From the Desk of the Vice-President, Academic and Research: Student Centeredness

With the close of the Fall semester coming soon, I reflect on collaborative efforts this term that have fostered academic excellence and student success. This month’s update highlights recent initiatives that broadly relate to the student experience:

• Enrolment Management
• Student Life
• Draft Academic Plan
• Senate Committee on Teaching Evaluation
• Senate Committee for a Policy on Academic Units
• New Undergraduate Major in Indigenous Studies
• First Year Suite of Courses UPEI 1010 / 1020 / 1030

Enrolment Management

I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Melissa James as the Senior Advisor on Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM). This term position until August 31, 2026, will lead the coordination and implementation of the University’s SEM plan including recruitment, retention, student experience, and revenue sustainability. Dr. James will be facilitating consultation and stakeholder engagement, while providing advice on enrolment management, key performance indicators, and resource implications.

A new Enrolment Liaison position in the Registrar’s Office will be actively monitoring our “recruitment funnel” and focusing on moving applications from initial touch points of prospective students through to enrolment.

Changes to our Open House this year (annual recruitment event on campus), with support of additional investments, yielded wonderful success on October 25th. Registration numbers were up 13% over last year, with a 5% increase from off-Island attendees. Submitted applications went up by over 300 that weekend—an increase of 32% ahead of the same time last year. Standing room only in our largest lecture theatre (PAC) for presentations was great to see! Special thanks to all in Dalton Hall who contributed to make this event successful, and all faculty and staff who attended to proudly showcase their programs.

Student Life

Significant improvements were made over the past few months to enhance the Campus Life program for students at UPEI. A survey was conducted to review the past year of activities and gather feedback from students, faculty, and staff. In response to the feedback, the student affairs team strengthened various areas, including but not limited to recreation opportunities, events, a more active social media presence, and greater engagement at varsity athletics. Initiatives have been directed towards improving the student experience on campus at UPEI. For more information, or ways that you can contribute, please contact Jonathan Hewitt, Manager of Student Culture and Community Standards.

Draft Academic Plan

A University draft Academic Plan is currently under development. The plan brings together existing academic components within the UPEI Strategic Plan and the Roadmap to Student Success and Institutional Sustainability: UPEI Strategic Enrolment Management Plan. It also identifies near-term academic priorities of those plans. This alignment among plans will ensure that priority academic initiatives are effectively coordinated and implemented. Consultation with individual faculties and units on this draft plan is currently in progress.

The academic plan will serve as a framework for the implementation of action items in the SEM plan as recommended by a Prioritization and Implementation Subcommittee (chaired by Dr. Miles Turnbull) of the SEM Steering Committee. It will be a continually evolving and adapting framework to meet the overall goals of the university strategic plan. For more information, or comments on these plans, please contact the Office of the VPAR at vpar@upei.ca.

Senate Committee on Teaching Evaluation

A Senate Committee on Teaching Evaluation is currently investigating alternative holistic approaches to teaching evaluation that continue to include student feedback. The committee will recommend methods to mitigate bias and means of improvement in the evaluation of teaching effectiveness, which include student voices and feedback in that evaluation. During this process, it will undertake University-wide consultation and respond to queries and input from academic units, faculty members, and students concerning the investigation of alternative approaches to teaching evaluation. For further information, please contact the Office of the VPAR at vpar@upei.ca.

Senate Committee for a Policy on Academic Units

This committee is examining the roles, functions, authority, and structure of academic units (departments, schools, and faculties). It considers relevant elements of an academic plan and structure to be developed when proposing the creation of a new academic unit. Also, assessment criteria and factors are considered when establishing a new academic unit, merging existing academic units, or closing an academic unit. For further information, please contact the University Secretary, Pascal Robichaud, at parobichaud@upei.ca.

New Undergraduate Major in Indigenous Studies

A proposal for the creation of a new Bachelor of Arts program (Major in Indigenous Studies) was approved by Senate on November 21st, followed by approval by the UPEI Board of Governors on December 2nd! The new program will be launched in Fall 2026 by the Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies (IKERAS). It will be distinguished by its focus on land-based education and traditional in-person learning. Students will gain new skills and knowledge that support higher levels of proficiency in addressing Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation. The program responds to the need to learn about the diverse cultures and societies of Indigenous peoples, their histories, languages, and cultures. It further supports the TRC Call to Action #63, which refers to “building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.”

This new undergraduate program is a historic moment for UPEI on its journey and commitment to Indigenous reconciliation and the TRC Calls to Action. Many thanks to all who have contributed in significant ways to make this remarkable accomplishment possible, especially the Dean, Dr. Angelina Weenie; interim Deans Erin Reid and Gary Evans; Elder Dr. Judy Clark; Dr. Corinne Chappell; and all faculty and staff in the Faculty of IKERAS.

First Year Suite of Courses UPEI 1010 / 1020 / 1030

UPEI has several graduation requirements common to all UPEI students. These requirements stipulate that, before a student can graduate, they must complete IKE 1040, a writing-intensive course, and one of the following three options: UPEI/English 1010 (Writing Studies); UPEI 1020 (Inquiry Studies); or UPEI 1030 (University Studies).
Following an external quality assurance review, recommendation from a Working Group (chaired by Dr. Nola Etkin), and recent approval at Senate, students will no longer have this mandatory requirement among UPEI/English 1010, 1020, or 1030, except where it may still apply within individual program requirements. These courses will continue to be offered but based on student choice and enrollment. Also, where they may have interest, students will be permitted to take more than one of the three courses early in their academic programs.

This change will be applied to all previous academic catalogue years at the time of implementation (Fall 2026). For those programs with a defined (prescribed) requirement from this group of courses, no change will be made at this time, as that would require a future curriculum change at the program level.