March 1, 2013 - SYNOPSIS

Q: Does the new contract with printer manufacturer Xerox prohibit personal printers in faculty members’ offices, even if that person personally pays for its costs?

A: In principle, there is nothing in the contract preventing the purchase of personal printers paid for with personal funds. In order to ensure clarity, a new personal printer procedure is being developed.

Q: Under the new Xerox contract, will units that print less pay relatively more for their printing then units than print more?

A: No. Units will not have to pay more per impression if they “print less” than those units who “print more”.

Q: Can units purchase university printers that are strategically targeted for removal from offices? If not, what happens to the printers?

A: The idea of units purchasing redundant printers is a new one and will be examined.

Printers, copiers, and other similar devices that are approved to be removed will have their title formally transferred to Xerox through U of M Asset Disposal Procedures. Xerox will remove the devices and transport them to a recycling facility.

Q: Will administration meet with custodial service workers to discuss the current management practices of Aramark and concerns about bullying and hiring additional staff to deal with workload?

A: Bullying by anyone at the University of Manitoba is unacceptable.There is widespread agreement on campus that those providing caretaking services do a great job. Paul Kochan, Vice-President (Administration) will meet with union representatives of custodial staff. A meeting has been arranged with CAW on March 14, 2013.

Q: Some faculty members believe that the Desire2Learn (D2L) system was introduced too hastily and without proper consultation.  Does the university believe it is using an appropriate model of change management, especially on this project?

A: The decision to review the online learning software used by the university stemmed from concerns related to the stability of the ANGEL system. After a competitive process, D2L was selected as the online software to be used by the university moving forward. The decision to adopt D2L stemmed from a recommendation by the Learning Management Advisory Council.

A number of training opportunities were made available to faculty and students. There were also a number of attempts to engage faculty on the introduction of D2L including online and telephone surveys. Part of the feedback that came from those surveys resulted in an adjustment of the timeline including extending the use of ANGEL through the 2012-2013 fall and winter sessions.

We believe D2L will ultimately be an excellent tool for faculty as well as students and we will continue to provide learning opportunities to ensure its successful implementation.

Q: What is the University of Manitoba doing to attract and retain graduate students?

A: Maintaining high quality graduate programs is key to attracting top graduate students. To ensure this, the University conducts cyclical reviews of all of its graduate programs. These reviews have confirmed that we have an outstanding suite of innovative graduate programs but that our students are not as well funded as at other institutions. The university has placed a priority on addressing this and has increased the amount of internal funding available to graduate students over the past several years. It also continues to raise this issue with the provincial government, in terms of both direct funding to graduate students as well as enhanced support for university research, in which graduate students play a key role.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies, along with academic departments, have and continue to enhance marketing and communications efforts to ensure that potential graduate students are fully aware of the program and research opportunities at the university. Finally, as the majority of graduate students pursue careers outside of academia upon graduation, the university has introduced new professional skills development opportunities within its advanced programs, which will increase their attractiveness to potential graduate students.

Q: What can be done to reduce the administrative burdens facing faculty (such as grant budgets, expense management, and approval of low-risk research protocols) so that they can have more time to pursue their research and dedicate more time to their teaching services?

A: The reality is that the accountability requirements surrounding research have been steadily increasing. In order for the university to continue to be eligible to receive research funding, notably from the national granting agencies, it must meet these accountability requirements. To ensure that financial accountability requirements are being met, for example, the university has recently hired additional grant accountants to help ensure overall compliance. 

In terms of human ethics review requirements, low risk protocols can be approved by the Chair of the appropriate research ethics board (REB) in accordance with the University’s procedures on expedited review, assuming that the protocol is complete and accurate. If it is not, then a full REB review is required.

Individuals who believe that their research protocols qualify for expedited review should discuss this with their appropriate REB chair or, failing that, Dr. Gary Glavin, Associate Vice-President (Research). In summary, the university continually strives to balance the need to meet regulatory requirements with the goal of allowing researchers to fully direct their time and efforts to their research work.

Q: Much of the garbage that overflows from trash cans is recyclable. What can we do to get people to use these containers and reduce electricity use, turn out lights, don’t use automatic door openers unnecessarily and turn off their computers before they go home?
 
A: We can all do more as individuals to be more responsible environmental stewards. On an institutional level, we recently appointed Ian Hall as the director of our new Sustainability Office.  Your comments will be forward to him and to our Sustainability Committee. You might also be interested in Sustainability at the University of Manitoba: A Strategic Vision for Action, which was approved by the Board of Governors in June 2012.  It is available at http://umanitoba.ca/campus/physical_plant/sustainability/678.html.

Q: What is being done about parking for the new stadium?

A: The university has been working very closely with the Winnipeg Football Club and City of Winnipeg to put together a comprehensive parking plan for event days at Investors Group Field. This plan is intended to cause the least amount of disruption to university staff, faculty, students and visitors, as well as members of our surrounding community.  The updated parking plan, along with transit information and detailed maps, will be available at www.investorsgroupfield.ca in early April.

Q: What is being done with the old golf course? Is student housing an option?

A: Neighbouring the stadium are the Southwood lands, one of the primary focuses of the Visionary (re)Generation Open International Design Competition. The winner of the competition will be announced in early November, bringing us one step closer to the creation of a living, learning, research, commercial, cultural, entertainment and recreation hub that will be the envy of any community anywhere. Student housing has been identified as a critical component of the Visionary (re)Generation briefing document. Find out more about the competition at www.visionaryregeneration.com.

Q: When will the bike path system be in place at the U of M? What about sidewalks, especially between IGAC and Max Bell?

A: An interim active transportation plan is underway and will be implemented this summer. The plan includes routing options to get cyclists close to the stadium. Our new wayfinding strategy will also include navigation support for cyclists. The Visionary (re)Generation Open International Design Competition includes an extensive active transportation component and the outcome of that process will include a comprehensive transportation plan for the campus that places priority on walkability, active transportation and transit. Sidewalks are always being considered and we can look at specific areas of concern immediately. To find more information about active transportation and campus development, please visit the Campus Planning Office website at http://umanitoba.ca/campusplanning/

Q: My co-workers and I were denied permission to attend the Town Hall.  We would like the opportunity to voice our concerns.

A: We regret that not everyone was able to attend the Town Hall. Supervisors were directed to release as many employees as possible to attend, recognizing the university has operational needs that require faculty and support staff. We were pleased by the turnout and the open and frank discussion of issues affecting our university. Those who were unable to attend were given the opportunity to submit questions to the Office of the President. Answers to those questions and others posed at the Town Hall are included in this synopsis.