The Faculty of Arts: Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday

Faculty of Arts Retreat 2007 Thursday, 7 June 2007

McGill Tomorrow

Strategies, Plans and Compacts: Where we are and where we are going

Laura R. Winer, Ph.D.

Executive Director Office of the Provost

General principles underlying strategic planning activities

• planning – objective, flexible, and adaptive • assumptions – realistic, sensitive to contexts • goals – attainable and sustainable over several years • allocations – coherent processes and transparent distributions • results – measurable • appropriate and agreed upon indicators • selected peer institutions

General principles (cont’d):

McGill’s “i’s”

• identity • international • inquiry-based • interdisciplinary • innovation • infrastructure • integrity

General principles (cont’d)

• academic priorities are the drivers; resource allocations should be aligned with prioritised academic goals – strategic statements:

The White Paper; the Principal’s Task Force on Student Life and Learning, the Master Plan

– operational compacts (budgets and other resource allocations)

General principles (cont’d)

• tools are needed to fund new initiatives and priorities – resource generation mechanisms – internal reallocations also at the unit level

General principles (cont’d):

Budget planning decisions

• means of helping responsible, authoritative, accountable individuals to take decisions • not a mechanical substitute for good judgment, political wisdom, and leadership of those who must take decisions • reasoned approach to decisions; i.e., “quantified common sense”

Plans and compacts

• development of a regular cycle of implementation, evaluation, and adjustment across the University – multiyear budgeting driven by academic priorities – yearly operational budget compacts – alignment of all resource allocations to strategic priorities

What is a compact?

• within the new multiyear framework, annual operating funds must still be allocated • compacts reflect academic priorities that can be funded to meet a Faculty’s goals and objectives • “academic renewal” in all of its aspects • University-wide and Faculty-specific allocations – expressions vary Faculty by Faculty

Significant actions and programs

– – – – – – – – Academic renewal Student life and learning Graduate student funding Master Plan Comprehensive campaign Sustainability Staff development Effective organisational practices

Goals, objectives, and strategies developed in the “white paper”

•

McGill will consistently rank among the top 10 publicly-funded, research-intensive, student centred universities worldwide

•

in selected areas our performance will unambiguously position the University among the world leaders

•

implement the plan over the next 5 years

1. academic renewal plan

•

CRC’s for external recruitment, internal McGill-Dawson programme, and endowed chairs

•

transition help for families

•

mentorship, start-ups, CFI

•

academic salary policy and benefits

•

NTT issues

Arts specifics

• continue program reviews with special examination of: – Programs with small enrolments (i.e., undergrad majors <100) – Enrolment and resource planning for BA&Sc programs – U0 – integration of aspects of aboriginal studies, comparative nationalism and diverse sexualities within existing programs • program issues: – enhance internship program – potential minor with Law for European Studies – Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy – vision for developments for offerings for First Nations and Inuit communities

Arts specifics, cont’d

• workload issues – assessment of field studies activities on teaching loads – manage course offerings requested by other Faculties • structural issues – languages, literature and culture

Arts specifics, cont’d

• moving to target complement for the Faculty – 266.8 TT; target TT complement is 279.3

• Academic renewal plans for MSE with Arts & Science; explore other Faculties —Engineering? Law?

• operating budgets – increase operating budget – diversify sources of revenue

2. enriched student life experience

• targeted growth in specific undergraduate programmes • residential life experiences • fee increases and increased student financial aid • academic advising • research-informed teaching and learning • international experiences • implementation of the recommendations of the Principal’s task force on student life and learning

Arts undergraduate students

• 2006 fall UG enrolment: – Arts: 6,523 (4,288 women, 2,235 men) – Arts & Science: 212 (149 women, 63 men) • goal: stable undergraduate enrolment

3. improved graduate studies environment

• increase numbers of graduate students in research programmes • improve the quality of their experiences • increase completion rates and reduce time to completion

Arts graduate students

• Arts will work to: – Increase graduate FTEs to combined 450 MA and PhD

4. foundational disciplines and inter disciplinary developments

• centres, institutes, and other structures, with shared infrastructure platforms, equipment, networks, and technology –

cognitive, biological, and behavioural neurosciences, including pain

– – – – – –

public and social policy, including health and society environmental sciences and studies computation, statistical inference and modelling nano-sciences, nanotechnology, and advanced materials integrative systems biology languages, literatures, and cultures

• develop other directions where McGill can become a leader

Arts partnerships to develop

• with research centres: – McGill Institute for the Study of Canada – Institute for Health and Social Policy – Social Statistics – Book Project – Making Publics – Centre for Research on Religion – European Studies (Law) – Quantitative Economics (UdeM) – Letters and traditions (Laval) – Diversity in Quebec (UQAM) – Human Development (Concordia) • develop other directions where McGill can become a leader

5. highest quality service from all support areas

• library – information, service, and innovation • information system and technology – teaching, learning, and research efforts – highest quality of service – avoidance of costly duplication – major projects • facilities developments – renovations to modernise existing laboratory, classroom and museum spaces – integrate that thinking into Master Plan

6. professional development

• mechanisms leading to: – enhanced productivity – improved job satisfaction – make McGill one of the top university employers in Canada

7. internal performance indicators and benchmarking against selected peer institutions

• Faculties, departments, centres, institutes, programs – internal goal setting – comparison of data for selected indicators – “standard” institutions are G13, AAU ( 9 better funded and 9 empirical peers), U21

Decision-making processes • interplay between “centralisation” and “de centralisation” – aspects of the way McGill must and has chosen to do its business have changed dramatically – the University expects more from Faculties – Faculties have been given more resources and broader mandates • Deans have to make decisions – tough, sometimes unpopular ones – aggressive re-purposing of space and human infrastructure

• • • • • •

Questions?

Comments?

Suggestions?

Criticisms?

Concerns?

Complaints?