Aboriginal education key for U of S
In today’s competitive environment, universities must find imaginative new approaches to make a difference for students and communities while using resources wisely.
As one of Canada’s top research universities, the University of Saskatchewan is widely recognized as both creative and resourceful. Compared to almost all other Canadian universities, it is in a favourable position, thanks to its strong provincial support envied by national peers and its cost efficiency strategies. But the U of S cannot expect that its current program array, based primarily on traditional academic disciplines, will continue to attract today’s technologically literate and self-directed learners and provide the multi-disciplinary science and policy solutions government and industry seek.
We must offer more compelling and challenging programs responsive to student needs, market demand and new ways of learning. In short, it’s time to re-think our models of programming and delivery.
For Saskatchewan, aboriginal education is the great social imperative of this century. Though we’ve broken ground in aboriginal education for over four decades, rates of First Nations and Metis student enrolment and success remain significantly below targets. The university’s four-year plan offers a blueprint for addressing these and other pressing challenges.
As a key driver of Saskatchewan’s economy, the U of S contributes to social innovation, job creation, enhanced productivity, and policymaking. To achieve greater national and international impact in its signature areas of research (aboriginal peoples, water security, agriculture, synchrotron sciences, the animal-human-environmental health interface, and energy/mineral resources), the campus must recruit the best researchers and support greater faculty and graduate student success.
Plans include developing targeted new research institutes led by top research recruits and creating places for incubation of ideas across disciplines such as the proposed natural resources innovation complex aimed at sparking synergies between engineering and sciences-key areas for the province’s future. Performance in federal research funding competitions must be increased in every academic unit so as to reach above-average rankings nationally by 2020.
Graduate students are researchers in training for careers in universities, government and industry. To become a major presence in graduate education and reach a target of 20-per-cent graduate student enrolment by 2016, graduate student support, particularly competitive scholarships, must be boosted. The number of undergraduates participating in research must increase by 50 per cent. By 2016, the university will create a new mix of programs that builds on its signature areas of research, enables student movement between degree programs and institutions, and attracts the most talented students from Saskatchewan and beyond.
Educating more First Nations and Metis students means working with communities as a balanced team to better understand and celebrate each other’s cultures and traditions. Former Nekaneet First Nation chief Gordon Oakes has described this team as “two horses, one aboriginal and one non-aboriginal, moving together.”
The shared goal is to increase First Nations and Metis graduation rates in a wider array of programs and boost retention rates by 10 per cent as students transition from first to second year — the greatest dropout period. High-calibre aboriginal students and others interested in indigenous issues will be aggressively recruited. Other measures include improving the visibility of aboriginal cultures and languages throughout the campus and significantly increasing the number of First Nations and Metis employees.
Working with the provincial K-12 system, a province-wide initiative will be launched to ensure aboriginal students and northern residents are exposed to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in new and innovative ways.
To ensure Saskatoon and Saskatchewan are among the world’s most creative and vibrant communities, the U of S must become more involved in communities. Through partnerships with community groups and businesses, the number of students in community service and internship programs will be increased by 20 per cent. Another goal is to enable more students to “learn where they live”, working with regional colleges to help make that happen.
To advance the province’s growing international prominence and help maintain enrolments, the U of S must attract more new Canadian and international students and increase by 10 per cent the number of students and faculty in international research and development work and study-abroad programs.
Achieving these outcomes will required streamlining of academic processes to foster flexibility, pursuing more private partnerships where appropriate, and continuing to engage the campus in examining the impact of activities to ensure the most efficient and effective use of resources.
This plan enables the U of S to build on its track record of success, distinguish itself from its peers, and realize the grand vision of its first president Walter Murray to hold “an honourable place among the best.”