Review of the Role of the Colleges on the St. George Campus

Overview

As noted in the 2008 Statement on the Roles of the Constituent and Federated Colleges, “The college system is one of the distinctive features of the St. George campus… The Colleges are key contributors in enabling student engagement, success and satisfaction with their university experience.” Every undergraduate student pursuing a U of T degree in the Faculty of Arts & Science is a member of a college. Students pursuing U of T degrees in other Faculties have varying but generally more limited connections to this distinctive feature of the St. George campus.

Review and academic planning activities are an essential element of ensuring that the University of Toronto provides the highest quality academic opportunities and supports for our students. These activities provide critical opportunities to reflect together and prepare to address future opportunities and challenges.

In this spirit of continuous improvement, I launched a Review of the Role of the Colleges on the St. George Campus in November 2019. This review considered how individuals and organizational units across multiple communities can best work together in support of common goals around student experience, academic programming, and student success. These communities included U of T’s Constituent Colleges (Innis, New, University and Woodsworth), the three universities federated with U of T (Victoria University, Trinity College and University of St. Michael’s College) and their undergraduate arts colleges, the Faculty of Arts and Science, as well as other Faculties and institutional offices on the St. George campus.*

The Review of the Role of the Colleges was guided by a Steering Committee and supported by five working groups: (1) Reviews, Academic Planning and Academic Change; (2) Student Experience; (3) Recruitment, Admissions and Enrolment Planning; (4) Residences; and, (5) Resources. Working groups convened in January 2020 and submit final recommendations to the Steering Committee over the next two years.

The Steering Committee was Chaired by the Vice-President & Provost, and included the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, the President of a Federated University, a Constituent College Principal, a faculty member of the Faculty of Arts & Science, and one member of a Professional Faculty. The Chairs of each of the working groups served as resource persons.

Each working group had representation from the Provost’s Division or other Institutional Offices, the Faculty of Arts & Science, the Constituent and Federated Colleges, and other members of the University of Toronto community. The working groups undertook consultation with students, staff, faculty and academic administrators in carrying out their work. Working groups developed principles to guide future decision-making, and proposed changes to policy and procedure.

* In the context of this Review, “Institution” or “institutional” referred to the University of Toronto and the three Federated Universities. “Entities” refers to the four institutions and their respective Faculties, Divisions, and constituent and federated Colleges, with special focus on the Colleges and the Faculty of Arts and Science. With the exception of the points about graduate and other first-entry divisions, the assumption is that for-credit offerings are in partial fulfilment of Honours Bachelor of Arts and Honours Bachelor of Science degrees through the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Steering Committee

Structure

The Steering Committee:

Coordinated the work of the five working groups and ensure their activities support the following broad goals of the Review:
- Considered the extent to which goals and commitments are consistent across the entities, and identified the areas of greatest convergence and divergence
- Clarified what each of the four federated universities most seeks from the others to assist in the achievement of its vision and mission
- Clarified the role the constituent and federated colleges might play in achieving those visions and missions
- Considered the extent to which the shared goals and priorities articulated in the Statement on the Roles of the Constituent and Federated Colleges continue to resonate
Received reports of the five working groups
Synthesized the work of each group

Membership

Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President & Provost (Chair)
Melanie Woodin, Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science
Charlie Keil, Principal, Innis College
Mayo Moran, Provost and Vice Chancellor, Trinity College
Chris Damaren, Director, UTIAS, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
John Magee, Professor, Department of Classics and Centre for Medieval Studies, Faculty of Arts & Science
Support: Daniella Mallinick, Director, Academic Programs, Planning & Quality Assurance; Toks Weah, Special Projects Officer

Working Groups

Reviews, Academic Planning and Academic Change
Student Experience
Recruitment, Admissions, and Enrolment Planning
Residences
Resources

Final Report

Please see the final report of the Review of the Role of the Colleges on the St. George Campus.