Creating our Future Strategic Planning at Emily Carr

What are the characteristics of an institution that responds flexibly to the changing needs of students and the community?

An institution that responds flexibly to the changing needs of students and the community needs to have a clear vision and a reputation for high quality learning and education. The institution must maintain material and creative practices in a context where physical and digital experiences of the world are becoming increasingly complex. Emily Carr University should be a leader in the use of relevant, contemporary, and emerging technologies and be reflective of contemporary art and design practice.  Faculty need to be leaders in understanding contemporary practices in art, design and media and in understanding the impact of technology on contemporary practice.  It is crucial for faculty to respond to student’s needs and to prepare students for professional practice after they graduate.  An institution that responds flexibly to the changing needs of students and the community provides individualized support and seeks to increase access as much as possible.  It pays attention to student’s voices and follows through on the goals that it sets as well as supporting faculty in meeting student needs.  To that end, it provides mechanisms for ongoing student feedback and extensive internal consultation. A flexible institution is also committed to providing faculty and staff with professional development and resources and skills to manage change. Research needs to be at the core of teaching and learning and is necessary for faculty to provide leadership in the institution and for students to develop enhanced skills.  A flexible institution learns from the past, takes risks, and is collectively visionary towards the future.  While it recognizes constraints, a flexible institution will not let a constraint be an excuse for inactivity.  A flexible institution makes considered decisions in a timely manner, and is highly effective at moving others along to support decision making.  A flexible institution is proactive, not reactive.  It recognizes that students increasingly have choices and alternatives, and these change over time and with social and economic conditions that are well understood and anticipated.

An institution that adapts to the changing needs of students is flexible with the learning experience but not with standards that is sets for education. It balances breadth and depth while empowering students to learn through various delivery methods such as shorter and/or modular classes and online learning, through dialogues such as symposia and conferences, and in virtual and physical space that adapts to the changing needs of learners. A greater online presence through a robust distance learning program and a fully functional interactive website would provide more flexibility for the learner. An institution that responds flexibly to the changing needs of students and the community encourages play and the iterative power of play for learning and creativity and values the organic emergence of knowledge. It promotes critical thinking and the importance of critically assessing information and reflects diversity both in the curriculum and in the faculty.

An institution that responds flexibly to the changing needs of students and the community encourages students to work outside their disciplines and provides access to shops and technology as a global resource for everyone. It does so by prioritizing interdisciplinarity and by promoting the sharing of resources across the institution to gain efficiency in processes and resource allocation.

It seeks opportunities for external engagement with various communities through collaborative projects , student and faculty exchanges, secondary and post-secondary institutional partnerships and by offering courses in other languages than English through Continuing Studies. Connection to the creative industries will be an essential part of the future empowering students to understand the relationships between what they are learning and what they do after graduation. An institution that responds flexibly to the changing needs of students and the community  is self-reflective and forward looking in its planning and has a proactive, comprehensive and well-established system of internal and external communication.