Communique Fall 2016

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT SERVICES L’ASSOCIATION DES SERVICES AUX ÉTUDIANTS DES UNIVERSITÉS ET COLLÈGES DU CANADA FALL / AUTOMNE / 2016 / ISSN 1206-8500

Remembering Jim... pg.41

Introducing the CACUSS Student Affairs and Services Competency Model COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 1

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2 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

Contents

Communiqué Volume 17, Issue 2, Fall 2016/ Tome 17, Numéro 2, Automne 2016

4

President’s Message | Message de la présidente | Message

5

Executive Director Update | Mise à jour de la directrice générale | Message

7

Update on CACUSS Competencies Project | Update

8

An Interview with Adam Kuhn, the Voice behind Canada’s Newest Student Affairs Podcast by Kathleen A. Moore | Interview

CACUSS Board/Conseil ASEUCC

From Good to Great: Perceptions of Student Affairs and Services Retention Efforts

by Tricia A. Seifert, Jacqueline Beaulieu, Christine H. Arnold & Kathleen Moore | Research | Research, Assessment, Evaluation

David Newman, Past-President, david.newman@utoronto.ca

9

Editor / Rédacteur Mitchell Miller, communique@cacuss.ca

Patricia Pardo, President, cacuss-president@cacuss.ca Angie Clarke, Finance Director, angie.clarke@mi.mun.ca Christine Adam, Director-at-Large / Advocacy, cadam@tru.ca Jack Dobbs, Director-at-Large / Research and Recognition,

11 Kohlrabi on the Campus by Krystle tenBrink | Profile | Community Engaged Learning

jdobbs@mtroyal.ca

13 Helping Peers Understand their Competency Development by Analise Anderson-Ma | Research | Student Peer Support Programs

Anne Bartlett, Director-at-Large / Communities,

15 The Mindset List by Rachel Barreca | Profile | Research, Assessment, Evaluation

dale.mullings@utoronto.ca

16 From Muddy Water to Blue Skies Using BeathingRoomTM by Patricia Kostouros, Deb Bennett & Kandi McElary | Profile | Post-Secondary Counselling | Campus Mental Health

Amy Gaukel, Director-at-Large / Policy,

18 A Student Affairs Pro’s Guide to the Faculty by Cristina Peter | Opinion

Development, mmullings@ryerson.ca

18 CACUSS’ Integrated Academic and Professional Advising CoP Better Defining Advising in Canada by Shea Ellingham, Darran Fernandez & Tim Fricker | Update | Integrated Academic and Professional Advising

20 Enhancing Diversity Competencies in Career Development and Counselling by AnnaLisa Ciccocioppo | Research | Integrated Academic and Professional Advising | EquitySeeking Groups

22 Work It Out: Employment and Postsecondary Graduates with Disabilities by Evelyne Marcil, Laura King, Alice Havel, Catherine Fichten & Mary Jorgensen | Research | Accessibility and Inclusion | Integrated Academic and Professional Advising 23 The Power of Introversion in Student Services by Cliff Robinson | Opinion 24 Mindset Matters by Jasica Munday | Narrative | Academic Learning 25 Plagiarism: How Can a Word Mean So Many Different Things? by Stephanie Crook | Research | Student Conduct

ambartlett@upei.ca Dale Mullings, Director-at-Large / Communities,

amy.gaukel@lassonde.yorku.ca Marcelle Mullings, Director-at-Large, Professional

Communiqué is published by the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS)/L’association des services aux étudiants des universities et colleges du Canada (ASEUCC). All material copyright CACUSS/ASEUCC unless otherwise noted. Material may not be reproduced without the express written permission of CACUSS/ASEUCC. The opinions expressed in Communiqué do not reflect those of the magazine or of CACUSS. Le Communiqué est publié par la Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS)/l’Association des services aux étudiants des universités et collèges du Canada (ASEUCC). Copyright pour le contenu : CACUSS/ASEUCC, à moins d’indication contraire. Aucune reproduction du contenu de cette publication sans l’autorisation écrite expresse de CACUSS/ASEUCC. Les opinions exprimées dans Communiqué ne reflètent pas ceux du magazine ou de l’ASEUCC.

28 Launching the First Mobile CCR by Kristina Bartold & Paige Doherty | Profile | CoCurricular Record | Digital Communications in High Education

Jennifer Hamilton, Executive Director,

29 Examining Strategic Planning in Divisions of Student Affairs in Canadian Higher Education Institutions by Shermin Murji | Research | Research, Assessment, Evaluation

Advertising / La publicité

30 Co-Curricular Student Engagement in Sustainability: A Case Study by Kshamta B. Hunter | Profile | Leadership Educators 32 Reverse Mentorship: Turning Mentorship Upside Down by Erin Clifford | Profile | Leadership Educators

33 Factors Influencing Student Mental Health Help-Seeking by Don Stewart & Brooke Beatie | Research | Campus Mental Health 35 A Proactive Post-Secondary Approach to Accessibility Legislation by Laurie Anne Vermette, Jackie Gruber & Nicole Gareau-Wilson | Profile | Accessibility and Inclusion

cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca

CACUSS Secretariat, contact@cacuss.ca Submissions / Soumissions News, articles, updates, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, artwork and photographs relating to college and university student services in Canada are all very welcome. Send submissions to: Nous acceptons les nouvelles, articles, mises au point, énoncés d’opinion, lettres aux rédacteurs, illustrations et photographies se rapportant aux services aux étudiants des collèges et des universités. Faire parvenir vos soumissions à : Mitchell Miller, communique@cacuss.ca CACUSS Secretariat/Secretariat ASEUCC

37 It All Adds Up - 19 Campus Career Centres Run Joint Career Wellness Campaign by Lisa Kuiper & Christine Fader | Profile | Integrated Academic and Professional Advising

642 King Street W., Suite 107

38 Remembering Jim Delaney | Memorial

Website: www.CACUSS.ca

Toronto, ON M5V 1M7 Email: contact@cacuss.ca

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 3

President’s Message

F

ollowing the CACUSS 2016 Conference, my feelings are best expressed by paraphrasing a song: “Wow, wasn’t that a Conference!”

Our presenters invited us to reflect deeply upon, and to challenge, our assumptions and biases. They shared with us provocative, stimulating, and thought-provoking perspectives, and invited us to integrate them into our professional practices.

I just wanted to take this time to thank the organizers, the volunteers, the coordinators, the contributors, the presenters, the attendees, and everyone else for the time and energy that they all put in to make CACUSS 2016: Muddy Waters/Blue Skies such a great success.

At the AGM, on the last day of the Conference, I was honoured to move from the position of President-Elect to President of CACUSS, while David Newman moved to Past-President. I know that I haven’t been able to meet all of you nor have I been able to talk to you all, so I thought it might be a good time to let you know a bit about me.

First, and maybe most importantly, I come by my joie de vivre honestly. I was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to Canada while I was in grade school. My parents wanted to come here so my dad could continue his post-secondary education, resulting in a PhD in Sociology from York University. My dad was likely the first blind student to earn a PhD at York.

You see, both my parents were totally blind. Both my brother and I are partially sighted; I have about 3% functional vision. We all live with a condition where we are losing the vision from the centre of our eyes outward. I have more peripheral vision, which is why I don’t (and can’t) make eye contact.

Second, how did I come to student affairs? Many of us come from diverse backgrounds into our Student Affairs careers. My background was not in Student Affairs. My Ph.D. was in Educational Psychology with a Specialization in Disability and Multicultural Organizational Change. I had no idea that this discipline or body of knowledge existed until I was hired as Manager of Services for Students with Disabilities at the University of Calgary. I was fortunate enough to have had fabulous mentors who introduced me to the field and to CACUSS. Because of these amazing women, I registered for my first CACUSS conference. There I met people that were doing the same things that I was doing. I was able to talk about Pat Pardo the similarities and differences in what we all were doing.

The conference allowed me to note what services were being provided to students who experienced barriers relating to disabilities and how they were being delivered. I came back with some new approaches and ways to enhance the services we offered.

I had been given a gift of being able to talk to people in my field – my field of Student Affairs – and to compare notes with them. I was not just talking to CADSPPE folks, but I could – and did – attend sessions presented to professionals in other areas of student affairs; they were interesting and they overlapped with what I did. I was suddenly aware of additional areas of student affairs theories, about whole new groups of people writing about student affairs, and of so many areas of practical work that intersected with mine. I had homework to do!

That exposure to a community and to a large and varied field of knowledge made a difference in my professional life. That was twelve-or-so conferences ago. I think that CACUSS is so valuable, from new entrant to the “seasoned” professional.

Having said that, CACUSS is not static; it is changing. Through the CACUSS Identity Project, which included thought-provoking conversations with members, subsequent needs assessments, and reflections of the CACUSS Board, a long-range

4 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

strategic plan for CACUSS was created. CACUSS is relevant. Though a new CACUSS recruit may not have the same “Eureka!” moment as I once did (as they will likely already know about CACUSS), I want to make sure that they will get as much out of the networks, the information, the connections, and the professional development as I got and still do get.

I am passionate about our profession. I am always inspired, humbled, and generally “blown away” by all of you, my colleagues. You make a difference.

I would like to meet and to talk to all of you, but though most of you can see me, I can’t see you. So come on over and say hi to the first female, partially-sighted, Mexican-born President of CACUSS.

Message de la présidente

L

a meilleure façon de décrire mes sentiments à la suite du congrès de l’ASEUCC 2016 c’est en paraphrasant une chanson :« Wow, quel congrès! ».

Nos présentateurs nous ont invité à réfléchir profondément à nos suppositions et nos préjugés et à les remettre en question. Ils nous ont fait part de leurs points de vue provocateurs, stimulants et qui suscitent la réflexion et nous ont invité à les intégrer à nos pratiques professionnelles.

Je souhaite simplement profiter de cette occasion pour remercier les organisateurs, les bénévoles, les coordonnateurs, les collaborateurs, les présentateurs, les participants, ainsi que toute autre personne pour le temps et l’énergie consacrés à l’organisation du congrès 2016 de l’ASEUCC : Muddy Waters/ Blue Skies, quel grand succès.

Lors de l’AGA qui s’est déroulé lors de la dernière journée du congrès, j’ai été honorée de passer du poste de présidente élue à celui de présidente de l’ASEUCC; David Newman est le président sortant. Je sais que je n’ai pas été en mesure de tous vous rencontrer ni de discuter avec vous, j’ai donc pensé qu’il serait peut-être l’occasion de vous parler un peu de moi.

D’abord, mais c’est peut-être le plus important, je suis vraiment animée d’une joie de vivre. Je suis née et j’ai grandi dans la ville de Mexico et j’ai déménagé au Canada alors que j’étais à l’école primaire. Mes parents voulaient venir ici afin que mon père puisse poursuivre ses études postsecondaires, ce qui l’a amené à obtenir un doctorat en sociologie de l’Université York. Mon père est probablement le premier étudiant aveugle à obtenir un doctorat à York.

En fait, mes parents étaient tous deux aveugles. Mon frère et moi sommes atteints de cécité partielle. J’ai une vision fonctionnelle d’environ 3 %. Nous souffrons tous d’une perte de vision du centre de nos yeux vers l’extérieur. J’ai une vision plus périphérique, c’est pourquoi je n’établis pas de contact visuel (ni ne peux en établir).

Ensuite, comment en suis-je venue à travailler dans le domaine des affaires étudiantes? Plusieurs d’entre nous poursuivent une carrière dans les affaires étudiantes, mais proviennent de divers milieux. Je n’avais pas suivi une formation en affaires étudiantes. Je possède un doctorat en psychologie de l’éducation avec spécialisation en invalidité et changement organisationnel et multiculturel. J’ignorais que cette discipline ou cet ensemble de connaissances existait lorsque j’ai été engagée à titre de directrice des services aux étudiants handicapés à l’Université de Calgary.

J’ai eu la chance de compter sur des mentors extraordinaires qui m’ont présenté le domaine et l’ASEUCC.

Grâce à ces femmes exceptionnelles, je me suis inscrite à mon premier congrès de l’ASEUCC. J’y ai rencontré des gens qui accomplissaient les mêmes tâches que moi.

J’ai pu discuter des similitudes et des différences dans ce que nous faisions tous. Le congrès m’a permis de prendre en note les services offerts aux étudiants qui ont fait face à des obstacles liés à une invalidité et la façon dont ces services étaient offerts.

Je suis revenue avec de nouvelles approches et façons d’améliorer les services que nous offrions.

J’ai eu la possibilité de discuter avec des personnes de mon domaine – les affaires étudiantes– et de comparer mes notes avec les leurs. Je ne discutais pas seulement avec les gens de l’Association canadienne des conseillers en services aux étudiants handicapés au postsecondaire (ACCSEHP), je pouvais aussi assister – et j’ai assisté – à des séances présentées aux professionnels des autres secteurs des affaires étudiantes.

Ces séances étaient intéressantes et recoupaient ce que je faisais. J’ai soudainement pris conscience de l’existence des autres secteurs des théories des affaires étudiantes, de nouveaux groupes complets de personnes qui écrivaient sur les affaires étudiantes et d’un grand nombre de domaines pratiques qui se recoupaient avec le mien. J’avais des devoirs à faire!

Executive Director Update

The Strength and Power of Community

I

get the pleasure of writing an Executive Director report a few times a year for the Communiqué magazine and the membership. I wanted to take some time in this report to reflect the recent passing of past-president, dear colleague, and friend Jim.

I was at a NASPA conference in New Orleans in 1998 or 1999, walking down the street one evening with some of my classmates from Colorado State University. At the time I was living in and working in the U.S., but was hoping some day to return to Canada. I was stopped in the street by a small group of Canadians, most of whom I recognized but did not know personally. One of those Canadians was Jim Delaney.

I had been to CACUSS as a delegate two or three times and recognized Jim as a leader in the organization. It was a warm and very welcome surprise to be greeted by my country-folk as one of them, recognized as part of their community, even though I was a relatively unknown, new professional. I felt the power of community.

Jennifer Hamilton You might not have known Jim Delaney personally, and if you are relatively new to CACUSS, you may have never heard of him. One of the strengths of our organization is that we have had a long history of individuals who have shaped and moved us forward as an association and as a community of professionals across Canada.

Recently a number of CACUSS members from over the years joined together on a rainy Saturday in Toronto to remember and toast Jim and his many accomplishments and contributions. There were past CACUSS presidents in attendance from both coasts.

Cette exposition à une communauté et à une vaste gamme de domaines variés a eu une incidence dans ma vie professionnelle. Cela remonte à une douzaine de congrès. Je crois que l’ASEUCC est très utile, pour le nouveau venu au professionnel d’expérience.

Cela étant dit, l’ASEUCC n’est pas statique, elle évolue. Grâce au projet d’identité de l’ASEUCC, qui comprend des discussions qui suscitent la réflexion avec les membres, les évaluations subséquentes des besoins et les réflexions du comité de l’ASEUCC, un plan stratégique à long terme a été créé pour l’ASEUCC. L’ASEUCC est pertinente. Même si une nouvelle recrue de l’ASEUCC n’a pas la même révélation comme ce fut mon cas jadis (puisqu’ils connaîtront probablement l’ASEUCC), je tiens à m’assurer qu’ils profiteront autant des réseaux, des renseignements, des liens et du perfectionnement professionnel que j’ai pu en tirer et continue d’obtenir.

Je suis passionnée par notre profession. Je suis toujours inspirée, touchée et généralement renversée par vous tous, mes collègues. Vous changez les choses.

J’aimerais tous vous rencontrer et discuter avec vous. Cependant, bien que la plupart d’entre vous puisse me voir, je ne le peux pas. Venez saluer la première femme d’origine mexicaine atteinte de cécité partielle à occuper le poste de l’ASEUCC.

There were individuals who volunteered with Jim on the SASA board many years ago, some of whom haven’t worked in student affairs for some time. I was reminded of the strength and power of community and how much the individual members like Jim have contributed over the years. We all live so much in the present, but there were people who came before us, and their contributions are significant. It was on the dance floor one June near York University when Jim and his partner Deborah Coombs met at the 2000 CACUSS conference. These memories remind me that there are many people like Jim who have contributed a significant amount to Student Affairs in Canada.

Maybe they aren’t on Facebook or Twitter, and perhaps they aren’t the loudest voices in the room, but they are contributing and have shaped the Canadian conversation.

I am still so very sad that we lost him, but I also feel incredibly blessed to remember in his memory what exactly CACUSS is all about: the strength and power of community. As we gathered together at Jim’s memorial, we also talked about how Jim was so open and honest as he shared his struggles with mental health. His personal account touched many people, and his ability to be open helped alter the stigma for many others. It reminded me of the importance of community. How is it that we can reach out to one another and support each other throughout the year? Do you have a colleague that you met at a recent conference? There are those strong connections that we tend to make, and then we lose them in between meetings and work on your campus.

You are reminded when you bump into trusted colleagues again at an in-person event such as an annual conference. I encourage you to take a moment out of your day and reach out to a colleague to catch up and support each other. It is important for us to continue to make real connections beyond social media with one another.

CACUSS is committed to building technology to support our communities of practice and we will be launching new tools in the coming months that will help build the strength and power of our communities. I am also working with the student affairs team at #RyersonSA over the coming months on “Connecting our Country,” building conversations about important issues in Student Affairs in Canada.

The first blog post is about what conversations have happened over the years. I hope you will read it at www.cacuss.ca cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca | @cacusstweets COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 5

Mise à jour de la directrice générale

La force et la puissance de la communauté par Jennifer Hamilton

’ai eu le plaisir de rédiger quelques fois par année un rapport du directeur exécutif pour le magazine Communiqué et les membres. Dans ce rapport, je souhaite prendre le temps de réfléchir au récent décès d’un ancien président, notre cher collègue et ami, Jim. J’assistais à un congrès de la Société nord-américaine pour l’activité physique (SNAAP) à La Nouvelle-Orléans en 1998 ou 1999, marchant un soir dans la rue en compagnie de quelques-uns de mes condisciples de l’Université d’État du Colorado. À cette époque, j’habitais et je travaillais aux États-Unis, mais je souhaitais revenir un jour au Canada. Un petit groupe de Canadiens m’a interpellée dans la rue. Je reconnaissais la plupart d’entre eux sans les connaître personnellement. Parmi ces Canadiens se trouvait Jim Delaney.

J’avais assisté à deux ou trois événements de l’Association des services aux étudiants des universités et collèges du Canada (ASEUCC) à titre de déléguée et je considérais Jim comme un chef de file au sein de l’organisation. Ce fut une surprise agréable et très appréciée d’être accueillie par mes compatriotes comme l’une des leurs, m’acceptant au sein de leur communauté, même si j’étais une nouvelle professionnelle relativement peu connue. J’ai senti la puissance de la communauté.

Vous ne connaissiez peut-être pas Jim Delaney personnellement et si vous êtes relativement nouveau au sein de l’ASEUCC, vous pourriez n’avoir jamais entendu parler de lui. Une des forces de notre organisation est que nous possédons une longue histoire de personnes qui ont façonné et fait avancer notre organisation en association et communauté de professionnels partout au Canada.

Récemment, un certain nombre de membres de l’ASEUCC au fil des ans se sont réunis à Toronto un samedi pluvieux pour se souvenir de Jim et de ses nombreuses réalisations et contributions et de leur rendre hommage. Parmi eux, on comptait des anciens présidents de l’ASEUCC des deux côtes du pays, des personnes qui ont siégé bénévolement au conseil de l’Association des affaires étudiantes et des services aux étudiants (AASE) il y a de nombreuses années, dont certaines qui n’avaient pas travaillé dans le domaine des affaires étudiantes depuis un certain temps. Je me suis rappelée de la force et de la puissance de la communauté et à quel point les membres comme Jim ont contribué au fil des ans. Nous vivons tous tellement dans le présent, mais des personnes nous ont précédés et elles ont apporté d’importantes contributions. C’est sur le plancher de danse près de l’Université York que Jim et sa conjointe, Deborah Coombs, se sont rencontrés un jour de juin lors du congrès de l’ASEUCC 2000. Ces souvenirs me rappellent qu’il y a de nombreuses personnes comme Jim qui ont contribué de façon importante aux affaires étudiantes au Canada. Ces personnes ne sont peut-être pas présentes sur Facebook ou Twitter et elles ne sont peut-être pas celles qui parlent le plus fort dans une salle, mais elles participent et ont façonné les discussions au Canada.

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Je suis encore très triste de cette perte, mais je me sens aussi incroyablement chanceuse de me rappeler, en sa mémoire, en quoi consiste exactement l’ASEUCC : la force et la puissance de la communauté. Alors que nous nous réunissions pour la commémoration de Jim, nous avons également discuté à quel point Jim faisait preuve d’une grande ouverture et honnêteté au sujet de ses problèmes de santé mentale. Son témoignage personnel a touché beaucoup de personnes et son ouverture a aidé de nombreuses autres à transformer les stigmates, ce qui m’a rappelé l’importance de la communauté. De quelle façon nous pouvons communiquer les uns avec les autres et nous soutenir tout au long de l’année? Y a-t-il un collègue que vous avez rencontré à un récent congrès? Il y a ces solides liens que nous avons tendance à établir et nous perdons ensuite entre des réunions et le travail sur vos campus. Vous vous en souvenez lorsque vous croisez à nouveau des collègues de confiance lors d’un événement en personne comme le congrès annuel. Je vous invite à prendre un moment dans votre journée pour communiquer avec un collègue pour prendre de ses nouvelles et vous soutenir mutuellement. Il est important pour nous de continuer à établir de véritables liens les uns avec les autres, au-delà des médias sociaux.

L’ASEUCC s’engage à développer une technologie visant à appuyer nos communautés de pratique et, au cours des prochains mois, nous lancerons de nouveaux outils qui aideront à renforcer et à accroître le pouvoir de nos communautés.

Au cours des prochains mois, je travaillerai également avec l’équipe des affaires étudiantes #RyersonSA de l’Université Ryerson sur « Rapprocher notre pays », afin d’entamer des discussions sur les enjeux importants dans le domaine des affaires étudiantes au Canada. Le premier billet de blogue porte sur les discussions qui sont survenues au fil des ans. J’espère que vous le lirez à l’adresse suivante www.cacuss.ca. cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca @cacusstweets

UPCOMING

IMPORTANT DATES Check the website for exact dates!

January 2017

Call for Proposals and Call for Reviewers for CACUSS 2017 closes

February 2017

Nominations for CACUSS Board of Directors including CACUSS President Opens • Applications for CACUSS Committees including 2018 Program Committee Opens

March 2017

Research, Special Projects, and Recognition Awards Deadline • Nominations Deadline and Elections (if necessary) • Conference Registration Opens • Membership Renewal Period

June 2017

CACUSS Annual General Meeting

We also update the calendar on the website weekly with webinars and other important upcoming events!

www.cacuss.ca

Update on CACUSS Competencies Project CACUSS would like to thank the team of Darran Fernandez, Corinna Fitzgerald, Patty Hambler, and Tracey Mason-Innes for their work on the CACUSS Student Affairs and Services Competency Model. The final document was released as a “members-only” tool and a resource on our website at www. cacuss.ca/Student_Affairs_and_Services_Competency_Model.html.

CACUSS also received a “Professional Development Framework,” which was accepted by the Board of Directors in September 2016. The Framework prioritizes three action items and identifies three roles for CACUSS. Those action items are: • Technology/Communications • Communities of Practice • Staffi ng Model The Framework also identified CACUSS as having roles in leading, facilitating, and advocating for growth of the profession in Canada. The Board and the Executive Director have already taken action on these recommendations.

• We have posted and hired a new Manager of Professional Development & Member Engagement who will start in November 2016 • We have gone to RFP for a new technology platform for our Communities of Practice to engage with one another, and we have posted a half-time positon of Coordinator of Digital Communications and Technology to help lead us forward with some key tools.

In addition, the 2017 Conference Program Committee has already begun to implement ideas related to the new Competency Model into the Program Review and Program Development conversations. You will see this in the “Call for Programs” for CACUSS 2017 that will open in November.

What can you do?

“The professionalization of our field in Canada can only be advanced by the collective actions of those in the field.” (p. 4) • Share the competencies with Senior Managers and HR departments at your institution.

• Share how you are using the model by facilitating roundtables, Twitter chats, or conference sessions.

• Join a CACUSS Community of Practice to discuss prioritizing learning opportunities for members on specific competencies and Community needs.

• Write for our blog or the next issue of Communiqué to share your ideas.

We will keep our members posted with updates and new initiatives through our website (www.cacuss.ca), email, Twitter (@cacusstweets), and Facebook (fb.com/CACUSS).

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 7

An Interview with Adam Kuhn, the Voice behind Canada’s Newest Student Affairs Podcast

that we would be averaging 200 listens per episode! And we are on iTunes now, too!

by Kathleen A. Moore

Technically speaking, I learned how to make a podcast, and I had a lot of help from friends. My friend Adrian made the theme song, my buddy Jon made the logo, and I had some great help figuring out Garage Band and eventually how to publish the podcast to SoundCloud and iTunes. I have also learned how hungry our professional community is for Canadian content. Darran Fernandez says it so well in Episode 2 that we as Canadian Student Affairs folks need to tell our story more. I guess that this podcast is one way that I could contribute to communicating a part of our story. Lastly, and I guess more personally, I have learned to love my voice. I have always felt a bit uncomfortable with the sound of my recorded voice, that it sounded too gay, too nasal… Through the production process I have learned to love how I sound, just the way I am.

“Adam

Kuhn, what are ya doin’? Who will you talk to today?

It’s RelaySA...”

If you’re one of the many listeners that tuned in for season one of the newly launched RelaySA podcast, you’ve likely had this little tune in your head all summer.

Not only does this podcast have a great theme song, but the first season is packed with serious questions about interviewees’ different paths to becoming student affairs professionals, in addition to light (and often-times quite comedic) enquiries that help the listener get to know the interviewees on a persona l level. This new podcast is timely given the recent question of how the Canadian student affairs community is communicating, particularly in digital spaces.

You mentioned that the Canadian Pioneers videos “capture a moment in time of our field.” Do you think that your podcast similarly captures a moment in time of our field?

I think it does in a certain way. I mean, we are only six episodes in, so it might be too early to tell, but my hope is that folks will listen to these podcasts and understand a little bit more about the pressing issues our field is facing today. I also hope that listeners will gain some appreciation for the amazing humans that are working tirelessly on our campuses across Canada.

What did you learn from doing the first season of RelaySA?

What is your dream for RelaySA? Adam Kuhn is the Director of Student and Campus Community Development at the University of Toronto.

Throughout his career, he has worked as a residence life coordinator; residence manager; manager of community service-learning, civic engagement and leadership; and as a manager of student development. Adam has served as a member of the Board of Directors for CACUSS and served for two years as co-chair of the Leadership Educators Community of Practice. He is now using the connections he’s made throughout his career to further develop a conversation about Student Affairs in Canada.

I first met Adam only a couple of years ago, but his professional expertise and compassion for others was striking. A while back we sat down to catch up; he was so humble and reserved when we talked about the new podcast. I wanted to turn the tables on Adam and give him a chance to be in the much-deserved spotlight for the great work he’s done with RelaySA. We later sat down again to do a Q&A about the podcast.

Where did you get the idea to start RelaySA? What purpose does RelaySA serve?

I originally had the idea with my friend Mike Ferguson who works at Humber.

We thought it could be a blog with written question and answers but with the same “relay” premise where each person interviewed suggests the person we should interview next. At the same time, I became obsessed with podcasts and thought that it might be more fun to give that a try. I had found these fantastic videos on the CACUSS YouTube channel; it’s called Canadian Pioneers, and it is a bunch of interviews with folks like Paul Gilmour, Dr. Douglas Eaton, and more. They are amazing. They really capture a moment in time of our field. I wanted to do the same with RelaySA. On a selfish note, it has also allowed me to connect with some amazing members of our Student Affairs community in Canada.

To be honest, I just thought it would be a fun project to take on. I didn’t expect 8 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

I want it to be made into a Shonda Rhimes drama starring Paul Rudd playing me.

Okay, in all seriousness, I have this dream of other people from across Canada participating as interviewers.

I think a first step is crowdsourcing questions from listeners, but eventually I would love if the podcast expanded somehow. I’ve also thought of doing some themed relays on particular topics. There are so many options, and I can’t wait to see where this can go.

Can you give us a teaser for what’s to come in Season 2?

In the last episode of Season 1, I shared that my goal is to have some more diverse perspectives in the podcast. More interviews with folks from colleges, from outside the GTA, and from all parts of Canada. More students, faculty, and from a variety of career stages. I’ve already done my first interview while I was out east this summer, and I can’t wait to share it! Once I get another six edited and ready, I will start sharing them. I think the relay approach is fun, but I also think there is a danger that connected conversations could remain exclusively in existing circles, making it hard for lots of different types of voices to be included and heard. I want to make sure that there is a lot of room for people from many different backgrounds and places to participate and contribute.

I did invite @CACUSSlanyard to be interviewed for season 2, but they politely declined. They said “Some people have a face for radio. I have a voice for Twitter.”

So maybe one day.

What kind of response have you gotten from the Canadian student affairs community?

It has been great! To be honest, I think a lot of folks just love the theme song

more than anything. And who can blame them; it is super catchy! I haven’t done any serious promotion for the podcast outside of my own Twitter and Facebook circles, so I think folks are still discovering it slowly. Friends and colleagues have been very supportive, which has been extremely affirming. Even some family and friends who aren’t in the field at all have listened to an episode or two, and I think it has helped them understand a bit more about our work. I got a great shout-out in the AUCUSS newsletter and a few blog posts, which has been nice.

Are there ways that your listeners can get involved?

I end every podcast with an invitation for people to suggest any students, staff, or faculty doing excellent student affairs work in Canada for an interview, and I truly mean it. I would love for folks to get in touch with any suggestions, ideas, or critiques.

I would love to hear them! I generally use the hashtag #RelaySA so folks can use that to participate in a conversation on Twitter. I also follow the conversations and posts on #SACdn.

From Good to Great: Perceptions of Student Affairs and Services Retention Efforts

by Tricia A. Seifert, Jacqueline Beaulieu, Christine H. Arnold & Kathleen Moore Introduction

J

im Collins (2001), well-known author on organizational leadership, shares about the importance of people in moving a company from “good to great.” One may argue that higher education’s “good to great” analogue is moving from providing “access” to promoting “success” in students. Whether it is well-planned orientation programs or research-informed interventions, successful institutional retention efforts require campus administrators who are willing to put in the time and energy to envision, develop, implement, and assess retention initiatives (Bensimon, 2007; Braxton & McClendon, 2001; Hossler, Ziskin & Gross, 2009; Patton, Morelon, Whitehead & Hossler, 2006).

Yet, pop culture phrases question years of employment and one’s ability to do the work well. Who hasn’t heard the phrase “dead weight” referring to someone who has been at an institution a long time or “too green” referring to someone who is new to the position? To that end, it is useful to know how student affairs and services (SAS) staff perceive their work and if those perceptions differ by the number of years a person has worked in the field. Seifert (2014) examined the perspectives of SAS staff members to assess if differences existed in beliefs about the importance of items

It was great to sit down with Adam and hear about the development of the podcast and what’s in store for it. As Adam mentioned, you can use #RelaySA to talk about the podcast and #SACdn to engage in conversation with others interested in issues related to Canadian Student Affairs. You can listen to and download the podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes by searching for RelaySA. Readers and listeners, now it’s your turn: Whom do you want Adam to interview next? What questions do you want to him to ask?

Kathleen A. Moore is a doctoral student in the Higher Education program at OISE/ University of Toronto. You can follow Kathleen on Twitter @kathleenmoore_ where she tweets about student services, mental health, disability, and graduate education.

Adam Kuhn is currently the Director of Student and Campus Community Development at the University of Toronto. He recently completed his Master of Education in Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)/University of Toronto. In addition to his position at the University of Toronto, Adam is also a PhD student in Higher Education at OISE/University of Toronto.

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamKuhn.

related to the CACUSS mission and years employed in the field. Staff members with a longer tenure perceived greater importance in discussing balance with students (a statement that connects with CACUSS’ mission that “postsecondary education must be aimed at an individual’s total growth”) than their colleagues with less experience.

Interestingly, both staff who were fairly new to the field (1-3 years) and staff who had been in the field for 10 or more years perceived greater importance of sharing the educational mission of the institution with students than their mid-career colleagues.

To date, no research has investigated higher education’s “good to great” question, reframing the goal of providing access to one that promotes success. Addressing this gap in the literature, this study investigates the degree to which years employed at an institution relates to SAS staff members’ perceptions of their department’s retention efforts. As we continue to think about how staff members assist students beyond the point of matriculation to one focused on graduation, it is important to understand how years employed at an institution may present different advantages.

Methods The data for this analysis come from student affairs and services staff members at seven colleges and seventeen universities from across Canada who participated in the Supporting Student Success research project in 2014 and 2015. We were interested in the degree to which perceptions of departmental/functional unit retention efforts differed by the number of years a staff member worked at the institution. We used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine this question. We measured perceptions of department/functional unit’s retention efforts through five composite scales. We describe each composite in Table 1. Each composite is the average of three or more survey items in which respondents indicated the degree to which they strongly agreed (scored 5) to strongly disagreed with a declarative statement (scored 1). For constituent items of the composites, we direct readers to the Study Overview tab at www.supportingstudentsuccess.wordpress.com We compared staff scores based on number of years employed at the institution and the area of employment. “Years employed” was categorized as 1) Less than 1 year; 2) 1-3 years; 3) 4-6 years; 4) 7-10 years; 5) 11-15 years; 6) more than 15 years.

For each comparison, we present the mean composite score by years employed in parentheses followed by the level of significance. A value of p < .05 indicates that the probability of such a difference existing between these two groups simply by chance would occur fewer than 5 times out of 100.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 9

Results and Discussion We found few significant differences between staff’s perceptions of their unit’s student success efforts when grouped by years of employment at their current institution. Of the five composites examined, we found only one significant difference by staff members’ tenure at the institution and this was significant at p < .10.

Specifically, perceptions of unit leadership in promoting and supporting student success differed by years employed, with staff employed 1-3 years (mean = 3.49) at their current institution having more positive perceptions than staff employed 7-10 years (mean = 3.29).

While there were few significant differences between staff members’ perceptions of their unit’s student success efforts when grouped by years of employment at their current institution, the finding that staff employed 1-3 years held significantly more positive perceptions of their unit’s leadership than those employed 7-10 years suggests possible implications for mid-level professionals and their supervisors. Given that midlevel professionals tend to occupy a balanced organizational proximity to frontline Table 1. Description of Outcome Variables Composite Name

Composite Description

Cronbach’s Alpha

Perceptions of unit’s foundation for student success

Measures respondents’ perceptions of their unit’s ability to convey to students that they can succeed at the institution, that they belong at the institution, as well as the unit’s ability to facilitate students’ involvement in academic and co-curricular activities

.88

Perceptions of unit’s planned approach for student success

Measures respondents’ perceptions of their unit’s goals and objectives to helping students succeed

.89

Unit leadership in promoting and supporting student success

Measures respondents’ perceptions of their unit’s leadership and resources in promoting and supporting student retention objectives

.73

Student affairs and services administrators’ encouragement to partner

Measures respondents’ perception of the degree to which they have been encouraged by others at the institution to partner with cross-campus units to support student success.

.82

Cross-division referral, communication, and collaboration

Measures frequency and respondents’ perceptions of cross-campus referral, communication, and collaboration to support student success.

.68

We invite you to visit our research blog at www.supportingstudentsuccess.wordpress. com and leave a comment with your thoughts or tweet us @CdnStdntSuccess.

References

staff and senior administrators, they are in a unique position to simultaneously understand the rationale for department and campus-level decision more than newer professionals and observe the impact such decisions have on students as well as staff.

However, mid-level professionals are less involved in department and campuslevel decision-making than senior administrators, which means they may not have the same access to contextual information surrounding decision-making. Context (or lack thereof) is therefore likely to influence mid-level professionals’ opinions of unit leadership in promoting student success. Newer professionals, on the other hand, tend to be more focused on contextual elements directly connected to their day-to-day work, although this focus is likely to shift towards the bigger picture with time and experience. An implication of the findings of this study is the importance 10 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

of conveying contextual information surrounding decision-making with student affairs professionals (particularly those serving in mid-level roles) so as to support staff members’ ability to interpret and appreciate rationale for decision-making and thus support positive views of unit’s leadership for promoting and supporting student success. That being said, it is important to acknowledge that respondents who indicated they were employed for 1-3 years at their current institution may have also included seasoned professionals who had recently changed institutions. Given that on-the-job experience over time likely influences the formation of one’s opinion regarding unit leadership for promoting and supporting student success, it is important to consider this additional interpretation of our findings.

With the exception of perspectives regarding leadership irrespective of years employed at the institution, SAS staff appear to have similar positive perceptions of their unit’s retention efforts. Whether 20 years in a position or fairly new, staff members are excited to advance the institution from being good to being great, from providing access to students to seeing them succeed. In order to encourage further reflection on the ways student affairs and services practitioners advance their department’s and institution’s retention efforts and support student persistence, we ask you to consider the following: • What are your perceptions of your unit’s undergraduate student retention efforts and how do these perceptions shape your day-to-day work?

• How are your perceptions shaped by your current location in your division’s organizational chart?

• Did the findings presented surprise you? How so?

• What kind of further analyses would you be interested in having us do?

Bensimon, E. M. (2007). The underestimated significance of practitioner knowledge in the scholarship on student success. The Review of Higher Education, 30(4), 441-469.

Braxton, J. M., & McClendon, S. A. (2001-2002). The fostering of social integration through institutional practice. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 3(1), 57-71.

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t. New York: HarperCollins.

Hossler, D., Ziskin, M., & Gross, J.P.K. (2009). Getting serious about institutional performance in student retention. About Campus, 13(6), 2-11.

Patton, L. D., Morelon, C., Whitehead, D. M., & Hossler, D. (2006). Campus-based retention initiatives: Does the emperor have clothes? In E. P. St. John & M. Wilkerson (Eds.), Reframing persistence research to improve academic access (pp. 9-24). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Seifert, T. A. (2014). Student affairs and services staff in English-speaking Canadian postsecondary institutions and the role of CACUSS in professional education. Journal of College Student Development, 55(3), 295-309.

Tricia A. Seifert is an Associate Professor in the Adult & Higher Education program and Head of the Department of Education at Montana State University. She maintains a status appointment at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She can be reached on Twitter @TriciaSeifert or @CdnStdntSuccess.

Christine Helen Arnold is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, PostSecondary Studies, at Memorial University of Newfoundland and can be reached at ChristineArnold@mun.ca and on Twitter @ChristineA_MUN Jacqueline Beaulieu is a PhD Student in the Higher Education Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto and can be reached at jacqueline.beaulieu@mail.utoronto.ca and on Twitter @jacquiebeaulieu Kathleen A. Moore is a doctoral student in the Higher Education program at OISE/ University of Toronto. You can follow Kathleen on Twitter @kathleenmoore_ where she tweets about student services, mental health, disability, and graduate education.

Kohlrabi on the Campus

by Krystle tenBrink

“K

ohlrabi! What the heck is that?” says Madeline Read, a third-year student at Quest University Canada and member of the Quest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, while trying to figure out how to eat kohlrabi. A member of the cabbage family, kohlrabi can be eaten raw or cooked, and tastes like a broccoli stem that offers a hint of sweetness and spice. But this article is neither about kohlrabi nor how to eat it. This article is about how our University is part of a regional food system in which our students discover new foods that are nutritious, sustainable, and local.

What is a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture, or CSAs, have also been referred to as “farm share programs,” which are relationships in which local farmers sell memberships, which support the farm, and share the risk, and the bounty, of local agriculture. The yield of CSA programs tends to be mostly vegetables during the growing season, but some programs have options for fruit, eggs, and other farm products. In Squamish and the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, interested participants can purchase a membership in the local CSAs in the spring and receive deliveries of vegetables and eggs during the summer and fall harvest.

Many of the participating farms also offer opportunities for participant engagement, which can include visits to the farm and access to social media where

Potato leek soup ingredients from Plenty Wild Farms, Pemberton, BC

the farmers and participants share stories about the crops, the harvest, and recipes that use the produce.

The reciprocal nature of the CSA program puts more revenue directly into the farmers’ pockets, while the participants receive weekly bins full of fresh, organically grown vegetables and produce, and, more importantly, build a connection to their local food system.

Quest’s CSA The Quest CSA program began as a student initiative in 2014 as a means of supporting the campus community’s desire for healthy, local, and organic food.

Our CSA program has since grown from 40 participants to 64 during the 2015-2016 academic year, and we already have a waitlist for the coming season. As the majority of our students live in small apartments, rather than traditional dorms, most of the produce coming from the CSA is shared and then cooked together, creating a strong community around food and food production. With ten percent of our student body

Quest student Georgia Williams picking up her CSA from Nutrient Dense Farms, Squamish, BC COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 11

now participating in our CSA, we have been able to arrange weekly delivery directly to our residences. The farmers meet our student volunteer coordinators at a central pick-up point on campus, where the bins, full of the weekly harvest, are dropped off.

The students then pick up their food, transferring it into their own bags, or containers, leaving the CSA bins at the drop-off. Once all students have picked up their bounty, the student organizers collect the bins and prepare them to be returned to the farmers.

Our CSA currently has four partner farms from Squamish and Pemberton who supply a weekly produce bin for $25, plus optional fresh eggs at $6 a dozen. With the academic year only starting in September, the Quest CSA program can only run for 8 to 12 weeks, rather than throughout the entire summer. This season, we hope to accommodate all the students who have expressed an interest in the program. The growth of our CSA is possible because we have been working throughout the summer to further our relationships with the local farmers and added new farms to our program.

Quest Student Affairs While our CSA is a student initiative, Student Affairs has provided support, guidance, and a point of contact for the members and the farmers. We saw our involvement in the program as an opportunity to support our students in learning about their passions, the world around them, and how they can engage in it, which are components of our overall mission of helping our students become civic-minded members of their community. In practice, our students run the CSA program very well, and the fact that we are beginning our third year, with a larger program, is a testament to our students’ resolve in connecting the campus community to the local community.

A CSA program at your school Having implemented a successful CSA program at our school, we have identified some simple steps that could help other colleges and universities do the same.

1) Learn if there is already a CSA in your area. If not, research local farms and

2)

3)

4) 5)

inquire if they are interested in establishing a CSA. Find a good fit with a campus club, group, or student organization who may wish to champion the initiative. A strong champion is key to the overall success of this program.

Work with your student leaders to connect with your closest organic or local farmers early, to establish how your CSA program will be structured (e.g., costs, logistics, further engagement, etc.).

Establish a list of interested students who wish to participate in the CSA program.

Reap what you sow!

At a time when local, organic, sustainable “farm-to-table” food is very popular, universities and colleges can take advantage of local Community Supported Agriculture programs not only to provide nutritious food for their students, but also to connect their students to the local community, in particular the farming community, and awaken an awareness of food systems. The benefits of such programs transcend supporting the local farms and providing healthy food for students. Reconnecting with the way we produce our food is an essential component of our relationship between our lands and human health. Perhaps, as more schools adopt CSAs, kohlrabi will be the next to be “à la mode.”

Additional Resources Devlin, J. & Davis, M. (2016). Community Supported Agriculture in Canada. University of Guelph: School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. http://www.organiccouncil.ca/wordpress/wp-content/ uploads/2016/06/CSA-in-Canada-2016-Report.pdf Think Canada Organic. Canada Organic Trade Association. http://www.thinkcanadaorganic.ca

Krystle tenBrink is the Manager of Community and Sustainability Programs at Quest University Canada and can be reached at Krystle.tenbrink@questu.ca.

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8/23/16 4:49 PM

Helping Peers Understand their Competency Development

by Analise Anderson-Ma

I

have recently finished a Master of Arts in Higher Education degree, focusing on student development theory. I have always been fascinated by the processes through which individuals develop and wanted these ideas to be a focus in my thesis. While completing my studies, I also worked in a work-study leadership role in the St. George Career Centre in the University of Toronto. In this role, I assisted in coordinating the Peer Career Advisor Program (PCAP), the first stop for career or resume advice at the Career Centre. In the course of this role, it became evident to me that the peers I worked with could provide excellent insight into the impact of this role on their competency development and career development thinking. I collected data using a mixed-methods approach, including bi-weekly journal entries as well as pre-post assessments.

One of the main conclusions I drew through my thesis was that, as student affairs professionals, we have a responsibility to help those students working with us in peer support roles reflect on and understand the development they experience through these roles. In the following article, I provide analysis on existing and potential methods of understanding peer competency development Why help supportive peers understand their competency development?

As part of a demographics survey I collected at the beginning of the study, participants were asked their motivations for accepting the role of Peer Career Advisor.

The number one reason reported (identified by 13 of 14 study participants) was the opportunity to develop skills for personal development. 10 of 14 participants also stated that they hoped to develop skills transferable to their anticipated career field.

(The second most common motivation for accepting the role was the opportunity to help other students.) These motivations are in alignment with the data published in 2011 and collected through The National Peer Educator Study, the largest study of peer educator development in North America to date. Data from this study showed motivators included: “desire to help others (66 percent) …interest in gaining jobrelated skills (41 percent), desire to acquire additional knowledge (50 percent), and desire to be involved in college (49 percent)” (Wawrzynski, LoConte, & Straker).

Participants in both studies were largely traditional undergraduate-aged students.

The results of these studies indicate that competency (or skill) development is a major factor motivating students to enter supportive peer roles.

What are student affairs professionals already doing to help students understand their development?

At the University of Toronto, all work-study positions are mapped to a set of 33 competencies (through the Co-Curricular Record) that supervisors anticipate students will develop in the roles they are hired to. These are included in the job posting for each work-study role. Correctly mapping roles to competencies allows students to choose a role that is a best fit for the skills they want to develop and also motivates students in supportive peer roles as they experience these skills developing.

The PCAP team meets regularly as a group to discuss areas for professional development and to discuss methods for providing advice to students seeking support.

One of the meetings that seemed most impactful based on the data I collected focused on resources to which peers could refer students who were struggling with issues outside of career choice, and how to make these referrals. Of this workshop, one study participant said, “I learned a lot more about mental health services on campus and how to respond with empathy and compassion.” In general, these meetings are an opportunity for peers to “learn new skills and learn more about myself through interactive activities”.

As seen in The National Peer Educator Study, one of the main motivators for accepting a peer support role is the development of career-related skills. Therefore, it is important to help students understand how the competencies they have developed through their roles are transferable to other roles they may hold (in their studies, co-curricular and volunteer experiences, and paid work). In the final team PCAP meeting of the year, peers brainstorm and reflect on the competencies they have developed over the year and discuss how these competencies might be expressed to employers during a job search (for example, on a resume).

What more can student affairs professionals to do help students understand their development?

As aforementioned, mapping competencies to supportive peer roles, and including this information in the job posting, can be useful in recruiting students to these roles and helping them remain motivated in these roles as they develop these competencies.

This is only true if the mapped competencies are truly reflective of the role. When looking at the PCAP mapped competencies, four of six mapped competencies aligned with the data I collected on the top developed competencies (and two did not). To COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 13

ensure that the correct competencies are mapped, I recommend collecting feedback from the students in the role with regard to the competencies they are developing and how (i.e. what are the specific tasks that are contributing to the development of each competency). While I collected this data through a reflective journal, another method might be collecting this feedback through team meetings. When meeting as a team, students may be able to build on each other’s ideas to provide deeper information than might be included in an independent journal.

This rich feedback from students can be used to more effectively recruit students to supportive peer positions (whether work-study or volunteer). Posted positions could include not only a listing of the competencies students are likely to develop in a role but also a one-sentence explanation of the kinds of tasks that lead to this development. Interviews should build on the information included in the job posting, explaining the role more thoroughly and also asking candidates about the kinds of competencies they would like to develop, to determine whether each candidate’s goals for development are in alignment with the role to which they are applying.

Once the supportive peers are in their roles, it is important that supervisors help them reflect on how the tasks they are doing are impacting the development of their competencies. Partly, this is to help ensure that peers remain motivated to continue to develop these competencies, and partly because this will develop in peers an understanding of how these skills are transferable to other roles. This can be achieved through facilitated discussions during initial training and on-going professional development team meetings. To end each of these sessions, the peer supervisor could encourage discussion that allows peers to link the training session to specific competencies. Questions included in the session debrief might include: “Which

competencies will this session help you develop?”, “How will you use information from this session to develop these competencies?”, and “Can you apply what you have learned in this session to other roles you hold or anticipate holding in the future?”

In Conclusion Nearing the end of my data collection process, one participant made the plea, “Teach me how I can use the skills and knowledge from my degree to my future career.

It will help me see the value of my university degree so that I can be more prepared to enter the working world.” As a career services professional, this plea is a call to action.

Helping students understand the skills they are developing during their degree is a first step in developing an understanding of the skills they would like to use in their careers. The debate around the “value of a degree” continues in our institutions, but the reality for students is that they have a need to both understand the competencies they have developed through their degree (in their academic and co-curricular roles) and how they can express the competencies that they have developed through their degrees to potential employers.

References Wawrzynski, M. R., LoConte, C. L., & Straker, E. J. (2011). Learning outcomes for peer educators: The national survey on peer education. New Directions for Student Services, 2011(133), 23.

Analise Anderson-Ma works as a Career Exploration Coordinator at the St. George Career Centre in the University of Toronto and completed her thesis entitled Development of Peer Advisors’ Competencies and Career Clarity in the St. George Career Centre at the University of Toronto under supervision of Dr. Katharine Janzen (OISE/UT). Analise can be reached at analise.anderson@utoronto.ca.

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14 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

The Mindset List

by Rachel Barreca

I

t is quite possible that I have been aware of The Mindset List (www.beloit.edu/mindset) almost since its inception. No one is sure where it started, but it was circulated over email for a while before the list made its way to Ron Nief at Beloit College, Wisconsin in 1997.

Nief and his Beloit colleagues Tom McBride and Charles Westerberg have updated and circulated it ever since. It serves as a reminder of the things new students won’t understand and of the cultural references they just won’t get because they are “too young.”

The reminder to watch my references is helpful, and I am on board with the idea that I should work to empathise with students new to campus every fall term. We do need to take different perspectives into consideration as we plan and program, because our experience of higher education is not the only experience of higher education.

The problem is that I have felt unsatisfied by this list for quite some time.

The Mindset List is very US-centric, youth-centric, and a bit homogenous. It does not provide much of an international perspective. While it is important to note differences, I have often felt like it goes too far in that direction and doesn’t do enough to create empathy through connection. At some level, people are people, regardless of age and generation and cohort.

Concerned about student reten�on at your College or University?

In writing the first draft of The Canadian Mindset List, my goals were: • to proactively create connections by illustrating some similarities between students, staff, and faculty; • to move from a defi cit perspective (“here is what they don’t know”) to a positive perspective (“here is what they do know”); • to move away from a focus on the past, and focus on the future; • to include more Canadian and international references, not to mention Toronto and Ryerson references, given where I work right now; • to involve students in the creation of the list; and • to spark a conversation in Canadian student affairs and higher education about the ways we inclusively and empathetically prepare to welcome new students to campus.

Take a look at The Canadian Mindset List and let’s talk about how we can make it better. Let’s talk about how we can use it as a tool on our campuses. Let’s talk about how it might lead to some interesting research about students in Canadian higher education and the importance of mindset or more effective methods of transition support. Let’s talk!

You can find The Canadian Mindset List at ryersonstudentaffairs.com/thecanadian-mindset-list-2016 Rachel Barreca is the Manager, Campus Engagement for the Ryerson Career Centre. Rachel can be reached by email at rbarreca@ryerson.ca and on Twitter @moxywoman.

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COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 15

From Muddy Water to Blue Skies Using BreathingRoomTM

by Patricia Kostouros, Deb Bennett, and Kandi McElary

T

he Mount Royal University strategic plan, Learning and Leading Together, has within its pages a goal pertaining to student achievement. In particular, this goal is related to reducing barriers to academic success. In addition, the Okanagan Charter of Health Promoting University and Colleges has a call to action and suggestion that health promotion can be accomplished when health aspects are embedded into all areas of campus culture, across the administration, operations, and academic mandates. Responding to the call to action required collaboration across an institution and finding ways to meet student needs in a variety of ways, including in their classrooms. To engage faculty, it is vital that they are aware of the demographics of who is in their classrooms, which includes health and wellness statistics about those students.

When faculty are aware of student needs, they are better equipped to support the students who often approach faculty when they are struggling.

National College Health Assessment One of the ways that faculty become informed about students is to share the data that is collected from the National College Health Assessment (American College Health Assessment Canadian reference 2016). Mount Royal University has been collecting information from students about students for a number of years. Doing so informs strategic direction and assists with planning for funds as well as activities to support student needs. For the purpose of the research described herein, the most relevant statistics taken from the NCHA are related to the mental health concerns of students on our campus. Shared below is the most recent data from the NCHA (2016): Students stated that these health concerns impacted the following Stress 39.9 academic areas: received a lower Anxiety 30.8 grade on an exam or an important Sleep Difficulties 28.2 project; received a lower grade in the Cold/Flu/Sore Throat 20.2 course; received an incomplete or Depression 18.1 dropped the course; or experienced a significant disruption in thesis, dissertation, research or practicum work. Given this impact on academic work, two faculty who were already using stress-relieving tools in their classes decided to adopt one particular tool for use and collect data from students on its impact to reduce stress and build resilience.

Academic Impacts

MRU %

16 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

BreathingRoomTM The BreathingRoomTM, formerly known as the Leap Project (Paccagnan, et al., 2012), is an award-winning mental health program developed by the Canadian Institute for Natural and Integrative Medicine (CINIM). This tool was originally developed for young people 13-24 years of age who were experiencing symptoms of depression. The BreathingRoomTM tool was found to be effective with the population for which it was first devised. What was also noted was that this tool could not only reduce depression symptoms and stress, but it was found to have resiliency factors as well.

The program consists of eight online modules all containing a variety of activities and speakers. For example, most modules contain a piece of music, poetry, a joke of the day, someone talking about his or her experiences, and a variety of activities such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, or mindfulness. The modules can be completed in one sitting, which might take two to three hours, or spread out over a week by completing small 20 to 30-minute sections within the modules. The concepts within the program build upon each other over time.

The Research The faculty researchers who used this tool were already discussing self-care and mental health wellness strategies with students in their classes. These researchers chose to use the BreathingRoomTM since it was already being used on the campus and being offered to students from Wellness Services. It made sense to use a tool students had access to and was being supported by the institution. Additionally, by researching the impact of the existing tool, we were able to provide feedback from students about their experience to Wellness Services.

The classes that were engaged for this research were quite different in nature and structure, but each course had two sections. One was two sections of a child and youth care counselling course that had 20 students in each section, and the other was two sections of an undergraduate studies course that had about 30 students in each section. The counselling courses included the topic of self-care and the undergraduate studies courses were mostly focused on student wellness. The researchers created an assignment by which the students were to engage in the BreathingRoomTM tool on a weekly basis and journal about their experiences. What is important to note is that assignments related to self-care already existed in these courses but were less focused on a particular tool.

Methodology Two sources of data were collected from students. The course assignment related to this research asked students to keep a journal. Students were asked to submit their journals as one data source. The other data source was participant interviews. Ten students agreed to be interviewed. It is important to note that each researcher gathered and anonymized the student participant data from the other researcher’s classes ensuring that the teacher of that class did not know whether students were participating in the research or not. Researchers also interviewed students from the other teacher’s classes again, ensuring that participants were unidentifiable. In addition, journals were not gathered and interviews not completed until final grades were submitted.

Researchers used a qualitative interpretive inquiry method for interviewing as well as journal data analysis. According to Merriam (2002), asking students about their perspectives and collecting data via interviews matches an interpretivephenomenological methodology. According to Fleming et al. (2002), the purpose in using an interpretive approach is to create deep understanding and “lead to the opening up of possibilities for this understanding” (p. 117). By reading and re-reading, we deepened our understanding of the data and then compared and contrasted our findings with each other. We began the interviews with one overarching question, “What was your experience having the BreathingRoomTM used as a self-care tool in your class?” Establishing an appropriate research question allows the researcher to maintain a focus and direction that will guide the research (Creswell, 2014). In

students appreciated that they were able to increase the number of strategies they had for managing self-care and stressors. They also appreciated that the activities in the modules could be modified to their own liking. For those students who were in counselling courses, it was clear that they could use the tools they were learning not only for themselves but for their future counselling practice. Many students created goals for themselves and intended to maintain their self-care practice.

In terms of the factors that made it difficult for students to participate, one major point was the time it took to get through all of the content in the modules. Some students waited until the last minute to engage in the module and therefore did not receive the benefit of the program in the same way as those who spread it out over the week. In addition, and this is the main complaint by students, the BreathingRoomTM was developed for individuals struggling with symptoms of depression and is the main focus of the first four modules. This does shift over time, but it became somewhat of a turn-off for some students. In particular, there were some students who had experienced depression as an adolescent and did not want to revisit those experiences.

Regardless, most students expressed appreciation that we were doing more than paying lip-service for the need to reduce stress and care for self.

Researchers’ Experiences this method, one would not want to truncate the interview process by staying too aligned with any particular line of questioning, instead remaining open to use the participant voice as fodder for the direction of the interview (Cohen, Khan & Steeves 2000). There were three journals submitted over the term, two of which focused on integration of the BreathingRoomTM strategies with the final journal asking for specific feedback about the tool.

Described Experiences In essence, we uncovered three general categories of participant data. One category included students as having their own lived experience of a mental health concern that was either present or had existed in the past. Another group were students that knew others who had suffered with a mental health concern that had touched their lives in some way. The final group that surfaced were those students who had not had any connection to mental health concerns presently or in the past. These students had a more difficult time understanding why they were participating in a self-care assignment in general, while the other two groups of participants could understand the importance of self-care and appreciated the tool. For example, one participant remarked, “Although it is somewhat obvious, it is amazing how often people take their emotional health and wellbeing for granted.” Comments from those who did not have an experience with a mental health concern were more in line with “I just did it for the marks.” That said, some students began with the same attitude that shifted over time, and they found it more useful as they engaged more often: “I’ll just do it for the marks, but upon doing it, I was like wow, these stories, I can relate.”

For those students who had an appreciation of the program we heard or read comments that seemed to reinforce prior self-care tools that had been abandoned at some point: “The messages really allowed you to say okay I’ll do it my way…I realized she was talking about artistic stuff, and I haven’t done that in years, haven’t really been balanced.” Students also came to understand they are not alone, and to some degree participation in the BreathingRoomTM gave them some perspective: “A lot of time I feel like I’m the only one that feels this way. The BreathingRoomTM made me more comfortable sharing things…and I realized I’m not the only one struggling with these kinds of things.”

Barriers and Facilitators Initially, students participated in the BreathingRoomTM tool because it was an assignment in their courses and they wanted their grades. However, over time

As researchers we bumped up against some of our own realizations when using particular tools in assignments. For instance, we wondered about the ethics of privileging one particular tool over another. It did occur to us that privileging one tool took away a certain amount of student choice and autonomy to manage stress in their own way. We also encountered disclosures in the journals that we had not anticipated and were inappropriate for the student-teacher relationship. Finally, we realized that for some this created more stress rather than stress relief. While our initial intentions were meant to support students based on the NCHA data and what we knew about student stress, we did not want to assume we knew what the students needed and certainly did not want to increase pressure.

References American College Health Association. American Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Canadian Reference Group, Executive Summary (2016).

American College Health Association. American Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: MRU Executive Summary (2016).

Cohen, M., Kahn, D., & Steeves, R. (2000). Hermeneutic phenomenological research: A practical guide for nurse researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Fleming, V., Gaidys, U., & Robb, Y. (2002). Hermeneutic research in nursing: developing a Gadamerianbased research method. Nursing Inquiry, 10, 113-120.

Merriam, S. (2002). Qualitative Research in Practice. San Francisco CA: John Wiley and Sons Paccagnan, P., Moritz, s., Rickhi, N., Dennis, C., Malhotra, S., Hart, C., Maser, R., Rickhi, B., Toews, J., & Cohen, J. (2012). Recruitment experiences from piloting the LEAP project: an online spirituality based depression intervention for young adults. Scientific abstract presented at the International Research Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health. 12(1). DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-S1-P166.

Patricia Kostouros is an associate faculty member in the Department of Child Studies and Social Work. Pat works to reduce stress in the lives of post-secondary students in both teaching and research interests. Pat was one of the CACUSS cochairs of the post-secondary student mental health working group and community of practice.

Deb Bennett is an associate faculty member in the Department of General Education. Deb’s research interests include loss and grief, student wellness, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Kandi McElary is the Director of Wellness Services. Kandi has worked in postsecondary settings for over 30 years, is a member of CACUSS, and was on the executive of the Canadian Organization for University and College Health. Kandi is currently co-chair of the Alberta Post-Secondary Health Association.

All three authors are associated with Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 17

A Student Affairs Pro’s Guide to the Faculty

by Cristina Peter

I

t is Higher Education’s “Battle of the Silos”; however, rather than Venus and Mars, our two sides occupy Student Lounges and Lecture Halls: Student Affairs Professionals and Faculty. As a Student Life Coordinator, I had countless discussions about how to engage our faculty and course instructors. Do they know all the fabulous, reflective programming that we’re doing?

I recently transitioned into a role that has provided the opportunity to become a “border-crosser” and bring a student affairs “instinct” into an academically rigorous Faculty of Arts and Science through holistic student success programming.

I still have these conversations of the “great divide” with colleagues, but rather than lamentation, our partnership with faculty requires collaboration and understanding.

I, by no means, am an instructor-whisperer, but I have learned a couple of strategies that have helped me start conversations, gain buy-in, and build some wonderful relationships with our faculty members.

If you can’t walk in their shoes, at least look at them We know our Tinto, Schlossberg, and Pascarella… but do we know what faculty do day-to-day? I’ll bet that we know as much about an instructor’s day-to-day as they know about our own. Beyond teaching multiple courses with hundreds of students to manage (and answer emails from), faculty often hold administrative roles such as coordinating courses, reviewing curriculum, overseeing a small army of TAs, and in many cases conducting research along with the complex application and review processes that goes along with it.

Like us, faculty are keeping a lot of plates spinning. Sometimes asking a course instructor to attend a weekly workshop program is akin to being asked to create a multiple choice physics exam while running orientation week. Consider these multiple roles when inviting faculty members to your project. Start a conversation by asking about an instructor’s availability, then articulate workload for faculty involvement clearly (in many cases faculty may overestimate the time commitment you’re asking for). If they aren’t able to commit, ask for a referral to another faculty member who might be interested. It’s not that they aren’t interested; it might not be feasible for them.

The feedback sandwich method need not apply We often offer constructive criticism in a “feedback sandwich”: start with something positive, then discuss an area of development, then end with the positive. Presenting a thesis or research article at a conference of academics is not like this process. Often when I present new initiatives, I receive a lot of very pointed questions. While I might not be used to this style of critiquing, it’s the proposals that have been unceremoniously pulled apart that come out strongest and most successful in the long term.

One of the best tips I received was, “If the faculty members are asking lots of questions and meeting with you, they’re interested. If they weren’t interested, they wouldn’t be responding to your email.” Don’t take direct questions personally.

Academics critique ideas; it’s part of the iterative process of contributing to a field 18 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

of study. By asking difficult questions, they are helping to build your programs, rather than “tearing them down.” Take a deep breath and defend your thesis… or, if necessary, go back to the drawing board.

Same language, different dialect One of the most helpful strategies in working with faculty members has been to realize that we have quite a bit in common; we just speak different versions of the same language of student success. Faculty and Student Affairs Professionals have different pathways and definitions of what student success is, but we ultimately want to support our students.

I have learned that the language that I use is incredibly important when speaking about new initiatives. My language must be precise, clear, and succinct. I must have clear objectives and show how my own objectives can contribute to those of academic departments. Faculty members have been quite generous in offering to discuss proposals. In many cases, it has been unclear wording that has led to confusion.

What I may take for granted with my student affairs background might not be as clear to a neuroscientist.

Take the time to ask clarifying questions. If you have the opportunity to meet to explain yourself, take it (and don’t be afraid of the hard questions that might follow!).

Anticipate questions by learning about the priorities of the academic departments.

And remember, we are not on opposite sides. We’re just specialists on the same team.

Cristina Peter is the Student Success Programs Coordinator in the Faculty of Arts and Science in the University of Toronto. She can be reached at cristina.peter@utoronto.ca.

CACUSS’ Integrated Academic and Professional Advising CoP Better Defining Advising in Canada

I

by Shea Ellingham, Darran Fernandez & Tim Fricker

t’s been a challenge for advising professionals across the country to find a professional home that embraces the goals of advising within a Canadian framework. Are we student affairs professionals? Do we belong in academic affairs? In some institutions, advisors can be found in both sides of the proverbial house. And depending on where advisors ‘sit’ within an institution can also influence the lines of professional development. The introduction of the Communities of Practice (CoP) model at CACUSS just over two years ago provided a space for the Integrated Academic and Professional Advising community to come together, network, and find a home. But we knew that it was going to take time and a concerted effort to carve out a space for this group of people.

At the inaugural meeting of the Integrated Academic and Professional Advising CoP at the Vancouver conference in 2015, a room full of advising professionals gathered to learn more about how this group could find a home in CACUSS. The CoP co-chairs started by asking the question, “What do you want from this CoP and how can we, the co-chairs, best serve the interest of the community members”? Since then, we distributed a survey through the CACUSS membership and our own professional networks to find out more about what advising looks like across the country. We hosted a CACUSS webinar (youtube.com/watch?v=0yzZEn7769I) to present the results and published them in the Winter 2016 issue of Communiqué. Now we are planning for the next year and continue to ask “What does advising look like in Canada?” and “What do members of this CoP want to accomplish?”

One of our goals from last year was to increase the number of advising-related sessions at the annual conference as a way of enticing advising professionals to consider attending the conference. It was also our hope to promote awareness of academic advising within the student affairs arena in Canada, and what better place to do this than at the CACUSS annual conference? From a mere four or five advising-related sessions in 2015, the annual conference in Winnipeg almost doubled its offering by including nine advising-related sessions.

Mount Royal University advisors Sarah Hamilton and Brianna Harvie presented their take on dealing with awkward conversations, with students highlighting for their audience some of the more common situations where advisors need to tread carefully when working with students. Advisor Bernard Ryu and Health Promotion Specialist Crystal Hutchinson from Simon Fraser University presented on a collaboration focused on working with students at risk and providing them with an opportunity to “bounce back.” Neil Buddel, Dean of Students from Centennial College, and Sheryl Prouse, Director of Student Advising from University of Saskatchewan, joined forces on an expert panel to highlight the changes to advising at their respective institutions and how the link between academic advising and student success has transformed their advising models.

Tim Fricker, Director of Student Success Initiatives from Mohawk College, presented his recent findings on the relationship between Academic Advising and Student Success in Canada (collegequarterly.ca/2015-vol18-num04-fall/fricker.html), highlighting the fact that there is little Canadian-based research from practitioners or academics to support the professionalization of academic advising. His call to action is for practitioners to step forward and conduct research, present at conferences, and publish their results as a means to promote and advance the advising profession in and across Canada.

More than the individual sessions, the conference provided an opportunity for advisors to acknowledge their contributions to the Student Affairs profession. By connecting with other conference delegates, hanging out at CoP social events, and finding time to chat in between sessions, there was a real sense of connection and camaraderie, and it felt as though we had gained some momentum in establishing advising as a part of CACUSS. On the last morning of the CACUSS Conference in Winnipeg, a smaller group of conference attendees gathered and talked about plans for the next year to help anchor a Canadian advising network and define a space for professional advisors to align their professional development interests. We talked about the challenges of networking and communication, because we know that not everyone has the privilege of membership in an association, and does that mean that they should be excluded from the conservation and not be able to participate? This is something that we hope to address this year within the Integrated Professional and Academic Advising CoP: inclusivity. This starts with a broader conversation about advising and encouraging more people to share what advising looks like in their daily activities and across their campus.

To this end, the co-chairs of the Integrated Academic and Professional Advising CoP have partnered with Dr. Linda Pardy from the University of the Fraser Valley to launch a pan-Canadian survey of advising over the next year. Pardy’s initial research

commissioned by BCCAT (bccat.ca/research/projects/advising) provided insight into the world of advising across British Columbia. Building upon the BCCAT research framework, the pan-Canadian survey will endeavour to reach out to as many institutions across the country as possible to gather information about advising in Canada. We want to hear from professional advisors, faculty advisors, advisors who work in career advising, student success and engagement advisors, financial advisors and others; advisors who report through student affairs and those who report through academic affairs. Tell us: What is advising in Canada? What we hope to accomplish through this project is to be able to raise awareness nationally about academic advising and establish a Canadian framework for academic advising.

We also want to encourage professional advisors to get involved in research, to delve into the world of advising in Canada, and to share their results with their colleagues. We have identified this as one of our goals for the coming year as well, creating a space for that sharing of information. There is an opportunity for blog posts and webinars on topics of interest. You have expertise and much to contribute to the profession of advising. It’s critical that we step up and celebrate the advising successes that we are experiencing. The co-chairs are here to support and help facilitate these conversations. This is a community, and it will only continue to be a community if people are engaged and willing to contribute.

Shea Ellingham is the Manager, Academic Advising Services at Mount Royal University and can be reached by email at sellingham@mtroyal.ca and on Twitter @sheabel.

Darran Fernandez is the Associate Registrar & Director, Student Support & Advising at the University of British Columbia and can be reached by email at darran.fernandez@ubc.ca and on Twitter @darranfernandez.

Tim Fricker is the Director, Student Success Initiatives at Mohawk College and can be reached by email at tim.fricker@mohawkcollege.ca and on Twitter @timfricker.

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Enhancing Diversity Competencies in Career Development and Counselling

by Anna-Lisa Ciccocioppo

“Cultural diversity brings the strengths of multiple knowledges and perspectives to schools, to workplaces, and to society as a whole” (Marshall, Stewart, Popadiuk, & Lawrence, 2013)

P

ost-secondary students are in a developmental period in which they are forming a vocational identity, which facilitates career decision-making (Taber & Blankemeyer, 2015). In challenging economic times, we need to prepare students for employability rather than employment (Savickas, 2011) and to nurture skills of flexibility, adaptability, and life-long learning (Nota, Ginevra, & Santilli, 2015). To effectively intervene, an essential prerequisite for a counsellor/advisor/student services professional is to have cultural competence (Nota et al., 2015). We need to consider the needs of diverse student populations to properly address their needs regarding career development and counselling, including international and immigrant students, students with disabilities (e.g., those on the autism spectrum), Indigenous/First Nations Métis and Inuit students, and LGBTQ students. There is limited research on the career development needs of these groups (Browne & Russell, 2014), yet these groups experience a high prevalence of stigma and we must learn as much as we can and reach out to these populations.

International and Immigrant Students Internationalization is a priority of many post-secondary institutions in Canada, and it is widely observed that international student enrolment continues to grow and represent a larger percentage of the student population. It is important that student affairs professionals are aware of the challenges encountered by international students due to differing cultural values regarding career development (Yang, Wong, Hwang, & Heppner, 2002). Increased international experiences for domestic students (e.g., study abroad, foreign field schools, research abroad) are also part of the internationalization strategy of post-secondary institutions (AUCC, 2014). Domestic students returning to Canada following an international experience may have unique concerns, including reverse culture shock and adjustment problems (Wielkiewicz & Turkowski, 2010).

Immigrant students also have societal and psychosocial barriers that can impede their career planning, including adapting to new languages (English/French), 20 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

adjusting to different academic systems, developing new social networks, and coping with society’s prejudicial attitudes (Sinacore & Lerner, 2013).

Best practices for career counsellors/advisors working with international students include (a) Explore factors leading to being an international student (e.g., lack of opportunities in their home country); (b) Minimize assumptions regarding students’ decidedness and the level of information and choice they have regarding their options; (c) Assess perceived influences on career decision-making from both their home culture and host culture; and (d) Educate students regarding the nature and potential helpfulness of career counselling and advising (Arthur, 2016).

Students with Disabilities (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Students with disabilities represent an increasingly greater percentage of the campus population. In the U.S., 11% of post-secondary students were identified as having a disability (NCES, 2008). There has been a 78% increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder from 2002 to 2008 (ADDMN, 2012), and these children are now young adults entering post-secondary studies.

These students encounter greater challenges with career planning and successful post-secondary-to-work transition. The number of students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder keeps rising, and so does the need for student services that acknowledge this population’s needs. Minimal research to date, however, has focused on their career development needs (Briel & Getzel, 2014; Mynatt, Gibbons, & Hughes, 2014).

Best practices for working with students on the autism spectrum include: (a) Provide career information that is clear and precise; (b) Provide experiential learning opportunities (e.g., information-gathering interviews, job shadowing); (c) Help students develop a disclosure plan; and (d) Assist them to understand what kinds of accommodations they could request, given the challenge experienced with social skills (Briel & Getzel, 2014). Caution is also advised when using interest inventories, as the occupational profile may come out flat due to a narrow and pronounced set of interests expressed. A strengths-based approach regarding the specific narrow interests, rather than trying to force greater expansion of interests and career options, is preferable (Mynatt et al., 2014).

Psychiatric Concerns Students are presenting with more complete and severe psychiatric concerns. For example, the percentage of students presenting with psychiatric issues at the University of Calgary Wellness Centre has almost quadrupled over a five-year period (2007/08 to 2012/13). These students also articulate career concerns, and it is essential to integrate career and mental health concerns (e.g., Zunker, 2008) to support best practices.

Indigenous (First Nations, Métis & Inuit) Students The University of Calgary’s 2014 enrolment data on Indigenous students indicates that 2.2% of undergraduates and 1.3% of graduate students have identified as part of this population. There are limited research findings and career theories available to guide counsellors when working with Indigenous students (Young, Marshall, and Valach, 2007). The difference between Indigenous students’ collectivist values and the more individualist values of Canadian society has added complexity to their career development process (Young et al., 2007). Eurocentric cultural values are most dominant in current systems of career development and education – and conflict with those of Indigenous students (Stewart & Reeves, 2013). It is important to understand the socio-political historical realities of Indigenous peoples to acquire the context (e.g., colonialization, Indian Act) to understand the current issues, which include: (a) Discrimination via domination of Western research and educational methods and career assessment bias; (b) Importance of modeling and mentoring Indigenous students; and (c) Limited access to employment and educational opportunities (Stewart & Reeves, 2013).

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 20

Many best practices have been encouraged when working with Indigenous students, including: (a) Practitioners must be mindful of the lack of culturally sensitive career assessment tools and the limitations of available tools when working with Indigenous students (Browne & Russell, 2014); (b) Ensure greater visibility of Indigenous occupational role models, particularly those from beyond the more common fields of education, social and behavioural sciences, and business (Browne & Russell, 2014); (c) Recruit Indigenous career practitioners and faculty who work from Indigenous world views (Stewart & Reeves, 2013); (d) Include community members, Elders, family, and children in the teaching and learning process as it pertains to their career development (Stewart & Reeves, 2013); (e) Conduct further qualitative research to better understand Indigenous young people’s career development; and (f) Ensure such research is to be done from an Indigenous cultural and community-based framework (Stewart & Reeves, 2013).

LGBTQ Students LGBTQ students experience unique challenges, including: (a) A lack of role models across a broad range of occupations; (b) Discrimination and stereotyping by potential employers; and (c) A difficult transition from the more comfortable and welcoming post-secondary environment into a less liberal workplace (Schneider & Dimito, 2010). Prior to coming to university, LGBTQ high school students struggle with many challenges as well, including: (a) Difficulty integrating the LGBTQ identity into one’s self-concept, which impedes on career planning; (b) A restricted range of career options and tendency to use occupational stereotypes due to perceived barriers; (c) A heterosexist testing bias in popular career inventories; (d) Hidden minority status and discomfort with openly addressing sexual orientation needs in their career exploration; (e) A hostile learning environment, coupled with feeling unsafe at school, which leads to an increased risk of dropping out (three times the rate of heterosexual students); (f) Less opportunity to receive career counselling when not at school, dropping out, and feeling discouraged regarding career aspirations; (g) Less pursuit of career guidance, as they feel their guidance counsellor does not understand their unique concerns; and (h) Few role models can delay LGBTQ high school students’ development of career interests (Chen & Keats, 2016).

Best practices include: (a) Increase cultural competence regarding the stigma and discrimination faced by LGBT individuals when preparing for and entering the workforce; (b) Help students connect with positive role models/mentors; and (c) Highlight individual strengths as well as preparing students for challenges (Russon & Schmidt, 2014). Dispenza, Brown, & Chastain (2016) discuss ways that career counsellors can enhance the career adaptability of LGBTQ individuals, including: (a) Develop adequate coping skills (e.g., problem-solving skills); (b) Identify appropriate supports to manage stressors around the coming out process; and (c) More training and education of career counsellors who work with LGBTQ individuals.

When facilitating the career exploration of transgender students, Sangganjanavanich and Headley (2016) recommend the following: (a) The importance of examining our own biases through reflective practice and supervision to reduce impact of unexamined stereotypical beliefs; (b) The creation of a trans-affirmative environment (e.g., not using career assessments normed by gender); (c) Educating ourselves regarding the resources that transgender students may need; (d) Discussing issues related to the job search (e.g., how to broach a name change with an employer); and (e) Addressing issues of prejudice regarding gender expression related to myths, controversies, or concerns.

Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDMN) (2012). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders— autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 14 sites, United States, 2008. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 61(3): 1–19.

Briel, L. W., & Getzel, E. E. (2014). In their own words: The career planning experiences of college students with ASD. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 40, 195-202.

Browne, J., & Russell, L. (2014). The practice of postsecondary career development. In B. C. Shepard & P. S. Mani (Eds.), Career development practice in Canada: Perspectives, principles, and professionalism (pp.361-382). Toronto, ON: Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling.

Chen, C. P., & Keats, A. (2016). Career development and counselling needs of LGBTQ high school students. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/03069885.2016.1187709 Dispenza, F., Brown, C., & Chastain, T. E. (2016). Minority stress across the career-lifespan trajectory.

Journal of Career Development, 43, 103-115.

Marshall, E. A., Stewart, S. L., Popadiuk, N. E., & Lawrence, B. C. (2013). Walking in multiple worlds: Successful school-to-work transitions for Aboriginal and cultural minority youth. In G. Tchibozo (Ed.), Cultural and Social Diversity and the Transition from Education to Work (pp. 185-201).

New York: Springer.

Mynatt, B. S., Gibbons, M. M., & Hughes, A. (2014). Career development for college students with Asperger’s Syndrome. Journal of Career Development, 41, 185-198. doi:10.1177/0894845313507774 National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. (2008). Table 231: Number and percentage of students enrolled in postsecondary institutions, by level, disability status, and selected student characteristics: 2003-04. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Nota, L., Ginevra, M. C., & Santilli, S. (2015). Life Design and prevention. In L. Nota & J. Rossier (Eds.), Handbook of Life Design (pp. 183-199). Boston, MA: Hogrefe.

Russon, J. M., & Schmidt, C. K. (2014). Authenticity and career decision-making self-efficacy in lesbian, gay, and bisexual college students. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 26, 207-221. doi:10 .1080/10538720.2014.891090 Sangganjanavanich, V. F., & Headley, J. A. (2016). Career development of transgender college students pursuing gender transition. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 32(1), 161-168.

Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In S. Brown, & R. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and practice to work (pp. 147–183). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Schneider, M., & Dimito, A. (2010). Factors influencing the career and academic choices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Journal of Homosexuality, 57, 138-149. doi:10.1080/0091836 9.2010.517080 Sinacore, A. L., & Lerner, S. (2013). The cultural and educational transitioning of first generation immigrant and undergraduate students in Quebec, Canada. International Journal of Educational and Vocational Guidance, 13, 67-85. doi:10.1007/s10775-013-9238-y Stewart, S. L., & Reeves, A. (2013). Intersections of career development and post secondary education for Indigenous students: Exploring the integrity of social and cultural issues. The Canadian Journal of Career Development, 12, 92-103.

Taber, B. J., & Blankemeyer, M. S. (2015). Time perspective and vocational identity statuses of emerging adults. The Career Development Quarterly, 63, 113-125. doi:10.1002/cdq.12008 Wielkiewicz, R. M. & Turkowski, L. W.(2010). Reentry Issues Upon Returning From Study Abroad Programs.

Journal of College Student Development 51(6), 649-664. doi: 10.1353/csd.2010.0015 Yang, E., Wong, S. C., Hwang, M., & Heppner, M. J. (2002). Widening our global view: The development of career counselling services for international students. Journal of Career Development, 28, 203-213. doi:10.1023/A:1014070305879 Young, R. A., Marshall, S. K., & Valach, L. (2007). Making career theories more culturally sensitive: Implications for counseling. The Career Development Quarterly, 56, 4-18.

Zunker, V. (2008). Career, work, and mental health: Integrating career and personal counseling.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Dr. Anna-Lisa Ciccocioppo is a Counsellor and Registered Psychologist at the University of Calgary’s Wellness Centre and can be reached at alciccoc@ucalgary.ca.

References Arthur, N. (2016). Counseling international students in the context of cross-cultural transitions. In P. B. Pedersen, W. J. Lonner, J. G. Draguns, J. E. Trimble, & M. R. Scharron-del Rio (Eds.), Counseling across cultures (pp. 01-321). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (2014). Canada’s universities in the world: AUCC internationalization strategy. Ottawa, ON: AUCC. COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 21

Work It Out: Employment and Postsecondary Graduates with Disabilities

by Evelyne Marcil, Laura King, Alice Havel, Catherine Fichten, & Mary Jorgensen Introduction After working hard in college and university for many years, most students assume they will obtain employment when they complete their studies. In the case of graduates with disabilities, finding a job is a major concern (Martiniello et al., 2011). Research shows that too often graduates with disabilities are underemployed or work in low-skill jobs (Lindstrom, Kahn & Lindsey, 2013). Although there is great variability in the percentage of postsecondary graduates with disabilities who are employed after graduation, in some studies figures as low as 53% have been reported (Erickson, Lee & von Schrader, 2014). Given that there are multiple barriers to employment for graduates with disabilities (e.g., Ameri, Schur, Adya, Bentley, McKay & Kruse, 2015; Boman, Kjellberg, Danermark, & Boman, 2015; Erickson, Lee & von Schrader, 2014; Lindstrom, Kahn & Lindsey, 2013), but that in a few cases completion of a postsecondary degree appears to mitigate some of these barriers (Barile et al., 2012; Fichten et al., 2012; Jorgensen et al., 2015), we decided to ask postsecondary graduates with disabilities who were successful in finding a job how they achieved this success. By doing so, we were seeking a greater understanding of successful job search strategies among college and university graduates with disabilities. We also proposed a preliminary series of recommendations to help graduates with disabilities looking for employment succeed in their search.

Method We contacted 16 English-speaking participants from previous studies who told us that they had a job and interviewed them about their job search process. 3 had graduated from college and 13 from university. Participants’ disabilities included visual impairment, hearing impairment, mobility impairment, learning disability, chronic health problems, and multiple disabilities (e.g., visual impairment and mental illness, neurological impairment and chronic health problems). Short interviews (10-15 minutes) were conducted over the phone, through email, or via Skype. Participants were asked the following open-ended questions: 1) Did you graduate and what was your most recent program of study?

2) (a) Are you currently employed? Are you employed in a full-time (35 hours or more per week) or part-time (less than 35 hours per week) capacity? or (b) Have you had a job since you graduated from postsecondary education?

Were you employed in a full-time or part-time capacity?

3) (a) What is your job? How long have you had it? or (b) What was your job? For how long did you have it?

4) How did you find out about your job?

5) How long did it take you to find your job?

6) What helped you get your job?

7) What advice would you give a recent graduate who has a disability, to help them find a job?

8) Is there anything that you would like to add?

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Results Participants’ jobs were varied and included store manager, teacher, lawyer, and translator. Although many participants had jobs related to their field of study, some worked in a different field (e.g., studying in pastoral ministry and working as a youth centre counselor). When asked about their current or last job, 80% were employed full-time and 20% part-time. All 16 participants had obtained employment within 12 months of graduating. Nine participants did not even look for a job; they were hired where they had completed their internship or were already working when they finished their studies.

In order of importance, participants learned about job opportunities through contacts, an employment centre or job website, volunteering, and in other ways (e.g., already employed there). Regarding strategies to obtain employment, participants noted, in order of importance, contacts, skill set, volunteering, already working there, and other strategies (e.g., personal qualities, experience in the field, good CV).

Regarding advice participants would give to recent postsecondary graduates with disabilities looking for a job, answers were divided in the “four P’s” of employment.

These were, in order of importance, Practical (e.g., work on CV, prepare for interview), Personal (e.g., accept yourself, do not give up), People (e.g., network, having someone to vouch for you is good), and Professional experience (e.g., volunteering, internship).

It is noteworthy that some participants suggested disclosing a disability, whereas others advised against it.

Discussion Even though research has constantly shown that barriers to employment and career advancement exist for individuals with disabilities (Ameri, Schur, Adya, Bentley, McKay & Kruse, 2015; Boman, Kjellberg, Danermark & Boman, 2015; Erickson, Lee & von Schrader, 2014; Lindstrom, Kahn & Lindsey, 2013), higher education seems to be an effective way to overcome some of these (Barile et al., 2012; Fichten et al., 2012; Jorgensen et al., 2015). This is good news, as more and more individuals with disabilities are attending postsecondary institutions (Fichten et al., 2012).

In the present study of employed postsecondary graduates with disabilities, most participants held skilled positions, such as lawyers or translators, even though not all were working in their field of study. Although not specifically focused on job advancement, our study showed that even in relatively low-skill jobs, our participants were high up in the hierarchy (e.g., store manager). In terms of strategies used by our participants to obtain employment, networking seemed to be an important strategy.

Indeed, a third of our participants reported contacts as being one reason as to why they got their job.

Participants in the present study were also asked to provide advice for the next generation of graduates with disabilities who would be searching for a job. Their answers were divided into the “four P’s” of employment: Practical, Personal, People, and Professional experience. Not surprisingly, this advice closely resembles the strategies that helped our participants obtain employment. The “contacts” element of strategies translates into the “people” part of the advice; “volunteering/internship” and “already working in the field” are related to “professional experience;” the “skill set” section of strategies translates into the “practical” advice; and a large part of the “other” category relates to the “personal” part of the “four P’s.”

Implications Choosing to disclose or not to disclose one’s disability in the workplace is a difficult decision. One participant mentioned that disclosing a disability could be beneficial, as some employers have quotas for hiring individuals with disabilities. This suggests that before applying, graduates with disabilities need to carefully research information regarding the prospective employer. Two participants advised against disclosing a disability, as this could lead to prejudice. In this case, they suggested showing the employer what one can do before disclosing - if disclosing at all. So, should one disclose one’s disability or not? This is not always a choice, as some individuals

cannot hide their disability, even if they wanted to (e.g., someone who is a wheelchair user). On the other hand, employers cannot provide accommodations if they are not aware of their employees’ needs. Thus, as a general recommendation, individuals should disclose only 1) if their disability might impact their work performance, 2) if the gains of disclosing (e.g., accommodations, quotas for employment) outweigh the potential pitfalls (e.g., discrimination, not getting the job), and 3) if they are comfortable disclosing their disability.

An important goal of this investigation was to devise a series of recommendations to help graduates with disabilities looking for employment succeed in their search.

Another very important part of the present study is that the “four P’s” of employment are likely to apply to graduates with and without disabilities. Advice such as, “Don’t give up” or “Prepare for the interview” apply to everyone. This might have to do with the fact that a postsecondary diploma or degree mitigates barriers to employment, which can make employment rates of postsecondary graduates with disabilities similar to those without disabilities (Barile et al., 2012; Fichten et al., 2012; Jorgensen et al., 2015). The take-home message of this study is that strategies and advice for obtaining employment for postsecondary graduates with disabilities do not seem to differ from those that are useful to the general population.

Acknowledgments The study upon which this article is based was funded by the Canada-Quebec Entente.

References Ameri, M., Schur, L., Adya, M., Bentley, S., McKay, P., & Kruse, D. (2015). The disability employment puzzle: A field experiment on employer hiring behavior (No. w21560). National Bureau of Economic Research.

The Power of Introversion in Student Services

by Cliff Robinson

I

t’s been called the Introversion Spring. The TED talk by Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introversion in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, has been viewed an astonishing 15,000,000 times and sits at number 11 on the top 20 list of most popular TED talks of all time. Include “Introversion” in the title of a conference presentation, you are guaranteed a packed house… of introverts. Run a Google image search on “introversion”, up comes a thousand of what the kids nowadays call “dank memes.”

Situated on the opposite ends of the introversion-extroversion spectrum, my colleague and I started collaborating three years ago to explore this topic and its implications for our work. Our first conference presentation on introversion was three years ago in Kingston with the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). Our topic was increasing higher education accessibility for introverted students, and the format was Speed Dating. The rules of Speed Dating are clear: participants attend a 20-minute presentation then leave to attend another presentation. But in an equally clear violation of the rules, participants at our presentation on introversion refused to leave. And more came with each round. By the end of the third round of Speed Dating Introversion, the rule-violating introverts were three rows deep.

A year later, we were back at STLHE, now in Vancouver, and with a longer and different take on the same topic: higher education accessibility for introverted

Barile, M., Fichten, C. S., Jorgensen, S., & Havel, A. (2012). Employment opportunities for graduates with disabilities: A step forward. Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, 8(4), 46-56.

Boman, T., Kjellberg, A., Danermark, B., & Boman, E. (2015). Employment opportunities for persons with different types of disability. ALTER-European Journal of Disability Research/Revue Européenne de Recherche sur le Handicap, 9(2), 116-129.

Erickson, W., Lee, C. & von Schrader, S. (2014). Disability statistics from the 2012 American community survey (ACS). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Employment and Disability Institute (EDI). Retrieved from www.disabilitystatistics.org Fichten, C. S., Jorgensen, S., Havel, A., Barile, M., Ferraro, V., Landry, M.-E., Fiset, D., Juhel, J.-C., Chwojka, C., Nguyen, M. N., & Asuncion, J. V. (2012). What happens after graduation? Outcomes, employment, and recommendations of recent junior/community college graduates with and without disabilities.

Disability and Rehabilitation, 34(11), 917-924.

Jorgensen, M., Fichten, C.S., Nguyen, M.N., Budd, J., Barile, M., Asuncion, J., Amsel, R., Tibbs, A., & Jorgensen, S. (2015). Employment realities of recent junior/community college and university graduates and premature leavers with disabilities. International Journal of Disability, Community, and Rehabilitation, 14(1).

Lindstrom, L., Kahn, L. G., & Lindsey, H. (2013). Navigating the early career years: Barriers and strategies for young adults with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 39(1), 1-12.

Martiniello, N., Barile, M., Budd, J., Nguyen, M. N., & Fichten, C. S. (2011). Hotline: Students with disabilities speak out. Communiqué, 12(1), 14-15.

Evelyne Marcil is a teacher at Dawson College and a research assistant at the Adaptech Research Network. The author can be reached at emarcil@dawsoncollege.qc.ca.

Laura King is a teacher at Cégep André-Laurendeau and a research associate at the Adaptech Research Network. Alice Havel is a Dawson College scholar in residence and a research associate at the Adaptech Research Network. Catherine Fichten is a teacher at Dawson College, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at McGill University, a clinical psychologist at the Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy and Research Unit of the Jewish General Hospital, and co-director of the Adaptech Research Network. Mary Jorgensen is a research associate at the Adaptech Research Network.

educators. I greeted one lonely and fellow extrovert in room packed full of introverts.

This past year, in Winnipeg for CACUSS, with yet a different spin on introversion – this time the accessibility and inclusion of introverted students and professionals in student services – it was the same experience: a packed house with not enough chairs and one lonely, fellow extrovert.

The trilogy of presentations were all different, with some common elements.

Each had an overview of the introversion-extroversion spectrum, highlighting specific differences in neurology, preference, and tendencies, and the implications for our work. And each invited participants to wrestle with questions about how our work creates obstacles for introverted educators, student services professionals, and students – and how we might do better.

There is a compelling case that we need to do better in order to better meet the needs of all of our students, and to address our own needs as educators and student service professionals. Despite the obvious broad appeal of these ideas of accessibility and inclusion of introverts, we are at the very beginning in exploring possibilities for more effectively working with each other (Grant, 2012).

The Introvert Spring is here, with 15,000,000 hits and almost as many dank memes.

But we still seem to be a long way from the goal of valuing contemplation as much as participation, of seeing gregariousness as optional, and of inviting introverts and extroverts to do what we each do best.

References Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. New York: Broadway Books.

Grant, A., Cain, S. (2012). Restorative niches: author Susan Cain on the need for quiet. Web Knowledge@ Wharton. Retrieved on January 21, 2015.

Little, B. (2014). Well-doing: Personal projects and the quality of lives. Theory and Research in Education 12(3): 329-346.

Marfo, A. (2014). The I’s have it: Reflections on introversion in student affairs. Createspace.

Cliff Robinson co-chairs his department and works as a post-secondary counsellor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC. Cliff can be reached at crobinson@tru.ca.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 23

Mindset Matters

by Jasica Munday

I

’m a student at Thompson Rivers University, and I have a story to share.

It was the morning of my first midterm in organic chemistry. I woke up groggy from studying until midnight the night before where I was holed up with friends in an empty classroom. Brushing my teeth, I stared at chemical formulae I’d drawn on my bathroom mirror with a whiteboard marker. I remember feeling somewhat confident, until I started the exam. Going through the questions, I hit wave after wave of confusion, which turned into panic.

Even though my friends admitted feeling the same way about the exam, to me it felt like a personal failure. My C+ was higher than the average, but a terrible mark in my mind. I didn’t understand why my hard work, the countless hours studying, hadn’t paid off. Where had I gone wrong? What should I do now?

I believe that this is a critical moment that most students have gone through, the moment when we decide to give up, or to figure out how to do better. Each option pertains to a notion called mindset.

Psychologist Carol Dweck gave us the theory of growth versus fixed mindset, based on her own school experience and years of research. According to Dweck, our attitude has a major impact on how we see our potential and respond to challenges. Those of us with a fixed mindset believe that qualities (e.g., intelligence or athleticism) are innate and unchangeable; those with a growth mindset believe we can build ability through practice and perseverance, though there may be limits to that potential.

Interestingly, Dweck’s research indicates that a fixed mindset may be reinforced by others. Dweck found that young students who were labelled as “smart” by parents and peers tended to be afraid to challenge themselves, afraid to appear less intelligent.

They became fixated on what they were already good at, rather than striving to reach their potential.

Now imagine if all students only knew about this theory!

24 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

I first heard of Dweck and growth mindset at a Supplemental Learning (SL) workshop in my third year. SL is a program in which experienced students lead weekly study sessions for students in particularly difficult courses. SL leader training incorporates a set of core principles on the learning process. As a new leader I remember learning about growth mindset and wondering, how have I not heard of this before?

As I gained experience leading, I started to notice the different mindsets in students coming to my sessions. One “regular” in my Anatomy & Physiology sessions had an extraordinary growth mindset. He’d taken the course as an elective with no prior background in biology, in order to understand his doctor’s explanation of a recent kayaking injury. He jumped from a 60% midterm to an 87% by making friends with other students, coming to every SL session he could, and spending extra time studying.

And the thing is, he didn’t even know he had a growth mindset until I told him! He inspired me to start figuring out how to share this theory with other students.

I started, in small ways, promoting a growth mindset in my SL sessions. For an intro activity, I’d play a short video on mindset and maybe follow with a quick discussion. If I overheard a frustrated student say, “I’m just not good at chemistry,” I’d respond with something like, “Okay, you’re not good at chemistry, yet.” Instead of noting how smart a group had been to solve a tough problem, I trained myself to say “Good work, you guys!”

It seems we tend to have a fixed mindset for things that seem tough. But with awareness of that tendency, it’s possible to change the mindset. By adopting a growth mindset, we can embrace criticism, feel inspired by others instead of jealous of their success, and focus on figuring out how to do better next time. It’s liberating, but not easy. And it’s a continual dynamic process.

However, the learning concept that really got my friend and co-leader Daveen and me talking was metacognition (or, thinking about thinking). Reflecting back on our own earlier university experiences, we believed that students could use metacognitive awareness to help them develop a growth mindset.

I had discovered that my own learning strategy was to look over notes, then discuss material with my peers, and finally reinforce concepts by watching YouTube videos or have a friend “teach me.” Daveen’s study regime was different, but we both found out that we would modify our learning approaches based on the subject. We agreed that all students should be aware of metacognition and more in control of their own learning strategies. And we came to realize that was exactly what our SL sessions were accomplishing.

SL sessions are an optimal environment for students to experiment with learning techniques because leaders demonstrate multiple approaches to the course content.

Leaders organize group activities such as matrices or tables, games like headbands or jeopardy, and practice such as mock exams. In sessions, leaders might share video clips, introduce students to resources like Khan Academy, or share ways to use social media to study with peers. Leaders modify activities to match the content and encourage students to reflect on whether and how each activity helped them learn.

Leaders subliminally rouse metacognitive awareness by asking questions like, “Why do you think we used a matrix for this?” or “What was the hardest part of that problem?”

As for that darn midterm, I ended up asking for extra help and going to more SL sessions. Even as I did those things, I kept wondering what the point in trying harder was. However, I applied my growth mindset (without knowing it was that), and I conquered Organic Chem.

I’m glad that I became an SL leader for many reasons, the most important being that I got to help students to discover their mindset and to take control of both their attitude and their learning. These theories are too important, and too empowering, to ignore.

So please, spread the word.

Jasica Munday has graduated from Thompson Rivers University with her Bachelor of Science. She is currently juggling shifts at Costco with TAing Anatomy & Physiology labs and assisting with Supplemental Learning, while waiting to embark on a profession in health care. Jasica can be reached at mundayjasica@hotmail.com.

Plagiarism: How Can a Word Mean So Many Different Things?

by Stephanie Crook

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.”

- Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass (1899, pp. 81-82) Plagiarism is an issue that hits the news media on a regular basis. Many journalists, university staff members, and even researchers have lamented the prevalence of plagiarism on university campuses. The question is: Is plagiarism more common than it used to be? This question is difficult to answer because plagiarism can mean so many different things. Many definitions of plagiarism, by virtue of their ambiguity, encompass a wide variety of behaviours. The problem is that some of these behaviours may not belong. Perhaps the most problematic inclusion is those behaviours that may be unintentional. Unintentionality has become a common theme in the broader conversation about academic integrity as well.

Recently, an article appeared in the University of Manitoba’s publication Teaching

Life, which described the cheating behaviour of those bacteria that benefit from a particular biological process without contributing to that process (Moore, 2016).

The problem with describing this behaviour as cheating is that, frankly, bacteria are incapable of acting with intent. Intent is a necessary component to the definition of cheating, which is to manipulate the rules to unfairly gain an advantage. This may seem to be a trivial example, but I think it is an example that speaks to the climate of the wider conversation about academic integrity in Canada and the United States.

The conversation about academic integrity has been reduced to a discussion about a list of behaviours, divorced from conversations about intent. That is, the conversation has become focused towards policing behaviours as opposed to interrogating the intentions behind behaviours. We have come to believe that certain types of behaviours are categorically wrong, no matter what the intentions behind them may be. Unfortunately, this type of approach may be penalizing students who are making attempts to learn to write in ways that are unfamiliar to them.

It is not uncommon for universities to list unintentional plagiarism amongst the prohibited acts in academic integrity policies. These policies make it clear that intentional and unintentional plagiarism are one and the same. There are two main problems with this treatment of plagiarism. The first problem is that the intentional misrepresentation of authorship is not the same act as unintentional misattribution.

One is an act of deception, and the other is simply a mistake. The second problem is that unintentional plagiarism, as it is often referred to, is not always a result of laziness or disorganization, as is often suggested. Research shows that unintentional plagiarism sometimes arises from the process of developing as a writer.

“Patchwriting” is a behaviour that is often considered to be plagiarism. However, there is evidence that patchwriting is, in fact, related to writer development. Howard (1992) argued that patchwriting, a term she coined to describe the interweaving of a student’s words with the words of others, is a stage of development through which all writers pass. She made this argument on the basis that writers cannot fully engage in a discourse until they reach mastery of that discourse. She also noted that patchwriting does not appear to reflect an act of intentional plagiarism – an assertion that she makes based on the prevalence of citations in instances of patchwriting. Her contention that patchwriting does not constitute intentional deception is supported by other researchers (Angélil-Carter, 2000; Currie, 1998; Pecorari, 2008). However, university instructors can consider patchwriting to be plagiarism because it is not wholly authored by the student (Schwabl, Rossiter, & Abbott, 2013). A more in-depth examination of the demands to working memory for novice writers may illuminate some of the reasons why patchwriting occurs.

A novice writer, that is, one who is new to writing within a particular environment or discourse, faces significant challenges to working memory. Writing involves a hierarchical series of decisions (Flower & Hayes, 1981), many of which novice writers have not yet automatized (McCutchen, 1996; McCutchen, 2000). As such, various writing decisions compete for their working memory resources (McCutchen, 1996; McCutchen, 2000). Writers must make higher-order decisions related to the selection of audience, purpose, and genre. They must also make lower-order decisions related to grammar and composition. Balancing the demands of writing is not easy, particularly for the novice writer. The process of incorporating secondary sources into one’s work may add yet another demand to working memory resources.

Incorporating secondary sources into one’s own work involves a number of complex skills. These skills include those related to reading comprehension, information literacy, and formatting citations. Students may come to a writing task with varying skill levels in these areas. For learners working in an additional language to their first, the demand of language tasks on working memory may be so high as to leave fewer resources for the other types of tasks.

The effective incorporation of secondary source materials also requires that a writer be able to distinguish between their own voice and the voices of other authors. Lea and Street’s (1998) research has demonstrated that this is an anxiety-producing concern for many students. Several students in Lea and Street’s (1998) study indicated that COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 25

they were concerned about blurring the lines between their voice and their sources voices, and, consequently, they were worried about inadvertently plagiarizing their sources. Carroll (2002) also noted that students, particularly at the beginning of their academic careers, can have difficulties with establishing a unique voice in their writing. Carroll (2002) observed that establishing one’s voice becomes easier with practice working within in a particular discourse.

Even when students are successful in establishing their voice, they may be penalized for not establishing the right kind of voice, namely, the kind of voice that makes use of the legitimized terms within the discourse (Abasi & Akbari, 2008; Angélil-Carter, 2000; Currie, 1998). In Angélil-Carter’s (2000) interviews with undergraduate students, it came to light that some students felt that they received lower grades when they established their own voice in their writing. Related to this, several students expressed concerns that their own language abilities were not adequate to describe the necessary concepts accurately. These concerns demonstrate not only the complexity of developing authorial voice but also the complexity of the conversation surrounding plagiarism.

There is evidence to suggest that students employ patchwriting as a strategy for using the correct terms used in the discourses they are learning (Abasi & Akbari, 2008; Angélil-Carter, 2000; Currie, 1998; Starfield, 2002).

Abasi and Akbari (2008) conducted interviews with graduate students for whom English was an additional language. Though these graduate students were relatively expert in their fields, they were still developing as scholars in their disciplines.

Abasi and Akbari (2008) found that some students found it difficult to engage with the discursive language used in readings. Several students reported that they used patchwriting (though they did not label it as such) as a strategy for meeting the linguistic demands of their assignments. They also identified a need to demonstrate to their instructors that they knew the legitimized discursive terminology. In other words, they used patchwriting as a strategy to signal to their instructors that they not only knew the content, but that they could express that content in conventionally approved ways.

Much of the research on patchwriting focuses on learners for whom English is an additional language. More research is needed with respect to the experiences of firstlanguage learners. There is an interesting parallel between the two groups, though.

As much as students working in their first language may have a better command of that language, they do not necessarily have a good command of the language of the discourse in which they are working. As such, first language learners are, in effect, working within a second language, that is, the language of discourse. It would not be surprising, particularly given the process of writing’s demands to working memory, if future research demonstrates that first language learners experience many similar phenomena when incorporating secondary sources into their own work. Some of the limited research on the summarization practices of first language learners appears to demonstrate this already (Keck, 2006; Keck, 2014).

It is clear from the literature that the incorporation of secondary source materials may pose many challenges for students. Writing is a challenging task in itself, and the requirement to incorporate secondary sources into one’s writing increases the difficulty of the task. Novice writers often struggle with establishing their unique voice 26 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

within a new discourse and may rely, to a degree, on strategies such as patchwriting in order to move towards mastery of a discourse, particularly if English is not their first language. Under these circumstances, patchwriting is not an intentional act of deception, but rather, it serves as a developmental strategy. It is only the end product that is problematic. Given this evidence, it is important to consider whether strategies like patchwriting belong in definitions of plagiarism. It seems that, too often, conversations about academic integrity focus on behaviours rather than on the intentions behind them.

This approach seems to undermine the meaning of academic integrity. In the spirit of Alice’s question at the beginning of this article: How can the word “plagiarism” mean so many different things? Well, as Humpty Dumpty might point out, the word does not have to be the master of us. We’re the ones who defined it. We could choose to exclude developmental strategies from our definition of plagiarism.

References Abasi, A. R., & Akbari, N. (2008). Are we encouraging patchwriting? Reconsidering the role of the pedagogical context in ESL student writers’ transgressive intertextuality. English for Specific Purposes, 27, 267-284.

Angélil-Carter, S. (2000). Stolen language? Plagiarism in writing. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Carroll, L. (1899). Through the Looking-Glass: by Lewis Carroll: With Twelve Full-Page Illustrations in Color from Drawings by Blanche McManus. Illus. Blanche McManus. New York: M. F. Mansfield and A. Wessels. Nineteenth Century Collections Online. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.galegroup. com/tinyurl/3icQmX Carroll, L. A. (2002). Rehearsing new roles: How college students develop as writers. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press.

Currie, P. (1998). Staying out of trouble: Apparent plagiarism and academic survival. Journal of Second Language Writing, 7(1), 1-18.

Flower, L., & Hayes, J. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32, 365-387.

Howard, R. M. (1992). A plagiarism pentimento. Journal of Teaching Writing, 11(3), 233-246.

Keck, C. (2006). The use of paraphrase in summary writing: A comparison of L1 and L2 writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15, 261-278.

Keck, C. (2014). Copying, paraphrasing, and academic writing development: A reexamination of L1 and L2 summarization practices. Journal of Second Language Writing, 25, 4-22.

Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (1998). Student writing in higher education: An academic literacies approach.

Studies in Higher Education, 23(2), 157-172.

McCutchen, D. (1996). A capacity theory of writing: Working memory in composition. Educational Psychology Review, 8(3), 299-325.

McCutchen, D. (2000). Knowledge, processing, and working memory: Implications for a theory of writing.

Educational Psychologist, 31(1), 13-23. doi: 10.1207/S15326985EP3501_3 Moore, S. (2016). Why do students cheat? And what universities can do about it. Teaching Life, Volume 3, Winter 2016, University of Manitoba: Winnipeg, MB. Retrieved from http://intranet.umanitoba. ca/academic_support/catl/media/TeachingLIFE_Spring-2016.pdf.

Pecorari, D. (2008). Academic writing and plagiarism: A linguistic analysis. London, England: Continuum.

Schwabl, K., Rossiter, M., & Abbott, M. (2013). University students’ and instructors’ paraphrasing and citation knowledge and practices. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 59(3), 401-419.

Starfield, S. (2002). “I’m a second-language English speaker”: Negotiating writer identify and authority in Sociology One. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 1, 121-140.

Stephanie Crook works in a number of capacities within the First Year Seminar Programs at the University of Manitoba. She can be reached at stephanie.crook@umanitoba.ca.

Supporting Workplace Mental Health The Mental Health Commission of Canada’s National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace is a voluntary set of guidelines, tools, and resources to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work.

For more information, visit mentalhealthcomission.ca/workplace

Soutenir la santé mentale en milieu de travail La Norme nationale du Canada sur la santé et la sécurité psychologiques en milieu de travail de la Commission de la santé mentale du Canada est un ensemble de lignes directrices, d’outils et de ressources d’application volontaire pour aider les employeurs à promouvoir la santé mentale et à prévenir les dommages psychologiques au travail.

Pour en savoir plus, visitez commissionsantementale.ca/sante-mentale-en-milieu-de-travail

/theMHCC /1MHCC @MHCC_ @theMHCC /Mental Health Commission of Canada

Serving Diverse Students in Canadian Higher Education Edited by C. Carney Strange and Donna Hardy Cox 978-0-7735-4751-3 $39.95 paperback

A survey of a spectrum of non-traditional student groups enrolling in Canadian post-secondary education today.

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“… a must read for every Canadian student affairs and services professional. It is a text that we can all engage in and continue to elaborate upon to add our stories of our field from institutions across Canada.” –The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Follow us on Facebook.com/McGillQueens and Twitter @Scholarmqup

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 27

Launching the First Mobile CCR

by Kristina Bartold and Paige Doherty

I

n early 2015, St. Jerome’s University identified the need for a Co-Curricular Record (CCR) that reflected the unique nature of our students’ co-curricular experiences. With over one hundred opportunities on our small campus, it seemed as if it was a missed opportunity to support our students in the reflection and validation of their experiences using a CCR. As early as 1977, the Journal of College Student Personnel explained that CCRs could be “a stimulus for true lifelong development [...] an instrument to stimulate change and growth” (Brown, 1997).

With this in mind, we created a cross-departmental working group that conducted research on CCR best practices, engaged in dialogues with community partners, and tried to gauge what it would look like for a CCR to be developed at St. Jerome’s.

Through our search for a platform to host our CCR, we wanted to find a vendor that we could work closely with to develop a product that met the needs of today’s student.

Millennial students are often characterized as seeking innovation, achievementoriented, “digitally obsessed, even addicted” (Keller, 2011), and in search of a customized experience. We knew that if we wanted this program to be as successful as possible that we needed to meet students where they were at in their habits, and ultimately, their development. This led us to build a partnership with a New York-based student engagement platform, Involvio, to build and launch the world’s first mobile Co-Curricular Record. There were three factors that led us to the mobile CCR: fit, integration, and the ability to embed the product into our community.

Fit From the research phase for our CCR, we knew we wanted something unique that was truly reflective of our community values. We are a small institution who often have unique and collaborative relationships with our vendors. We were looking for a small company that we would be able to work directly with to build a product that would capture our co-curricular experiences, but also offer an opportunity for reflection. When meeting with Involvio, we realized that they were very much on the same page and eager to build a mobile platform for this type of tool. We worked closely with them, and were able to launch our CCR in three months. By going mobile, there are a lot of real-time features that allow students to reflect on their experiences in a meaningful way, but still cultivate a mobile experience. Through working with Involvio, we were able to identify features we really valued, and Involvio allowed it to be customizable enough, in order for another institution to customize the platform for their own purposes. Ultimately, working with Involvio so closely to develop this project provided us a unique opportunity to build our dream CCR with the studentuser experience at the forefront of our minds.

Fully Integrated When beginning our partnership with Involvio, we were looking for a student engagement platform that would be able to provide us analytics on the reach of our programming but also provide an engaging mobile application for students. Our students are able to check in to events and see event calendars for their favourite clubs or activities, but they can also access emergency contact information, meal hours, 28 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

and vital community information. Students are also able to access the CCR on the Involvio mobile app, which they check frequently to be aware of the on-goings of the community. This keeps the reflection of co-curricular experiences front of mind, and provides students the opportunity to browse opportunities or submit experiences right from the palm of their hand. With the CCR living in the same platform as other important information, they only need to access one platform, rather than multiple sites or applications. Students spend copious amounts of time on their phones – why not reflect on their student experiences?

Embedded into our Community Like most programs in student services, our programs are most successful when they are student-centered and holistic in scope. The Co-Curricular Record is no different and calls for a level of holistic thinking cross-institutionally. We knew we did not want the CCR to be a standalone program but instead linked back to many of the programs and services already offered at St. Jerome’s. As we enter the second year of our CCR, we have had many opportunities to connect the CCR to programs that have been offered for years, and also some new initiatives that highlight our institutional commitment co-curricular learning.

CCR and Grad St. Jerome’s University facilitates its own graduation ceremony each year to recognize our students who are academically enrolled at St. Jerome’s University or involved in any of our co-curricular experiences. In the past, this has included walking across stage to receive their class ring. This year, in addition to the class ring, we also printed the Co-Curricular Records and presented the academic and community engagement awards. For many of our students, the CCR is a very representative piece of their experience at St. Jerome’s, with learning being celebrated both in and outside of the classroom.

Involvement Advisor Program We offer a program to our students where upper-year students and staff members meet individually with students to help them find opportunities to be engaged in our community, outside of the classroom. While this would often happen informally in the past, with the creation of the CCR we were able to give the program some structure. The Involvement Advisors meet with students and use the competencies associated with various positions to engage in an exploratory discussions about the types of opportunities available to these students. This is often a gateway conversation for many of the experiences we offer at St. Jerome’s but also for information about the Co-Curricular Record and highlighting the emphasis we place on co-curricular experiences.

Goal Setting Documents When students submit an experience to the CCR, they select competencies that they are interested in developing. These competencies are how we organize our learning outcomes. We took a step back to look earlier in the experience, and have created a goal-setting document for our validators to have meaningful conversations with students that are focused around these competencies. This provides students a framework to continue to reference, but also provides validators a facilitation tool throughout the entire experience so that when students select those competencies at the end of the experience, the validator knows that they have actually been working on achieving it.

Through these examples we have seen the importance of having the CCR be more than another service that is available, but an essential tool that connects to their co-curricular learning.

We have been tremendously lucky to have piloted the first mobile Co-Curricular Record and feel that the mobile experience connects students to out-of-classroom learning experiences in a way that is natural and comfortable for them. Due to the

fit, integration, and embedment into our community, we have found the CCR to be a key program in our community, and it has revolutionized our co-curricular experiences. Like any pilot project, there have been hiccups, questions raised, and problems addressed, but we look forward to see the continued development of this tool in our community, and other institutions eager to build a CCR that engages with students and their development in a meaningful way.

Keller, Josh. “The Slow-Motion Mobile Campus.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 08 May 2011. Web. 05 Jan 2016.

Kristina Bartold works at St. Jerome’s University as the Residence and Student Life Coordinator, and she can be reached at kbartold@uwaterloo.ca or on Twitter @kbartold.

Paige Doherty also works at St. Jerome’s University as a Student Advisor and can be reached at paige.doherty@uwaterloo or @ms_paige23 on Twitter.

References Brown, Robert. “A Student Development Transcript: Assumptions, Uses and Formats.” Journal of College Student Personnel 18.3 (1997): 165. Print.

Examining Strategic Planning in Divisions of Student Affairs in Canadian Higher Education Institutions

by Shermin Murji

S

trategic planning. These two words often elicit fear and dread in Student Affairs practitioners, and unfortunately, this is an understandable response.

When strategic planning became popular in higher education institutions in the 1990s, many organizations jumped in head first without considering the preparation and intention that is required for the process to be successful.

Although some may loathe the words, when done right, strategic planning can have significant benefits. These include providing a clear direction for a department, outlining the standards for success, explanations (and justifications) of resource allocation, and an increased understanding by campus partners of the department (King, Bonds-Raacke, & Saylor, n.d.).

When strategic planning is done correctly, it can be a visionary, enlightening experience that builds a data-informed culture of collaboration and engages stakeholders. Anecdotally, there are many Canadian institutions that participate in strategic planning, but a coordinated effort examining these experiences has not occurred. Before approaches and experiences can be critically analyzed, however, they must be identified. That is what this study intends to do.

In an era of changing demographics, budget cuts, and resource allocation, strategic planning can be a tool to define, measure, and demonstrate success. As Ellis (2010) shares, “the development and implementation of a plan that is strategic about the future will not only ensure survival but will create opportunity for student affairs leadership to thrive on campus” (p.2). Strategic planning is essentially outlining a plan to reach an ideal state, or vision, of an institution. While this is an oversimplification, strategic planning aims to support an organization to become

more competitive and adaptable to external and internal changes. Strategic planning helps institutions anticipate change, identify goals and new opportunities, and develop and execute strategy (Vorhees, 2008). Although there is no specific or ideal strategic planning process to follow, most approaches utilize several similar elements. Most models focus on engaging stakeholders, examining existing data, researching trends, identifying goals for the future, determining the steps required to accomplish these goals, and selecting key performance indicators that demonstrate success (Ellis, 2010).

As is the case with many topics of interest in higher education, there is research examining strategic planning practices in American institutions, but there is little evidence for Canada. In Student Affairs, specifically, the research is even sparser and almost non-existent. Strategic planning is garnering more attention in Canada with it becoming the primary topic of monographs and dissertations in recent years. However, to ensure strategic planning benefits are received by Canadian higher education institutions, a review of the current practices is required.

This study asks the question, “How do Divisions of Student Affairs in Canadian institutions of higher education engage in strategic planning process?” It is a twopart study that initially will survey Chief Student Affairs Officers (CSAOs) at higher education institutions across Canada. The questionnaire encourages respondents to reflect on their experiences with strategic planning and the process overall. Rather than comparing the content or product of strategic planning, this study considers the process itself. After collecting responses and analyzing the data, interviews will be conducted with a range of CSAOs from colleges and universities across Canada. The goal in selecting participants is maximum variation, or exploring cases that vary substantially in experience and philosophically.

The significance and value of this study is apparent; the survey will be distributed in fall 2016 with interviews to follow in spring 2017. It is anticipated that findings will be disseminated in 2017. If you have any questions or would like to be included on a mailing list when results are distributed, please email Shermin Murji at smurji@ fsu.edu.

References Ellis, S.E. (2010) Strategic planning in student affairs. New Directions for Student Services, 132.San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

King, B.R., Bonds-Raacke, J.M., & Saylor, C.E. (n.d.). Do it but don’t do it alone: The importance of, and resources for, successful strategic planning. Retrieved from http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncp/f/ The%20Importance%20of,%20and%20Resources%20for,%20Successful%20Strategic%20Planning.pdf.

Voorhees, R. A. (2008). Institutional research’s role in strategic planning. New Directions for Higher Education, 141, 77-85.

Shermin Murji is a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education program at Florida State University and can be reached by email at smurji@fsu.edu and on Twitter @the_secondsm.

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Co-Curricular Student Engagement in Sustainability: A Case Study

by Kshamta B. Hunter Introduction Sustainability is a complex global issue that needs critical and comprehensive understanding and integrative approaches. Students must be prepared to create innovative solutions to meet these needs. As such, learning has to be a holistic as well as a transformative activity that integrates curricular and co-curricular processes to create opportunities for experiential reflections. At the University of British Columbia (UBC), we believe that each student, regardless of their degree program, should have access to sustainability education, including applied experiences such as paid internships, experiential learning projects, and student engagement programs. Sustainability is an area where student engagement is critical to student empowerment, which ultimately informs and influences activities.

This paper will explore the UBC Sustainability Ambassadors program as a case study. The program fosters student engagement and leadership on campus by employing the Social Change Model of Leadership along with the Sustainability Student Attributes developed by the UBC Sustainability Initiative, while offering flexible learning opportunities and autonomy to students to choose and control their own learning. (Learn more about the program at sustain.ubc.ca/ambassadors.)

Sustainability Learning: A Brief Overview Sustainability Learning means including key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning, as well as participatory methods and skills that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable and positive social change. Research shows that given the resources, opportunity, and trust in their intellectual capabilities, students can participate in the sustainable development of their campus while learning critical hands-on career skills (Brunetti, Petrell, & Sawada, 2003).

The key competencies or learning outcomes associated with sustainability could be considered under four major categories: knowledge, skills, perspectives, and values (UNESCO, 2004; Chalkley, 2006; Carter, 1985; Bloom, Hastings, & Madaus, 1971).

• Knowledge of current global and local issues that might be relevant to one’s practice; knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world.

• Skills associated with leadership and development, such as communication, conflict management, problem-solving, etc.; intellectual and practical skills.

• Perspectives that are based in interdisciplinary understanding and interpretations; also considered Integrative learning.

• Values that connect one’s assumptions and opinions to their work and interactions as well as understanding other’s values, beliefs, and frames of reference; could be considered as Personal and social responsibility.

These four essential sustainability competencies are highly connected and enhance sustainability leadership in students, leading to improved capacity to be positive role models and agents of change (Barth, Godemann, Rieckmann, & Stoltenberg, 2007).

Development of these key competencies is crucial to the practice of leadership and to engaging students towards personal behaviour changes or their involvement in community-based projects.

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Sustainability Engagement and Leadership at UBC: Theoretical Frameworks Sustainability, being an interdisciplinary field, needs to engage students from various disciplines and through various forms and mechanisms. Student leadership and engagement are powerful development tools that seek to build upon student learning in a co-curricular setting. Due to high student interest, programs are rapidly emerging to fulfill the need to develop sustainability leaders, although there is not currently a recognized model for teaching leadership for sustainability, nor a standard set of skills for these leaders (Shriberg and MacDonald, 2013; Gonzalez, 2015).

However, it is evident through research that students need and desire sustainabilityoriented experiences based in exploration of their own values, knowledge, and key leadership skills to act for positive change. Student-centred, project-based experiential learning that promotes community and network-building as well as interdisciplinary interactions are key program characteristics to successfully achieve effective learning outcomes (Hunter, 2012; Savage, Tapics, Evarts, Wilson, and Tirone, 2015). At UBC, the following frameworks have been successfully implemented in order to develop the four key sustainability competencies in students described above.

The Social Change Model of Leadership The Social Change Model of Leadership defines leadership as “a purposeful, collaborative, values-based process that results in positive social change” (Komives & Wagner, 2009, p. xii). The model supports sustainability leadership, which requires coordinating with community and group stakeholders to accomplish common objectives and to realize an ethically sound and shared vision (Pless and Maak, 2009; Higher Education Research Institute, 1996). The model explores leadership as a process and is rooted in fostering positive social change through collaboration.

It examines leadership development from three different perspectives: the individual, the group, and the community, and is based in developing seven critical values that ultimately lead towards Change: Consciousness of Self, Congruence, Commitment, Collaboration, Common Purpose, Controversy with Civility, and Citizenship (Astin and Astin, 1996).

UBC Student Sustainability Attributes UBC has developed key Student Sustainability Attributes, which are intended to inform the development of sustainability-related curriculum and are the desired attributes of graduating students with sustainability. Holistic Systems Thinking examines the interconnectedness between systems and acknowledges that everything is connected. Sustainability Knowledge identifies with students’ interest and background in their specific field of interest. Awareness and Integration appreciates that we need to connect our knowledges and experiences across disciplines to address global issues. Acting for Positive Change realizes the value of implementing and contributing to the positive social change in our communities (Marcus, Coops, Ellis, & Robinson, 2015; UBC Sustainability Initiative Teaching and Learning Office, 2013).

Career and Professional Skills Along with the Social Change Model of Leadership and the UBC Student Sustainability Attributes, the Ambassadors program also incorporates an understanding of the career and professional skills crucial to developing the abilities needed to create positive social change. These skills enhance understanding of social and global issues and address complex situations that can arise in a team setting, by developing proficiencies in areas of communication, organization, willingness to learn, analysis and problem solving, initiative and motivation, and adaptability.

Sustainability Ambassadors Leadership Program: A Case Study The Sustainability Ambassadors program is a unique opportunity for students to learn about sustainability in an interdisciplinary environment that promotes social learning and seeks to develop transformative capabilities. The program relies on

feedback from students (via questionnaires, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews) about their experiences with various mechanisms of engagement and learning. These include interactive sustainability conversations on emerging and current local and global issues as well as creating innovative solutions and ideas around sustainability.

The program strives to engage students as co-generators of knowledge rather than sole receivers of information and to incentivise student engagement in sustainability by providing autonomy, flexibility, and the skills they seek to control their own learning and create innovative solutions towards positive change. Moreover, students make connections with the coursework during sustainability discussions and through the events and projects that they develop and lead. The team is intentionally chosen to have members from various disciplines to bring their perspectives and experiences to their project teams, working in trans- and inter-disciplinary teams.

The program is built upon the frameworks described earlier and weekly team meetings. Among the programming delivered are professional development workshops that develop individual proficiencies in areas such as presentation skills, identifying personal values, exploring leadership theories, and articulating personal leadership philosophy, as well as the career skills highlighted above. Students report that they value learning these skills and competencies as they may not have opportunities to develop them in other areas of their university experience.

In the past five years, the Sustainability Ambassadors have successfully conceptualized, planned, and delivered various events and projects for their peers and the UBC community.

• The annual Sustainability Fair is a celebration of student initiatives in sustainability, by highlighting sustainability groups on- and off-campus and showcasing achievements.

• The Sustainability Research Symposium is a one-day interdisciplinary symposium designed to showcase the spectrum of graduate research surrounding sustainability through a series of poster displays and research presentations.

• The Sustainability Networking and Movie Night allows club leaders and staff members an opportunity to learn, communicate, and collaborate on projects related to sustainability.

• The Primary School Workshops delivers sustainability-themed workshops to primary school classes, to educate youth on sustainability in practice and to help them develop, from a young age, a sustainable mindset.

• The Eating Sustainably for Wellbeing event showcases, educates, and encourages students to support local food products and encourages food sovereignty.

In addition to these projects, the Ambassadors also plan Special Topics Workshops that aim to create a dialogue around an emerging local or global sustainability topic as well as provide sustainability consulting and advising services to other student groups and staff on campus, by providing resources on sustainable event planning as well as information on courses, programs, and involvement opportunities.

Through participation in activities such as these, students report gaining the following key learning outcomes: • Gain confidence towards their leadership abilities; • Build upon career and professional skills; • Learn to work in interdisciplinary groups with various stakeholders; • Learn about sustainability and its social, economic, and environmental implications; • Learn to work in teams and problem solve in complex situations; • Gain valuable experiential learning skills (such as project management, event planning, grants writing, presentation and facilitation skills, cultural diversity).

Discussion UBC’s Sustainability Ambassadors leadership program is grounded within the theoretical frameworks discussed here: the Social Change Model of Leadership, the UBC Student Sustainability Attributes, and an understanding of career and professional skills required to create social change. The program’s success could be attributed to the interdisciplinary interactions which happen through project-based experiential learning opportunities. The program uses student-centred learning pedagogy that provides clear learning outcomes for students participating, provides them with the autonomy to be creative with their ideas, and focuses on skills development while creating a dialogue on sustainability topics. The Sustainability Ambassadors appreciate the accountability and transparency from the staff and program advisor, as well as the opportunity to develop and implement their own ideas. Team diversity paired with clear focus and organization provide opportunities for proliferation of new ideas. Students report gaining key leadership abilities and skills, which develop their confidence to act for positive social change. Moreover, students report an enhanced interest in and knowledge of sustainability issues and understanding of working in complex situations and implications of cultural diversity. The program strives to grow and adapt each year, based on reflections from student feedback and assessments.

References Astin, H. S. & Astin, A. W. (1996). A social change model of leadership development guidebook Version III. Higher Education Research Institute. The National Clearinghouse of Leadership Programs, University of California. Los Angeles.

Barth, M., Godemann, J., Rieckmann, M. & Stoltenberg, U. (2007). Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 8(4), 416-430.

Bloom, B.S., Hastings, J.T. & Madaus, G.F. (1971). Handbook on formative and summative evaluation of student learning. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. .

Brunetti AJ, Petrell RJ, & Sawada, B. (2003). SEEDing Sustainability: Team Project-Based Learning Enhances Awareness of Sustainability at the University of British Columbia, Canada. International Journal Sustainability in Higher Education. 4(3), 210–217.

Carter, R. (1985). A taxonomy of objectives for professional education. Studies in Higher Education, 10 (2), 135-149.

Chalkley, B. (2006). Education for sustainable development: continuation. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 30(2), 235-236.

Gonzalez, J. M. (2015). Transformative Education for Sustainability Leadership: Identifying and addressing the challenges of mobilizing change. PhD Dissertation. Retrieved from Circle UBC’s digital repository. University of British Columbia.

Higher Education Research Institute. (1996). A social change model of leadership development. (Version III). Los Angeles: California Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute.

Hunter, K. (2012). An investigation of sustainability-oriented courses: student views and experiences. MA Thesis. Retrieved from Circle UBC’s digital repository. University of British Columbia.

Komives, S. R. & Wagner, W. (Eds.). (2009). Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of leadership development (2nd Ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Marcus, J, Coops, N, Ellis, S & Robinson, J (2015). Embedding sustainability learning pathways across the university. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 16:7–13.

Pless, N. M., & Maak, T. (2009). Responsible leaders as agents of world benefit: Learning from “Project Ulysses. Journal of Business Ethics. 85, 59-71.

Savage, E., Tapics, T., Evarts, J., Wilson, J., Tirone, S. (2015). Experiential learning for sustainability leadership in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 16 (5) 692 – 705.

Shriberg, M. (2010). Leadership for environmental sustainability. In: Shriberg A, Shriberg D (eds) Practicing leadership: principles and applications, 4th ed. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 240–262.

UBC Sustainability Initiative Teaching and Learning Office. (2013). Transforming Sustainability Education at UBC: Desired Student Attributes and Pathways for Implementation. Retrieved from https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/sustain.ubc.ca/files/Sustainability%20Attributes%20March%202013.pdf UNESCO (2004). http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001486/148650E.pdf

Kshamta Bhupendra Hunter is a Manager of Sustainability Student Engagement at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and holds a Master of Arts in Curriculum Studies, specialising in sustainability education. Kshamta can be reached at kshamta.hunter@ubc.ca.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 31

Reverse Mentorship: Turning Mentorship Upside Down

by Erin Clifford

T

he traditional idea of mentorship created in the corporate sector was that an older, wiser, and more experienced professional (mentor) would take a new recruit (protégé) under their wing and pull them up the ranks, molding the protégé in their image (Kram, 1988). In the post-secondary sector, steps were taken in an attempt to mitigate this inherent power differential. Mentorship would be a reciprocal relationship where both parties would learn and grow. In an attempt to “level the playing field,” words like “mentee” were created along with peer mentorship programs, which were seen as an alternative to the hierarchical model because the mentees are similar in age and there would be less of a power differential (Angelique et al., 2002). That isn’t true of course; there are many more components that affect how people negotiate their relationships. Gender, racialization, class, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, and many more factors affect how power is perceived and played out, which have been generally ignored in mentorship program design (Hansman 2002).

Instead of “leveling the playing field,” what would happen if we flipped mentorship on its head and literally reversed the roles of the players? Would we get something better? Would we get something useful? What would happen if the incoming first-year students at the University mentored the Student Life staff members on their student experience? This is where the Reverse Mentorship Pilot Program was born at the University of Toronto.

The idea of reverse mentorship again seems to have been born in the corporate sector with Fast Company’s CEO Alan Webber explaining it as “a situation where the old fogies in an organization realize that by the time you’re in your forties or fifties, you’re not in touch with future the same way the young twenty-somethings are. They come with fresh eyes, open minds, and instant links to the technology of our future.” (Quast, 2011) Although I take some issue with being labeled an “old fogy,” I do relate to the idea of being out of touch at times with what students at the University of Toronto are really experiencing.

In November 2015, the Reverse Mentorship Pilot Program was initiated with a small group of nine student mentors and seven staff mentees (two staff members had two mentors). Through the program, the mentees would have the opportunity to experience U of T through the eyes of incoming students, develop a relationship with a student the staff member would not normally have a chance to, and learn in an experiential setting to empower others (and not always be the mentor). The mentoring relationship would be reciprocal and mutually beneficial. The mentors (the students) would have the opportunity to gain leadership experience, increase 32 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

their confidence in multi-generational settings, explore using their influence on others, as well as have an increased feeling of mattering and that they have important experiences to share. Throughout the program we would address the effect of power dynamics and how it affects the mentoring relationship.

Through a combination of group and individual meetings, the mentor groupings participated in team-building experiences; worked through goal-setting and implementation activities; and shared how each individual experienced U of T, the campus, and the mentoring relationship.

The first group meeting was intentionally designed to put the mentors at ease and build their confidence as “the mentor” and give them more power than they would normally have in the relationship. Seats were assigned to each individual as it was assumed that the mentees would all know each other and would group together upon arrival, creating a barrier to the mentors trying to step out of their inherent roles. Each individual was also given a writing assignment to do while they were waiting for everyone to arrive, to discourage participants who knew each other from getting into conversations with others therefore requiring the mentor to have to “break into a conversation” to introduce themselves. About halfway through the first group session, we could see how hard it was to break out of the traditional notions of whom a mentor was. I had asked the mentors in the group to share back their group discussions and we started to go around in a circle. The first participant to speak was taken a bit off guard and said, “I know you kept saying the mentors would present, but it wasn’t until you were looking at me expecting me to speak that it really hit home that I was the mentor.”

The richness of these relationships, however, was really built in the individual meetings that the pairings had in between group meetings. For the first individual meeting, the mentor was asked to take their mentee on a tour of “their campus,” where they frequented and how they experienced campus life. In feedback after the session, one of the mentors commented that he took his mentee to the library and showed him his favourite study space, and the mentee had no idea that part of the library even existed. It had really surprised the mentor that someone could work at the University day in and day out, year after year, and never go into the places that he went to. One of the mentees had a similar reflection about her mentor who lived in one of the college residences. The mentee didn’t realize that a student could do everything at their college: attend class, eat in the dining hall, sleep in the residence, and socialize with only other people from her college.

Using the idea that sharing experiences contributes to relationship-building, for the second individual meeting, the mentors were instructed to find an activity where both individuals would be “trying something new” and post a photo of their excursion on Twitter with #UofTMentorMoments. Pairs went to the Royal Ontario Museum, tried dance classes and cooking classes, and participated in campus workshops together. One mentee and mentor invited their dependants along to the Ontario Science Centre. It was after that meeting that the mentee mentioned to me that her mentor had a lot of family responsibilities, especially around child care. It was an interesting realization for the mentee to see how similar their experiences were and how many barriers the family responsibilities could pose for the mentor.

I had also had a significant learning about the student experience through this program. One of the pairs did not complete the second individual meeting. The mentee said she “really wanted to take over and schedule something,” but she followed the instructions and probed the mentor gently but didn’t take over the responsibility for coordinating the meeting. Afterward I was asking for mentors to volunteer for a video I was making. The student who didn’t complete the program asked if he could participate. In his reflection he said, “This was the only time through high school or here at U of T that any adult has let me fail. Everyone is always reminding me, giving me second chances, and making sure that I have every leadership opportunity that I want. I’m sorry that I didn’t complete the program, but I learned a lot when I realized that no one jumped in to save me.”

At the end of the program we had a final group meeting where we spoke specifically

to each other about power dynamics and their effects. All of the participants indicated more awareness of their own power and the systematic power dynamics that exist.

The more formal assessment of the program indicated that all of our outcomes were met. Students gained confidence in their leadership roles and speaking in multigenerational settings, while staff indicated they experienced U of T from the perspective of a student. Overall, all of the participants strongly agreed that this program would benefit the U of T Community and should continue in the future.

Adam Kuhn, Director of Student and Campus Community Development and participant in the program, said, “I think every person who cares about delivering programs, services. and learning experiences to today’s students should participate in a program like this. I think you can have a background in pedagogy and student development theory, but there is no substitute for connecting with the current lived experience of a student, and you have to get as close to that as possible if you want to be relevant to the students you intend to serve.”

All feedback has been positive and the program is going to be renewed for the 2016-2017 year and has been opened up to any faculty, staff, and students who wish to participate. A more comprehensive assessment of the program and the mentoring of faculty and staff by students will also be explored.

Factors Influencing Student Mental Health Help-Seeking

have examined many of these factors, few researchers have looked at these factors in combination or with an inclusive sample of help-seekers and non-help-seekers (Li, Dorstyn, & Denson, 2014). Along with this, most prior research has focused solely on intentions to seek help as opposed to actual help-seeking behaviour (Barney et al., 2006; Jorm et al., 2000).

Given these limitations in the literature, we designed a study to explore the role that relevant psychological factors play in either facilitating or hindering a student’s actual utilization of mental health services. To ensure that we had a sample inclusive of the full range of mental health functioning, we administered an online survey to nearly 500 17-25 year-old students who were either attending the student counselling centre or enrolled in an Introductory Psychology course. In our survey we asked students to fill out measures assessing levels of self-stigma, mental health literacy, familiarity with mental health problems, symptom acuity, and psychological fortitude, plus a demographic profile. We also included a measure of attitudes toward mental health help-seeking along with questions about participants’ actual mental health help-seeking behaviour.

We found some very interesting results. First, we discovered that there were no significant differences between the two groups of participants (counselling centre vs. university course) on any of the demographic variables, including gender and age. We also found that the two groups of participants held similarly positive attitudes toward help-seeking. As such, we decided that we could safely pool all of the participants into a single group for all of the subsequent statistical analyses.

As a starting point, we first examined which psychological variables affect helpseeking attitudes. Using a forward stepwise multiple regression analysis, we found that 50% of the variance in help-seeking attitudes was explained by four variables, which in order of importance were self-stigma, fortitude, symptom acuity, and level of familiarity with mental health problems. However, almost all of the explanatory power resided in self-stigma, suggesting that help-seeking attitudes were most strongly influenced by participants’ level of internalization of negative stereotypes regarding mental illness.

Although it was clear that self-stigma was the best predictor of help-seeking attitudes, we noted that the correlation between help-seeking attitudes and helpseeking behaviour was small (.15), and so we continued our analyses to look specifically at how psychological variables influenced the relationship between help-seeking attitudes and behaviour. Using a statistical technique called moderator analysis, we looked at which relevant psychological variables may influence the likelihood of a student translating their positive attitude toward help-seeking into actual help-seeking behaviour.

Our results showed that self-stigma, level of familiarity with mental health

by Don Stewart and Brooke Beatie

W

e know that young adults are one of the most vulnerable sectors of society with respect to mental health problems (Reavley, McCann, & Jorm, 2012; Statistics Canada, 2011). In addition to being in a high-risk period for onset of anxiety and depressive disorders (Clapham, Jahchan, Medves, Tierney, & Walker, 2012; Kessler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005), young adults attending postsecondary institutions also face compounding developmental and contextual stressors that lower their threshold for experiencing mental health problems (Leahy et al., 2010). Perhaps of greatest concern, however, is the fact that despite our best efforts to engage them, many students tend to avoid or postpone their mental health help-seeking (Craggs, 2012; Statistics Canada, 2011; Wang et al., 2005).

Reasons why students do not access needed mental health services involve a host of individual and systemic factors. At the broadest level, perceived barriers to service – such as scheduling, costs, and waiting lists – reduce the accessibility of mental health services (De Jong et al., 2012). However, there are a number of individual factors that come into play even before a student may encounter such systemic barriers to service. Some of the individual factors known to affect mental health helpseeking include mental health attitudes and experiences (Barney, Griffiths, Jorm, & Christensen, 2006; Stewart, 2010; Vogel, Wade, & Haake, 2006; Yap, Wright, & Jorm, 2011), perceived coping abilities (Pretorius & Heyns, 2005; Stewart & Ritchot, 2010), and level of distress (Leahy et al., 2010; Stewart & Ritchot, 2010). Although others

References Hansman, C. A. (2002). Diversity and power in mentoring relationships. Critical perspectives on mentoring: Trends and issues, 39-48.

Kram, K. E. (1988). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. University Press of America.

Quast, L. (2011, January 3). Reverse Mentoring: What it is and Why It is Beneficial. Retrieved November 10, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/01/03/reverse-mentoring-whatis-it-and-why-is-it-beneficial/#5a64b78f53aa.

Erin Clifford is the Lead Coordinator, Mentorship and Peer Programs at the University of Toronto. Erin can be reached by email at erin.clifford@utoronto.ca or on Twitter @erinmsh.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 33

problems, and symptom acuity all moderated the relationship between help-seeking attitudes and help-seeking behaviour. For self-stigma, we found that participants holding strongly internalized negative stereotypes about mental illness are unlikely to seek help even when they hold positive attitudes toward help-seeking. In addition, we found that participants with little exposure to mental health problems are unlikely to seek help even when they have favourable help-seeking attitudes. Finally, we found that participants with positive help-seeking attitudes were more likely to actually seek help as their level of symptom acuity increased.

Based on these findings, we concluded that efforts to decrease self-stigma, which affects both help-seeking attitudes and behaviours, should be a key element of any campus strategy to increase student mental health service utilization. Various approaches to this could be adopted, including education and awareness campaigns, promotions to coincide with national events (e.g., Bell Let’s Talk, Canadian Mental Health Association Mental Health Week), and peer-to-peer initiatives involving student groups (e.g., Active Minds, Mood Disorders Society of Canada Elephant in the Room). In addition, efforts to increase students’ familiarity with mental health problems through contact-based exposure to others with mental illness (e.g., speaker panels, classroom presentations) will further increase the likelihood of mental health service utilization (Arboleda-Flórez & Stuart, 2012). However, we also found that students are most likely to actually seek help when their level of symptom acuity increases to a point that compels them to reach out. When this happens, we need to be sure to have readily accessible information about available resources and how they can most effectively access the care that they need (e.g., on-line, in-person, groups and workshops). Proactive efforts to provide this information, through presentations at campus orientation and participation in some of the event-based initiatives outlined above, may also encourage students to access services prior to more severe escalation of difficulties.

In summary, our research identified three major factors influencing student mental health help-seeking behaviour – self-stigma, level of familiarity, and symptom acuity – all of which ought to be targeted in a systematic manner to translate students’ help-seeking intentions into timely and effective utilization of available mental health services.

References Arboleda-Flórez, J., & Stuart, H. (2012). From sin to science: Fighting the stigmatization of mental illnesses. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry / La Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie, 57(8), 457-463. Retrieved from http://proxycheck.lib.umanitoba.ca.uml.idm.oclc.org/libraries/online/ proxy.php?url=/docview/1112144962?accountid=14569 Barney, L. J., Griffiths, K. M., Jorm, A. F., & Christensen, H. (2006). Stigma about depression and its impact on help-seeking intentions. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 51-54. doi: 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01741.x Clapham, L., Jahchan, R., Medves, J., Tierney, A., & Walker, D. (2012). Student mental health and wellness: Framework and recommendations for a comprehensive strategy. Retrieved from Queen’s University: http://www.queensu.ca/cmh/index/CMHFinalReport.pdf Craggs, S. (2012, October 2). One-third of McMaster students battle depression: Survey. CBC News Hamilton. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2012/10/02/hamilton-mentalillness-awareness-week.html 34 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

De Jong, M., Walker, J., Syed, T., Nunes, M., Ferrari, J., Furer, P., … Mobilizing Minds Research Group.

(2012, June). Evaluating student extended health insurance programs in post-secondary institutions: Limited support for students with mental health problems. Presented at the Mental Health Commission of Canada: Together Against Stigma Conference, Ottawa, ON. Jorm, A. F., Medway, J., Christensen, H., Korten, A. E., Jacomb, P. A., & Rodgers, B. (2000). Public beliefs about the helpfulness of interventions for depression: Effects on actions taken when experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 619-626. doi: 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2000.00761.x Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Demler, O., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 617-627. doi: 10.1001/ archpsyc.62.6.617 Leahy, C. M., Peterson, R. F., Wilson, I. G., Newbury, J. W., Tonkin, A. L., & Turnbull, D. (2010). Distress levels and self-reported treatment rates for medicine, law, psychology and mechanical engineering tertiary students: Cross-sectional study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 44, 608-615. doi: 10.3109/00048671003649052 Li, W., Dorstyn, D.S., & Denson, L.A. (2014).

Psychosocial correlates of college students’ helpseeking intention: A meta-analysis. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 45 (3), 163-170, doi: 10.1037/a0037118 Pretorius, T. B., & Heyns, P. M. (2005) Fortitude as stress-resistance: Development and validation of the fortitude questionnaire (FORQ). Bellville, South Africa: University of the Western Cape. Available: http://www.monash.ac.za/tyronepretorius/ fortitude-questionnaire.pdf Reavley, N. J., McCann, T. V., & Jorm, A. F. (2012). Mental health literacy in higher education students.

Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 6, 45-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-7893.2011.00314.x Statistics Canada. (2011). Canadian community health survey: Mental health. Retrieved from http:// www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/instrument/5105_Q1_V3-eng.pdf Stewart, D. W. (2010, June). Postsecondary students’ information needs and pathways for help with stress, anxiety, and depression: A student services perspective. In J. Walker, M. Marcus, K. Ryan-Nicolls, & D. Stewart (Chairs), What do young adults know and want to know about getting help for problems with anxiety and depression? Symposium conducted at the Canadian Psychological Association Annual Convention, Winnipeg, MB. Stewart, D. W., & Ritchot, K. (2010, June). So, what brings you to counselling? Readiness to change, symptom level, and coping style as factors in help-seeking among university students. Presented at the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services Conference, Edmonton, AB. Vogel, D. L., Wade, N. G., & Haake, S. (2006). Measuring the self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(3), 325-337. doi: 10.1037/00220167.53.3.325 Wang, J., Patten, S. B., Williams, J. V. A., Currie, S., Beck, C. A., Maxwell, C. J., & El-Guebaly, N. (2005).

Help-seeking behaviours of individuals with mood disorders. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(10), 652-659.

Yap, M. B. H., Wright, A., & Jorm, A. F. (2010). The influence of stigma on young people’s help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of various sources of help. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46, 1257-1265. doi: 10.1007/s00127-010-0300-5

Don Stewart is an Associate Professor, Clinical Psychologist, and Executive Director, Student Support at the University of Manitoba. Don can be reached at don_stewart@umanitoba.ca.

Brooke Beatie is a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manitoba and can be reached at umbeatie@myumanitoba.ca.

This article is based on a presentation at CACUSS 2016, Navigating the Muddy Waters of Student Mental Health Help-Seeking. For a complete description of this project, see: Beatie, B., Stewart, D., & Walker, J. (2016). A moderator analysis of the relationship between mental health help-seeking attitudes and behaviours among young adults. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 50 (3), 290-314.

A Proactive Post-Secondary Approach to Accessibility Legislation

by Laurie Anne Vermette, Jackie Gruber & Nicole Gareau-Wilson Accessibility and Human Rights Accessibility affects everyone. Nearly every person has a disability, knows someone with a disability, or will encounter a disability as they age. The World Health Organization reports that 1 billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, live with a disability (World Health Organization, 2015). Statistics Canada reports that one in six Manitobans currently lives with a disability. By 2030, it is estimated that due to the aging process, one in five Canadians will have a disability. People with disabilities are the largest minority in the world.

There are laws that protect the human rights of people with disabilities and other minority groups, such as provincial Human Rights Codes. Manitoba’s Human Rights Code, for example, prohibits discrimination towards a person or group on the basis of a protected characteristic, such as ancestry, age or disability. However, over 40% of complaints made to Manitoba’s Human Rights Commission are based on discrimination related to disability (Disabilities Issues Office, n.d.). While many minority groups have benefited from barrier removal, such as the targeted recruitment of female or visible minority employees, the disability community continues to face barriers to participation.

Accessibility Legislation in Canada Introducing accessibility legislation is a proactive way governments can ensure a more inclusive society for all. Many jurisdictions have already introduced legislation that targets barriers to participation in key areas of daily living. Ontario passed The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act in 2005, and Manitoba became the second province to pass such legislation in 2013. The Government of Canada conducted national consultations on federal accessibility legislation in fall 2016, as five other provinces were developing similar laws.

The Accessibility for Manitobans Act The Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA) passed as law on December 5, 2013. The AMA is a long-term, proactive approach to make Manitoba more inclusive by 2023. Its main goals are the identification, prevention, and removal of barriers to participation.

The AMA requires all public sector organizations to create and update Accessibility Plans every two years. Public sector organizations include the Government of Manitoba, Crown corporations, school divisions, regional health authorities, and postsecondary institutions. These proactive plans will identify what programs and services these organizations offer to the public, any accessibility achievements to date, and the remaining barriers to be removed.

Accessibility Standards Accessibility standards are the building blocks of the AMA. Standards help organizations identify barriers in five key areas of daily living: customer service, employment, information and communication, transportation, and the built

environment (design of public spaces). These are the same five accessibility standards contained in Ontario’s legislation. The Government of Canada is also considering including these same accessibility standards in the future federal accessibility legislation.

The Accessibility Standard for Customer Service was passed as law on November 1, 2015. This law requires all Manitoban organizations that provide services to the public to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessible customer service. This standard aims to remove the attitudinal barrier that many people with disabilities face in accessing goods and services, by requiring all staff to be trained in how to interact with people with disabilities.

An accessibility standard in employment, expected in 2017, will address paid employment practices relating to employee-employer relationships. This may include recruitment, hiring, and retention policies and practices.

A future accessibility standard in information and communication would address barriers in accessing information. This may affect an organization’s printed information such as brochures, electronic information such as university policies, and the websites where the public could find these communications. An accessible transportation standard would address aspects of public transportation that people use to travel to work, school, or other aspects of daily life. Finally, an accessibility standard in the built environment would address barriers in public spaces not contained in provincial building codes such as sidewalks, curbs, parks, and playgrounds.

An Institutional Approach The University of Manitoba strives to reach compliance with the Customer Service Regulation by November 1, 2017. To do so, the university must consider student accommodations plans, employee training, access to educational materials, posting accessibility information around campus and online, and improving services on campus. As a university, the majority of our customers are our students; however, we also provide accessibility services to our staff and the public. A series of steps needed to take place to build the University of Manitoba into a more accessible campus environment.

Developing an Accessibility Lens The first step on the journey to becoming a more inclusive university was to develop an “accessibility lens” when reviewing our work and learning environments.

We began this process by looking towards the accessibility plans, policies, and procedures of other U15 schools from the province of Ontario. Ontario was a natural choice to model our early planning after, as their provincial accessibility legislation was enacted in 2005. Our first steps towards establishing a more inclusive campus at the University of Manitoba included attending training seminars offered by the government Disabilities Issues Office (DIO) of the Province of Manitoba, developing a mission statement that accurately reflected our beliefs around accessibility and recognizing the inherent dignity of all people, and beginning to draft our accessibility plan for completion by December 2016.

Organizing Committees Our next step was to develop a network of committees with key members to move an accessibility agenda forward at our institution. The overarching committee was the AMA Steering Committee, which oversaw our subcommittees that were comprised of a number of working groups reviewing different aspects of our accessibility strategy. Three initial subcommittees were formed within our institution, namely the Accessibility Planning subcommittee, whose responsibilities included drafting the Accessibility Plan and surveying the campus community to identify challenges to accessibility and their potential solutions; the Customer Service Training subcommittee, whose tasks involved reviewing the Customer Service Training modules and implementation; and the Information and Communications subcommittee, who began extensive conversations around what steps are necessary to ensure that our text and online campus environment, including our (nearly 500,000) webpages as well as other educational resources, were moved into accessible screen-reader-compatible, COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 35

thesciongroup.com navigable formats. Finally, Jackie Gruber from the University of Manitoba founded the Post-Secondary Institutions (PSI) Working Group to enable the nine post-secondary institutions across the province to develop resources together, cost-share projects, and move discussions of successes and challenges forward.

Executive Endorsement Thirdly, it quickly became apparent that we needed to move the conversation beyond our committees and working groups and out into the university community.

To facilitate this movement, it was important to have the support of university executive. A presentation was arranged with the President’s Executive Team and Provost Council to discuss the implications of the AMA. As a result, the campus community participated in a university-wide accessibility survey that reviewed attitudinal barriers, physical and architectural barriers, technological barriers, and information and communications barriers. A unit-level accessibility audit was implemented. Two community consultations will take place in October 2016, and a “Visionary Conversation” presentation will take place in December 2016. In addition, an Accessibility Award, designed to acknowledge units who have taken extraordinary measures towards inclusivity and accessibility in their work and learning environment, will be introduced in 2017. This falls in line with the procedures of accessibility planning, as outlined by the DIO, where acknowledging and celebrating successes are an important step in the journey towards a more inclusive campus.

ADVISORY SERVICES thesciongroup.com

439 University Ave., Fifth Floor Toronto, Ontario M5G 1T6 647-494-3220

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Barrier Removal and Prevention Strategy Finally, the next steps for our institution will include developing a barrier removal and prevention strategy to address the barriers that are identified in both the survey and audit, as well as through the community consultation feedback tool on the University of Manitoba AMA website. As well, we are working to create a new accessibility hub throughout the summer of 2016.

Lessons Learned Over the last year and one half of planning and implementing accessibility improvements at the University, we have learned a number of important take-home lessons. To improve uptake of the initiative, you should ensure that you approach senior executive early on in the process; their endorsement is invaluable in moving initiatives forward and spreading the news across campus. Develop a communication and change management strategy early on, either in conjunction with a project manager and your marketing communications office, or through support from your local DIO. Hire a graduate student to gather and analyze institutional data on accessibility in a variety of formats. Think strategically and “stack the deck” with influential people and multi-prong messaging including posters, articles, and webinars. Ensure committee members are committed to the process, and regularly attending meetings and events. Finally, celebrate achievements. Managing change projects include a number of little steps on the way to larger institutional change; therefore, be sure to track these changes in a spreadsheet or on a webpage to capture the milestones that your organization has accomplished along the way.

STRATEGIC master plans

IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS

we want YoUr storIes!

References Disabilities Issues Office. (n.d.). Accessibility Legislation. Retrieved from: http://www.gov.mb.ca/dio/ discussionpaper/discussion_w5.html.

World Health Organization. (December 2015). Disability and Health. Retrieved from: http://www.who. int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs352/en/.

Laurie Anne Vermette is a graduate student at the University of Manitoba and can be reached at laurieannevermette@gmail.com.

Jackie Gruber is the Human Rights and Conflict Management Officer in the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management at the University of Manitoba and can be reached at Jackie.Gruber@umanitoba.ca.

Nicole Gareau-Wilson is a Policy Analyst at the Disabilities Issues Office with the Government of Manitoba and can be reached at dio@gov.mb.ca.

36 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 17 / NUMÉRO 2 / AUTOMNE 2016

To submit for the 2016-17 editions of Communiqué magazine, please check the submission guidelines on our website.

cacuss.ca/communique_submissions.htm

It All Adds Up

– 19 Campus Career Centres Run Joint Career Wellness Campaign

by Lisa Kuiper and Christine Fader

I

n this era when youth and their parents are anxious about students’ future careers, there is an innovative initiative for students at universities and colleges.

“The It All Adds Up campaign encourages students to stop and add up what they are doing, inside and outside the classroom,” says Queen’s University career counsellor Christine Fader. “It’s eye-opening and a confidence boost.” The campaign uses both Instagram photos and in-person conversations to help students reflect and share images about their academics, activities, and interests while attending post-secondary.

The It All Adds Up initiative began in 2014 at Queen’s University as a partnership between the Career Services office and the AMS student government, and expanded during 2015-16 to 18 other career centres on university campuses across Ontario. All the universities launched their campaigns together and over 1,100 Ontario university students participated during the two launch weeks in November 2015.

“Being given the opportunity to table for this event allowed me to help other students recognize their potential and better understand the possibilities that life has to offer for them,” said Lydia Collins, a student who works as a Career Assistant at Brock University Career Services. “Not only does this campaign look into professional goals, it lets students examine their personal goals as well.”

“It’s exciting to see fellow students learning how our unique skills help us,” said fourth-year Queen’s student Holly Mathias.

“This is also one of the best ways to reach students, through social media. It doesn’t take a lot of time and the technology for this is right at our fingertips.”

When the campaign was expanded from one university to 19, an effort was made to make the campaign as easy for partner schools to engage in as possible. A toolkit was created that included a detailed work plan, shared graphic files (e.g. posters, Facebook banners), and sample correspondence. This was shared with a coordinator at each school. “Knowing how much career centre staff already do, we tried to make this as plug-and-play/efficient for everyone to be involved with, without using a ton more resources,” said Fader.

Outcomes in 2015-16 for participating career centres included greater profile, new collaborations with other units, and positive media attention. The campaign was included in major events (e.g. career fairs), networking sessions (e.g. Waterloo), peer-to-peer mentoring programs (e.g. Queen’s University), and student staff training (e.g. Brock University). It was also part of mental health initiatives (e.g. Carleton University), a static career centre wall display updated annually (e.g. University of Ottawa), graduating

class events (e.g. UOIT), and embedded into regular programming such as counselling and programming interventions (e.g. OCADU). It also ran in our second official language, French, on two campuses (York – Glendon and the University of Ottawa).

Perhaps the most telling evidence of the benefits of this career centre collaboration, though, was that 100% of Career Centres Directors involved in this past year’s campaign were interested in participating again in the coming year.

The campaign was a success for students who didn’t know what to put on the board at first. “My participation in this campaign was an eye-opening experience as it required me to think about all of my accomplishments. This campaign reminds students that the work we put in now will follow us throughout our lives, far past university!” commented Lydia.

Lisa Kuiper, Employer Development Coordinator at Brock University’s Career Services, noted that “these interactions also provided an opportunity for staff to educate students about how Career Services could help them with the career reflection process”.

In addition to impacting students’ confidence positively and decreasing the stress associated with thinking about career and future, this campaign is shaping a hopeful narrative on campuses that is reinforcing the value of a university degree and showcasing the talented and engaged students to a broader audience.

“What this year’s campaign across the province has already shown is how significant and diverse today’s students’ experiences are – inside and outside the classroom,“ said Cathy Keates, Director of Career Services at Queen’s. “It All Adds Up gets students talking about those experiences and connecting the dots.”

It All Adds Up is open to interested schools in Canada and farther afield in 2016-17.

For more information and to learn how your career centre can get involved, follow #ItAllAddsUp on Instagram or visit www.italladdsup.ca.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 2 / FALL 2016 / 37

Remembering

Jim Delaney Past CACUSS President

W

e lost a dear friend, colleague, and significant contributor to CACUSS and Student Affairs in Canada on August 30, 2016.

Jim had a long career at the University of Toronto, first as a student leader, then taking on a significant leadership position in the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students. Most recently he worked in the Office of Business and Administration at U of T Scarborough. Jim was recognized for his many contributions to CACUSS with the Award of Honour, and in 2014 he was awarded a Life Membership in CACUSS. Jim is survived by his wife Deborah Coombs and his sons Nicolas and Michael.

Deborah and Jim met at a CACUSS conference at York University in 2000.

Here are some of the condolences that came in for Jim from CACUSS members.

(Some entries have been edited for clarity.)

Whenever I saw Jim, he was always smiling - and that made others around him smile too! I remember Jim inviting my wife, Liz, and me to join his group for a dinner at a CACUSS conference several years ago. Clearly this was a traditional gathering that had been going on for years. Nevertheless, we were welcomed by Jim, Deborah, and the others. That was Jim: inclusive, welcoming, and surrounded by colleagues, who were his friends too. He will be missed, but never forgotten!

Jamie Fleming, Brock University One thing that struck me even in the short time I did know Jim was the way that he was so upfront and willing to be vulnerable about his own mental health story.

In January 2016 we were planning a reading group for the Student Life Professionals Group on mental health and Jim, though he was not a Student Life Professional anymore, took the time to reach out to us with the following e-mails: “Dear Kristina, Sean and Clerissa: I’m no longer in a direct student affairs role, but I was for 25 years (and I was actually among the group that created SLP). The Huffington Post article really grabbed me this morning precisely because I was a suicidal student affairs administrator.

Thank you for encouraging this important discussion. If you want to see my thoughts on the article, I have shared them on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/jim.delaney.toronto” and “Thank you, Clerissa. As I indicated separately to Kristina, I believe there is great need to reduce the stigma and improve the understanding of mental health. I am grateful to you and your colleagues for fostering discussion on this important topic.

I hid my struggle for many years because I feared how people would see me. I actually sought progressively more senior and more visible roles, not to mention my roles with CACUSS and other organizations, in part because these positions help me conceal my illness (even from doctors).

Eventually, things just crumbled and none of my strategies continued to work (especially the destructive ones). If my post can be helpful in the facilitation of your discussions, please feel free to use it in whatever way you see fit. I’d also be happy to speak to groups on the topic.”

The post he wrote that this references is still one of the most brave, articulate, and

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heart wrenching things I have ever read on Facebook and spoke so clearly about the person he was. In my cultures, when someone dies we say that they take four days to go to the spirit world. When I heard about Jim, I made sure to burn semma (tobacco) for him and think about him and the legacy he is leaving. I wish I had more words to say or that I had been able to have more time with him, but I truly know he was someone special and wanted to share this memory with you. He will I’m sure be greatly missed, but also remembered for the amazing person he was.

Sean Kinsella, University of Toronto, Mississauga Jim was one of the most memorable friendly faces I encountered when venturing off to CACUSS for the first time 21 years ago. Through his care and guidance I came to know this organization through his considerable personal network of other professionals in Canadian student affairs who shared his passion for challenging and bettering students’ lives. He went on to become one of its most consequential leaders who guided the association through its growing pains to become the premier professional organization it is today, an achievement recognized in its bestowing on him an Award of Honour and its Life Membership Award. Jim was the consummate professional who shared his ideas freely (authoring an important chapter featuring his master’s work on group conflict in the recently published Serving Diverse Students in Canadian Higher Education), inviting others frequently to join his efforts and supporting them in their contributions. But all this pales in comparison to his gifts as a genuinely warm, thoughtful, humorous, caring, and wit of a human being that he truly was. There was no better place at the end of the day than a seat at the table with Jim Delaney, sipping and hashing through life’s events. The world is a lesser place for his loss.

Carney Strange, Professor Emeritus, Bowling Green State University, CACUSS Honorary Member I have very fond memories of Jim when I served on the Board of CACUSS. He recruited me, helped orient me, and really made me feel part of the Board. I always enjoyed meeting up with Jim at CACUSS and although I had not recently been in touch, I was very sad to hear about his passing.

Tim Rahilly, Former Board Member, Simon Fraser University Thank you for the music and so much more! So many wonderful conference memories. A wonderful leader, Jim contributed much to CACUSS and our diverse community. You will always be missed, friend.

Susan McIntyre, Former CACUSS Board Member, Retired, CACUSS Life Member I loved being in his presence, he was an exceptional story-teller. I enjoyed a handful of VIA journeys with Jim and other colleagues as we traveled to and from NOSAD meetings. What would be a 4-hour journey would seem to last only 20 mins with Jim’s great company. I will deeply miss his stories and wisdom, and his presence in higher education.

Catherine Salole, York University I have lots of fond memories of spending time with Jim at the annual conference over a drink and talking about the organization, some presentation we saw or our lives. This is particularly true of the few years that Jim, Marty, Dave and I shared space in residence. Jim was in charge of music, and it never failed to amaze me that he was always able to pull any obscure tune that was requested off of his hard drive. Perhaps less well known is an honour bestowed on Jim by the CUCCA division.

It started at an Executive meeting one year when I was President. One of the Board members commented on how Jim had helped move their project forward. A number of us chimed in with similar stories and we decided that we would like to acknowledge his contribution to the success of our division. We really did not have an official way to do that but in the end it was decided that I would send a letter to Jim’s boss expressing our gratitude, and after checking with Jim about whom to send the letter to, off it went. But the story does not end there. The events sparked discussion on our

Board, and by the following year we had created a new award of recognition. The award would be given to any non-division member (or organization) who made a significant contribution to our goals. Given that he was the one who motivated the award’s creation, I was very pleased to see Jim, in his usual humble way, be the first person to accept it.

Les McCurdy-Myers, Former Board Member, Retired, Brock University, CACUSS Life Member I’d like to tell you three personal stories about my friend Jim Delaney that will help preserve his impact on the profession of student affairs in Canada.

I attended my first CACUSS conference at McGill University in 2001. By day two, I had a melt-down (which took the form of a shopping excursion.) I could not get the lyrics of the Talking Heads song “Once in a Lifetime” out of my head (“And you may ask yourself/How do I work this?/And you may tell yourself/‘My God! What have I done?’”) I thought I had joined a cult. Trained as a journalist and having worked as a freelance writer for several years before succumbing to a “job” in Student Affairs at the University of Toronto, I had no intention of re-identifying myself with this so-called professional community with their inflated sense of self-importance and ridiculous academicizing of mundane tasks and functions. When we returned to the office, I admitted to Jim that I had not really enjoyed the conference. I found it socially alienating, the language obfuscating. Jim went into his office and returned with a three-page document. “Before you write this whole field off,” he said, “I just want you to read this. I think you might discover that there’s something to this whole student development thing.” It was a summary of Chickering and Reissers’ Seven Vectors of Student Development. I did read it. And then I went into his office and took the entire book off his shelf. And then other books. Two years later, I applied to do my Master’s at OISE in higher education theory and policy. Turns out, there was something to this student development stuff. Jim had a way of gently bringing people around. He had time for anyone who wanted to have a conversation. I would go into that office many, many times over the next ten years of our working lives together. And I always left with a wider, more balanced perspective, and a way forward.

The second story is about when Jim decided to stand for nomination as CACUSS President in 2008. He told me privately about the nomination, clearly looking for my support. I did something I’m not proud of, but I’ve never been good at hiding my true feelings. I said something to the effect of “Why would you want to do THAT?!”

Jim was already overloaded in his day job. He had given countless hours to CACUSS and its previous division SASA (Student Affairs and Services Association) in leadership roles over his 20+ years in the profession. But my biggest concern was that he was a straight, white man. Despite having decided to accept CACUSS as my professional community, I remained critical of the organization. In my ten years of engagement, I found CACUSS to be strangely male-dominated and utterly lacking in diversity in the leadership. I could not believe that Jim would agree to perpetuate that legacy by serving as President. He made me a promise that day: that he would ensure that his successor would end the pattern. Two years later, after I had moved on from U of T to take up a role at OCAD University, I got a call from Jim. Sure enough, it was time for nominations for CACUSS President. He remembered our conversation and encouraged me to nominate a female colleague, which I did. And his promise was kept.

Jim and I did not always agree. We were hard on each other sometimes. When I left U of T in 2011, Jim spoke at my farewell party. He talked about how much of a pain in the ass I was in those early years. Always questioning, always poking.

We kept in touch the way old colleagues usually do – occasional emails, Facebook, lunch when we were able to carve out the time. I was never sure how much our reminiscing about the good old days was helpful to his mental health, or hindered it. In our last email exchange before his death, Jim and I were arranging dinner plans. He wrote to me:

“I guess it’s strange, but I often think about times when we disagreed and you helped me see different perspectives… I truly miss talking to you and hanging out with you. I also admire you for what you have accomplished. I don’t remember if I said anything at the time, but I was incredibly proud of you when you worked on the student affairs white paper for CACUSS.” In just a few lines, Jim had summarized our entire 25-year relationship with such insight. We argued, we pushed one another, we commiserated, we supported one another. He brought me into this bizarre professional world and helped me find pride in it. And I sought his approval above all others.

Deanne Fisher, OCAD University

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