Campus News
Adapting to Change The new Office for Continuing Education and Institutional Research headed by Dr. David Jeffrey will broaden the career horizons the university offers.
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hifting government expectations have always required universities to adapt. Recently Alberta Education has changed how it measures institutional success, moving to a performancebased model. In response to this change, Dr. David Jeffrey, Assistant Professor of Business, was invited to direct the new Office for Continuing Education and Institutional Research. Dr. Jeffrey’s initial responsibility is to establish new certificate and diploma programs. At this time, current academic courses and departments will be providing the bases for the programs under discussion. Dr. Jeffrey does not discount the possibility of adding vocational programs in future. In fact, he sees a number of opportunities for such training on campus.
These students would acquire specific skills that are in demand in the marketplace and thereby enhance their employment opportunities. In consultation with faculty, administration, and representatives of the community’s labour market, Dr. Jeffrey is investigating the most appropriate programs to develop. Students will benefit from improved qualifications, and the university will be well-positioned to meet the Alberta government’s performance-based assessment of higher education. Dr. Jeffrey believes the addition of new diplomas and certificates will play a role in maintaining the university’s operating grant in the coming years. He points out, “These are high-stake issues for our institution and our stakeholders, and for all of our faculty and staff who work here and depend upon that funding.” Dr. Jeffrey has taught at Burman since 2005, and has held joint administrative appointments in the past.
But whether or not a proposed program becomes feasible depends to a large extent on ensuring that “we work within the mandates of the government of Alberta.” Under consideration now is a diploma for nursing students who spend 18 months on Burman’s campus before transferring to Kettering, a sister college in Ohio. Jeffrey explains, “A diploma will recognize the valuable stage of education that students complete here before moving on to finish their nursing degree at Kettering College. In this case, the diploma represents not the completion of a skill set, but a marker in their educational journey.” A one-year certificate in bookkeeping, on the other hand, could attract those not interested in a four-year degree. 12
Each year the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada (SDACC) hires Burman University graduates to teach in primary and secondary schools across the nation. Almost half of the hundreds of teachers teaching in SDACC schools received their training on Burman’s campus.
Summer School 2020 Thrives
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he SDACC looks to Burman to provide summer school options for teachers. In the past, these courses were usually offered on campus and met various certification and re-certification requirements. However, over time it became obvious that teachers preferred taking classes online. For the last ten years there has been a gradual transition away from traditional face-to-face classes to online classes. As SDACC teachers were requesting more online classes, some students in the teacher education programs at Burman were also seeking ways to advance their degrees by taking online summer classes. So, in the summer of 2018, Burman University tried to meet the needs of both groups by offering fully accredited classes in four-week sessions to SDACC teachers as well as Burman students. New courses point to need for relevant offerings
David Jeffrey says, “I miss the classroom interactions with my students, but I am enjoying the challenges of my new administrative role.”
When summer registration opened in 2019, more than 40 SDACC teachers registered for a new course: “Teaching for Truth and Reconciliation.” Three School of Education faculty— Shirley Freed, Isaac Darko, and Gina Guiboche— developed the course collaboratively with Campbell Page, the Indigenous Ministries Director for SDACC. Both Dr. Page and Ms. Guiboche are of First Nations descent. The four worked together over a period of about three months in a deliberate effort to meet the provincial mandate
