2014-17 Strategic Mandate Agreement: Université de Hearst

Ontario’s Vision for Post-Secondary Education

Ontario’s colleges and universities will drive creativity, innovation, knowledge, and community engagement through teaching and research. They will put students first by providing the best possible learning experience for all qualified learners in an affordable and financially sustainable way, ensuring high quality and globally competitive outcomes for students and Ontario’s creative economy.

Université de Hearst Vision/Mandate

Mission

Université de Hearst makes university education accessible to francophones in Northeastern Ontario by offering them complete programs in their region, using teaching methods that recognize how important sustained interaction among students, and between students and their professors, is for education and academic success.

Teaching always comes first at Université de Hearst. Its aim is to develop students’ self- reliance and sense of responsibility, and provide them with an education that will serve them well in both their personal and working lives.

Université de Hearst strives to advance and transmit knowledge. It fosters the intellectual, spiritual, moral, physical, artistic, and social development of its members and encourages community involvement. Through teaching, research, and community involvement, it plays a role in cultural and economic development in Northern Ontario, promotes the French language and Franco-Ontarian culture, and fosters a sense of belonging to the Franco-Ontarian community.

Through all of its undertakings, Université de Hearst assists in the development of a society based on the values of freedom, equality, justice, open-mindedness, solidarity, respect for the individual, and protection of the environment.

Vision

Université de Hearst wants to make Northern Ontario the region in which the population has the highest level of education in Ontario. The transformation of Université de Hearst is focused on four major areas: transitioning to more engaging block courses, offering innovative programs that train graduates to deal with the complexity that characterizes the 21^st century, creating meaningful learning opportunities by means of mandatory and optional job placements, and affording students rich and diverse cross-cultural experiences.

Preamble

This Strategic Mandate Agreement between the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (the Ministry) and Université de Hearst outlines the role the University currently performs in the postsecondary education system and how it will build on its current strengths to achieve its vision and help drive system-wide objectives articulated by the Ministry’s Differentiation Policy Framework.

The Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA):

• Identifies the University’s existing institutional strengths;
• Supports the vision, mission, and mandate of the University within the context of the University’s governing legislation and outlines how the University’s priorities align with Ontario’s vision and Differentiation Policy Framework; and
• Informs Ministry decision making through greater alignment of its policies and processes to further support and guide the University’s areas of strength.

The term of the SMA is from April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2017. The SMA proposal submitted by the University to the Ministry has been used to inform the SMA and is appended to the agreement.

The Ministry acknowledges the University’s autonomy with respect to its academic and internal resource allocation decisions, and the University acknowledges the role of the Ministry as the Province’s steward of Ontario’s postsecondary education system.

The agreement may be amended in the event of substantive policy or program changes that would significantly affect commitments made in the SMA. Any such amendment would be mutually agreed to, dated, and signed by both signatories.

Université de Hearst Key Areas of Differentiation

Université de Hearst is the province’s only directly funded French-language university. It provides francophone students access to a unique learning environment in Northeastern Ontario, due in part to its innovative block system and its focus on experiential learning activities. Université de Hearst also supports social and economic development in Northeastern Ontario by encouraging students to study and live in the region post-graduation.

Alignment with the Differentiation Policy Framework

The following outlines areas of strength agreed upon by the University and the Ministry, and the alignment of these areas of strength with the Ministry’s Differentiation Policy Framework.

1. Jobs, innovation, and economic development

   This component highlights institutions’ collaborative work with employers, community partners, and regions, or at a global level, to establish their role in fostering social and economic development, and serving the needs of the economy and labour market.

   1. Areas of institutional strength

      Université de Hearst is a vehicle for social and economic development in Northeastern Ontario. This is demonstrated by:

      • The majority of Hearst’s graduates (80%) decide to settle in the North and contribute to the well-being of the community.
        • Université de Hearst’s Learning Integration Centres build bridges with the community, thereby helping graduates to settle in the region.
        • Université de Hearst’s Regional Research and Intervention Centre in Community Economic Development (in French, CRRIDEC) focuses on applied and fundamental research, and creates business and community partnerships to facilitate the transition from knowledge to action.
      • Work-integrated learning components in all programs better prepare graduates and build bridges with employers.

   2. Additional comments

      • In 2012-13, system-wide metrics indicated:
        • Graduate employment rate after six months was 100% (sector average of 87%).
        • Graduate employment rate after two years was 100% (sector average of 92%).
        • Graduate employment rate in field of study after six months was 100% (sector average of 77%).
        • Graduate employment rate in field of study after two years was 100% (sector average of 82%).

   3. Metrics

      Institutional Metrics	System-Wide Metricsfootnote 2[2]
      Number of graduates settling in the North Number of job placements Number of cultural and community partnerships: more involvement in cultural and community projects	Graduate employment rates Number of graduates employed full- time in a related job

2. Teaching and learning

   This component will capture institutional strength in program delivery methods that expand learning options for students, and improve the learning experience and career preparedness. This may include, but is not limited to, experiential learning, online learning, entrepreneurial learning, work integrated learning, and international exchange opportunities.

   1. Areas of institutional strength

      Université de Hearst plays a leadership role in French-language postsecondary education and development in Northern Ontario by:

      • Emphasizing experiential learning, technology-enabled learning, and interdisciplinary approaches to teaching.
      • Two work placements are mandatory in the Human and Social Issues programs, and others are optional in the Business Administration and Translation programs. As of 2014, all students are able to complete a credited practical work placement as part of their studies at Université de Hearst.
        • Certain work placements are provided through Learning Integration Centres.
        • These are extensions of the programs offered at Université de Hearst. Three centres are currently operational: the Centre d’archives de la Grande Zone argileuse nord-ontarienne [Archives for the Northern Ontario Clay Belt], the Collection Dionne-Poulin [Dionne-Poulin French Canadian Literature Collection], and the Centre régional de recherche et d’intervention en développement économique et communautaire.
      • Université de Hearst is committed to maintaining its focus on instruction, and plans on achieving a high ratio of salaries linked to instruction and total expenses (30%).
      • Université de Hearst delivers its programs via block courses, and is the only university in Ontario and the first French-language university in the country to offer its courses in a block format.

   2. Additional comments

      System-wide metrics indicate:

      • Hearst’s 2011 NSSE scores were 100% and 95% respectively on the questions “How would you evaluate your entire educational experience at this institution?” and “If you could start over, would you go to the institution you are now attending?”

      Institutional strategies

      • As of September 2014, Université de Hearst will offer all its courses by intensive delivery mode, in three-week blocks.
      • Students and staff created Learning Commons on all three campuses (Hearst, Kapuskasing, and Timmins). Learning Commons offer online and personalized assistance with learning strategies (such as time management and research skills), peer mentoring, and writing competency.
      • A faculty mentor will be assigned to every student as of 2014.
      • Hearst is proposing to set up new programs offered solely in distance format.
      • Two additional Learning Integration Centres will be set up before the end of 2015: the Translation Centre and the Centre d’évaluation et d’intervention psychosociale du nord-est de l’Ontario (CEIPS) [Northeastern Ontario Centre for Psychosocial Assessment and Intervention].
      • A full-time technopedagogical advisor was added in 2013 to help faculty transition to technology-enabled learning and hybrid teaching.
      • A full-time experiential learning coordinator was added in 2014 to facilitate work placements for students.

   3. Metrics

      Institutional Metrics	System-Wide Metrics
      Student satisfaction Graduate employment rate Improvement on graduation rate Number of hybrid course registrants Number of hybrid courses offered Number of job placements offered by institution Number of online course registrants and programs Number of courses offered at institution	Student Satisfaction Survey results Graduation rates Retention rates Number of students enrolled in a co-op program at institution Number of online course registrants, programs, and courses at institution

3. Student population

   This component recognizes the unique institutional missions that improve access, retention, and success for underrepresented groups (Aboriginal, first generation, students with disabilities) and francophones. This component also highlights other important student groups that institutions serve that link to their institutional strength. This may include, but is not limited to, international students, mature students, or indirect entrants.

   1. Areas of institutional strength

      Université de Hearst provides access to a French-language university education for Ontario’s francophone population, thereby helping to close the gap in the Bachelor’s degree attainment rate between anglophone and francophone populations.

      Hearst is a partner institution of the Ministry’s Politique d’aménagement linguistique and strives to meet challenges related to the delivery of programs, services, and supports for francophone learners, mainly in the following areas of focus: access to French-language programs; student support and success; quality enhancement; system promotion and targeted recruitment; partnerships and collaborations; and governance.

   2. Additional comments

      2012-13 system-wide metrics indicated that:

      • The proportion of Aboriginal students enrolled at Hearst had increased from 1.4% in 2009-10 to 5.8%.
      • The proportion of first generation students enrolled at Hearst was 26.1%.
      • The proportion of students with disabilities enrolled at Hearst was 10% (system average of 6%).

      Institutional strategies

      • Université de Hearst plans to extend its recruitment and marketing strategies outside Northeastern Ontario, in Canada and internationally. Within Ontario, regions with a large francophone population or areas with low access rates to French- language university programs are prioritized.
      • Efforts will be made to attract French speaking first generation and French immersion students.
      • Support services are improved with the addition of Learning Commons on every campus and with the assignment of a faculty mentor to every student.
      • System-wide data shows that Université de Hearst has a higher than average proportion of students with disabilities, and this has required additional services and investments.

   3. Metrics

      Institutional Metrics	System-Wide Metrics
      Recruitment and cultural mix: by 2024, Université de Hearst wants to double its registrations, with an emphasis on recruitment of students from outside the region	Number and proportion of Aboriginal, first generation, students with disabilities, and francophone students at an institution Number and proportion of international students enrolled in Ontario (as reported in annual institutional enrolment reporting) Proportion of an institution’s enrolment that receives OSAP

4. Research

   This component identifies the breadth and depth of institutional research activity (both basic and applied) and will identify institutional research strengths from niche to comprehensive research intensity.

   1. Areas of institutional strength

      • Hearst is a teaching-and-learning-focused university, although the institution’s mission clearly does recognize the importance of research. Currently 20% of a professor’s workload is attributed to research.
      • Hearst offers seed financing for faculty research projects.
      • Learning Integration Centres expand institutional research conducted by senior year students and supervised by faculty in areas important to Northern Ontario, such as:
        • Economic, social and community development (CRRIDEC);
        • Mental health (CEIPS);
        • Official language minority communities within Ontario and Canada (Archives centre and Collection Dionne-Poulin).

   2. Metrics

      Institutional Metrics

      System-Wide Metrics

      Number of student-applied research projects with community partners

      Research Capacity Total sponsored research Number of research chairs Number of graduate degrees awarded Number of graduate awards/scholarships Research Focus Graduate degrees awarded to undergraduate degrees awarded Graduate to undergraduate ratio PhD degrees awarded to undergraduate degrees awarded Research Impact Normalized Tri-Council funding (total and per full-time faculty) Number of publications (total and per full-time faculty) Number of citations (total and per full-time faculty) Citation impact (normalized average citation per paper) International Competitiveness Ratio of international to domestic graduates (used by Times Higher Education Rankings) Aggregate of international global rankings

5. Program offerings

   This component articulates the breadth of programming, enrolment, and credentials offered, along with program areas of institutional strength/specialization, including any vocationally oriented mandates. This component also recognizes institutions that provide bilingual and/or French-language programming for students.

   1. Areas of institutional strength

      Current program areas of strength include:

      1. Business Administration
      2. Psychology/Social Work
      3. Translation
      4. Interdisciplinary Studies

      Proposed program areas for growth include:

      1. Business Administration
      2. Psychology/Social Services
      3. Translation
      4. Interdisciplinary Studies

   2. Additional comments

      • Over the course of this agreement, the Ministry would like to encourage Hearst to build a stronger body of evidence to support its claims of institutional strength.

   3. Metrics

      Institutional Metrics	System-Wide Metrics
      No institution-specific metrics currently identified	Institution-specific and provincial Key Performance Indicators, including employment rate after two years, percentage of students completing the degree, and OSAP default rates for each area of strength Program enrolment

6. Institutional collaboration to support student mobility

   This component profiles partnerships between institutions that ensure students have access to a continuum of learning opportunities in a coordinated system. This may include, but is not limited to, credit transfer pathways and collaborative or joint programs between or within sectors.

   1. Areas of institutional strength

      Université de Hearst is a member of the Consortium des universitiés de la francophonie ontarienne and the L’Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne.

   2. Additional comments

      Institutional strategies

      • Hearst’s programs continue to ladder into specialized programs offered at Laurentian University. Students from Hearst can choose to complete an honours program in French, geography, history, and sociology.
      • Université de Hearst is proposing to set up new, unique programs that will be offered solely in distance format, for example the collaborative program Assistance for the Dying and Grief Counselling with Laurentian University, Saint Paul University, the University of Sudbury, and Dominican University College.

   3. Metrics

      Institutional Metrics	System-Wide Metrics
      Student Mobility Agreements: One signed agreement per year with Ontario colleges and three to five signed agreements with Canadian or international universities by the end of 2015	Number of college and university pathways and/or articulation agreements (college-college, college-university, university-college) Number of transfer applicants and registrants Number of college graduates enrolled in university programs

Aspirations

The Ministry recognizes the importance of supporting institutions to evolve and acknowledges the strategic aspirations of its postsecondary education institutions; the SMA is not intended to capture all decisions and issues in the postsecondary education system, as many will be addressed through the Ministry’s policies and standard processes. The Ministry will not be approving any requests for capital funding or new program approvals, for example, through the SMA process.

Institution-specific aspirations

• Hearst is proposing to develop a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. The Ministry notes that the proposed degree would have to be approved by Laurentian University’s Senate, the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance, and the Ministry. The Ministry has not proclaimed the section of Hearst’s current legislation that would allow Hearst to offer graduate degrees. Hearst will work with the Ministry during the term of this SMA to explore offering an interdisciplinary Master’s program in humanities.

Enrolment Growth

The strategic enrolment and planning exercise is in the context of a public commitment in the 2011 Budget to increase postsecondary education enrolment by an additional 60,000 students over 2010-11 levels. This government has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to ensuring access to postsecondary education for all qualified students.

Baseline Eligible Full-Time Headcount Projection to 2016-17

Université de Hearst’s planned enrolment forecast as expressed in this baseline eligible enrolment scenario is considered reasonable and in line with Ministry expectations, based on the current and projected demographic and fiscal environments.

Graduate Allocation

The Province committed to allocate an additional 6,000 graduate spaces in the 2011 Budget. The allocation of the balance of the 6,000 graduate spaces is informed by institutional graduate plans, metrics identified in the differentiation framework, and government priorities.

Université de Hearst is not currently offering graduate programming.

Financial Sustainability

The Ministry and the University recognize that financial sustainability and accountability are critical to achieving institutional mandates and realizing Ontario’s vision for the postsecondary education system. To this end, it is agreed that:

• It is the responsibility of the governing board and Senior Administrators of the University to identify, track, and address financial pressures and sustainability issues. At the same time, the Ministry has a financial stewardship role. The Ministry and the University agree to work collaboratively to achieve the common goal of financial sustainability and to ensure that Ontarians have access to a full range of affordable, high-quality postsecondary education options, now and in the future; and
• The University remains accountable to the Ministry with respect to effective and efficient use of provincial government resources and student resources covered by policy directives of the Ministry, or decisions impacting upon these, to maximize the value and impact of investments made in the postsecondary education system.

The Ministry commits to engage with the sector in spring 2014 to finalize the financial sustainability metrics to be tracked through the course of the SMAs, building on metrics already identified during discussions that took place in the fall of 2013.

Ministry/Government Commitments

Over time, the Ministry commits to aligning many of its policy, process and funding levers with the Differentiation Policy Framework and SMAs to support the strengths of institutions and implement differentiation. To this end, the Ministry will:

• Engage with both the college and university sectors around potential changes to the funding formula, beginning with the university sector in 2014-15;
• Update the college and university program funding approval process to improve transparency and align with institutional strengths as outlined in the SMAs;
• Streamline reporting requirements across Ministry business lines with the goals of
  1. creating greater consistency of reporting requirements across separate initiatives,
  2. increasing automation of reporting processes, and
  3. reducing the amount of data required from institutions without compromising accountability.

  In the interim, the Multi-Year Accountability Report Backs will be adjusted andused as the annual reporting mechanism for metrics set out in the SMAs;

• Consult on the definition, development, and utilization of metrics;
• Undertake a review of Ontario’s credential options; and
• Continue the work of the Nursing Tripartite Committee.

The Ministry and the University are committed to continuing to work together to:

• Support student access, quality, and success;
• Drive creativity, innovation, knowledge, and community engagement through teaching and research;
• Increase the competitiveness of Ontario’s postsecondary education system;
• Focus the strengths of Ontario’s institutions; and
• Maintain a financially sustainable postsecondary education system.