Strategic Action Areas

Strategic Action Area 1: Prepare Students for Success at Western and Beyond

1.1 Raise awareness of academic norms and expectations (the hidden curriculum), especially among first-year students
1.2 Promote existing resources
1.3 Engage students who would benefit from additional support
1.4 Promote career/professional education in support of lifelong learning
1.5 Help equity-deserving students successfully navigate the transitions throughout their journey at Western, from undergraduate to graduate programs to the work environment

Strategic Actions

  • Introduce required training in academic integrity for all incoming students (1.1)
  • Showcase examples of student transition programming and scale (1.2)
  • Create a First Year Student Success Toolkit (1.1, 1.2)
  • Incorporate learnings from a previously funded Parr Centre project to create guidelines and a toolkit for redesigning more first-year courses based on this model (1.3)
  • Create a landing page in Brightspace for wayfinding and navigation to the University’s supports for student academic success and wellness (1.2)
  • Promote the Graduate Student Life webpage as a resource for academic, learning and wellness supports for graduate students (1.2)
  • Offer academic coaching to transfer students, mature students, international direct entry students, and by referral (1.3, 1.5)
  • Create a Career framework for embedding career education in curriculum (1.4)
  • Pilot career education-embedded program (1.4) i.e., taking an existing academic program and strategically embedding career education at multiple levels
  • Enhance awareness and access to Career Education by adding a Professionalization module to the Training section in Brightspace for all students (1.4)
  • Develop and deliver course design workshop focused on embedding career education in the curriculum (1.4)

Strategic Action Area 2: Transform Programs Relevant to Students, Society, and Industry

2.1 Embed Indigenous knowledge systems and relational approaches alongside equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, accessibility and anti-racism principles in undergraduate and graduate education
2.2 Guarantee all undergraduate students opportunities for experiential learning
2.3 Reduce or eliminate barriers to uptake of experiential learning, particularly for equity deserving students
2.4 Develop more experiential learning opportunities, including land-based learning and Indigenous-led opportunities
2.5 Critically assess the impact of GenAI across disciplines on learning outcomes
2.6 Expand the current essay requirement to a communications intensive (CI) requirement to distinguish Western and strengthen alignment with Western Degree Outcomes and EDIDA priorities
2.7 Recognize knowledge justice as a core academic value of our programs, learning outcomes, and assessments

Strategic Actions

  • Embed dedicated reflections about how academic programs are integrating EDIDA in program operations, curriculum and outcomes as part of Western’s Institutional Quality Assurance Processes (IQAP) (2.1)
  • Introduce questions on GenAI and learning outcomes into Cyclical Program Reviews (2.5)
  • Develop workshops and resources for faculty on knowledge justice-informed teaching, including Indigenous Sovereignty (Data, Governance, Justice and the Land), and foster uptake of Indigenous Learning Bundles (2.1, 2.7)
  • Expand access to EL for equity-deserving students (2.2)
  • Make EL opportunities more visible to students: pilot having EL course tagging information (i.e., EL type and low/medium/high intensity) visible to students; add EL information to course description (2.2)
  • Review all programs to ensure all students have opportunity for EL (2.2)
  • Increase number of project-based learning courses (2.3)
  • Expand access to work integrated learning (WIL): ensure access for international students to all WIL programs; consider co-op model (i.e. flexible start times, length, paid) in faculties with other forms of WIL (2.3, 2.4)
  • Explore opportunities to align EL practices with Indigenous epistemologies and expand partnerships with Indigenous communities toward goal of increased land-based learning within signature type strategy (2.1, 2.4)
  • Bring forward any proposed changes to WDOs and implement changes through IQAP (2.1-2.7)
  • Bring forward briefing note to Senate Committee on Academic Policy to establish a working group to draft a proposal to shift essay requirement to a communications requirement and recommend to Senate by January 1, 2027 (2.6)

Strategic Action Area 3: Reimagine Assessment

3.1 Embed accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL) in assessments to support all students, including those with academic considerations and accommodations
3.2 Support strategies for assessment at scale of critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills
3.3 Support no/low stakes assessment and feedback practices to encourage student curiosity and engagement in learning
3.4 Support assessment integrity through technology, teaching methods, and infrastructure
3.5 Support transparency on use of Generative AI in courses, assessments, and other academic activities
3.6 Support grading standards and the value of the Western degree

Strategic Actions

  • Support development of and promote uptake of the UDL Accessibility Toolkit (3.1)
    Foster discipline-specific decision making on impact of GenAI on assessment across all courses and other academic activities in a program (3.2-3.5)
  • Create showcase and repository of examples from across Faculties (course outlines, assessments, active learning) (3.2)
  • Streamline and target communications and supports for faculty to implement flexibility into assessments (3.1)
  • Promote resources for authentic assessment in large class assessments (3.2)
  • Pilot new digital assessment platform that allows faculty to create high-quality assessment experiences for students, including feedback on their learning, in a secure and supportive environment (3.3)
  • Develop an approach to deliver oral assessments at scale using existing technology tools (3.4)
  • Monitor and enhance the integrity of in-person assessments (3.4)
  • Develop workshops and resources on GenAI disclosure statements for faculty to indicate how they have used
  • GenAI in the development and delivery of their courses, including feedback and assessment (3.5)
  • Briefing note to Senate Committee on Academic Policy to propose update to the Senate Policy on Course Outlines requiring faculty to indicate if/how they have used GenAI in the design and delivery of their course, including feedback to students (3.5)
  • Review grades and Faculty-level grading policies and consider ways to improve implementation of existing grading policy or bring forward changes (3.6)

Strategic Action Area 4: Teaching Excellence

4.1 Advance teaching priorities in the Faculties
4.2 Orient faculty to the teaching culture at Western and in their disciplines
4.3 Prepare and support faculty to incorporate EDIDA more fully into the classroom to enhance the learning experience of students
4.4 Build university-wide culture that values EDIDA in teaching and learning at the level of policy and governance
4.5 Create resources to increase opportunities to receive feedback on teaching and to demonstrate teaching quality
4.6 Create new awards to recognize teaching excellence
4.7 Develop processes and resources to reduce teaching-related administrative workload

Strategic Actions

  • Enhance role of Associate Deans Academic Undergraduate and Graduate (or designates) as faculty champions for teaching and learning (4.1, 4.2)
  • Facilitate workshops to prepare faculty and staff to incorporate EDIDA into pedagogy and curriculum design (4.3)
  • Support faculty to co-create accessible classrooms of inclusion and belonging; equip instructors with pedagogical tools, resources and strategies to teach, engage and accommodate students with disabilities and diverse needs (4.3)
  • Revise existing and develop new policies and governance procedures to embed EDIDA in teaching and learning (4.4)
  • Create a peer assessment framework for faculty (4.5)
  • Increase opportunities for proactive feedback from students early in a course (4.5)
  • Showcase and share promising teaching practices (4.6)
  • Review awards in VPAP portfolio, create new ones, and introduce easy ways to nominate and recognize teaching excellence (4.6)
  • Streamline academic considerations procedures with more targeted communication to faculty (4.7)

Strategic Action Area 5: Advancing Graduate Student Success: Support, Development, Innovation

Supervisor/Student Relationships
5.1 Increase supervisor and student awareness of responsibilities and relationship building
5.2 Develop more support and recognition for supervisor excellence
Professional Development
5.3 Integrate professional development opportunities into graduate program curricula
5.4 Develop a co-curricular strategy to support graduate students
Flexible Pathways
5.5 Encourage program level assessments of the barriers and opportunities to create more pathways through graduate school
5.6 Develop doctoral options for practicing professionals and laddering options into graduate education

Strategic Actions

  • Revive Graduate Education Committee (GEC) Supervision and Mentorship committee (5.1)
  • Develop/enhance resources for best practices in graduate student supervision and mentorship (5.1)
  • Revamp orientation programming to better communicate information about the resources and SGPS regulation on Supervision to incoming graduate students (5.1)
  • Include best practices around supervision as part of the Grad Chair info sessions offered by SGPS (5.1)
  • New Supervisor Excellence Award (5.2)
  • Better coordination with Faculties on professional development activities through Own Your Future (OYF) e.g., digital badging (5.3)
  • Increase accessibility to OYF modules through increased online, asynchronous offerings (new and existing content) (5.3)
  • Promote OYF modules as stackable within existing program courses/milestones (5.3)
  • Launch of the revised co-curricular record (5.4)
  • Focus topic for Associate Dean-Grad retreat in Autumn, 2026 (5.5)
  • Share examples of program modifications to reduce barriers and increase opportunities (5.5)
  • Encourage reflection explicitly about reducing barriers and creating opportunities in program narratives as part of Cyclical Program Review (5.5)
  • Focus groups with industry representatives to understand barriers and opportunities (5.6)
  • Develop partnerships with companies to consider new approaches to doctoral education including accessibility to eligible employees to conduct PhD as well as WIL opportunities for PhD students (5.6)
  • Develop laddering and stackable options in graduate education through graduate diplomas or micro-credentials (5.6)