Congratulations to those who have been selected to present
at the 2015 CACUSS Conference!
Please note this schedule is subject to change.
Monday, May 25th, 2015 | 11:15AM – 12:30PM
Concurrent Session One | 75 Minute Interactive Session
101. East Meeting Room 1
Preparing for Uncertainty - Strategy and Scenario Development for SSAOs
Sheldon Pereira, Wilfrid Laurier University
Imagine a “wind tunnel” (Van der Heijden, 2008). To strategic foresighters (yes, that’s a
field of research and practice) and ahead-of-the-curve strategists, it’s a metaphor used
to describe how strategic decisions can be subjected to various environmental
scenarios, both present and future, in an effort to see which strategies flourish and
which flounder. For SSAOs, this skillset is an invaluable tool in navigating the
complexity of the changing landscape of post-secondary education. Participants will get
a crash-course in strategic foresight, tailored to student affairs professionals, and will be
able to walk away with sophisticated tools to incorporate into their strategy planning
processes.
102. East Meeting Room 2
Developing Community-Driven (& Community-Impacting) Trainings
Mitchell Miller, McGill University, Amanda Unruh, McGill University
The training, education, and development of our students is not just an opportunity to
change the minds of the learners but also our campus community. In this session, we
will use McGill’s Orientation training as a case study in how a program developed over
the years to empower and reposition thousands of stakeholders into change agents.
You will then get a chance to apply key tenets of our program to your own trainings
(Orientation-related or not!) through interactive activities.Fear
103. East Meeting Room 3
Alcohol Strategies for All!
Ryan Flannagan, Carleton University
This session will highlight Carleton’s Alcohol Awareness Strategy, its various
components, goals and measurement strategy. The presentation will touch upon the
work that has been done within the realm of public health and how these outputs have
been incorporated into Carleton’s efforts. Finally, the presentation will facilitate a
conversation regarding the absence of robust provincial and national programs and how
universities can be leaders in the area of responsible drinking and overall wellness.
104. East Meeting Room 5
Creating Conditions for Well-being Through Physical Spaces
Crystal Hutchinson, Simon Fraser University, Marcos Olindan, Simon Fraser University,
Marc Fontaine, Simon Fraser University, Caitlin Pugh, Simon Fraser University
Within the context of education, the quality of physical environments has been shown to
have a significant and measurable impact on student success, satisfaction and wellbeing. Physical space features directly impact psychosocial, mental and physical health.
At Simon Fraser University (SFU), the Health Promotion team is leading the Well-being
through Physical Spaces project by working collaboratively with on campus partners to
provide a well-being lens in considering new space development and renovations.
105. East Meeting Room 6
Road From Ryerson: A New Pathway for Graduating Student Transition Support
Rachel Barreca, Ryerson University, Bailey Parnell, Ryerson University, Andrew
Bisnauth, Ryerson University
We invest a lot of resources into supporting the transitional needs of our incoming
students, but pay less attention to the outgoing transition. A group of staff at Ryerson
aim to change the way they support graduating students. Come learn about how we’re
using Schlossberg’s transition theory to inform an innovative, collaborative pilot project
(#RoadFromRyerson) and our vision for the future. Share your best practices and leave
with many more ideas from our brainstorming session.
106. East Meeting Room 8
HiFIVE: Let's End Stigma Against Mental Illness
Erika Horwitz, Simon Fraser University
The Success of any Mental Health Strategy is dependent on how much a certain
community stigmatizes against mental illness. Unfortunately, we live in an era in which
this type of stigma is still very real. Erika Horwitz will present the HiFIVE intitiative that
has been launched at SFU and will provide ideas on how others can bring this
movement to their campus. It is hoped that this initiative with its pledge, logo and safe
spaces will become a national movement to end stigma.
107. East Meeting Room 9
Designing Surveys to Assess Student Learning and Development
Jeffrey Burrow, OISE/University of Toronto, Diliana Peregrina-Kretz, OISE/University of
Toronto, Kathleen Moore, OISE/University of Toronto, Jacquie Beaulieu,
OISE/University of Toronto, Tricia Seifert, Montana State University
The assessment of programs and services is a crucial step in improving and
understanding student learning and development. This hand-on workshop will focus on
basic survey design techniques that will assist you in creating your own survey. We will
focus on four categories: developing survey objectives, choosing effective response
options, survey layout and design, and testing your survey. Participants are asked to
bring their own assessment examples/ideas to conduct testing and feedback during the
session.
108. East Meeting Room 10
Housing Master Plans 101
Tracey Mason-Innes, Simon Fraser University, Buddy Hall, Hanbury Evans Wright
Vlattas + Company
Much like many Canadian post-secondary institutions, facing mounting costs for
renovations and deciding against privatization, Simon Fraser University (SFU)
developed a student housing master plan that focused on market demand, design
opportunities, and financial sustainability. University leadership quickly approved the 15
year Housing Master Plan to transform the student experience. Participants will review
the planning process and steps required for a housing master plan, featuring both
highlights as well as lessons learned at SFU, and take away a resource outline of what
they should consider.
109. East Meeting Room 11
Internationalization of Student Affairs Panel
Dale Mullings, University of Toronto, Abu Arif, Ryerson University, Cathy Maloney,
University of Toronto
This panel focuses on integrating international concerns, broadly construed, into
everyday student services programming. International refers to many things: supporting
international students—degree seeking or exchange—with transition, immigration or
language issues; promoting international experiences to students; and fostering
intercultural learning and developing cross-cultural competencies in the whole student
body. We will highlight best practices from international programming and discuss ways
to integrate these into broader student services programming.
110. East Meeting Room 12
Early Alert Unplugged: A systemic approach for building campus capacity to support
student wellbeing and success
Joanne Elliott, University of British Columbia, Ryan Holliday, University of British
Columbia, Patty Hambler, University of British Columbia
UBC’s Early Alert Program began in 2012 as a key component of our Student Mental
Health Strategy and part of a systemic approach to promoting student learning and
wellbeing. This session explores the program from “behind the scenes” to illustrate
cross-campus, coordinated support in action, and presents new tools and resources
that have been part of taking this program to the next level – including the Green Folder
and stronger coordination with Faculty academic advising offices.
111. East Meeting Room 13
Holistic Student Development & Learning with Student Life at Guelph: An Outside the
Classroom Curriculum
Jessica Carter, University of Guelph, Laurie Schnarr, University of Guelph, Cara
Wehkamp, University of Guelph, Daniel Poulin, University of Guelph
Student Life at Guelph is an outside the classroom curriculum, grounded in 8 learning
outcomes. It acts as a roadmap that empowers students to make intentional decisions
about the co-curricular opportunities they will engage with. The program helps students
gain the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to develop holistically and prepare for
life beyond graduation. Learn about the challenges and opportunities we encountered
as we established this program, and the next steps in its evolution.
112. East Meeting Room 14
Religious Accommodation: Creating Inclusive Spaces for Religious Diversity
Richard Chambers, University of Toronto, Sandra Carnegie-Douglas, University of
Toronto, Allison Burgess, University of Toronto
An increasing number of students identify as religious, including its intersection with
race, sexuality and gender. Religious identity was a private matter, kept separate when
a student entered the space of an educational institution. As institutions live into the
values of diversity, equity and inclusion they must also find ways to reconcile their
characteristic as a non-religious space, while providing an inclusive learning
environment that is responsive to the religious diversity of the student population.
113. East Meeting Room 15
Redefining Community and Student Development--not your Living Lab
Patience Adamu, University of Toronto, Liza Arnason, University of Toronto,
The “Redefining Community and Student Development—not your Living Lab” session
will inform participants on how UTSC prepares students to enter the community;
engages the community in program development; students accomplish learning
outcomes and develop skills and; how to evaluate the impacts of the experiences. The
needs, priorities, and voices of those in the community should be heard by your
students and should be reflected in the university’s community program model using an
anti-oppressive approach.
114. East Meeting Room 16
Modeling Learning and Community: Raising Awareness of Learning Strategies for
Inclusiveness
Susan Hopkirk, University of Toronto, Sandra Moffat, University of Toronto
As Learning Strategists, we help students develop healthy approaches to academic
work and personal success. But maximizing student growth requires every university
professional to contribute to a community where learning strategies are integrated
holistically into all aspects of the student experience. In this interactive session,
participants will critically engage with learning development theory, examine best
practices for modeling learning strategy application, and generate a concrete plan for
incorporating these strategies into their daily work.
115. East Meeting Room 17
Community Animation: Enabling and Facilitating Community-building on Campus
Jolanta Lekich, University of British Columbia, Eve Court, University of British Columbia,
Gloria Eid, University of British Columbia
Common approaches to community building in universities involve staff-led programs
promoting participation in campus activities and aiming to build relationships amongst
students. At UBC, two programs adopt a different approach: employing “Community
Animators,” a student leader team that fosters environments of student collaboration
and peer mentorship. You’ll hear the value and outcomes of the animation approach to
community building, and have the opportunity to share perspectives on how best to
animate community on post-secondary campuses.
116. East Meeting Room 18
From Intention To Action: A student foccussed mental health program that really works
John Meissner, Carleton University, Larry McCloskey, Carleton University, Dana
Truelove, Carleton University
This presentation focuses on new research conducted by the From Intention To Action
program at Carleton University documenting how intervention improves mental health
and academic achievement. In partnering with the University of Toronto and Humber
College we are developing a working consortium that is open to all institutions. We also
focus on a new initiative to Change the Narrative of Incoming First Year students to
enhance resilience and development of “living laboratories” to support students.
117. East Meeting Room 19
"Storientations"
Neil Buddel, Centennial College
We lived storied lives. If this is your ontological perspective, you believe that the stories
of our lives shape our identity and that stories belong in postsecondary orientations.
Stories can help one “story” community norms and can serve to equalize capital to level
the playing field. Stories that resonate can also foster strong sense of belonging. Be
part of this interactive journey if you’re interested in evaluating orientations through a
storied lens.
118. East Meeting Room 20
Shared Meaning with Aboriginal Community - Overcoming Communication Challenges
Dan Odenbach, University of British Columbia
A popular definition for ‘communication’ is ‘shared meaning.’ Often sharing meaning
with an Aboriginal community is the polar opposite of a non-aboriginal society. What is
defined as politically correct sometimes comes off as disrespectful. To effectively
engage Aboriginal People, it’s important to base all communication on respect. By using
stories, participants will be given an understanding of the Aboriginal perspective and
how a top-down model often falls short when viewed through an Aboriginal lens.
119. West Meeting Room 107
Conceptualizing a Campus-Wide Co-Curriculum
Amber Scholtens, Brock University, Brad Clarke, Brock University, Katie Felton,
Campus Labs
Thinking about creating a campus-wide co-curriculum? Increasing students’
engagement both inside, and outside, the classroom is central to ensuring their
success. Students aren’t only learning when they’re in class; there is also tremendous
learning that comes from co-curricular activities. To help students make the most of
their experiences beyond the classroom, Brock developed a Campus-Wide CoCurriculum (CWC), designed to complement our existing co-curricular record (CCR).
We will share our process, methods, advice and lessons learned from developing our
CWC.
120. West Meeting Room 108
Creating Whole Campus Collaboration (for Student Success)
Brendan Schulz, York University, Lara Ubaldi, York University
So you have a great initiative – how do you get the whole campus on board and make it
stick?! Using York’s student transition strategy as an example, this session explores
how to evolve initiatives into sustainable, whole-campus collaborations. The session is
grounded in new student transition and change management theory plus evidence from
York’s programs. Participants will engage in a simulation of team collaboration and
have the opportunity to apply methodologies to their own initiatives.
121. West Meeting Room 113
Active Engagement: Collaborative Planning to Increase Student Physical Activity on
Campus
Michelle Brownrigg, University of Toronto, Kay Dawkins, University of Toronto
Physical activity is often overlooked in student services as a key strategy to enhance
student engagement. The University of Toronto supports a diverse population of
students on three campuses. This session will focus on physical activity initiative
planning, highlighting the Health and Community Engagement Collaborative and some
specific MoveU strategy partner initiatives. Participants will have the opportunity to
discuss physical activity as a student engagement strategy, identifying objectives and
planning processes to deliver initiatives.
Monday, May 25th, 2015 | 3:30PM – 4:15PM
Concurrent Session Two | 45 Minute Breakout Session
201. East Meeting Room 1
Assessing the Fresh Start Retention Program: Three years of Data Explored
Casey Dorrell, Ryerson University, Andrea Moon, Ryerson University
Addressing student retention is a perennial issue on Canadian campuses. Designed for
“Required to Withdraw” students returning to university, Fresh Start is a one-of-a-kind,
eight-week, mixed-delivery course focusing on academic skill-building through selfreflection.
Join us in examining this program’s impact on student retention and success. We’ll look
at longitudinal data involving 1000+ participants over three years, leading into a wider
discussion of how to measure the success of similar re-integration initiatives.
202. East Meeting Room 2
Making the Most of our Community: A Holistic Approach to Understanding Student
Success
Scott Emerson, University of British Columbia - Okanagan campus, Stephanie
McKeown, University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus, Ian Cull, University of
British Columbia, Okanagan campus, Mary DeMarinis, Justice Institute of British
Columbia
Participants will learn how we were able to develop and validate a holistic three-pillar
model of student success at our campus. By considering the whole campus and whole
student, we were able to identify the complex network of interrelationships among
student support services, program affiliation, and campus attachment. Consequently,
this integrated model underscored a tailored approach to supporting students at
different year levels and highlighted how student affairs can best collaborate with other
campus units.
203. East Meeting Room 3
Journey to Wellness: A Student Life Professional approach to Self-Health
Jana Luker, McGill University, Amanda Unruh, McGill University
Staff in student life have a set of unique challenges and barriers to living well and often
help others before helping themselves. This session will be a combination of
storytelling, support and tips about how to start (or maintain) an individual’s journey to
wellbeing. From setting boundaries, to reprioritizing time, to recognizing its importance,
participants will leave with a plan and concrete steps toward a renewed commitment to
their well-being.
204. East Meeting Room 5
A Hidden Wholeness: The Way is Made by Walking
Karen Cornies, Redeemer University College, Tricia Seifert, Montana State University
The Camino de Santiago’s uphill climbs, fellow travellers and great wine mirror the uphill
climbs, connections and celebrations that are part of student affairs. The title is from
books by Parker Palmer and Arthur Boers that launch the discussion on making space
on our journeys for “high threshold, high reward” focal practices. As we consider
“Whole Student, Whole Campus,” what “hidden wholeness” will we find? Participants
will hear about an upcoming Camino trip for student affairs practitioners.
205. East Meeting Room 6
Certificate in Civic Engagement and Global Citizenship: The 360 Experience
Janet Doner, University of Guelph, Daniel Poulin, University of Guelph
The Certificate in Civic Engagement and Global Citizenship at the University of Guelph
is a new, interdisciplinary undergraduate program that currently enrolls 30 students
each year, and combines intentional academic and scaffolded co-curricular experiences
within a supported learning environment. Join us to find out how it came to be, what it’s
all about and transferrable lessons to take back to your campus.
206. East Meeting Room 8
Planning for Emergence
Christina Halliday, Ryerson University, John Hannah, Ryerson University, Estefania
Toledo, Ryerson University
We will reflect on our experience planning the creation of Student Learning Support
(SLS) in Ryerson University’s new Student Learning Centre (SLC), through the lens of
institutional identity and narrative methodology, to compare tensions and hopes in SLS
identity formation before the move with how SLS institutional identity and presence is
read and interpreted by students after the move.
207. East Meeting Room 9
Situating Career Services at the heart of SEM
Nancy Johnston, Simon Fraser University, Tony Botelho, Simon Fraser University
This session presents how Career Services has been re-thought and re-positioned at a
major University in order to provide earlier, intentional and academically integrated
career development and connections for students from prospect through to graduate.
Two specific programs will be shared (one recruitment and one retention) as examples
of this newly integrated approach.
208. East Meeting Room 10
Wellness Alert in Residence – A Systemic Approach to Managing Disease in Residence
Kevin Friese, University of Alberta, Marianne Mantyla, TelASK Technologies Inc.
Within higher education, the health of our campus populations requires a communitybased approach to health identification, promotion, prevention and primary care
intervention. In the case of residence communities, disease identification and
management can be particularly challenging. This session will identify key challenges
associated with disease identification, surveillance and management in residence.
Using the University of Alberta’s Wellness Alert Health Reporting pilot as a foundation
for the session, consideration will be given to how campus health services and
residence services can enhance collaboration in support of disease surveillance in
residence.
209. East Meeting Room 11
Engaging Student Leaders in Assessment
Melinda Scott, University of Toronto
Student Affairs units are increasingly focused on the development of the assessment
skills and knowledge of professional staff. However, one area that has received less
attention is the degree to which we are also helping students to develop these skills –
particularly student leaders who are often responsible for program development and
service delivery. This program will provide an overview of an initiative to engage
student leaders in the assessment of Orientation programming.
210: East Meeting Room 12
Student Voice: Meaningfully engaging students for a Healthy Campus Community
Crystal Hutchinson, Simon Fraser University, Katie Mai, Simon Fraser University,
Ravina Gill, Simon Fraser University
In collaboration with Simon Fraser University's (SFU) Health Promotion Team, the
Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) works to ensure that the student voice is
integrally incorporated into health promotion action to develop a healthy and supportive
campus setting. SHAC specifically elicits student input relating to systemic and settingsbased approaches to well-being. SHAC has contributed to the Healthy Campus
Community initiative, providing ongoing input, advocacy and engaging SFU students.
This presentation will describe SHAC’s process and key learnings.
211: East Meeting Room 13
Nobody Puts Student Life in a Corner: Increasing Access to Student Services for
Success
Emzhei Chen, University of Toronto Scarborough, Nadia Rosemond, University of
Toronto Scarborough, Alyssa Graham, University of Toronto Scarborough
Access does not stop once students are on campus. Although students are encouraged
to utilize student services for success, this is often limited to having individuals drop by
offices or send emails. This presentation unpacks what access means for students at an
urban, commuter campus where the Department of Student Life’s presence is
embedded amongst processes that involve faculty, campus departments and within
peer to peer interactions
212. East Meeting Room 14
Holistic Student Success: An Approach, A Model and Some Food For Thought
Laurie Smith, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Terri Flanagan, Northern Alberta
Institute of Technology
Holistic Student Success is a lofty ideal, often vaguely defined yet fundamentally
associated with student retention and integral to excellence in student service provision.
This presentation will explore how our institution used a cross-functional team to
translate the holistic student success ideal into a multi-faceted, clearly-defined model
that incorporates various measures. A fulsome definition resulted in the capacity to
measure new and important factors!
213. East Meeting Room 15
Developing a culturally competent framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
student support at the University of Sydney
Tanya Griffiths, The University of Sydney, Ana Munro, The University of Sydney
The University of Sydney’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student Support team
is developing a framework to articulate the culturally relevant, holistic support provided
to Indigenous students that recognises the crucial elements of place, community,
ceremony and identity for Australia’s first people and celebrates the diversity and
richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. The presenters seek to
strengthen the empirical basis of the framework through feedback and input from others
supporting Indigenous students.
______________________________________________________________________
214. East Meeting Room 16
Alternate Formats 101
Tara Robertson, Langara College, Caper BC, Heidi Nygard, University of British
Columbia
For students with print disabilities timely access to alternate formats for their course
materials is essential. Access & Diversity’s Crane Library has been serving UBC
students and faculty with print disabilities for almost 50 years. The Centre for Accessible
Post-secondary Education Resources British Columbia (CAPER-BC) has been serving
students with print disabilities at 20 post-secondary institutions across BC for 30 years.
In this session we'll share the different ways we produce alternate formats including:
accessible PDF, etext, mp3, DAISY and large print. This session might be of interest to
other people who produce alternate formats, disability service advisors or those who are
simply curious about making course materials accessible for people with print
disabilities
215. East Meeting Room 17
Doing it Different: An Alternative Model to Providing Counselling and Accessibility
Services
Laureen Janzen, Red River College, Andrea Johnston, Red River College, Chad Smith,
Red River College
This program will explore the amalgamated support service delivery model found within
Counselling and Accessibility Services at Red River College (RRC) in Winnipeg,
Manitoba. The presentation will speak to RRC's unique service delivery model and
delve into both strengths and challenges of having Counsellors that deliver both
counselling and accessibility services.
216. East Meeting Room 18
Solving The Retention Conundrum Among Mature Learners Through A First-Year
Experience Intervention
Brian Poser, York University
While data indicates that mature students typically outperform their traditional-aged
counterparts on measures such as GPA, retention rates among mature students trail
those for traditionally-aged students. Why are mature students at greater risk of attrition
when they perform so well academically? Referencing the literature, this presentation
will explore the retention conundrum and describe the implementation of an intervention
that has had a positive impact on mature student first-year experience and could
support other at-risk populations.
217. East Meeting Room 19
Responding to Changes and Meeting the Needs: Transferring a First-Year Guide to
Electronic Form
Kelly Knight, Memorial University
In an effort to reach students in today's technological society, and in keeping with the
University's commitment to support sustainability initiatives on campus, the Academic
Advising Centre of Memorial University has moved from printing thousands of paper
copies of a Guide to First Year for incoming students to the creation of an online
version. Join us for a review of the challenges and benefits of moving from paper to
paperless!
218. East Meeting Room 20
Admitting the “Whole Student”: Insights From Two Masters Research Projects On The
Institutional and Student Impact From UBC’s Use of an Applicant Personal Profile In
The Undergraduate Admissions Process
Natalie Hargott, University of British Columbia, Andrew Arida, UBC
How do broad based admissions (BBAs) impact the institution and its prospective
students? This presentation will provide an overview of two Masters research studies
that examined the initial impact of the personal profile as a mandatory BBA component
of UBC’s direct-entry undergraduate application. The presentation will explore how
students admitted under BBAs are different from prior grades-only based cohorts as
well as the prospective students’ interpretation of and approach to the personal profile.
219. West Meeting Room 107
Volunteers: More than just free labour!
Scott Dempsey, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Mannix Chan
In student affairs we are often lucky to have many students willing to help us with our
events, programs, and all aspects of our jobs. While these students are often willing to
work for free, it is important that we never simply use students for the free labour they
can provide. In this session we will discuss ways to ensure all student volunteer and
staff positions provide meaningful experiences for the students that hold them.
220. West Meeting Room 108
Journey Through the Changing Landscape for McGill's Indigenous Community
Kakwiranóron Cook, McGill University, Allan Vicaire, McGill University, Alyse VanEvery,
McGill University
McGill University is raising the profile of Indigenous affairs within the areas of outreach
& pipeline programs, increased university accessibility, Aboriginal student support &
recognition, advising, equity, educational programming, career placement and upper
administration, among others. This workshop will highlight how we are expanding in
these areas for Indigenous students and also how we are Indigenizing the broader
University community to create a wholesome learning environment.
______________________________________________________________________
221. West Meeting Room 113
The Canoe of Life: Indigenous Prior Learning Assessment and Portfolio Development
Tania Smethurst, Vancouver Island University, Janet Sinclair, Vancouver Island
University, Richard Charlie, VIU, Ivy Richardson, VIU
The Canoe of Life model of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) and Indigenous Portfolio
process are examples of culturally based education strategies. By looking at the whole
individual, the goal in this work is to always help learners reflect and recognize
resilience, and knowledge which can transfer to new learning situations. Rather than
highlight only the academic successes of an individual, the portfolio process
acknowledges learning that has come from spirit, heart, mind, and body.
Monday, May 25th, 2015 | 4:30PM – 5:45PM
Concurrent Session Three | 75 Minute Interactive Session
301. East Meeting Room 1
Integrated and Engaged Learning @ Laurier
Dave Shorey, Associate Director, Residence Education, Wilfrid Laurier University,
Clayton McCourt, Manager Residence Life (Waterloo Campus)
The Residence Education unit was created at Laurier in 2011 to support the integration
of expert knowledge from campus into residence buildings. This session will provide
attendees with context, both in terms of Laurier’s Residence Education story, and the
research that has emerged to support integrative approaches to student development.
Specific programs that feature campus and community partners will be highlighted
including Residence Learning Communities, Advising in Residence and Laurier’s
curricular approach to residential living.
302. East Meeting Room 2
Bridging Research and Practice: Exploring the Role of Learning Experiences in
Enhancing Student Well-being
Alisa Stanton, Simon Fraser University, Rosie Dhaliwal, Simon Fraser University, David
Zandvliet, Simon Fraser University, Sarah Louise Turner, Simon Fraser University
This session will present the results of original research exploring the links between
learning environments and student well-being at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Over
1000 student responses were collected through a participatory action research study
involving 14 faculty members. The session will present the rationale for the Well-being
in Learning Environments project, the process of working collaboratively with campus
partners and the results, both in terms the original research conducted and resources
created.
303. East Meeting Room 3
Understanding Bystander Efficacy and Male Hesitancy towards Dating Violence
Prevention Programs in a Post-Secondary Setting
Alysha Cooper, Mount Royal University, Patricia Kostouros, Mount Royal University
The research presented in this Interactive Session focuses on understanding what
prevents those identifying as male students from participating in dating violence
prevention programs in a post-secondary setting. In addition, participants in the session
will come to understand whether bystander efficacy is related to prevention program
involvement. Demographic variables will be used to highlight which groups need to be
targeted in order to increase participation in dating violence prevention programs on a
post-secondary campus.
304. East Meeting Room 5
By Design: using enrolment intelligence to foster student success.
Janet K. Morrison, York University, Michelle Miller, York University, Mario Verrilli, York
University
The Division of Students at York University’s Strategic Plan: Partners in Student
Success, focuses on four priorities, including the adoption of a more strategic approach
to Enrolment Management (SEM). Central to achieving our enrolment goals is York’s
commitment to building SEM Intelligence to underpin evidence-based programming and
interventions. This interactive session will focus on exemplars of acquired intelligence
and how data and a theoretical lens have impacted educational supports on our
campuses.
305. East Meeting Room 6
Addressing cyberbullying in the campus community: Creating a safe and kind
cyberspace for universities
Chantal Faucher, Simon Fraser University, Centre for Education, Law & Society, Wanda
Cassidy, Simon Fraser University, Margaret Jackson, Simon Fraser University, Natalie
Sharpe, University of Alberta, Lida Blizard, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
As information and communication technologies (ICT) increase on university campuses,
so do the challenges associated with their use and misuse. This interactive session
will: discuss research findings related to the nature, extent and impacts of cyberbullying
(in terms of personal and professional health and wellbeing) at four universities in
Canada; share information about emerging campus initiatives to address cyberbullying;
and provide opportunities for participants to discuss solutions to the problem of
cyberbullying.
306. East Meeting Room 8
Conversations across religious differences: The role of secular institutions in engaging
students of faith backgrounds in diversity initiatives
Patty Hambler, University of British Columbia, Robert Daum, University of British
Columbia, Richard Chambers, University of Toronto, Ellie Hummel, Concordia
University
Developing students’ capacity to engage across differences, no matter how these
differences are manifest in their identity, is an important aspect of our student
development work. How can we engage in discussions about faith at secular
institutions in a way that considers the intersectionality of differences and helps students
to learn skills to navigate ‘difficult conversations’? By exploring three different university
interfaith initiatives, we will unpack some of the issues, approaches and opportunities
for including faith identities as part of the diversity discussion.
307. East Meeting Room 9
The Role of a Campus-Wide Advising Conference In Building a Community of Practice
at UBC
Darran Fernandez, University of British Columbia, Carol Naylor, UBC, Michelle Mallette,
UBC, Susanne Goodison, UBC
Since 2010, The University of British Columbia has worked to achieve a more holistic
and integrated approach to advising students. We have done this through campus-wide
initiatives aimed at building a collective and networked advising community, leading to
an annual advising conference for over 375 faculty and staff advisors. This session will
explore strategies, opportunities and challenges for developing and sustaining advising
communities of practice on our campuses.
308. East Meeting Room 10
Key Considerations: Designing a Peer Mentoring Program To Support Students With
Mental Health Issues
Mira Dineen, Queen's University
Queen’s University received funding from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and
Universities to design and pilot a peer mentoring program to support students with
mental health problems/disabilities. With the completion of the pilot program in March,
project staff will share key considerations and lessons for designing a peer mentoring
program specifically for students with mental health issues. The session will cover
mentor recruitment, mentee referrals, training, matching, supervision and program
evaluation. Participants will take away innovative ideas and tangible strategies to
consider for their own peer programming.
309. East Meeting Room 11
What's App Doc? Using Phone Applications to Engage the Whole Student in the
Counselling Process
Sonya Flessati, Mount Royal University
The evolution of smartphone technology has moved rapidly. Current smartphones
possess advanced computing abilities, allow for great connectivity, and have multiple
features, including third party applications. The popularity of applications continues to
rise and has moved beyond productivity and information retrieval to those in the area of
health and mental health. This presentation will focus on the use of behavioural health
applications in counselling and will specifically focus on engaging the student more
wholly with the change process.
310. East Meeting Room 12
Community Cousins: Planning for the Whole Student
Sylvia Scow, Vancouver Island University, Sylvia Scow, Vancouver Island University,
Gary Manson, Vancouver Island University, Ivy Richardson, Vancouver Island
University, Patrick Aleck, Vancouver Island University
The goal of the Community Cousins Program is to offer students an opportunity to
participate in giving back. Intrinsic worth is supported through process focused training
and skill development. The mentors have an opportunity to engage in reflection using
“The Canoe of Life” model of Portfolio. This model provides students an opportunity to
move through a voyage of self-discovery as they gather information on their own prior
learning, document it, and learn how to tell their story.
311. East Meeting Room 13
Meeting the Needs of the Whole Student: A Dynamic Delivery Model for Counselling
Services
Christine Tauer Martin, University of Waterloo, Linda Mackay, University of Waterloo,
Dr. Mohsan Beg, University of Windsor
A unique example of service delivery for a student focused Counselling Services has
been referred to as the Waterloo Model. Incorporating a comprehensive faculty-specific
satellite service responds to the distinct needs of each faculty. This interactive session
will examine the model, its benefits & challenges, as well as discuss the adaptability of
the model to a variety of settings and services as demonstrated by University of
Waterloo & University of Windsor.
312. East Meeting Room 14
Career-Life Intervention: A mental health strategy supporting the whole student and
creating healthy communities.
Kathy Offet-Gartner, Mount Royal University, Jack Dobbs, Mount Royal University,
Michael Huston, Mount Royal University
Canadian post-secondary institutions have adopted mental health intervention as a
primary mandate. In response, we propose that career development is an essential
mental health intervention to when considering the well-being of the Whole Student and
Whole Campus. Current research that supports this and a conceptual model are
provided; as well as some case illustrations utilizing this model with some student
populations (e.g. ADHD, High Functioning Autism Spectrum, & First Nations) will be
shared.
313. East Meeting Room 15
Active Health - A Prescription for Exercise
Martin Mroz, Simon Fraser University, Tammy Blackwell, Simon Fraser University, Marc
Pope, Simon Fraser University
Current research shows physical exercise can improve depression in some clients as
effectively as medication or therapy. Knowledge and motivation related to fitness can be
an inhibiting factor. SFU Health and Counselling Services and the Recreation
Department have developed “Active Health”, a formal prescription for physical activity
for clients with depression. We will review the research, the program, recent results,
benefits and costs. Opportunities for improvement and collaborations will be discussed
throughout with the audience.
314. East Meeting Room 16
SCORB Self-Compassion Oriented Resilience Building
Megan Pinfield, Simon Fraser University, Lauren O'Keefe, Craig Lee
SCORB is an innovative self-compassion oriented resilience building program that has
been designed specifically for the Millenial student population. This session will provide
participants with an overview of the 12 module program, the unique components that
make SCORB successful and allow participants to experience several activities from
the program itself in an interactive experiential format. Everyone can benefit from
practicing self-compassion!
315. East Meeting Room 17
Advising as a Community Hub
Linda Pardy, University of the Fraser Valley
Advising across the country is being asked to rethink their role in terms of overall
campus wide student engagement. As a project lead and researcher I recently helped
the University of the Fraser complete a revisioning of its advising services, as well as
conducted provincial research for BCCAT on current advising practices and future
directions. This interactive session outlines trends and explores the importance of
Advising being the “hub” of the learning community.
316. East Meeting Room 18
Developing Students Into Complex Thinkers, Reflective Collaborators and Community
Leaders. How One UBC Faculty, Is Doing It All.
Carol Naylor, University of British Columbia, Robyn Leuty, University of British
Columbia, Kyle Nelson, University of British Columbia, Will Valley, University of British
Columbia
At UBC, educators from student affairs partner with the Faculty of Land and Food
Systems to graduate career-ready students who can think creatively and critically, work
and collaborate across differences and incorporate academic and community
perspectives into their work. This workshop will demonstrate how Faculty and Student
Affairs educators have partnered to integrate career and professional skills, leadership
development and community based experiential learning into the design and learning
outcomes of a core course series
317. East Meeting Room 19
Exploring Anti-Oppressive Principles as a Framework for Emancipatory Student Affairs
Practice
Christina Meredith, Georgian College, Sarah Hunter, Georgian College
In this workshop participants will be invited to evaluate the core principles of antioppressive practice (AOP) as they relate to our encounters and work with students in an
institution of higher education. By critically examining AOP principles, in relation to our
practice in student affairs, we are making a commitment to (a) identify and (b) disrupt
oppressive behavior in order to cultivate healthy and holistic environments that are
experienced as accessible and equitable for all students, staff and faculty.
318. East Meeting Room 20
Providing Quality Student Services to students attending Satellite Campuses
Greg Marsh, University of Lethbridge
As it becomes increasingly common for universities and colleges to become multilocation institutions, it is vital that students who attend the satellite or outlying campuses
receive a Student Services package that is comprehensive in nature, even if it doesn't
include all of the services offered at the primary campus. It is particularly vital that
mental health counselling be available at the outlying sites and that it be no or low cost,
confidential and offered by professionals.
319. West Meeting Room 107
Whole Student – Whole Campus – Healthy Team – Whole Counsellor: A counselling
department’s process of change to meet the Mental Health needs of students at KPU
(2011 to 2015)
Karen Mitchinson, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Patrick Crawshaw, Consultant to
KPU, Robyn Rushford, KPU
This Interactive Session provides participants with an opportunity to hear about the
implementation of change in a counselling department. The following four models or
frameworks will be used when discussing the change process:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Strength based model for getting “buy in” from the participants,
The core counsellor competencies as expectations for interaction,
Patrick Lencioni’s (2012) model for organizational health
“The Post-Secondary Student Mental Health: A Guide to a Systemic Approach”
as the framework to create change. (2011 to 2015)
This session provides participants time for interaction and application of the above
models and principles to their own work teams . Building a healthy team, and creating
an environment that promoted counsellor health and wellness was a strategic part of the
process of change. Building competence in the counsellors to handle the mental health
demands of the students was also intentional and planned.
320. West Meeting Room 113
Ethical Decision Making for Professionals Working within Post-Secondary Institutions
Nigel Scott, VCC, Emily Drew, VCC, Tanny Marks, VCC
Professionals working within post-secondary look to their codes of ethics to guide their
decision making process. However, institutional policies and codes of ethics must also
be considered. At times, the institution’s codes and policies will conflict with the
practitioner’s professional code of ethics. Using the experience of Registered Sign
Language Interpreters employed at VCC as a case study, this presentation will look at
how these points of conflict have been navigated within the post-secondary setting.
321. West Meeting Room 108
Career aspirations of midlevel Student Affairs Professionals
Richard Wikkerink, Redeemer University College
The career aspirations of Student Affairs professionals are shaped by their experience
of job satisfaction, opportunities, and circumstances. How can the profession contribute
to the career development of the next generation of Student Affairs leaders? This
session will present the findings of a recent qualitative study of midlevel Student Affairs
professionals and engage a discussion of the findings, the theoretical model, and open
a conversation about career development and aspirations.
Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 | 9:30AM – 10:15AM
Concurrent Session Four | 45 Minute Breakout Session
401. East Meeting Room 1
A Foodless Food Bank: Creative Ways to Fight Hunger on Campus
Kimberly Daniels, Humber College - Humber Students' Federation, Mellissa Khuai,
Humber College - Humber Students' Federation
“Give someone a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish, and you
feed them for a lifetime.” By the end of this session, you will learn a new approach to
help feed students in need on campus. Recognizing that if a student is going hungry,
there may be more ways to feed them than with just food; a new way of approaching
post-secondary Food Bank models to better serve students.
402. East Meeting Room 2
Drinking with Class
Brandon de Krieger, CLC - TRU, Stephen Marchment, CLC - Algonquin
If you choose to drink, Drink with Class. Learn the story of the change in alcohol culture
at Thompson Rivers University Residence, the elements of the Drink with Class
initiative, and ultimately, how to look at culture change as a leadership issue. End the
session by collaborating with others to create new ideas to better the alcohol culture in
your campus.
403. East Meeting Room 3
The In Their Shoes Project
Heather Lane Vetere, Ryerson University
In his book Empathy, Roman Krznaric defines empathy as “…the art of stepping
imaginatively into the shoes of another person, understanding their perspectives, and
using that understanding to guide your actions”. This session will focus on The In Their
Shoes Project, a project designed to help one Vice Provost, Students engage with
students in their world. Expect a mix of student stress, administrative pressure, fashion,
creativity, fabric shopping, threading needles and conversations about empathy.
404. East Meeting Room 5
“Whole Campus, Whole Student, Whole Student Organizations: Developing curriculum
to develop and improve the capacity of clubs and groups”
Kristen Wallace, University of Toronto
It is essential to consider the major value that student organizations have in developing
the whole campus community and the whole student. Intentional leadership
development and specialized training for club executives is an important way to develop
“whole student organizations.” The Ulead program at the University of Toronto was
reimagined to do just that. Learn about how the Ulead program was redeveloped, the
successes and challenges faced, areas for growth and join in the discussion to best
support club leaders on your campus.
405. East Meeting Room 6
When Health Care Institutions and Post Secondary Collaborate to change the
Landscape for Student Mental Health: The Case of the Mobile Mental Health Team
Karen Cornies, Redeemer University College, Louisa Drost, Mohawk College, Su-Ting
Teo, Ryerson Unviersity
Recognizing the critical mental health needs of students, PSEs are looking for fast
effective referrals. Partnerships with local health care agencies can be of tremendous
benefit in providing such services. Join us to hear about Hamilton PSEs working with
St. Joseph’s Hamilton Healthcare staff and community services to launch a
collaborative initiative called the Youth Wellness Centre and the Mobile Mental Health
Team. Hear about Ryerson’s efforts and be inspired to launch your own initiative!
406. East Meeting Room 8
Nurturing UD implementation: The Case of Student Affairs
Tanja Beck, McGill University, Frederic Fovet, McGill University - Office for Students
with Disabilities, Lina Di Genova, McGill
If we want to create post-secondary student services which value access, inclusion and
social justice, it is time to look at Universal Design implementation in a more systemic
way. But how can we drive UDL implementation on a wider scale? How can we support
other units in applying UD principles within their specific contexts? The presentation will
showcase the development and production of an online professional development tool
that was created for Student Affairs staff to guide and drive UD implementation in
various contexts. The online tool was developed with the support of CACUSS Research
Project Fund. It will also share some feedback from units who used the video, whether it
was considered a useful tool for professional development, and what aspects facilitated
or hindered UD implementation in their specific units.
407. East Meeting Room 9
Acknowledging the whole student: the leadership identity development of Supplemental
Instruction (SI) leaders.
Tracey Mason-Innes, Simon Fraser University
Much of our understanding of leadership theory is based on hierarchical systems and is
grounded in research from business settings. Although researchers have presented
more collaborative, relational leadership models for post-secondary students, these
models have not been widely applied to supplemental instruction (SI) leader training
programs.
This doctoral research project describes the background characteristics and
experiences of the SI leaders at a mid-size, regional, western Canadian university
(WCU). The leadership identity development (LID) model was applied as a conceptual
lens for this study: a model that is well-respected in the student affairs field. In the case
of supplemental instruction, although the LID of the SI leaders is not a prominent or
identified outcome, the findings from this study demonstrate that LID is likely occurring.
408. East Meeting Room 10
Whole Health from the Heart
Janet Miller, Mount Royal University, Jan Crook, University of Calgary
Please join us for a conversation about perspectives on (and stories from) the heart. As
student counsellors we will share some examples of how we listen “from” the heart and
engage students to tune in “to” their hearts. As we talk about wholeness, we will focus
inwards and reflect on themes relating to happiness and fulfillment, and lastly we will
reflect on our own heart-related health issues and discuss how these have impacted our
practices.
409. East Meeting Room 11
See Me for Who I Am: Responding to the Interconnected Needs of International and
Recent Immigrant Adult Students Through Cross-Departmental Collaboration
Wincy Li, Ryerson University, Christian Noumi, OISE, University of Toronto
A recent study was conducted to investigate the complexity and interconnectedness of
international students’ needs, and their experience with student services. The findings
will be presented to prompt discussions around how we can adopt the whole-campus
approach in designing responsive and relevant programs that serve students
holistically. Similarities between international students and recent immigrant adult
students will be drawn. Initiatives from Ryerson’s Career Centre will be presented as
examples for participants to brainstorm additional ideas.
410. East Meeting Room 12
Whole Lotta Change: Changing Orientation for a Changing World
Chelsea Butchart, Simon Fraser University, Bing Lee, SFU, Deborah Ho, SFU, Paul
Godman, SFU
At SFU, the concept of Orientation and our approach towards this important component
of the student life cycle has changed significantly. With a vision of addressing student
needs through a holistic approach that supports student success, SFU now views
Orientation as part of a larger, continuous transition process. Join us as we share our
new approach to transition programming, our first iteration of SFU 101, our assessment
findings, and where we are going next!
411. East Meeting Room 13
Fostering inclusivity: Investigating the unique factors influencing the retention of mature
university students
Tricia van Rhijn, University of Guelph, Sandra Pericak, University of Guelph, Victoria
Fritz, University of Guelph, Jennifer Closs, University of Guelph, Anna Dawczyk,
University of Guelph
An understanding of the unique factors impacting retention and attrition of mature
undergraduate students is needed to engage and best-serve the needs of this quicklygrowing population. As part of the Pathways Project, this study utilized a mixedmethods approach to explore mature students’ reasons for withdrawal and plans for
future study from four Ontario Universities. Participants will learn about findings from
this innovative project and discuss future directions for working with mature students.
412. East Meeting Room 14
Standards of Practice for Disability Service Professionals
Boris Vukovic, Carleton University, Somei Tam, Carleton University, Bruce Hamm,
Carleton University
This session will showcase our work on the Standards of Practice for Disability Service
Providers. Disability service offices (DSOs) are tasked with legal mandates,
accommodating students with disabilities, managing expectations from various
stakeholders, maintaining academic requirements, and adhering to increasing
government accountability. Yet, no formal standards of practice in this field exist. We
will discuss development of such standards at our institution, and possible adoption
across DSOs to guide and evaluate our practices as a profession.
413. East Meeting Room 15
Passport to Leadership: an innovative approach to co-curricular program design and
holistic student development
Kimberley Thee, Simon Fraser University, Illiana Mijares, Simon Fraser University
This session will showcase the innovative changes made to SFU’s co-curricular
leadership program from 2011 to 2014. As a result of these changes, the number of
participants completing the program increased six times. With 93.3% of respondents
indicating that they would recommend the program to other students, participants
consistently identify P2L as a valuable program in which they are able to connect with
other students while learning more about themselves and their leadership skills.
414. East Meeting Room 16
Engaging The Whole Campus: Addressing the diverse needs of the OFF-Campus
students ON campus through Conversation and Collaboration
Cristina Peter, University of Toronto, Bergita Petro, University of Toronto
As post-secondary institutions welcome an increasingly diverse demographic of
commuter students, student life professionals are tasked with the challenge of
developing initiatives to support and engage this complex population. The Commuter
Leader Summit was developed to foster a network of students and staff to engage in
dialogue around commuter issues; foster opportunities for collaboration between
previously silo-ed organizations; and identify innovative and holistic methods of
supporting the commuter population across campus.
415. East Meeting Room 17
Reducing barriers to accessing mental health support for international scholars:
Developing a wellness program
Jacqueline Gruter-Andrew, Counselling Services, University of British Columbia, Jolanta
Lekich, University of British Columbia
International students who are on scholarships based on merit and financial need face
unique challenges as they navigate a new culture and educational system in Canada.
UBC’s wellness program for Mastercard Foundation Scholars from sub-Saharan Africa
provides an opportunity to address mental health concerns before they potentially rise
to a clinical level and aims to minimize barriers to accessing mental health support.
Strategies to increase mental health help-seeking behavior, how university wellness
systems can adapt to international students' needs, and ideas to address acculturative
stress will be discussed.
416. East Meeting Room 18
Reviving Risk Assessment: Transforming Traditional Risk Assessment to Nurture the
Whole Student
Alyssa Graham, Univeristy of Toronto Scarborough, Scott MacDonald, University of
Toronto Scarborough
The University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) is home to 180 student groups, which
run over 1000 programs a year. With this many student-led initiatives, risk assessment
procedures are essential. But how can we make risk assessment more than a checklist
of rules and regulations? This session will explore how the Department of Student Life
at UTSC has taken a traditional risk assessment process, and transformed it to an
opportunity for campus-wide collaboration and student development.
417. East Meeting Room 19
Building community and profound change through group ‘individual’ therapy: This is one
cool group!
Laura Girz, Ryerson University Centre for Student Development and Counselling, Sarah
Thompson, Ryerson University, Centre for Student Development and Counselling
‘Individual’ therapy groups provide profoundly transformative opportunities which
promote rapid and deep connections as students experience how much they share in
common with other students ‘beneath the surface’. In an era defined by heavily
censored Facebook-style social interactions, group ‘individual’ therapy is a unique
model that incorporates individual therapeutic work and process-based group dynamics
in order to deepen experiencing, promote genuine self-development, increase wellbeing, and facilitate social connection.
418. East Meeting Room 20
ASD Team Intervention - Creating Student Success
Lyn Benn, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Susan Vincent, KPU, Marti Alger, KPU,
Karen Mitchinsen, KPU, Catherine Dube, KPU
With the rise of students who present as being on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
continuum, the variation in how it affects each person presents challenges to university
and college services and faculty. Individuals with ASD vary widely in their needs, skills
and abilities. This session will present a case study which describes actions taken to
work with one student and will present recommendations for working with similar
students in the future.
419. West Meeting Room 107
Mentoring Connection: Redefining Mentoring as a Holistic Community Approach to
Sharing Knowledge and Building Networks
Margaret Colton, McGill University, Rosalia Felice, McGill University, Penny Kaill-Vinish,
McGill University
In this session, we will detail the genesis, development, launch and achievements of
McGill’s Staff-Student Mentoring Program. This unique mentorship model focuses on
community building by creating common spaces and forging connections between
McGill’s community members, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty,
administrative and support staff, and healthcare professionals. Join us to explore the
challenges and successes of reimagining, redefining, and reinstating mentorship at a
higher education institution.
420. West Meeting Room 108
Mental Health Nurse Pilot Project at SFU
Tammy Blackwell, Simon Fraser University, Sheryl Zentner, Simon Fraser University
Health and Counselling Services at SFU is actively seeking successful ways and means
in managing the number of students with mental health issues. This does not only
impact our service delivery, it also impacts our community in many ways. Being
solution orientated, HCS created a mental health nurse position as pilot project in
response to the increasing demand for mental health services and support. At this
session you will learn why a mental health nurse was decided upon, how the role is
utilized internally and how it supports others on camps, and how it collaborates with
external community partners. There will be opportunity for participants to share
experiences and successes with managing mental health at their institutions.
421. West Meeting Room 113
Campus Climate and Institutional Equity Policies: A Thin Veil for Inclusion?
Jude Tate, University of British Columbia
There is limited Canadian evidence in the literature on the performance and impact of
equity and anti-discrimination policies sway upon campus climate for marginalized
populations, particularly for LGBTQ students. Yet universities rely heavily on these
policies to demonstrate their commitment to a safe and inclusive campus. This
presentation will offer research findings from 21 universities on the perceptions and
experiences of sexual and gender minority students of their learning environments,
campus climate, and institutional policies.
Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 | 1:00PM – 2:15PM
Concurrent Session Five | 75 Minute Interactive Session
501. East Meeting Room 1
Open Book XII: Recent Literature in Student Affairs
Deanne Fisher, OCAD University, John Austin, Ryerson University, Tim Fricker,
Mohawk College, Nona Robinson, Trent University, Joseph Henry, Sheridan College,
Heather Lane-Vetere, Ryerson University, Ross McMillan, York University
The Open Book session is a fast-paced and lively overview of the most relevant and
recent literature influencing student affairs and related fields. In this, our 12th edition of
the session, our panel of readers will each present a mini-review of a book they've read
in the past year. Audience participation is encouraged!
502. East Meeting Room 2
Embracing the Unknown: Getting New Ideas Off the Ground
Jane Lee, University Of Alberta Students' Union, Kelin Flanagan, University of Alberta
Students' Union
To boldly go where no one has gone before: an inspirational ideal, but one that easily
goes wrong. Presenters will share pointers and pitfalls that they have learned from
initiatives they have worked on, from small projects like renaming a unit all the way to
restructuring of the student services department. Join this fun and interactive session to
learn about strategies that can help turn your ideas become reality.
503. East Meeting Room 3
How Canadian Campuses are using The Guide to Systematic Approach To Mental
Health?
Tayyab Rashid, University of Toronto Scarborough, Patricia Kostouros, Mount Royal
University
A Guide to approach student mental health systematically on post-secondary campuses
was launched at the CACUSS 2013. This guide outlines a framework for addressing
student mental health in post-secondary institutions. Moving this ground-breaking work
forward, the steering committee of the Post-Secondary Student Mental Health (PSSMH)
group has devised a survey to assess the knowledge and use of the Guide across post-
secondary campuses. Salient findings of the survey will be presented. The presentation
will also offer recommendations regarding the use of the Guide as a rich resource in
creating campus communities that support mental well-being through a systematic
approach.
______________________________________________________________________
504. East Meeting Room 5
Making Meaning of Student Leadership: Using experiential learning theory to transform
leadership experiences into career development opportunities
Catherine Salole, York University, David Ip Yam, Glendon, York University, Sandra Yu,
York University
Learn how student leadership and career development practitioners at York
collaborated to build a strategy that positions leadership experiences as rich learning
and career development opportunities. Core to the strategy was “The Leader Within”
series that holistically guided students to develop their personal missions and identify
their skills. Participants will experience parts of this series and will walk away with ideas
on how to leverage their campus partnerships to reimagine their own student leadership
programs.
505. East Meeting Room 6
Holistic Student Support – a reflection and review of UBC Enrolment Services’
generalist advising model
Darran Fernandez, University of British Columbia, Matthew Isherwood, UBC
Supporting the whole student is core to Enrolment Services’ 3yr old service delivery
model at UBC. This presentation will highlight the ways this advising team supports the
institution’s current and prospective students from admissions, to financial advising
through graduation. The session will go over the successes, stress points and data
findings, and highlight ways, that through technology, physical space and collaboration,
students are supported from before they start till after they finish their studies.
506. East Meeting Room 8
Student Residence & Accessibility: Current trends, best practice and hot topics
Sarah Knitter, University of British Columbia, Sarah Knitter, University of British
Columbia, Karla Gouthro, University of British Columbia
How do matters of student residence and accessibility intersect on campus, in an effort
to support the needs of the whole student? Balancing resident needs and expectations,
occupancy demands, and the desire for students to progress toward maturity and
resiliency can be challenging. Come hear about best practices, current issues and
trends emerging for students with disabilities applying to and living in residence.
Specific topics will include assessing applications for priority access and room
assignment (e.g., single suites, private bath), dietary restrictions, medical marijuana,
and emotional support animals. Other diversity issues to be discussed include
supporting trans or gender-variant students by accommodating student need and
preference through the residence application and assignment process.
507. East Meeting Room 9
It Takes A Village: Lessons Learned from the Back on Track Student Retention
Program from 2007 to present.
Annette Santos, Simon Fraser University
Since 2007, the Back on Track program for students Required to Withdraw has
significantly impacted student retention at Simon Fraser University with nearly 3000
students completing the program with success rates up to 77%. In addition to providing
an overview of the program’s key components, results and student feedback, it will
examine the unique long-standing campus partnerships, program development,
implementation and many of the lessons learned over the past 7 years.
508. East Meeting Room 10
Post-secondary case management: Reviewing models and approaches to case
management in Canadian colleges and universities
Anh Brown, Western University, Joanne Elliott, The University of British Columbia,
Karyn Baker, Georgian College, Michelle DeIrish, Centennial College, Shawna Bava,
University of Calgary, Jodie Schoenbeck, University of Manitoba
In response to the increasingly complex concerns that postsecondary students are
presenting with, colleges and universities have been developing and implementing case
management approaches to best support these students in navigating and coordinating
both campus and community services. This panel presentation will review some of the
different models and practices that are being used in colleges and universities across
the country.
509. East Meeting Room 11
A novel partnership: Collaborating for policy and well-being at SFU
Tara Black, Simon Fraser University, Jo Hinchliffe, Simon Fraser University, Martin
Mroz, Simon Fraser University
It is well established that policy plays an important role in student well-being and mental
health. However, there are few examples of HOW well-being can be considered in
policy in post-secondary settings. Thus Simon Fraser University’s Senate and Academic
Services and Health Promotion units have joined forces to review policy through a wellbeing lens. This session will share the process, results and learnings.
510. East Meeting Room 12
Get Involved with and Help Shape CACUSS Communications
Mitchell Miller, CACUSS (Communiqué Editorial Committee), Katrina Persad, Dalhousie
University, Shannon Travers, St. Francis Xavier University
CACUSS’s publication Communiqué, as well as its other communication platforms, will
be undergoing a community-driven transformation to reflect the changing needs, makeup, and interests of our members. Come learn from the Editorial Committee how you
can get involved in – and help shape! – CACUSS communications, in print, online, and
in whatever other form you can think of. Tips and advice about writing for the
Communiqué publication and (new and improved!) blog will also be provided.
511. East Meeting Room 13
Learning as participation: Engaging in communities of practice in higher education
Patty Hambler, University of British Columbia, Laurie Schnarr, University of Guelph,
Shaylyn Streatch, Canadian Mental Health Association
As CACUSS embarks on a new vision for professional learning and connection, how
can we understand and fully realize the potential of this opportunity? A Community of
Practice (CoP) is a complex dance – an interaction that allows for learning through
doing and connecting. This session will explore the social learning theory roots of CoPs,
provide examples and struggles of existing CoPs, and consider the possibilities within
CACUSS and at our home institutions for learning and professional growth within
Communities of Practice.
512. East Meeting Room 14
Anti-Oppression 101
Krista Lambie, Quest University Canada
Overt education about prejudice, discrimination, privilege, and oppression allows
students to assess their own participation in systems of power and encourage them to
create a more equitable campus community. In this session, presenters will model an
interactive approach to facilitating anti-oppression education. The workshop will
introduce attendees to tools for developing social justice literacy and engage
participants in a discussion about what this education might look like in their
organizations.
513: East Meeting Room 15
A Unique Collaboration: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Building of the Toronto Pan
Am Sports Centre.
Scott McRoberts, University of Toronto Scarborough, Desmond Pouyat, University of
Toronto Scarborough
This presentation will examine the theme of the changing post-secondary landscape,
specifically around athletic and recreational initiatives, through a detailed analysis of the
unique collaborations, partnerships, opportunities and challenges surrounding the
development, building, transition and initial operation of the Toronto Pan Am Sports
Centre (TPASC) at the University of Toronto Scarborough. A look at emerging issues
will also be presented.
514: East Meeting Room 16
From application to admission to attending: campus-wide collaboration and support for
Aboriginal students.
Jeannine Kuemmerle, University of British Columbia - Okanagan, Michelle Davis,
University of British Columbia - Okanagan
To support Aboriginal student admission, UBC Okanagan's Enrolment Services
department, Aboriginal Programs and Services, and the Faculty of Health and Social
Development collaborate to support the admission and retention of Aboriginal
applicants. This session will outline the supportive admissions process, expanding on
the shared initiatives that connect the whole campus - from admissions and student
support staff to faculty and peer tutors/mentors - in holistically supporting Aboriginal
students in their journey from being UBC applicants to admitted, current, and continuing
students.
515: East Meeting Room 17
Residence Life: Unionized
Colleen Lewis, University of Victoria, Chelsey Evans, University of Victoria
With vote results of 41 people for and 40 against, the paraprofessional Residence Life
and Education staff at the University of Victoria unionized with CUPE 4163 in December
2013. We are now a unionized Residence Life program. If you have ever wondered how
a department known to utter “It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle” can operate, positively, in a
unionized environment, this session is for you.
516: East Meeting Room 18
From Risk to Reality: Creative Solutions to Marketing & Communications Across
Portfolios
Lucas Gobert, Ryerson University, John Austin, Ryerson University, Hamza Khan,
Ryerson University, Tesni Ellis, Ryerson University, Donica Willis, Ryerson University,
Troy Murray, Ryerson University, Bailey Parnell, Ryerson University
August 2014: John Austin forms Student Affairs Creative—a group of writers, editors,
designers, community managers, and social media marketers that consolidates
marketing & communications resources across the Ryerson Student Affairs portfolio.
How do we bring value to our colleagues’ projects that support the whole student?
Could this strategy work at your institution? Join us to hear Creative’s journey from idea
to inception, and learn about our unique model for consolidating marketing &
communication resources.
517. East Meeting Room 19
Home away from home: The importance of creating intentional communities for Out of
Province Students
Leslie Gloor Duncan, Western University
Our campuses are growing more diverse and each population attending our institutions
faces unique challenges with transitioning and adjusting to the postsecondary
environment. New students are seeking belonging and a “home away from home” and
often the greater the distance a student is from home, the more challenging the
adjustment period is. Campuses have support services for many groups but a
population we tend to forget about are our Out of Province Students.
518. East Meeting Room 20
Toward a Sandbox Campus: Building a culture of critical thinking, leadership and
innovation
Jimi Bursaw, Queensland University of Technology
In 2013 the Queensland University of Technology set out to answer the following
Dilemma: In the current landscape of cramped curriculum and increasingly vocationalmandate, how do we utilize the co-curricular spaces of our campus to build the creative,
critical and sandbox-style tertiary culture that our students are yearning for? This
workshop will explore the practices, principles, and designs underpinning QUT’s popular
Leadership, Development & Innovation program while engaging participants in analysis
of their own contexts.
519. West Meeting Room 107
Facilitating Students’ Career Decision Making Process during Uncertain Times
Anna-Lisa Ciccocioppo, University of Calgary
As students progress through their postsecondary programs in 2015, they are
experiencing the uncertainty of economic downturns and other local, provincial, national
and international events that may affect their perceived range of career options. This
interactive session will review the literature as it relates to the current uncertain climate,
helpful theoretical perspectives, and discuss strategies for counsellors, career
practitioners, advisors and other student services professionals to help students make
informed decisions in difficult circumstances.
______________________________________________________________________
520. West Meeting Room 108
A Residence for All
Tanja Beck, McGill University, Emily Clare, McGill, Xindi Li, McGill, Cameron Butler,
McGill
Student Housing is an integral part of student life and learning. It provides a space
where students live, eat, sleep, study and engage and interact in multiple ways. Ideally,
all students should have equal access to on Campus Housing and feel included in
activities and events. The presentation will share the development, conduction and
outcomes of a UD Audit of Student Housing and Hospitality Services.
521. West Meeting Room 113
See ___ Through my Eyes: Awareness Raising through Participatory Photography
Gordon Dionne, Concordia University
The Access Centre of Concordia University held an awareness-raising campaign of
student artwork and photography. Rallying around the theme of “See ___ Through My
Eyes” each student wrote a phrase or paragraph to accompany the images they created
to symbolize or express their feeling about disability, inclusion, access and social justice
in order to raise awareness about the realities that they face on a daily basis. This
presentation will take you through the process from initial conceptualization to the final
product.
Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 | 2:30PM – 3:15PM
Concurrent Session Six | 45 Minute Breakout Session
601. East Meeting Room 1
Ensuring Wellness is Priority #1 for Student Staff
Ian Crookshank, Ryerson University, Brandon Smith, Ryerson University
What is more important for an individual: wellness, academic performance, or role
expectations? This fall, Ryerson University Housing & Residence Life saw an influx in atypical, high level incidents. This, combined with feedback expressed in individual
meetings between paraprofessionals and the Director, demonstrated a clear need for a
wellness program which was launched in January. This presentation will discuss
findings, learning, and next steps to ensure the paraprofessional staff team are
supported as people first.
602. East Meeting Room 2
Incoming Student Transitions: Using the Summer Months!
Melanie Koenderman, Quest University Canada
The months between receiving your acceptance letter and beginning classes can be
used strategically to begin the preparations and transition process that are such a
significant part of the first year experience. Learn about how we at Quest University
Canada use social media, webinars, assigned reading, campus visits, and pre-arrival
counseling to pro-actively assist in mitigating the challenges of starting university, set
students up for academic and personal success, and foster a sense of community.
603. East Meeting Room 3
Breaking down barriers: Examining access to policies and programs for mature postsecondary students
Tricia van Rhijn, University of Guelph, Jacqueline de Guzman, University of Guelph,
Caitlyn Osborne, University of Guelph, Donna Lero, University of Guelph
An understanding of the unique factors impacting retention of mature undergraduate
students is essential to engage, and best serve the needs of this quickly-growing
population. As part of the Pathways Project, policies and programs for mature students
were examined and critically analyzed. Participants will learn about findings from this
innovative project and participate in discussions regarding future directions for policy
and programs as they relate to mature undergraduate students.
604. East Meeting Room 5
Using Logic Models to link Student Affairs Programming to the whole campus context.
Mary DeMarinis, Justice Institute of British Columbia, Ian Cull, UBC Okanagan
Programs developed in the Student Affairs portfolio are often based in theory with clear
student development outcomes. While this is an important element of good
programming it has become increasingly more important to understand how student
affairs initiatives link to institutional goals such as greater academic success and
retention. This presentation will describe how logic models help develop a culture of
assessment and ensure that student affairs programming is complementary to the
academic enterprise.
605. East Meeting Room 6
A Strategy for Developing Strategic Thinking
Shaun Carson, Humber College
Strategic thinking comes easily for some, and for others…it’s an acquired skill. Either
way, strategic thinking is necessary in a post-secondary institutional environment. Join
us in learning how we have, and are still in the process of, developing strategic thinking
practice in our department. In this breakout session, we will share our model (from the
book “Death by Meeting”) and approach, and engage you in conversations regarding
your own institution’s level of strategic thinking.
606. East Meeting Room 8
Professional Development CACUSS Style
Karen Cornies, Redeemer University College, Jack Dobbs, Mount Royal University, PD
Committee, Assorted, David Newman
What professional development do you want to see offered through CACUSS? What
professional development will help you grow and thrive in your work? What
Professional Development has CACUSS offered and what should it offer in the future?
Results from the needs assessment process will be reviewed, analyzed and discussed
with a focus on next steps for professional development. This is your chance to have a
voice in the professional development CACUSS offers in the future.
607. East Meeting Room 9
Club Hubs instead of Fight Clubs: Fostering Collaboration and CCR Recognition with
Campus Organizations
Kimberly Elias, University of Toronto, Adam Kuhn, University of Toronto, Kristen
Wallace, University of Toronto
The number of campus organizations has proliferated, and it is time to bring students
together. Learn about the Club Hub pilot project at the University of Toronto, where
offices have created intentional programming to bring together groups with similar
interests, and as a means to encourage collaboration. Presenters will also speak to how
campus organizations can receive recognition on the Co-Curricular Record, and how
Club Hubs can play a role in the validation process.
608. East Meeting Room 10
Creating Canadian Tutor Training Standards
Lyn Benn, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Alice Macpherson, KPU
This moderated panel presentation will provide participants with the opportunity to
explore the positive (plus), negative (minus) and interesting aspects of having a
standards and credentialling process for tutoring/mentoring/support programs. Panelists
will introduce the various aspects of such programs speaking from their own
experiences and research in this area. Models for tutor/mentor training and materials
that have been developed to provide both tutor training and tutor trainer training will be
presented. Discussion will be encouraged throughout regarding ways in which a
standards and credentialling authority could be established.
609. East Meeting Room 11
Career Education Re-imagined: Ryerson’s New Model of Holistic Career Development
Caroline Konrad, Ryerson University, Rachel Barreca, Ryerson University
Ryerson is transforming the way our students engage with their career education. This
presentation will share key facets of the Ryerson Career Model, including proactive,
thoughtful collaborations with Student Affairs partners and an integrated approach
which bases teams both in Faculty and the Career Centre. The session will also cover
how the model, which is grounded in student development theory, takes into account
the diverse needs of equity-seeking groups, and focuses on delivery formats which
emphasize peer learning and formal engagement with student groups and leaders.
610. East Meeting Room 12
ReNEWing Leadership: Increasing Accessibility, Collaboration, and Student
Participation in Leadership Development Programming
Jill Charnaw-Burger, University of Toronto
This breakout session will highlight strategies used to reinvigorate a co-curricular record
Leadership Certificate Program, resulting in a doubling of student participants and a
300% increase in program completion rates. Discussions will centre around increasing
student access; enhancing applicability and transferability; creating connections with
academic programs and faculty; establishing collaborative partnerships with crosscampus student affairs administrators; and marketing and promotional efforts that
maximize student interest and uptake.
611. East Meeting Room 13
Engaging the Community in creating a Healthy Campus at SFU
Rosie Dhaliwal, Simon Fraser University, Martin Mroz, Simon Fraser University, Tara
Black, Simon Fraser University, Alisa Stanton, Simon Fraser University
Meaningfully engaging campus members is a key feature of SFU’s Healthy Campus
Community initiative. This session describes how key engagement activities have built
momentum, by bridging relationships with a diverse range of campus stakeholders, and
created opportunities for collaboration. The Champions for a Healthy Campus
Community project and the Healthy Campus Community Consultation will be shared as
examples for how to effectively engage staff, faculty and students in meeting health
promotion objectives on campuses.
613. East Meeting Room 15
Systemic change at the University of Manitoba: Implementing the recommendations of
the “Cooper Commission” report on accessibility and accommodations
Brandy Usick, University of Manitoba, Carolyn Christie, University of Manitoba, Laurie
Anne Vermette, University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba is taking a collaborative approach to institutional change
regarding disability related accommodations. An ad hoc Senate Executive committee’s
extensive review on accommodation and academic requirements culminated in a report
with several recommendations approved by the academic community. This presentation
will provide information on key areas of change: policy, academic requirements, service
provision, and education. Lessons learned and best practices will be shared along with
opportunities to discuss applicability to your own institution.
614. East Meeting Room 16
Does higher education support the integration of people with disabilities in Canadian
society?
Jeanette Parsons, Queen's University
Post-secondary education is widely assumed to be key to integrating Canadians with
disabilities in society. Yet higher educational institutions do not track outcomes
specifically for students with disabilities. How can we be sure that higher education
social policies are effective? Stats Canada’ ‘General Social Survey’ tells us that the
daily activities of Canadians with disabilities are becoming more like their non-disabled
peers. Public policy concerning higher education may have an influence on this
convergence.
615. East Meeting Room 17
Creating settings and supports that promote wellbeing and social inclusion of
international graduate students: Launch of the graduate International Mentorship
Program
Karin Kosarzova, Simon Fraser University
The session will introduce an innovative model of programming for international
graduate students. The SFU Graduate International Mentorship Program creates
settings that go beyond typical services - one that supports the development of the
"whole student" and recognizing diversity. Discussed will be the importance of creating
environments that address non-traditional needs of these students. For example,
support for their families, inclusivity, social connectedness, and producing holistic
systems that promote well-being and contribute to student success.
616. East Meeting Room 18
Speaking Your Language: Enhancing Mental Health Support for International Students
Nicole Kelly, University of Toronto, Arif Abu, Ryerson University
From May 2014 to March 2015, the Speaking Your Language project, a government of
Ontario-funded partnership between Ryerson University, the University of Toronto and
OCAD University, investigated barriers that prevent international students from seeking
mental health support. This presentation will highlight key findings from student
consultations and academic literature and reflect on the opportunities and challenges of
introducing culturally- and linguistically-specific approaches to raising mental health
awareness and providing international student support.
617. East Meeting Room 19
Cancer-related Psychosocial Issues and Intervention within the University Student
Population
Karen Flood, University of British Columbia
Due to the prevalence of cancer, Student Service Professionals will be approached for
support by students with cancer-related concerns from their or another’s past or current
diagnosis. It is important to understand these physical and psychosocial issues.
Drawing from research and clinical experience in the area of psychosocial oncology, the
presenter will discuss cancer-related concerns in the student population and
interventions that promote increased coping. Information is most useful for Counsellors,
Disability Staff and Physicians
618. East Meeting Room 20
From Cycle to Circle: Indigenous Ways of Knowing and the Assessment Cycle
Lisa Endersby, Higher Education Assessment & Technology Consultant, Jill Treen,
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Jill Thompson, University of Ontario
Institute of Technology
The assessment cycle has become a highly recognizable feature in our ongoing journey
into learning outcomes and data collection. As we travel the cycle, it is easy to get lost
in the momentum this roundabout can create. How can we stop simply spinning our
wheels? Join us on a new journey as we move beyond the cycle to explore assessment
as a circle, infusing Indigenous ways of knowing into our standard, sometimes
unexamined practice.
619. West Meeting Room 107
“Defining Success”: Building Community and Facilitating Faculty-Student Connections
for First Year Students in Transition
Andrea Moon, Ryerson University, Dan Cantiller, Ryerson University
At a large, urban campus, it can be especially difficult for students to make connections
with faculty outside the classroom, where evaluation may be perceived as implicit, and
the “experts” unapproachable. Join us to learn about the evolution of a faculty-student
engagement program modeled loosely on French literary and philosophical Salons. This
collaboration between Student Housing and Student Learning Support helped to
humanize faculty and build connections in an intentionally constructed, intimate and
informal setting.
620. West Meeting Room 108
Under the radar: Identifying and supporting university students with a history of
undiagnosed reading difficulties
Bradley Bergey, Dalhousie University, Annie Laroche, Dalhousie University, S. Hélène
Deacon, Dalhousie University
This session describes evidence-based practices for identifying and supporting the
achievement of an often overlooked and academically vulnerable population: university
students with a history of reading difficulties. We explain how universities can
proactively identify these students through low-cost, easy-to-reproduce, and scalable
procedures. We also highlight a promising peer coaching study skills training program.
Join in a discussion about how to identify and help these students at your institution.
_____________________________________________________________________
621. West Meeting Room 113
Supporting the Whole Student: Integrating Writing Support and Holistic Student
Development
Natalya Androsova, Ryerson University
This program intends to present an innovative approach of integrating writing support
and holistic student development in Student Learning Support. My insights and student
feedback from several collaborative writing programs that include such integration are
presented in order to challenge and expand the existing methodological model of writing
support and to generate a more holistic model that goes beyond the technical elements
of writing and focuses instead on holistic student development and success.
Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 | 3:45PM – 4:30PM
Concurrent Session Seven | 45 Minute Breakout Session
701. East Meeting Room 1
UR Guarantee Program
Naomi Deren, University of Regina
The University of Regina’s UR Guarantee (URG) Program is an innovative program that
provides support for students as they transition into University, while they are students,
and as they prepare for life after university. We will discuss the theory behind URG,
and its goals. We will give an overview of how the program works, discuss the
challenges we have had, and demonstrate how the program has evolved to become a
holistic support system for students.
702. East Meeting Room 2
First-year Transition Strategy: Tearing Down Silos to Maximize Collaboration. A Case
Study of Glendon College, York University
David Ip Yam, Glendon Campus, York University, Rosanna Furgiuele, Glendon
Campus, York University, Amanda Sartori, Glendon Campus, York University
Drawing on a case study of first-year transition at Glendon College, the bilingual
Campus of York University, and inspired by Tinto’s (2012) recommendations for
Administrative Action for Student Retention and Graduation, presenters will share
lessons learned on the importance of integrating programs and services with panuniversity initiatives while respecting one’s mission and uniqueness. Session
participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own first-year transition strategy
and discuss implications.
703. East Meeting Room 3
Knowing Me, Knowing You - It's the Best I Can Do
Jeffrey Burrow, OISE/University of Toronto, Jacqueline Beaulieu, OISE/University of
Toronto, Kathleen Moore, OISE/University of Toronto, Tricia Seifert, Montana State
University
A common sentiment of student affairs staff is that “faculty just don’t know what we do”.
A recent study of 11 institutions across Canada sought to understand how faculty and
staff learned about programs and services on campus, their knowledge and awareness
of them, and the degree to which they referred students. Using this data, session
participants will identify how they might apply these findings to their professional
practice and campus communities.
______________________________________________________________________
704. East Meeting Room 5
You Had Me at Zombie: Career Planning in the Walking Dead Era
Cliff Robinson, Thompson Rivers University, Shyann Vosper, TRU, Kamloops
When we rebuild the world after the zombie apocalypse, what would be your role?
Career practitioners at Thompson Rivers University recently renovated the Holland
Party exercise, created by Richard Bolles a decade ago, around this question. The
Walking Dead-themed career workshop has been successfully delivered several times
this year to groups of prospective students. This entertaining session will invite
participants to walk through this career workshop and explore their own contribution to
the rebuild.
705. East Meeting Room 6
The Mental Health Framework in Action – from Strategy to Implementation
Deanne Fisher, OCAD University, Jennifer Robinson, OCAD University
OCAD University engaged its community in the implementation of a comprehensive,
student centered mental health strategy utilizing evidence-based practices. The project
focused on the domains of: Awareness, Training and Education; Curriculum and
Pedagogy; Policies and Procedures; and Programs and Services and incorporated our
institution’s expertise in art-based evaluation and design process to engage students
and faculty. This session will be of interest to any campus moving from mental health
strategy to implementation.
706. East Meeting Room 8
Enhancing The Student Experience for Professional Graduate Students
Drew St. Laurent, University of British Columbia, School of Nursing, Rana Hakami,
University of British Columbia, School of Nursing
We currently supports four Graduate Programs. Our students are Registered Nurses
(RNs), have families, are required to continue to work, and engage in their graduate
studies full time. You might ask, “How do we get them to actually attend orientation?”
Since 2012, we have worked with Faculty to design an interactive orientation to bring
students, faculty, campus resources, and community partners together. Our goal is
developing all aspects of their identity as graduate prepared nurses. Attendees will hear
our strategies for success, areas for improvement, and feedback from students and
faculty.
707. East Meeting Room 9
Putting Politics Aside: Understanding and Working With Your Students’ Union
Josie Steeves, University of Saskatchewan
With almost two million members, students’ unions in Canada have transformed from
social clubs into largely independent organizations responsible for multi-million dollar
budgets and providing important student services (Jones, 1995). However, they have
largely been absent from student services discourse as a whole, and particularly in
Canada (Kuk, Banning, & Thomas, 2009). This breakout session aims to provide
student services professionals with the information and tools needed to build better
relationships with student leaders.
708. East Meeting Room 10
Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating a new Routine Adult Vaccine Program for
Students, Staff, and Faculty
Gabriella Szabo, Concordia University Health Services
University students in Canada are not as immunized as they should be against various
vaccine-preventable diseases. They are therefore more likely to get and spread these
diseases. We will discuss our experiences planning, implementing, and evaluating a
new Routine Adult Vaccine Program at a large Canadian university’s Health Services.
709. East Meeting Room 11
Successful Starts: Enhancing Orientation & Transition Programming
Melinda Scott, University of Toronto, Leah McCormack-Smith, University College,
University of Toronto, Cameron McBurney, University College, University of Toronto
Over the course of the 2013-14 academic year the Office of the Dean of Students in
collaboration with student leaders engaged in a process designed to enhance the
academic orientation and transition programming offered to incoming students. This
presentation will provide an overview of the expanded academic orientation
programming included in the 2014 Orientation schedule and share the results of the
assessment.
710. East Meeting Room 12
Journeying Towards Mino-Bimaadiziwin: Holistic Support for Aboriginal Learners
Cara Wehkamp, University of Guelph, Natasha Smith, University of Guelph
First Nation. Métis. Inuit. Urban. First Generation. Multiracial. Parent. Mature. Aboriginal
learners encompass an array of identities and lived experiences. In order to walk
alongside these learners, we need to meet them where they are at on their personal
journey. This session will explore the evolving expressions of Aboriginal identity on our
campuses and how to best provide holistic development and support. This session is
intended for participants from various worldviews, service areas and disciplines.
______________________________________________________________________
711. East Meeting Room 13
Shared care for students: a marriage made in heaven
Janine Robb, University of Toronto, Andrea Levinson, University of Toronto, Sandra
Yuen, University of Toronto, David Lowe, University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is developing a coordinated, shared care model of service
delivery where family physicians have timely access to interdisciplinary consultation for
their students. Monitoring and evaluation is being carried out re. Service utilization,
efficacy of the model and satisfaction from students and care providers. Learners will be
trained in this interdisciplinary collaborative partnership model in a student healthcare
setting.
712. East Meeting Room 14
Creating a Safer Campus Community at Mount Royal University
D. Gaye Warthe, Mount Royal University, Rachelle McGrath, Mount Royal University
Using the social-ecological model as a framework, this session will highlight how Mount
Royal University (MRU) is building a campus community that is safe for students and
employees. Violence prevention activities at MRU emphasize promoting protective
factors and reducing risk factors of dating, domestic, and sexual violence at the
individual, relationship, community, and societal level. This session will provide
participants with an understanding of potential facilitators and challenges in developing
and implementing university-wide prevention initiatives.
713. East Meeting Room 15
Career In Gear: The Right Fit for the Right Program
Lillian Lake, Nova Scotia Community College-Truro Campus, Constance Huyer, Nova
Scotia Community College-Waterfront Campus
‘The right fit for the right program.’ Often students make a decision about an educational
program based on unclear expectations and external motivators with little or no career
advisement. With open access, CAREER IN GEAR - gives prospective or current
students career development tools to support self-discovery of their skills, values and
interests in a fun and interactive environment using synchronous and asynchronous
communications, web applications and social media prior to meeting a career
development specialist. Come and learn about this new and innovative way to advise to
a good educational fit.
714. East Meeting Room 16
“Digital Communications – not a ‘like to have’ anymore.”
Michael Ferguson, Humber College, Jill Charnaw-Burger, University of Toronto, Kaitlin
Klaas, University of Toronto, Hamza Khan, Ryerson, Bailey Parnell, Ryerson, Tesni
Ellis, Ryerson
There is no need to convince you that digital communications is a necessity in
connecting with our students. But how do you maintain it? Make it grow? Where can
you find resources? How do you create effective content? Whether you have just
started or are well on your way, the Digital Communications in Higher Ed Canada
(DCHEC) community of practice is here to share some quick practical ideas on how to
help create, grow and maintain an effective digital communications strategy.
715. East Meeting Room 17
Online and Blended Training for Student Staff/Volunteers
Brock Richardson, University of Alberta
Participants will review a recent transition of Resident Assistant training at the University
of Alberta to a blended (online and in-person) format. The session will be practical in
approach, focussing on potential benefits and barriers of transitioning an existing
training program to a blended format, and what such a process might involve. Lessons
learned and a practical model will be shared from the UAlberta example.
716. East Meeting Room 18
Utilizing a Coordinated Community Response Approach to Creating Effective
Accommodation Support Plans for High Needs Students
Jesmen Mendoza, Ryerson University, Amanda Masterton, Ryerson University, Natalie
Roach, University of Manitoba
Developing and supporting students at post-secondary institutions with complex mental
health disabilities is a challenging affair for accessibility services on campus. This
workshop will present information and an illustration on the development and application
of a Coordinated Community Response Model, at the presenters’ home institution, as
a way of responding to students with such concerns. Attendees will be guided through
a facilitated discussion and brainstorming of methods that they can take to their own
institutions.
717. East Meeting Room 19
The READ Initiative: enhancing access and inclusion within the campus community and
beyond. The Carleton experience
Dean Mellway, Carleton University, Larry McCloskey, Carleton University
Carleton's READ Initiative (Research, Education, Accessibility and Design) is working
across all academic units and service departments at Carleton to promote, support and
increase access and inclusion for persons with disabilities, enhancing accessibility
across the whole campus community and engaging Carleton's expertise in all
disciplines in the global accessibility agenda. This session with describe the process
and structure of READ and provide an overview of the many inittives completed and
currently underway.
718. East Meeting Room 20
Destination Collaboration! Launching A New Student-Led Peer Support Program
Jennifer Lingbaoan, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Susan Vincent, Kwantlen
Polytechnic University, Alisha Chauhan, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Rehana
Campbell, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Interested in launching a peer support program? Don’t know where to start? With
today’s post-secondary students feeling more overwhelmed and stressed than previous
generations, institutions are seeking creative support alternatives. The Kwantlen
Student Association and KPU Counselling took the opportunity to collaborate with the
untapped resources of students to develop a student-led Peer Support Program. From
marketing to training, leadership and more, learn how one institution made this happen!
719. West Meeting Room 107
Good Practises for Creating a Culture of Consent on College and University Campuses
Ashley Bentley, AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre, UBC
Sexual assault prevention and response strategies have recently been at the forefront
of discussion on university and college campuses. In order to create safer campus
communities, it is vital that all universities and colleges have an awareness and
understanding of this issue. This workshop will engage participants in an interactive
discussion on good practises for creating a culture of consent by focusing on prevention
tools, response strategies, reporting and disciplinary actions. It will also discuss policy
development and tips for building capacity and community within an educational
institution.
720. West Meeting Room 108
Building Success: Advancing Accessibility through the use of Volunteer Programs in a
College/University Environment
Bruce Hamm, Paul menton Centre, Carleton University
This session will showcase our work leveraging volunteers to enhance services
provided by the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC). Disability
Service Offices are tasked with primary responsibility of providing increasingly complex
support increasing numbers of student with disabilities. At the same time we operate in
a fiscal environment where budgets often cannot keep pace with escalating costs. We
will discuss how the PMC Volunteer Program helps Carleton University meet the needs
of its students in unique and creative ways while at the same time adhering to
budgetary realities.
Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 | 4:45PM – 6:00PM
Concurrent Session Eight | 75 Minute Interactive Session
801. East Meeting Room 1
Paper Launch: Service Assessment Tool for Post-Secondary Student Mental Health
Su-Ting Teo, Ryerson University, Meg Houghton, Humber College, Cheryl Washburn,
UBC, John Meissner, Carleton University
In follow up to the CACUSS 2014 presentation: “In House and Outsourced Health and
Counselling Services: How Do They Stack Up?”, a group of practitioners representing
diverse post-secondary institutions across Canada will present a paper to assist
campuses in making objective decisions regarding health and counselling services to
best meet the needs of their students.
802. East Meeting Room 2
What’s In It For Me? Engaging Students Who Don’t (Seem To) Give A Crap
Freeman Woolnough, Queen's University, Carmen Law, Queen's University
Too often, we run fantastic programs and educational campaigns – but the students we
want to attend hardly ever show up! Is it possible we’re going about this all wrong?
Using research from the worlds of marketing, political science, and even pick-up artists,
participants will learn how to increase student buy-in and engagement. Through a
combination of activities, information, and facilitated discussion, participants will develop
a promotion strategy which can be used for their own programs.
803. East Meeting Room 3
Standards for Canadian Co-Curricular Recognition Programs
Chris Glover, Dalhousie University, Kimberly Elias, University of Toronto
In recent years, many institutions have adopted Co-Curricular Recognition Programs.
Within this movement a new network has been established with representation from
over 70 post-secondary institutions across the country. As more institutions continue to
implement programs and as these programs become more recognizable to external
audiences, the discussion of the need for a common set of principles, or guidelines has
emerged. In this interactive session Kimberly Elias from the University of Toronto and
Chris Glover from Dalhousie University will present a draft position paper on suggested
guidelines for co-curricular recognition programs in Canada. Attend this session and
participate in the discussion!
804. East Meeting Room 5
Helping Students with Eating Disorders to Flourish on Your Campus
Caroline Stewart, Homewood Health Centre, Samantha Durfy, Homewood Health
Centre
Given the complexity of students’ needs, providing specialized mental health services
on campus can be challenging. Specifically, providing services for students with eating
disorders can be difficult as the students’ needs often go undetected. Students with
eating disorders face challenges with retention, academic performance and campus
engagement. Bringing our experience as mental health clinicians, we will apply the
CACUSS Post-Secondary Student Mental Health Framework to further support
transformative learning for these students.
805. East Meeting Room 6
Advising Student Leaders in a Canadian Context: Exploring Programs and Resources
Shannon Thibodeau, University of Guelph
Supporting student leaders in learning and leading in their roles can be both fun and
challenging. Student leaders can benefit from strong advising models and resources
that keep their development and well-being at the forefront. This interactive session is
designed to explore a variety of resources for use in advising student leaders and
organizations in a Canadian context. Participants are encouraged to bring their own
resources to share.
806. East Meeting Room 8
#RoadtoCACUSS: A Reflective Journey of Personal and Professional Development
Kaitlyn Taylor-Asquini, Ryerson University, Jen Gonzales, Ryerson University, Hamza
Khan, Ryerson University, Brandon Smith, Ryerson University, Troy Murray, Ryerson
University, Nick Asquini, Ryerson University
What happens when you put 6 Student Affairs professionals in an RV for a trip across
two countries, three provinces, and seven states? Find out as members of #RyersonSA
put their relationships on the line and embark on the #RoadtoCACUSS. After visiting
several universities along the way, they’ll summarize what they learned, and how this
experience could translate into transformative programming for students and staff alike.
Participants will have the opportunity to generate innovative ideas on crossdepartmental collaboration.
807. East Meeting Room 9
The importance of Faith/Culture and understanding in a diverse environment! How to
foster a dialogue focused around mutual understanding
Mitch Reiss, Ryerson University
This interactive session will focus on how campus communities’ benefit from the
dynamic effects of programing based on both inter-faith/ inter-cultural partnerships and
events focusing primarily on general exploration and exposure of faith and culture. The
session will discuss past successful examples of inter-faith/inter-cultural collaboration
and cultural based education as well as research focused on its impact. Following the
presentation there will be a facilitated discussion on ways to create programing that
challenge misconceptions and fosters mutual understanding in a multi-cultural
environment. Participants will then have an opportunity to share both positive and
negatives experiences. Though mutual understanding and respect builds a stronger
campus community.
808. East Meeting Room 10
WHAT'S STOPPING YOU?
Michele Matthews, Speed Badminton Canada, Farbod Moheb Khosravi, Speed
Badminton Canada (SBC), Michele Matthews, Speed Badminton Canada, David
MacKenzie, Speed Badminton Canada, Kim Matthews, Speed Badminton Canada,
Afshin Khosravi
Overcome barriers to participation in physical activity, while overcoming increased
pressures on campus budgets, facilities, and staff. Easy to teach and learn, speed
badminton is the recreational game/world championship sport that is easily accessible
to a wide community, requires no new infrastructure because it is played without a net
and uses portable courts, so takes only minutes to set up for play indoors or outdoors –
in winds to 27 km/h – anywhere there’s wide open space.
809. East Meeting Room 11
PLAN: Post-secondary Links to Academic Navigation
Candice Kavanagh, Paul Menton Centre, Carleton Universty, Amanda Bettencourt,
Carleton University
Transition programming is a vehicle for early knowledge mobilization. Students learn to
navigate the unique prescriptive guidelines of the post-secondary setting and gain
insight into potential cognitive challenges. Tools for early dissemination and the
development of purposeful programming that uniquely addresses the transitional needs
of students with disabilities will be discussed. We will draw heavily on ten years of
experiential practice of implementing transition programs that have served over 5000
prospective post-secondary students with disabilities.
810. East Meeting Room 12
What are the health promotion needs of the aboriginal students?
Pierre-Paul Tellier, McGill University, Paige Isaac, McGill University, Lina DiGenova,
McGill University
Indigenous populations are known to suffer from multiple major health issues which are
believed to be related directly to a variety of life experiences including among others
historical trauma. A variety of buffers are theorized to reduce the impact due to these
negative factors. The purpose of this session is to discuss the health concern of
indigenous students, and the pertinent issues to address in developing a culturally
appropriate health promotion program for this population.
811. East Meeting Room 13
Chili’n’Conversation: Feeding the whole student; building a healthy community.
Kathy Offet-Gartner, Mount Royal University, Kelli Rae Morning Bull, Mount Royal
University
Attending to the needs of the whole student within a whole and healthy environment
requires attending to more than academics and basic needs. Hence finding ways to
offer services and information in wholistic ways is paramount. This presentation is
designed to share one such wholistic approach; “Chili’n’Conversation” is a group that
supports basic needs, as well as others identified as necessary for the development of
the whole student—it works and we’d like to share!
812. East Meeting Room 14
Resilience: Implications for Post-Secondary Students Diagnosed With AD/HD
Mirjam Knapik, Mount Royal University
The construct of resilience is typically framed as the capacity to maintain or recover
health following day-to-day challenges or adverse experiences. This presentation will
explore how the construct of resilience can inform student and community approaches
to supporting success in post-secondary for students diagnosed with AD/HD. I will
review research on resilience and AD/HD. Participants will be given resources and
invited to engage in dialogue about what promotes resilience on campuses for students
with AD/HD.
813. East Meeting Room 15
Trends, Challenges and Competencies: A Snapshot of SAAS in Canada Today
Jennifer Browne, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Diana Boyd, Memorial
University
As part of a longitudinal study exploring the trends, challenges, professional
development and demographics of Chief Student Affairs Officers (CSAO’s) across
Canada, the results from the 2014-2015 survey will be shared. As indicated by those
currently in CSAO positions, a snapshot of the current professional field and important
issues and trends will be highlighted. With contributions from CSAO’s representing both
university and colleges, private and public institutions the findings provide a vital picture.
814. East Meeting Room 16
Building a Mindfulness Community On Campus
Erin Bradford, University of Toronto, Naomi Ball, University of Toronto Scarborough
In this interactive session, join us in an experiential workshop based on our well
attended on-campus Meditation and Relaxation group. Learn some of the philosophical
foundations of Mindfulness, the research that supports it as a pathway to health and
wellness, and experience a short guided meditation. A primary focus will be the sharing
of content, tools and resources so that participants are inspired to build flourishing
Mindfulness communities on their own campuses.
815. East Meeting Room 17
How Much Therapy is Good Enough?
Tayyab Rashid, University of Toronto Scarborough
According to National College Health Survey completed by 38, 171 students on 34
Canadian post-secondary institutes in Spring 2013, 14% students report being
diagnosed or treated by a professional for a psychological disorder within the last one
year. These results are consistent with trends reported previously which suggest that
severity and chronicity of mental health concerns among post-secondary students has
been increasingly steadily. With the help of a research grant from CACUSS, the Health
& Wellness Centre, at the University of Toronto Scarborough has explored how many
sessions, may be necessary to demonstrate a statistically and clinical significant change
towards recovery among post-secondary students in Canada. This presentation will
share the salient finding of the study.
__________________________________________________________________
816. East Meeting Room 18
Avoiding the morning news: Developing a whole-campus misconduct prevention
strategy
Nona Robinson, Trent University, Barry Townshend, Trent University
This session will explore how to develop a campus-wide misconduct prevention strategy
that focuses on empowering students, peer-based learning, community development,
and problem-solving approaches, using multiple points of contact and empathy
development. This strategy engages all members of the campus community in
developing the skills needed to identify and prevent causes of major student
misconduct. Participants will have the opportunity to use a strategy framework to
develop approaches and programming on their own campuses.
817. East Meeting Room 19
Workplace Wellness: Practicing What We Preach
Nathan J. Cooper, McMaster University
This session will be divided into two parts the first of which will outline an innovative pilot
project to address workplace wellness based on collaboration between staff, human
resources, and graduate students. This workplace wellness initiative is designed to
provide an interactive, experiential opportunity for staff and faculty to engage topics
such as stress management, work life balance, and fitness/ nutrition. It will be informed
by content experts from both Kinesiology and from cutting edge practice in teaching and
learning. The latter half of the session will be a condensed version of one of the
aforementioned workshops. Each workshop will involve some discussion of the
principle components of effective behaviour change.
818. East Meeting Room 20
Integration within Student Affairs to support Experiential Learning across the institution:
Beyond traditional cooperation and collaboration
Susan Grossman, University of British Columbia, Kim Kiloh, University of British
Columbia, Carol Naylor, University of British Columbia, Katherine Beaumont, University
of British Columbia
Experiential learning has become a core strategy in producing career-ready graduates
who can approach problems creatively and critically, work across differences and
navigate complexity. Increasingly multiple areas within student affairs are being called
to support Experiential Learning in partnership with Faculties. Three student affairs
units at UBC will share their challenges and successes in moving beyond traditional
collaboration and cooperation, toward a more truly collective and integrated approach to
supporting Experiential Learning across their campus.
819. West Meeting Room 107
Collaborative Resilience: Working across differences to support the whole student
Luke Dawson, UBC, Luke Dawson, UBC - Student Support and Advising, Tam Uden,
UBC - Student Support and Advising, Peter Wanyenya, UBC - International Student
Development, Yuko Ikegami Lee, UBC - Faculty of Science
Post-secondary institutions across Canada are increasingly internationalizing. Diverse
student interests and needs require us to innovate not only in our pedagogical
approaches, curricular choices, and research scope, but also our student affairs
approaches and practices. Through our shared work as advisors for an international
student award program we will share our collaborative model of supporting our students
cross functionally and share some of our challenges and success of working together to
support the whole student.
______________________________________________________________________
820. West Meeting Room 108
Supporting Student Staff: Fostering Personal Development for a Post-Graduation Life
Leah McCormack-Smith, University of Toronto
Supervising student staff is both a challenging and rewarding endeavor. As supervisors,
it is important that we find meaningful ways to help our student staff grow in their jobs,
hoping that they get personal fulfillment (and not just a pay cheque) out of their time
with us. This presentation will examine the best practices we use at University College
at the University of Toronto to help our student staff develop meaningful experiences in
their positions with us, and how we help them consider how these experiences help to
support their future goals.
______________________________________________________________________
821. West Meeting Room 113
Restorative Justice Workshop
Dr. Brenda Morrison, Simon Fraser University
Join Dr. Brenda Morrison, the Director of the Centre for Restorative Justice at SFU as
she challenges us to rethink justice. Dr. Morrison will discuss the latest research in
transformative and restorative justice, including her work with the Safe Schools and
Communities Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association.
Dr. Morrison will share her insights in implementing restorative practices on campus,
building collaborative partnerships and will highlight her most recent projects. A brief
overview of the history of restorative justice will be provided for those less familiar.
Wednesday, May 27th, 2015 | 10:00AM – 10:45AM
Concurrent Session Nine | 45 Minute Breakout Session
901. East Meeting Room 1
"THANK University"
Blake "Fly" Fleischacker, Author, Speaker, Music-Maker
You will leave this session with the one tool (physically in your pocket) that will boost
your organizational culture...as well as your own relationships with colleagues, family
members, friends and partners. Similar to his consulting work with campuses, Blake will
give you innovative, proven and easy-to-implement methods of recognition that will
benefit your profession and your personal life. You will see the impact of these methods
as they get implemented mid-session and then around the hallways of this conference.
902. East Meeting Room 2
Alcohol ABC's: An E-Learning Course on Alcohol Safety
Duane Rendle, St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto
After unsuccessfully searching for an E Learning course on alcohol safety that catered
to Canadian (rather than American) students, our College decided to create its own.
The result is Alcohol ABC's (which stands for Always Be in Control), a harm reduction
course on alcohol safety that all our incoming residents are now required to complete.
This presentation will provide an explanation on why we decided to create our own
course, a brief overview of its 7 chapters, as well as an introduction to our
corresponding poster campaign.
903. East Meeting Room 3
Who is the Whole Student to a Community?
Megan Sager, University of Guelph
Historically in student affairs, we act as agents of change, advocating and supporting
the success of equity-seeking individuals and groups and helping to create more
inclusive campuses. Yet when student demographics, attitudes, and needs continue to
diversify and institutional resources are limited, today’s reality makes it difficult for
institutions to be all things to all students. This interactive session will explore whose
role is it to support the development and well-being of the whole student.
904. East Meeting Room 5
A Tailored Approach to Career Development for Graduate Students
Ferzeen Sammy, University of Toronto
Graduate students have specific and unique needs for career development and
planning. Departments are now starting to integrate career planning into the graduate
training curriculum, and tailoring to the individual needs of their students. The tailored
approach aims to prepare graduate students for successful careers in the Life Sciences,
create a sense of community, and maximize the institution’s resources as a whole. This
session will present the tailored approach to graduate student career development
being used at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.
905. East Meeting Room 6
Building tools for innovations in e-mental health outreach and care
Emily Yung, McGill University, Nancy Low, McGill University, Giuseppe Alfonsi, McGill
University
With the changing role of technology in health care and the lives of students, staying
informed of its uses in developing strategies to improve campus mental health is critical.
We will discuss evidence-based approaches of mental health communications among
young adults and examples of online mental health tools in development by McGill
University. Participants will learn about the challenges and successes in building online
mental health tools and share their strategies of mental health outreach.
906. East Meeting Room 8
Whole-systems thinking and design: Engaging internal and external community
consultants to enrich student life programs and services
Valeria Cortes, Tlatoa Consulting, Ian Simmie, McGill University, Sarah Manolson,
McGill University/Manolson Consulting
In this session, you will learn ways to engage community consultants in the process of
enriching your student life programs and services. The presenters showcase how,
through an emerging consulting model, students and student life staff can
simultaneously achieve the goals of enriching their own leadership skills, engage with
various experts and stakeholders, and contribute to the community in a positive, more
impactful way. You will find out how this model works at McGill University and other
institutions.
907. East Meeting Room 9
Wholistic approaches to Indigenous learning support and community engagement
Sean Hoogterp, Western University, Candace Brunette, Western University, Amanda
Bragg, Western University
Western University’s Indigenous Services unit is committed to Indigenous
postsecondary students reaching their highest potential through the provision of a
culturally-responsive space on-campus, programs, and services that offer wholistic and
strength-based approaches to learning support and community engagement. This
presentation will feature various engagement processes undertaken by Western’s
Indigenous Services unit over the last 3 years and their outcomes including the
development of a framework for collaboration and wholistic support for Indigenous
students.
908. East Meeting Room 10
Equity Movement Retreats: Version 1.0 and 2.0
Susan Lee, University of Toronto, Asma Khalil, University of Toronto
Equity Movement offers a leadership opportunity for students to understand their
identity, build community and collaborations, and initiate changes for a more inclusive
campus environment. The Equity Movement Retreats – versions 1 and 2 – offers
specific examples of learning outcomes, programs, curriculum, activities, and
transferable skills. The impact on the students’ learning beyond the classroom, with
evidence from surveys and reflections, will affirm the benefits and efforts of advancing
equity through co-curricular experiential learning, by offering opportunities for whole
student development, activism and reflection. Learn how the Tribes framework is
adopted, and how it looks and feels for students' growth and development.
909. East Meeting Room 11
Paws for Mental Health Awareness
Stephanie Muehlethaler, Campus Living Centres, Greg Hum, Campus Living Centres,
Jessica Charbonneau, Colorado State
Animal-assisted therapy, service animals and companion animals have been used for
centuries to assist people in various aspects of their lives. This presentation will
examine an initiative Canadore College has implemented to support its students with
transition, anxiety, stress and overall wellness; the Mental Health and Wellness Dog.
This presentation will highlight the research supporting animal-assisted therapy while
focusing on Canadore College’s program and its effects on both the students and staff
at Canadore
910. East Meeting Room 12
Easing Disorientation: Creating a Collaborative Approach to Orientation on a
Decentralized Campus
Andrew Bisnauth, Ryerson University, Ryerson University, Brandon Smith, Ryerson
University, Stephen Kassim, Ryerson University
Working with other offices in a University setting can be challenging, especially when
each office has a different set of goals, perspectives and ideas for how to best reach,
inform and educate their students. Using Schlossberg’s Transition Theory and
Orientation CAS Standards, this session will explore the progress various offices within
Ryerson University have achieved and continue to work on in creating a cohesive
Orientation experience for incoming students on a decentralized campus.
911. East Meeting Room 13
Clockwork Enterprise: Learn how counselors and administrators can streamline
management of Disability Services Departments through this simple, but powerful
application
George Melendy, Microcomputer Science Centre Inc., Barouch Chai, Microcomputer
Science Centre Inc.
Clockwork is used by the majority of the Colleges and Universities in Canada to help the
Disabilities Services Departments administer the accommodations of their students. We
wish to acknowledge our community and have developed a FORUM for the schools
using Clockwork, so they can interact with each other and with our developers. Discuss
how coordinated efforts of “Healthy Data Communities” using the new Clockwork
FORUM, can help maximize student services and interrelationships with other schools.
912. East Meeting Room 14
The Balancing Act: Revising Policy and Procedures to Respond to Mental Health
Concerns Among Staff
Lindsay Winger, University of Guelph
Balancing a non-discriminatory work environment, duty to accommodate and required
first responder competencies has never been more relevant as managers strategize on
how best to respond. This presentation will discuss and highlight applicable legislation
and best practices regarding a newly established procedure for assessing a staff
member’s ability to perform essential duties of their role, as it relates to the provision of
a health and safe environment.
913. East Meeting Room 15
Good2Talk: An anonymous and confidential helpline for post-secondary students in
Ontario
Alisa Simon, Kids Help Phone
The Good2Talk helpline was established in 2013 to provide free, 24/7 counselling and
information and referrals for mental health, addictions and well-being to Ontario postsecondary students. Kids Help Phone, who serves tens of thousands of young people
ages 17-20 years of age, provides the professional counselling component of this
helpline. As the first helpline of its kind in Canada, Good2Talk is helping increase
understanding of how best to counsel students when on-campus services are
unavailable.
914. East Meeting Room 16
Clients’ Experiences of Yoga-Integrated Counselling: Implications for Higher Education
Settings
Samantha Beveridge, University of British Columbia
Yoga and mindfulness practices are increasingly used by counsellors. Neuroscience
research supports holistic therapies that recognize the psychophysiological nature of
mental health issues. This phenomenological study explored the client perspective of
counselling that included yoga (i.e., inclusion of the body, breath, and meditation). The
presentation will discuss clients’ desire for a whole-person approach and the impact of
yogic practices on self-acceptance, the stress response, and orientation toward
community.
915. East Meeting Room 17
Who You Are Matters!: An Exciting New Career Development Tool
Laurie Detwiler, Kwantlen Polytechnic Univeristy, Izgy Gocer, Kwantlen Polytechnic
University
The CareerCycles narrative method of practice (Franklin, 2014; Zikic & Franklin, 2010),
is an evidence based method for assisting clients to further their career and life
development. A tool in this approach is the group oriented, face to face game “Who You
Are Matters!” Participants will have an opportunity to experience and understand this
exciting new career development tool. The game, online storytelling tools, and the
method itself comprise the CareerCycles framework, which, in an outcome study
(Franklin, Yanar, Feller, in press) resulted in significant increases in hope, optimism,
confidence, resilience, curiosity and exploration, and personal growth.
Wednesday, May 27th, 2015 | 11:30AM – 12:45PM
Concurrent Session Ten | 75 Minute Interactive Session
1001. East Meeting Room 1
Re-imagining the student circle of care at Laurier
Leanne Holland-Brown, Wilfrid Laurier, Andrew Piticco, Wilfrid Laurier , Karen
Ostrander, Wilfrid Laurier, Adam Lawrence , Wilfrid Laurier
As we strive to achieve enhanced coordination for student support and success, we’re
required to re-imagine processes and services. This panel discussion will highlight
Laurier’s recent realignment of services and supports with regards to a strengthened
circle of care model for students’ personal and academic success. This session will
highlight recent initiatives and processes that have greatly enhanced support
coordination and integration. Specifically, the panel will highlight operations and data
from a recently formed Student Wellness Centre, student wellness survey data, a new
Blue Folder (supporting students in distress) initiative, a new non-academic code of
conduct and the Behavioral Intervention Team and related processes, including new
fitness to study guidelines.
1002. East Meeting Room 2
Juggling Protocols: Opportunities and Challenges of Cultural Event Planning within
Post-secondary settings
Shawna Cunningham, University of Calgary
This presentation will provide an overview of the opportunities and challenges involving
Cultural event planning within a Post-secondary institutional setting. The presentation
will focus on the intent to Indigenous ( ‘Indigenize’ ) the campus experience, with
respect to cultural event planning. The presentation will touch on the kinds of special
events requested and/or hosted by Post-secondary institutions, and the challenges that
these cultural events may pose from an organizational perspective when cultural and
bureaucratic protocols are at odds. Participants will be provided with an opportunity to
share their experiences with respect to best practices and challenges. The presentation
will also discuss the importance of the development of cultural protocol documents.
These types of documents provide guidance to institutions about appropriate cultural
protocol when engaging Aboriginal community members (such as traditional knowledge
keepers, ceremonialists, and other cultural experts) in the planning of special cultural
events such as opening prayers, honor songs, naming and/or blessing ceremonies,
graduation pow-wows, and other larger institutional events, such as convocation or
induction ceremonies.
_____________________________________________________________________
1003. East Meeting Room 3
Sexual Violence – Prevention, Response and Support: What we’ve learned
Deanne Fisher, OCAD University, Janet Morrison, York University, Ann Tierney,
Queen's University, David McMurray, Wilfrid Laurier University
Recent incidents as well as media, government and public attention have highlighted
the issue of sexual and gender-based violence on campus and focused attention on the
need for universities to ensure effective prevention, response and support. This panel of
chief student affairs officers from Ontario will discuss lessons learned from our
experience navigating this complex issue. We will share outcomes of one-day gathering
that brought together experts in sexual violence prevention, policy frameworks and
support services with university administrators, students and government officials all
committed to addressing this important issue.
1004. East Meeting Room 5
Threat Assessment: The Canadian Landscape
Stephen Hart, Proactive Resolutions
Join Dr. Stephen Hart, an internationally recognized expert in the field of assessment
and management of violence risk. Dr.Hart is also a professor of Psychology at Simon
Fraser University. He will share his knowledge of threat assessment in Canada and
provide his thoughts and research on evidence-based best practices for post-secondary
institutions in the management of violence risk on campus. Dr.Hart will also share his
recommended model for building threat assessment teams and policies on campus.
1005. East Meeting Room 6
Stepping Up: Reducing Dating Violence on a Post-Secondary Campus
Patricia Kostouros, Mount Royal University, D. Gaye Warthe, Mount Royal University,
Alysha Cooper, Mount Royal University, Alex Christison, Mount Royal University
Violence and abuse in young adult relationships is an important issue being discussed
on campuses across North America. In 2008, 2010, and 2013, one-third of students at
Mount Royal University reported victimization in one or more previous dating
relationships. A dating violence prevention program for post-secondary students was
first piloted in 2011 as Stepping Up, and it was offered for the third time in January
2015. Results from the pre-post measures reflect strong changes in almost all areas of
knowledge after the workshop and related to key areas of dating violence: healthy
relationships; sexual relationships; gender and media stereotypes; and communication
and boundaries. As well, participants reported significant increase in knowledge of
community resources and the importance of by-stander intervention. Focus groups with
both participants and with peer facilitators suggest that participation in the project was
worthwhile and had a lasting and transformative impact. This presentation will include
the results of the two initial projects, lessons learned, challenges and strengths of a
peer facilitated project in a post-secondary environment, and next steps.
1006. East Meeting Room 8
The Washroom Inclusivity Project
Allison Burgess, University of Toronto, Kaye Francis, University of Toronto, Richard
Chambers, University of Toronto, Scott Clarke, University of Toronto
This session focuses on the University of Toronto's Washroom Inclusivity Project (WIP),
which was developed to provide clear and updated information about the range of public
washrooms on campus with a focus on physical accessibility, single-user washrooms
for broader gender inclusivity, baby changing stations, and ablution facilities for students
who wash before prayer. This presentation will be an opportunity for the WIP
collaborators to share lessons, strategies, and key learnings from this equity-focused
project.
1007. East Meeting Room 9
Building Whole Communities Through Building Happiness and Resilience
Sonya Flessati, Mount Royal University, Mirjam Knapik, Mount Royal University
Student Services have been increasingly invested in understanding mental health and
creating resources to promote the well-being of students. “Happiness & Resilience” is
a workshop initiative targeting student well-being and has been offered through Mount
Royal University's Counselling Services since September 2012. Presenters will draw on
happiness and resilience research related to health (Nath & Pradhan, 2012) and offer
evidence-based strategies that increase positive emotions that in turn impact resilience
and well-being (Frederickson, 2009).
1008. East Meeting Room 10
What would Pepper LaBeija Do: Lessons in Student Affairs from Drag Culture
Adam Kuhn, University of Toronto, John Austin, Ryerson University
Student affairs practitioners have a lot to learn from the fierce, innovative and creative
queens of drag. Referencing everything from ‘Paris is Burning’ to ‘RuPaul's Drag Race’
and more, this session will explore the ways drag culture is a useful lens with which to
view our work on college and university campuses in Canada. With a mix of
discussions, media and theory, this session will explore authenticity, resilience, identity
development, leadership and belonging.
______________________________________________________________________
1009. East Meeting Room 11
Taking Action on Mental Wellness: A Whole-Hearted Approach to Creating a Mentally
Healthy Campus
Natalie Roach, University of Manitoba, Don Stewart, University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba is launching an ambitious implementation plan for their
campus-wide mental health strategy, utilizing a ‘Champions Group’, composed of
diverse representatives from across campus. Apply this program to enrich your own
campus community by: Learning prioritization techniques related to implementing a
comprehensive mental health strategy. Becoming informed of methods to integrate
mental health into the classroom and curriculum. Understanding and adapting these
processes (i.e., strategy development and implementation) at your own institution.
1011. East Meeting Room 12
Maximizing efficiency, effectiveness, and staff engagement. Pie in the sky or real
possibility?
Sarah Thompson, Ryerson University
Post-secondary counselling centres are complex, dynamic systems that aim to meet a
broad range of student needs from welcoming first contact, through effective triage, to
appropriate referrals and effective service delivery, all while retaining highly skilled staff.
In an era where ‘efficiency’ too often is seen as competing with ‘quality’ in service
delivery models, our approach seeks to maximize both in an intentional, systematic
win-win pairing of student- and staff- centered innovation and process efficiency.
1012. East Meeting Room 13
Establishing effective relationships between chaplains and the institution:
Considerations for developing memorandums of understanding
Adriana Tulissi, University of Calgary, Adriana Tulissi, University of Calgary, Victor
Thomas, Simon Fraser University
Chaplains operate to some degree on every campus, whether a formal relationship
exists with the institution or not. As we consider the spiritual development and faith
identities of our students, how can institutions responsibly engage with chaplains and/or
chaplain organizations? This session will provide an overview of the importance and
benefits of establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with chaplaincies. We
will introduce potential models, identify key considerations and provide examples of
processes from two institutions.
1013. East Meeting Room 14
Bridging the Gap from Hospital to School: Lessons learned from the NAvigaTe Project.
Janine Robb, University of Toronto, Andrea Levinson, University of Toronto, Su-Ting
Teo, Ryerson University, Sarah Bell, University of Toronto
Ryerson University, York University and the University of Toronto have partnered in the
development and implementation of a program model that supports post-secondary
students to connect to appropriate services during the critical transition back to school
following a stay in hospital for a mental health reason. The goals of the NAvigaTe
Project were to develop a program model and toolkit that could and be shared with
other PSE institutions. This session will focus on sharing quantitative and qualitative
data collected, as well as lessons learned from the implementation of the one-year pilot.
1014. East Meeting Room 15
The Head, Heart and Hands of Higher Education: Through the Lens of Student
Transition
Ashley Wall, Trent University, Lindsay Morris, Trent University, Lindy Garneau, Trent
University
When preparing students for global citizenship we must provide opportunities for
connection outside the classroom by engaging the head (academics), heart (selfdevelopment), and hands (experience) of every student. Our initiatives employed
through Trent University's College System emphasize support and guidance,
particularly to those who are preparing to “transition out” of an undergraduate program.
Join our dialogue about these initiatives focusing on self-development, leadership, and
networking opportunities with faculty and alumni.
1015. East Meeting Room 16
A shared commitment: laying the foundation for International Student Success
Nancy Johnston, Simon Fraser University, Christa Ovenell, Fraser International College
International students are an increasingly important part of the Canadian higher
education landscape and many institutions are exploring pathway arrangements as part
of their international recruitment strategies. In this session, Nancy (SFU) and Christa
(FIC) will share details of their strong public-private institutional pathway partnership,
which has contributed not just to an overall increase in international student numbers at
SFU but to an increase in student success, retention, and satisfaction. The two
facilitators will share “lessons learned” after 10 years of such a partnership as well as
general observations regarding better tracking and supporting international student
success.
1016. East Meeting Room 17
A Collaborative Multi-Sector Approach to Working with Students with Autism Spectrum
Disorders (ASDs): Reducing Student Anxiety by Incorporating Holistic Principles
Maureen Barnes, York University
How does your campus meet the needs of academically competent, overwhelmed and
needs-intensive students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)? These students can
excel academically, but often do not, as a result of their social, emotional, and sensory
challenges. Five Core Principles grounded in a collaborative approach will be
discussed that are crucial to the successful transition of students with ASDs
Participants will have opportunities to evaluate how these principles might relevant
within their own institutions.
1017. East Meeting Room 18
The Question of Transformation in Service-Learning: Building and Maintaining
Transformative Experiences for Students
Jimi Bursaw, Queensland University of Technology
As Service-Learning praxis refines itself practitioners continue to build powerful
transformative learning moments for students. But which aspects of practice appear to
be most critical in building transformative learning? What possible consequences may
arise from facilitating transformative experiences and what responsibilities do we have
in supporting students as they attempt to enact their transformations post-service? This
session will build critical discussion on these questions and more, pulling support from
research and various models of practice.
1018. East Meeting Room 19
Build Them and They will come: Counselling Groups
Erika Horwitz, Simon Fraser University, Dylan LeRoy, Simon Fraser University
This session is about how one counselling centre team transformed its service from
mostly individual counselling to a very successful group based centre. SFU’s
Counselling Services now runs many concurrent group sessions and has developed
creative group programing that invites students into group programs throughout the
semester (which helps during peak times). This presentation will describe what we
offer, and how we achieved what seemed impossible: to fill our groups to capacity.
1019. East Meeting Room 20
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy: A Bottom-Up Approach to
Counselling College and University Students
Wendy Belter, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Nzula Tavormina, University of British
Columbia
Short-term treatment is the norm in post-secondary counselling. Is it realistic to aim for
healing and transformation within those parameters? An emerging therapy, Accelerated
Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), answers “yes”. This interactive session
will provide a brief introduction to AEDP theory and interventions, focused on
attachment, affective neuroscience and embodied emotion. The facilitators will show
clips of AEDP counselling sessions with university students and lead participants in a
discussion integrating head and heart.
1020. West Meeting Room 107
Whole Campus, Whole Residence, Whole Student
Sarah Burley, University of Toronto
Please join me, as a member of the Professional Standards Committee of the
Association of College and Housing Officers International, for an introduction to both the
ACUHO-I Standards & Ethical Principles and the Housing Standards developed by the
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). Standards
examined include education and programming, facilities, emergency response, ethical
hiring practices, and much more. Learn the importance of standards to planning,
organizational/departmental structures, and daily decision-making.
1021. West Meeting Room 108
Whole Campus, Diverse Communities: Student Promotion of Intercultural
Understanding
C.J. Rowe, University of British Columbia, Peter Wanyenya, University of British
Columbia, Hedda Hakvåg, University of British Columbia
Intercultural understanding and student leadership for social change are essential
components to developing healthy campus communities. The Really? Campaign, UBC’s
peer-to-peer bystander intervention program, empowers students by building skills to
challenge discrimination and hurtful language, thereby creating active witnesses for an
inclusive living and learning environment. In this session, we share learnings from the
program, including strategies for engaging in difficult conversations, building sustainable
campus relationships across difference, and some of our program evaluation findings.
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