feature articles include:

• New digs for a new generation (how residence accommodations on Canadian campuses are changing)
• Presidents want more oversight over varsity sports body (the university presidents calling for an advisory board to provide strategic  advice and  policy direction to the CIS)
• The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO), is trying to stir things up in Canada’s postsecondary education sector.
• Keep track of colleagues in the ‘people on the move’ section
• And much more…

www.universityaffairs.ca

Is DocAlert-L and its Use Legal Under Canadian Privacy Law?

Submitted by: Mike V. Sekulic Past-President of ARUCC University of Calgary

The former ARUCC Executive commissioned a legal opinion on Association and Member use of the DocAlert-L service provided by ARUCC.  The 37 page opinion explored legal and liability issues under both federal and provincial privacy legislation.

ARUCC is a federal non-profit unincorporated organization. Non-profit organizations can engage in commercial activity. However, since DocAlerts lack "commercial character" the activity is not subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).  At the same time, and in order to err on the side of caution, the opinion suggests that "...it is preferable for any not-for-profit organization to be very prudent when collecting, using and disclosing personal information."

As a service, DocAlert-L is a non-commercial core ARUCC service in the furtherance of the educational mission of the members it serves. The ARUCC Executive made recommendations about the use of DocAlert-L and members using DocAlert should re-acquaint themselves with these guidelines: www.arucc.ca/docalertguide.htm.

The legal opinion endorses and adds to those recommendations.  Before sharing information on a person through DocAlert-L the institution sharing the information needs to ensure that several things have happened.

First, the application process should convey to the applicant that misrepresentation on the application may result in information being shared with other post-secondary institutions. Consent must be provided by signing or proceeding with the application.

Second, If the institution questions the authenticity of an individual's document that individual should be informed that the authenticity is being questioned and that other institutions will be informed of this fact.

Third, the opinion states that it is up to each member institution "...to use the information within the purpose for which it is circulated...". It further goes on to state that each member "...should have a clear policy for the use, circulation and retention/destruction of the information obtained through DocAlert-L." Please note that ARUCC does not maintain a copy of any of the DocAlert’s circulated.

Based on this research ARUCC can offer the DocAlert service and members can continue to use and make use of this service.  However, this activity carries with it both risk and responsibility for both ARUCC and its member institutions.  The bulk of that risk and responsibility rests with members.  We wanted to let you know our findings, but each institution must decide for itself, considering all factors, if it can and should participate in DocAler-L.

2011 BCCIE International Education Awards

In order to recognize and celebrate excellence in the field of international education in the province, the BC Council for International Education (BCCIE) launched its second annual BCCIE International Education Awards. A short list of nominees will be published in April.

To provide nominees and winners maximum exposure, all winners will be announced at the awards banquet on the evening of Monday, May 30, 2011 at Bridges Restaurant on Granville Island in Vancouver, immediately preceding the NAFSA Conference in Vancouver.

Awards will be given out in the following categories:

• International Education Distinguished Leadership Award
• International Education Distinguished Service Award
• Innovation in International Marketing Award
• Rising Star in International Education Award
• Outstanding Program in International Education Award (new)

Congratulations in advance to the nominees! Thank you for promoting international education in the province of British Columbia.

VOE Template

As new students are accepting our offers of admission, and returning students are preparing for spring school Registrars Offices are seeing more and more Verification of Enrollment Forms.

Members are reminded that the VOE form, available on the ARUCC website at www.arucc.ca/resp.htm, was approved in June of 2006 by the membership of Registered Education Savings Plan Advisory Group.

The form may be used by Canadian universities and colleges to provide their students with the verification of enrolment information needed for RESP agreement forms.