January 5, 2007
With the formal disestablishment of the University’s Extension Division only about six months away, a report on the process of creating several new entities to manage the division’s activities and on the provisions made for faculty and staff was presented at the Dec. 14 meeting of University Council.
Provost and Vice-President Academic Michael Atkinson detailed the changes that have taken place since Council’s approval of the new University Learning Centre (ULC) and Centre for Continuing and Distance Education (CCDE), and the wrap-up of the Extension Division by July 1 this year.
The operations of the CCDE have been consolidated in the Williams Building and Atkinson said the development of a business plan and funding model is underway. That work should be complete by March, he said.
In the main library, work continues on reorganizing and refitting the space to accommodate the various components of the learning centre, which will focus on student success. Existing services like the math and writing help centres will be relocated to the ULC. New programs like academic peer mentoring and tutoring are expected to be fully operational in the 2007-08 year.
The official launch of the ULC is scheduled for Jan. 15.
There will also likely be further changes to the structure of the Division of Media and Technology to support “a more robust” e-learning strategy, said Atkinson. And still to come are two additional entities identified in the Foundational Document on Outreach and Engagement – an Office of University-Community Relations, and a President’s Round Table on Outreach and Engagement.
All of the changes so far have had an impact on Extension faculty and staff. Atkinson reported that most CUPE and ASPA staff have been reassigned to the CCDE. Instructional designers have been offered reassignment, and faculty have been given the options of separation, transfer to another college or unit, or retraining as per a memorandum of understanding negotiated between the University and the U of S Faculty Association.
As for the cost, “there is no question (these changes) have required some financial re-adjustments.” Atkinson said that as of Dec. 14, seven Extension faculty members had elected separation, three had transfer agreements in place, one accepted reassignment and two had been allowed extended decision deadlines. Severance costs alone could be as high as $3 million, he said, “depending on the outcome of the final faculty decisions.”
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